BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
13TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
SUMMER WORSHIP SERVICE
August 30, 2020
The video recording of this service can be found here
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104
Gathering: There is a Time More Voices #165 Vocalist: Vernon Sulway
Words and Music © Carolyn McDade arr. © 2006 Lydia Pederson
Song #118153 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Welcome & Announcements
Good day everyone! On behalf of Bells Corners United Church, I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, wherever you are, in today’s worship service. Thank you for joining us. Today, we continue to reflect on the words of Ecclesiastes as we ponder the seasons and times of our life.
During this time when we are not able to worship in the church sanctuary, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with the weekly announcements, online meetings, events and other updates. You can also listen to the service via telephone by dialing 613-820-8104. Please continue to reach out by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
Here are some announcements:
As we slowly reopen the building, there is an opportunity to gather in the sanctuary for a modified virtual worship service on Sept. 6th at 10 am. A maximum number of 28 people excluding the staff and ushers are invited to gather. To save a spot, you are required to register online or by calling the office. Deadline to register is August 30. Full information on procedures and safety measures are posted on our website. We are also in need of ushers beyond September 6. Please call the office if you are interested.
The Book of Memories Volume 2 is completed and copies are now available for purchase. You can order a print copy with a suggested minimum donation of $30 or a Digital copy with a suggested minimum donation of $15. Please contact the office to place an order.
Join us for a spontaneous Prayer Circle every Wednesday at 8 pm. Wherever you are, say a prayer for the world, your community including the congregation, your family, and yourself.
David’s Flowers are back drive-through style and they are available every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 am. The flowers will be displayed on tables outside the main entrance, and everyone is asked to remain in their car, bring exact change or prepared cheque for donations, and follow instructions of volunteers. Thank you for your support!
Grocery cards are now available for purchase. Please call the office to place your order.
And for those of you who are able to join us via Zoom, there will be zoom fellowship every Sunday at 11: 30 am. Link will be emailed to you or call the office for more information.
Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to centre yourself in the presence of the Wise God who calls us to gather in the name of justice and love. Let us gather in worship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: Jan & Norm Pound
We are called together in a spirit of gladness,
for the presence of God within and among us,
brings joy and hope in our heart.
The light and love of Christ shines on.
Call to Gather: Nicole Beaudry
Come, let us welcome the gift of time as we
proclaim the philosopher’s words:
“There is a time for everything!”
This is the time where we sing songs of praise.
This is the time where we share the stories of faith.
that inspire us to respond to God’s love.
We are called to be here, in this time and in this place
in whispering winds and in joyful rains.
And with God’s presence,
moves us to enter in this time of worship.
Come let us gather.
Prayer of Approach: (inspired by the prayer of Kate Crawford, Gathering 2017)
You, who created the earth and the air;
You, who designed the sky and the sea;
You, who spoke and things were created;
You, who gifted us with the gift of time;
You, who called us in every season of life;
You have called us your people,
and beckoned us here,
and set a holy longing in our hearts,
for a world where peace and justice reigns,
where there’s a time to speak and a time to be silent,
and a time to love.
We praise You, in spirit and in truth. Amen.
Hymn: Morning Has Broken - Voices United #409
1 Morning has broken like the first morning,
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
2 Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from Heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass.
3 Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning,
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s re-creation of the new day!
Words © 1931 Eleanor Farjeon, Music Gaelic Melody, harmony © 1982 Alec Wyton
Song #27554 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime for the Young at Heart: “The Gift of Time” Nicole Beaudry
A long time ago someone named Jim Croce wrote a song called: Time in a Bottle.
That was…..almost 50 years ago! Wow! Time flies!
Jim in his song, wrote that if he could save time in a bottle, if he could make his days last forever, he would save them like a treasure . Then he would have ….all the time he needed to do all the things he wanted to do, and also, he could spend a lot of his time with his Love.
Sadly, he did not get enough time to do all those things he wanted to do: he died in a plane crash just one year after writing his song. He was 30 years old. Some of us are still singing his songs today!
Another person that did not have enough time to do what he wanted to do was Terry Fox. Terry had one leg amputated because of cancer when he was 18. He had the idea to run across Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific to raise awareness, and money for cancer research.
He began training and when ready, he set off to do the impossible: run the 8000 km Marathon of Hope. He ran an average of 42 km a day, on lonely roads, in small towns and on city streets, through freezing rain and gale-force winds, through cold and sweltering heat.
He suffered blisters on his foot and on his stump, tendonitis, shin splints and inflamed knee. He became sore, tired, breathless.
Sept. first, will mark 40 years since Terry ran… out of time: after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, with more than half the distance done, he was forced to end his journey because the cancer had spread to his lungs. He died 9 months later. He was 22.
Terry did raise awareness and money for cancer research, tho not as much as he had hoped.
But his Marathon of Hope did not end. In the short time that he had, Terry Fox accomplished… so much, and so much more!
A year later the first Terry Fox Run was held. It has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over $750 million has been raised in Terry’s name, and it continues to grow. Eight thousand schools across Canada host Terry Fox events every year. That’s quite a legacy!
We know it is impossible to save time in a bottle- for later use. But we are given time to do what needs to be done - well, most of the time….
There should always be enough time, …. if we use time wisely, if we don’t waste it, if we don’t spend it all ….doing nothing .
And if we do run out of time to do those things we want to do, the most important thing is to be proud and happy with what we’ve accomplished.
Thank you, God, for the gift of Time.
Song: Time in a Bottle (Words and Music: Jim Croce, 1972 © BMG)
1 If I could save time in a bottle,
the first thing that I'd like to do,
is to save every day till eternity passes away,
just to spend them with you.
2 If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you.
Bridge:
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them. I've looked around enough to know that you're the one I want to go through time with.
3 If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty except for the memory, of how they were answered by you.
Bridge:
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them. I've looked around enough to know that you're the one I want to go through time with.
Prayer for Illumination: (Richard Bott, Gathering, 2018) Reader: Rick Morrison
Every moment is a new beginning with you, Wise God.
Bless our words that they might become actions filled with the promise of the life that you are in us. Amen.
The Reading: Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13 (NRSV)
“Everything Has Its Time”
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain have the workers from their toil?
10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.
11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense
of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done
from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy
and enjoy themselves as long as they live;
13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink
and take pleasure in all their toil.
Hear what Wisdom is saying to all of us! Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “A Matter of Time” Rev. Kim Vidal
A story was told about a preacher who was admiringly regarded for always finishing his services right at noon. Then one Sunday, the impossible happened. He preached until 12:30 pm. On the way out, one of his elders inquired, "What happened to you?" The preacher answered, "For years I have always put a candy mint in my mouth as the service started, and I would tuck it away. It was always gone at exactly noon. That way, I never had to look at my watch or worry about what time it was. But this Sunday it didn't go away, and I finally realized I had put a button in my mouth."
It’s Sunday again. Where did the week go? It just flew right by! Time flies! Time is tenacious. It does not slow down for anyone. When I was a teenager, I learned a song with the first line that goes like this: “Time, time, time is fast escaping me!” Preachers are not the only ones who have to keep track of time. We all do. Time is fast escaping all of us! There are deadlines to meet, buses to catch, papers to write, appointments to make, meetings to attend, birthdays to celebrate. Time has become one of our masters in modern society. We track time constantly. We have calendars, agendas, schedules, clocks, alarm watches, computers and cell phones to track time. Time allows us to experience much of what life has to offer –be it wonder or hope, suffering or love, grief or joy, accomplishment or failure. Yet time doesn’t make the rules for how we use it. We do.
The author of Ecclesiastes known as Qohelet looks at life as a fleeting moment in time. He wasn’t exactly someone who looked at the world and saw a bed of roses. At last week’s text in Chapter 1, you’ll remember him who understood life from a personal experience and declares that life is like hevel - a vapour or a breath that is here today and gone the next second. Ecclesiastes tells us that’s what life is like. Uncertain. Sometimes irrational. Sometimes ironic. Something that can’t be grasped or counted on to unfold in predictable ways. Like a weather that changes from time to time. Qohelet says that life isn’t always fair. That the going can get pretty rough sometimes. That the things we tend to count on in this world will sooner or later fade away. And that’s how he starts his book – declaring that all of life is like a mist.
Today’s text in Ecclesiastes 3 is a well-known poem. We might find ourselves singing or humming the catchy 1960s folk song by the Byrds, Turn, Turn, Turn —with words taken right from this text. Or Stephen Schwartz’ song, Corner of the Sky in the Broadway show Pippin that says: Everything has its season, everything has its time. Qohelet affirms in verse 1 that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Seasons follow one after another in their time, and that’s how nature works. Winter is followed by spring, spring is followed by summer and summer is followed by autumn and then back to winter again. The same cycle is repeated over and over. Every human being’s life passes through seasons and we shouldn’t expect it to be otherwise.
The 14 couplets in this Ecclesiastes poem cover every range of human activity. It starts with the two most momentous events in our life – birth and death; then moves on to creative and destructive activities and human emotions. including friendship and enmity using the metaphor of throwing and gathering of stones; a time to say hello and a time to say goodbye; and closes again with destructive and creative activities of human beings – that of war and peace. This poem is not about only the beautiful and awesome things. It also speaks of the messy and the ugly. Life is both wonderful and hurtful, filled with moments of hatred and moments of affirmation. Some days are fantastic, others are painful. Life is about the good experiences as well as the unpleasant moments -the perfect and imperfect, the successes and failures, the tears and the laughter. There will be sunrises and sunsets. Like a mosaic, life is like a kaleidoscope of colours and textures that will look a little different to us depending on where we stand at a particular moment, and how we hold them up to the light. Accept it or not, that’s just the way life is!
This poem also tells us that life is filled with complexities and opposing poles. Qohelet believes from his ancient tradition that life is made complete by its polarities. “A time to be born and a time to die”; “a time to weep and a time to laugh”; “a time to mourn and a time to dance”. Just think about it – if we only laughed and never had the opportunity to cry; if we only planted and never harvested, if we only knew joy and never experienced pain, how can we appreciate the wholeness of life? Would we ever appreciate to dance and truly celebrate if we have never experienced grief and sadness?
And here is another point in this text. Because life moves constantly in different seasons and times, there is no experience, no moment that will last forever. This reminds me of the saying that the only constant in life is change. Nothing remains the same. This is both good news and bad news. The bad news comes when life changing events happen such us those we love dies. Or when our health fails us. Or when we could no longer drive. Or when we cannot travel or gather as a family due to COVID-19. The good news is that - when we are experiencing difficulties and challenges in life, we know that this will not last. Better days will come. Every storm has its rainbow. Mourning will turn into dancing. If we are living in this seemingly hopeless pandemic time, know that this will pass and one day we will find ourselves in a new dawn where vaccines are made available and human beings will function in a new normal way. When we are living through racial strife, know that a better time will come when people will realize that they are all created in God’s image, where Paul’s vision of humanity is achieved: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female…” and add to the list - there is no longer white or black, Christians or non-Christians, straight or LGBTQ. Time will surely come when dawn eventually breaks on even the darkest night of the human soul. But this poem also insists that the good times won’t last forever, either. Celebrations will eventually turn into mourning, and peacetime and harmony may revert back to war and violence. Such is life. It is human life in all its beauty and horror, in all its hope and despair, in all its joy and pain, bound together by birth and death.” Life indeed is full of surprises, some good, some bad. But you can count on better days. That is something to look forward to. So enjoy the moment, says Ecclesiastes. Whatever preoccupies your time will happen. Just be here now, in this present moment, and be open to all what life offers. That is the blessing of being human.
As a congregation, we too have moved through the seasons of time. This pandemic has put some of us in isolation, depression or in a state of uncertainty. We have grieved the death of long-time members and watched with sadness how others’ health has deteriorated. But we’ve also rejoiced at the gift of new life as we have welcomed the birth and baptism of babies, celebrated the confirmation of young people and the addition of wonderful new members to our church family. We marvel at the completion of new projects and saddened when we cannot do more due to financial challenges. Endings and new beginnings.
So what about the gift of time? Qohelet announces, “There is beauty in time!” So in the midst of all your hustle and bustle, don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers and bask in the sunshine. For just as God gifted us with the beautiful flowers and the sun, so also, Qohelet declares in verse 11 that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” No matter which season you find yourself in at the moment, enjoy and experience it. Keep the faith alive! This faith that taught us to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ to live in love, justice and peace. No matter what season you live in today, there is a word of hope for you in this multi-faceted, many-layered, poem in Ecclesiastes. And no matter how exhilarating, confusing, or infuriating life may be from one day to the next, remember that the sun will rise and it will set, the wind will blow, and those streams will keep running to the sea. Life goes on. And—more importantly—I believe that God’s presence will see us through it all – just as what our New Creed affirms: “in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone.”
Let me close with a Sanskrit poem written almost 2000 years ago that talks about life as a matter of time: "Listen to the salutation of the dawn... Look to this day, for it is the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the realities and truth of existence: the joy of growth, the splendor of action, the glory of power. For yesterday is but a memory, and tomorrow a vision, but today well-lived makes every yesterday a memory of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope." So be it! Amen.
Sources that helped me:
Rev. Deborah Hannay Sunoo, Sermon on Ecclesiastes 3, “Times and Seasons”, Magnolia Presbyterian Church, 2017.Robert Williamson Jr., The Forgotten Books in the Bible, 2018.
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Kim Vidal
Come all of you who seek a sanctuary and a time to listen to God within. Bring your heart, your needs and your acknowledgement of the sacred in our midst. Let us join our hearts in prayer.
O Great Love, we greet you on this summer day. We give thanks for this cycle of surprising life, its challenges, its beauty and its delights, informed by your presence in and through it all. And yet, some days, words fail us when we wish to speak of love or life or hope. No words come - instead we shed tears, feel our brokenness and an outburst of despair. Those times we turn wordless from the world and from you. Journey with us and show us how to return with hope renewed, with energy to love others and work for change.
Giver of Life, we pray for your healing and comforting presence in the lives of those in need of healing, relief from symptoms of diseases, and wholeness of mind and spirit. We pray for those in senior’s homes and nursing facilities, for those awaiting test results from their health conditions and those recovering from illnesses and medical procedures. We pray for those who are alone, especially in this time of pandemic, who are alienated from their families. We continue to pray for all the workers in this pandemic time. We pray for all the families affected from the virus and healing love to those who are recovering. We pray for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, especially we remember Ross Mutton in the passing of Gail and the Burgess family in the passing of Jean. And now in silence, hear the deepest concerns of our hearts…
God of peace, we pray for the storms battering our communities in many forms; the wars and conflicts that never seem to reconcile; the continuing global economic fears, the racial strife in the many parts of the world. We feel afraid and powerless. And yet, you remind us that we are not alone in our desire for peace and justice, in the efforts we make in our families, with our friends, in our communities, and in our larger world. We are not alone you, you O God, are with us and with all of the peace-seekers and peacemakers.
When you call our names, Great Spirit, you call us into a journey of faith. With you as our strength and with the light of your love, and the knowledge that you are always with us, we can strive to do your work and attain wholeness. Let your spirit guide us, strengthen us, enrich us and call us in this journey of time we call life. These we ask in the name of Jesus Christ who taught his friends this prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kin-dom, the power and the glory, Forever and ever, Amen.
Invitation to Offer
I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of your gratitude to God’s blessings. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the slot by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer
O Holy One, in response to your abundant love that you offer us, we offer our gifts: time, talents and treasures for the life of this congregation and to spread love and justice in the world. Amen.
Sending Forth
Go now, and embrace the gift of time which God has given us.
Live each moment with love and justice in your heart
and recognize the spirit of Christ in friend and stranger.
May God’s wisdom dwell with you.
May Christ be your guiding light.
And may the Holy Spirit be your beginning and end
and hold all your times as you journey in life. Amen.
Hymn: The Day You Gave Us, God, Is Ended - Voices United #437
1 The day you gave us, God, is ended,
the sun is sinking in the west;
to you our morning hymns ascended,
your praise shall sanctify our rest.
2 We thank you that your church unsleeping,
while earth rolls onward into lights,
through all the world a watch is keeping,
and rests not now by day or night.
3 As o’er each continent and island,
the dawn leads on another day,
the voice of prayer is never silent,
nor dies the strain of praise away.
4 The sun that bids us rest is waking
your church beneath the western sky,
and hour by hour fresh lips are making
your wondrous doings heard on high.
5 So be it, God! Your throne shall never,
like earth’s proud empires, pass away;
your rule remains and grows forever,
until there dawns that glorious day
Words 1870 John Ellerton, Music 1874 Clement Cotterill Scholefield
Song #92375 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Departing: Turn! Turn! Turn! – Peter Seeger Vocalists: David & Lorrie
Zoom Fellowship hosted by Lorrie at 11: 30 am. Link has been emailed. See you there!