BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
5th SUNDAY OF EASTER / BCUC 170TH ANNIVERSARY
May 2, 2021
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 Music: Church in the Wildwood – Dr. William Savage Pitts (yes really)
(Announcement Slides) (old church piano style, out of tune and clunky)
Acknowledgement of Territory Rev. Lorrie Lowes
We begin our worship service by acknowledging the territory where most of us gather and where I am located. We acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe First Nation. We pay respect to the elders past and present and honour all indigenous people’s reverence of this land throughout the ages. May we live in peace and friendship to sustain the earth and all its people. Thank you for permitting us to live and work on this land.
Welcome & Centering for Worship Rev. Kim Vidal
Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ as we worship together on this 5th Sunday of Easter. From the comforts of your homes or wherever you are, and whatever time of the day, we are so glad you have joined us in our virtual worship service! Today we are celebrating 170 years of ministry at Bells Corners United Church. We give thanks for the many ways God nurtures and feeds us, guides our roots to sink deep, and with God’s grace and blessing, bears fruits of love, justice, kindness and wisdom. Happy birthday BCUC!
Let us now centre ourselves in the presence of God who made us witnesses in the world and called us to be a loving faith community. Let us gather in worship.
Lighting of Christ Candle Acolytes: Kim Family
On this anniversary Sunday, we light this Christ candle to honour and to celebrate who we are as a community of faith. We do so by giving thanks for the varieties of gifts that we share and of the love that bind us together. May the light of Christ be our guide today and in the years to come.
Sung Response: Halle, Halle, Halle – Voices United #958 BCUC choir
Halle, halle, hallelujah! (3X)
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Words trad, liturgical text and Music arr. © 1990 IONA Community, GIA Pub
Song # 02351 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Call to Gather Rev. Lorrie Lowes
People of God, welcome.
We are part of God’s household,
a caring community of worship,
learning, sharing, and serving.
We are here to celebrate
the precious memories of loved ones,
for relationships that grow dearer with time,
and the stories that bind us together.
God never stops creating, redeeming,
and sustaining within us,
among us, and throughout the whole of creation.
May the Spirit of Christ be present in our gathering
and accompany us in our scattering.
May we come to worship the God who transforms all life.
Prayer of Approach[1]
Loving God, Your Spirit calls us to be church.
With the faithful who went before and those who will come after,
you offer us the gifts needed to be the Body of Christ,
people of God, co-creators of your new world.
Remind us to listen to your voice when our ears are closed to your call,
to pay attention when our eyes lose sight of self-giving,
to have a grateful heart when we misuse your generosity.
Be present with us in the midst of our joy and sorrow, pain and healing, despair and hope.
We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus, the head of this church. Amen.
Hymn: How Firm A Foundation – Voices United #660 - BCUC Quartet
1 How firm a foundation, you servants of God,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can be said than to you has been said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2 "Fear not, I am with you; O be not dismayed!
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I'll strengthen and help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.
3 "When through the deep waters I call you to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be with you, your troubles to bless,
and sanctify to you your deepest distress.
4 "When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply:
the flame shall not hurt you, I only design
your dross to consume, and your gold to refine.
5 "The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not -- I will not desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,
I'll never -- no, never -- no, never forsake!"
Words: “K” in John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns, 1787; Music: Welsh Folk Melody
Song Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime Rev. Lorrie Lowes
I think it’s finally spring! The grass is getting green again, leaves are popping out on the trees, and plants are poking up in the garden. I even saw dandelions adding their cheery yellow to the neighbourhood this week!
When I was a little girl, I lived in the Niagara region of southern Ontario. It’s a little bit warmer there than here in Ottawa and so it has longer summers – and one the great things about that is that it’s a perfect place for growing fruit. Niagara in the springtime is full of blossoms – pink ones on cherry and peach trees, white ones on apples and pears. The orchards are beautiful with row after row of flowering trees. The thing I always found amazing is that every single one of those blossoms has the potential of becoming a fruit.
Sometimes my mom would cut a few branches of those blossoms and bring them home so we could enjoy them in the house. They were beautiful and smelled really good, but you know what? No matter how much we cared for those branches, none of those blossoms turned into a cherry, or apple, or peach, or pear. Once they were cut away from the tree, they didn’t get the nutrients they needed to develop any further.
In our Bible reading today, Jesus talks about another fruit that grows in Niagara, and around here too – grapes! Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches, and God is the gardener who helps them grow.” Grapes are a fruit that grows really well in the area of the world where Jesus lived and so it makes sense that he would choose this fruit for his story. The people listening would have known a lot about how grapes grow, so they would understand what he was talking about.
So, let’s think about grapes… Like all plants, the first thing you need to grow a grape vine is a seed. You need to plant the seed in good soil that has the right nutrients in it to help the plant grow and to develop good roots to keep it strong and stable in the ground. A grape seed doesn’t grow into a tree; it grows into a vine and branches grow off that vine. Those branches are where the grapes will grow but, just like the fruit trees I talked about, the branches need to stay attached to the vine in order to grow fruit. The vine brings up the water and nutrients from the soil that are needed to make good juicy grapes. A grape vine with all its branches can’t stand up by itself like a tree can, it needs something to attach to, like trees or bushes or a fence. The branches have little tendrils that wrap tightly around other things to help them climb up so they can reach the other important thing they need to grow – sunlight and rain.
Wild grapes climb their way up whatever is nearby. They can choke out other plants in their hurry to get up to the sunlight. Wild grapes are not really good for eating, unless you are a bird. They are tiny and pretty sour. The kind of grapes we eat are grown in a vineyard. A gardener takes care of them, making sure they have the right nutrients in the soil and fertilizer. They also make sure the grapes have a fence to climb so that they can spread out and reach the sunlight and rain without having to climb above trees. They can use their energy to produce sweet juicy fruit instead.
So, then what did Jesus want us to understand when he said, “I am the vine and you are the branches, and God is the gardener”? What do we need to grow into good followers of Jesus?
First, we need seeds. I think these are maybe the lessons that Jesus taught about how to love your neighbour and all of creation…
We can think of these seeds need as the environment we grow and live in – our family and friends, the books we read, the games we play, even the movies and television we watch. We can surround ourselves with good influences or poor ones, can’t we?
Jesus says he is the vine. I think that means he is there to support us as we grow. He gives us the strong roots that are grounded in God’s dream for us and the world. He gives us things we need to know to grow strong and stable, just like the grapevine carries nutrients and water to its branches. Jesus doesn’t mention the fence. Maybe he knew that his listeners would already make than connection because it is so important to growing grapes. I think we need a kind of fence too – something that works along with Jesus that we can wrap ourselves tightly along to give us strength and stability. For me, that would be our faith family and our community.
We are the branches that Jesus says need to stay attached to that vine. If we cut ourselves off then we can’t continue to grow and develop. If we stay connected, then we will have the energy to do the kind of work that Jesus wants us to do – kindness, justice, love. I think that’s the kind of fruit we produce – and then that fruit goes on to nurture others, it passes on the nutrients to help the world flourish.
If we think of God as our gardener, then we know that we are being taken care of in a loving way. God provides the nutrients we need and trims some of the extra wild stuff away so we can us our energy to produce that good fruit in a strong and healthy way.
It’s a nice way to think about who we are as followers of Jesus – he is the vine, we are the branches, and God is our caring gardener!
Let’s finish with a prayer: Thank you, God, for Jesus who invites us to connect with him to receive the things we need to grow strong and healthy and loving. Help us to share those gifts with others. Amen.
Hymn: Many Are the Lightbeams - Voices United #588 - CGS/Bell Canto - Erin
2. Many are the branches of the one tree.
Our one tree is Jesus.
Many are the branches of the one tree;
We are one in Christ.
3. Many are the gifts given, love is all one.
Love’s the gift of Jesus.
Many are the gifts given, love is all one;
We are one in Christ.
4. Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one,
Servant spirit of Jesus.
Many ways to serve God, the Spirit is one;
We are one in Christ.
5. Many are the members, the body is one,
Members all of Jesus.
Many are the members, the body is one;
We are one in Christ.
Words: Cyprian of Carthage, 252, Swedish para., Anders Frostenson, 1972. English trans. © David Lewis, 1983; Music © Olle Widestrand, 1974, arr. by Leonard Lythgoe , 1995.
Song # 01706 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination Reader: Rev. Karen Boivin
God, our sure foundation, open the scripture to us
and open us to the scripture so that we can hear your message
of love in songs, in word and in prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8 (Common English Bible) The True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper.2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. 6 If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and, in this way, prove that you are my disciples.
May we find ourselves renewed in this Gospel reading. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Jesus: A True Vine” Rev. Kim Vidal
When I was young, my father planted a lone grapevine in our front yard. I saw him constantly checking the vine – watering it, making sure no bugs are around to pester it, trims and prunes the branches, making them shorter so they will not grow so wild and all over the place. He once said that the fruits are produced closest to the vine because that’s where the nutrients are most concentrated. If the vine is healthy, you are sure that the trimmed branches remain healthy as well. I think my dad was right based on what I have read about an owner of a vineyard who talked about how he takes care of his grapevines. He said that he often prunes and trims the branches from his vines because by having shorter branches, it allows for more minerals and nutrients to go to the grapes on the remaining branches, thus making better wine. After a year or so, the grapevine in our front yard bore fruits. You can tell from my father’s face how delighted he was over the first bunch of red small grapes even though I must say they are the sourest grapes I’ve ever tasted!
Today’s reading in John portrays Jesus as a True Vine. But this is not the only metaphor fleshed out in this text. We also read God as the vine grower, the one who removes and trims unfruitful and healthy branches. And who are the branches? John says, we are! The Lutheran Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber expresses her reflection on today’s Gospel lesson. She writes: “…What I wish Jesus said is: “I am whatever you want me to be. And you can be whatever you want to be: vine, pruner, branch, soil...knock yourself out.” What Jesus actually said is: “I am the vine. My Father is the vine grower. You are the branches. Dang. The casting has already been finalized. Vines, and branches off of vines, are all tangled and messy and it’s just too hard to know what is what... Not only are we dependent on Jesus, but our lives are uncomfortably tangled up together. The Christian life is a vine-y, branch-y, jumbled mess of us and Jesus and others. Christianity is a lousy religion for the “do it yourself!” set.[2] It seems to me that Bolz-Weber’s point makes sense. Nowhere in this passage does John’s Jesus teaches that we are not independent or do-it-yourself folks - that we cannot do it alone, that we cannot pull ourselves up when life puts us down – that we need to be connected to the vine, portrayed by Jesus, in order to be productive and strong and resilient.
For those who are hardcore gardeners, you would probably agree that growing vines don’t care about personal space. It’s a messy, twisty, jumbly thing. It stretches, it spreads, and it invades. It grows in all kinds of tangled up directions, and its densely interwoven branches are just about vague from each other. Rev. Debie Thomas said that like grapevines, “our spiritual lives are meant to be tangled up together. We are meant to live lives of profound interdependence, growing into, around, and out of each other. We cause pain and loss when we hold ourselves apart, because the fate of each individual branch affects the vine as a whole.”
But there are words in this passage that gives me discomfort. They sound like words of judgment: cleansed, cut off, remove, thrown away, burned, trimmed, pruned! They tell me that we need to undergo a painful transformation – that we need to experience sufferings or pain or stresses in life or to cut us off from something, in order to be healthy and strong and to bear more fruits. But in John’s theology and faith, these are necessary– the branches are trimmed or pruned in order to produce even more luscious, delicious, healthy fruit. Attentive, careful trimming and pruning of living and dead branches would truly bring forth more abundant leaves, or flowers or fruits. The use of the vine metaphor speaks about our lives as followers of Jesus and our relationship with him, even though we might want to argue about it.
At last Tuesday’s Lectionary group, we have discussed the meaning of pruning and trimming. Both words were used in translating the Greek word kathairie, which literally means to purge, to cleanse, or to cut off. Peggy Aitchison commented that trimming is a more gentle, loving way of cutting off leaves and branches and twigs whereas pruning is a more tedious and harsher way of tending to the plants and trees. A horticulturist once explained that pruning is needed to prevent loose or dead branches from harming other plants and it allows flowers and fruit to flourish. Pruning is not meant to stunt growth, but to stimulate the plant or tree. On the other hand, trimming is a way of tidying up a plant or a tree by removing overgrown branches. Excessive overgrowth is harmful since it reduces the amount of moisture and light a plant or tree receives, so trimming is also an important process. Pruning and trimming are both necessary in the growth of a plant or tree.
Trimming is a word that we often do in our lives whether we are aware of this consciously or unconsciously. A good example is weight. There’s a funny little prayer in my sister’s bathroom that I cannot forget. It says “Dear God if you cannot make me skinny, make my friends fat!” When we gain weight–we do all kinds of things to shed off those extra weight - treadmill, aerobics, power walking, hot yoga, diet…yes- we go the extra mile and sweat it out. Another thing that we trim is our age. Don’t we all like to have our wrinkles stretched or our skin looking fabulous? Cosmetics or surgeries will do the trick! There’s a radio commercial about a senior’s day at The Bay that entitles those 60 years or over for a nice chunk of discount all over the store. Towards the end of the commercial, you can hear this line: “oh by the way – since 40 is the new 60, we would like to see ID, please!”
There is another word that I think we need to trim: that word is “distraction”. We live in a society full of distractions. They most certainly can detract us from our growth, focus, and happiness, as well as sidetrack us from other new ideas or opportunities. We need to be careful not to let things or people take time away from areas where we could better use our time, focus, and energy. A quick survey shows that 59% of iphone users check email the second it arrives, 83% check it while on vacation, and 53% even check it when they are in the bathroom. Some of us are distracted by work that we do not have quality time anymore with our children. And it's not just our children who are busy—simultaneously doing their online schooling, listening to music, playing video games and talking on the phone. It's also us, the grown ups who are unable to concentrate and stay focused as we suffer through one interruption after another.
As a faith community, there are lots of things that needs trimming or pruning in order to find our home in Jesus, the vine and God the vinegrower. There are resentments and anger and indifferences that need to be cut off; inappropriate and hurtful words that should be eliminated; a “holier–than-thou attitude” that needs letting go or the “I am always right and you’re not” behaviour that affects relationships. Jan Pound commented that as a faith community, we need to trim the old ways of doing things and to embrace a newer process that makes us refocus our energy. We need to let go of our old ways of having only the adults run the church and letting the younger ones be a part of the show. And how do we keep the young branches stay connected to the vine? One way to do this is to engage and integrate the children, youth and young adults in the life of the church. We need to listen to them and to give them opportunities to share their talents and gifts and to encourage them to create a space for their creativity and leadership to shine.
Strange as it seems, rather than this John passage being harsh, they are, in the long run, words of comfort and hope for us as we celebrate our church anniversary. They are words of wisdom to keep us on the right track. I think John used the metaphors of the vine, the vinegrower and the branches to remind us of what would actually happen when we are not connected to Jesus and his way of life. John would say - we end up cut off, withered, useless, like the branches and dead twigs that we clean up from our yard and thrown away or burn. But cutting away the dead growth is necessary for new life to take place. And being a follower of Jesus apparently doesn't spare us in the process. We are trimmed and pruned so that we may stay close to Jesus’ agenda of love, justice and kindness, not wandering too far away like wild trailing branches, attaching ourselves to unnecessary things and resulting in a tangled mess of a life.
If Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, what do these metaphors mean for us? Debie Thomas says: we have only one task: to abide. To hang in there for the long haul. To abide is to stay rooted in place. But it is also to grow, to change, and to multiply. If we abide, we’ll get trimmed. We’ll get pruned. If we abide, we’ll bear fruit. If we abide, we’ll have to accept nourishment that is not of our own making. If we abide, we will have to coexist with the other branches. We will have to live a life that is messy, crowded, tangled, and twisty. A life that’s deeply rooted and also wildly fertile.
Abiding in Jesus the vine means admitting that we are not only independent, do-it-yourself people who can boast “I did it my way.” Abiding in Jesus means accepting that we are also dependent on the vine, the vinegrower and the other branches. It means graciously receiving the nourishment the vine offers us but also consenting to being pruned by the vinegrower: to letting go of the things that hinder our growth, things like fear and hatred, greed and jealousy, grudges and resentment, shame and guilt, and all the other vine-y, branch-y tangly things that messes us up. By being tangled up and connected with the branches, we are able to connect with each other, in the words of Eugene Peterson, to become “intimate and organic”. Do we see our congregational life as abiding in Jesus, the vine and God as the vinegrower? Do we even know or think about what abiding would look like? And maybe that's the place to start – to what do we feel connected?
On this Anniversary Sunday, Jesus invites us to be real, to be honest about who and what we are, even if that means admitting that we need trimming or pruning to make us bear good fruit. We are not called to quietly continue as an insignificant wandering branches, moving steadily through the seasons of our life but failing to thrive or to increase our growth. The one who shapes our lives, God as a vinegrower, wills us to flourish and grow and to feed others from the strength we get from our relationship with Jesus, the true vine. Yet there are more challenges and even opportunities to be revealed to each of us on this remarkable journey of faith.
May we continue to think freely and talk openly about who we are and how we are called to be. May we continue building a community that has love as its highest aim above personal gratification. May we follow in the steps of those who have given us a great beginning; the founders and foreparents of this congregation, who believed there was an exciting ministry to be had in this place and in this community. May God lead us into the future and give us the faith to serve. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” Let these words of Jesus inspire our living and being on this 170th anniversary year of BCUC and in the years to come. We have certainly come a long way! Amen.
Other sources that helped me in this sermon:
BCUC Lectionary Group
Debie Thomas, “Abide” Sermon on John 15: 1-8, 2018.
Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams, “I am the Vine, You are the Branches”, sermon on John 15: 1-8, 2015.
Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Kim Vidal
O God our help in ages past our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.
We offer our prayers today as we mark another year in the life and ministry of our congregation here at Bells Corners United Church. We pray that your Holy Spirit may continue to inspire us in our call to serve others, as we offer vibrant worship services and as we commit ourselves into a loving community following the example of Jesus, a true vine and with your guidance as our vinegrower.
May we continue to pass on our faith, hope and love to succeeding generations; that we may serve the communities in which we live and the wider world with commitment, vision and enthusiasm. Use us to be your heart and your hands, as we comfort the sorrowful, offer strength for the anxious, compassion for the sick, and concern and love for all.
We pray for all who hold positions of responsibility in worship, teaching, caring, social outreach or administration; and for each member and adherent, young and old alike, with their diverse gifts; that together we may fulfill our call eagerly, conscientiously, and with imagination, strengthened by your Spirit and upheld by one another’s prayers.
God of Healing, we pray for those whom the world is dark especially in this time of pandemic. We pray for those dealing with pain and suffering, loneliness, homelessness, poverty, disability, hunger, addictions, and broken relationships. We pray for those who are ill, at home or in hospital; those who are housebound; those who are grieving the loss of loved ones; and those who are worried or depressed;
We ask for your guidance and blessings upon the essential workers and healthcare people who make our lives easier as we live through the challenges of COVID-19. We pray for the many countries in the world who are struggling in saving the lives of people affected by the virus particularly in India, Brazil, the UK and other European countries and here in Canada.
Spirit of Life, as we celebrate this anniversary time, we cannot only look backwards at our history but we must also celebrate the present and look forward with optimism. Walk with us into the coming years in the life of this church. May we who this day celebrate and remember who we are as people of faith in our constant walk with you, may go forward in hope and in joy.
You, who journey with us, hold our lives together in the thread of your amazing grace. We rejoice with hope and great joy, remembering Jesus Christ, the mover and shaker of our faith as we abide in his love now and in the years to come.
All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ who holds us together in love and taught his disciples and 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 Rev. Lorrie Lowes
The God of yesterday, today and tomorrow holds each one of us in tender love and care. God is gracious and good, and no one is insignificant in God’s eyes. So we respond to everything God is doing in the life of this faith community and the world by offering a portion of the bounty we have received. Let us joyfully share our gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of our 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 mail slot by the kitchen door of the church. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer[3]
Creator God, take these gifts that represent the fruits of our love for you, for our community and for ourselves. Use these gifts, as you use us, to spread your message of love throughout the world. Amen.
Sending Forth[4] Rev. Kim Vidal
Live wholeheartedly;
God calls us to make every minute count.
Live adventurously;
God calls us to uncharted places and challenging situations.
Live faithfully;
God calls us to remember where our true allegiance lies.
Live compassionately;
God calls us to notice and to work alongside those ignored or forgotten.
As we go from this time of worship, may we be inspired to live as God calls us to live.
May we go knowing that God goes with us in this adventure called life. Amen.
Hymn: “Deep in Our Hearts” - More Voices #154 - BCUC Quartet
1. Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
Deep in our hearts there is a common song;
Deep in our hearts there is a common story,
Telling Creation that we are one.
2. Deep in our hearts there is a core is a common purpose;
Deep in our hearts there is a common goal;
Deep in our hearts there is a sacred message,
Justice and peace in harmony.
3. Deep in our hearts there is a common longing;
Deep in our hearts there is a common theme;
Deep in our hearts there is a common current,
Flowing to freedom like a stream.
4. Deep in our hearts there is a common vision;
Deep in our hearts there is a common song;
Deep in our hearts there is a common story,
Telling Creation that we are one.
Words © 1995 John Oldham, Music © 1996 Ron Klusmeier, musiklus
Song #117654 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Departing Music: March – Occasional Oratorio – Handel organ
Zoom Fellowship – 11 am
[1] Inspired by a prayer posted in www.united-church.ca
[2] Nadia Bolz-Weber in her sermon, “Vine and Branches: I Want to be a Sunflower for Jesus” (2015).
[3] Deborah Ambridge-Fisher, Gathering, Lent/Easter 2021, Year B. Used with permission.
[4] David Sparks, Gathering, Pentecost 2 – 2020 Year A. Used with permission.