BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
6th SUNDAY OF EASTER / CHRISTIAN FAMILY SUNDAY
May 9, 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
Longing – Cornelius Gurlitt – piano: Noah Berard
À la claire Fontaine. - Gerhard Wuensch – piano duet: Monica & Samantha
(Family Photo Slides)
Welcome & Centering for Worship Rev. Kim Vidal
Good day everyone! In the name of Jesus Christ and on behalf of Bells Corners United Church, I welcome and greet you as we celebrate Christian Family Sunday. Our parent God invites us into right relationship with each other as sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, grandpas and grandmas, cousins and relatives in the name of Love. Families come in all sizes, shapes and colours, and no matter what kind of a family one belongs, we are all part of the human family and the whole of creation. We take inspiration from our indigenous friends’ who taught us this wonderful teaching: “all my relations.” It reinforces that everyone and everything has a purpose, is worthy of respect and caring, and has a place in the grand scheme of life. Remember, we all live together in our home called the Mother Earth. So let us celebrate our kinship with each other and all of creation.
Today is also Mothers’ Day. This is a day to pay respect and honour all mothers, nurturers and life givers, past or present. Not every woman is a mother but all of us have mothers and some of us are mother-like figures who tend, protect, care, love, nourish and give life to others including animals and other living things. So, take a moment today and greet or remember your mother. Show how grateful you are for her unconditional love, devotion, kindness, wisdom and her presence.
Let us now centre ourselves in the presence of God, our Parent who loves us unconditionally like a mother or a father – one who embraces us with a joyful, “Welcome home my beloved!” Come, let us worship together!
Lighting of Christ Candle Acolytes: Monica, Samantha & Dave Jones
As we light this Christ candle on this Christian Family Sunday, may these words from
1John 4:7-8 be our guiding words: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
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[1] Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Sisters, brothers, children, welcome to this place!
Mothers, fathers, sing praises to God.
Grandmas, grandpas, share the story.
Aunts, uncles, dance with joy.
Family by love, Christ’s own body.
Family by Spirit, God calls us as one.
As one family, we come to worship our God.
Prayer of Approach[2]
God, creator of us all, we gather to worship you.
We come as individuals, we come in family units,
we come as neighbours and friends.
We come here where we are known by name,
welcomed with all our fragilities and strengths.
We gather with kindred spirits who long
to live faithful to your calling.
Guide us, inspire us, challenge us,
comfort us, and nurture us in this time of worship
so that we might be enabled to return
to our daily lives ready to engage fully
with all of your creation. We pray. Amen.
Hymn: We Are One - Voices United #402
1- We are one as we come, as we come, joyful to be here,
in the praise on our lips there’s a sense that God is near.
We are one as we sing, as we seek we are found,
and we come needful of God’s grace as we meet together in this place.
2- We are one as we share, as we share brokenness and fear,
in the touch of a hand there’s a sense that God is near.
We are one as we care, as we heal, we are healed,
and we share warmth in God’s embrace as we pray together in this place.
3- We are one as we feast, as we feast, peace becomes the sign,
in the bread and the wine, there’s a sense of love divine.
We are one as we come, as we feed, we are fed,
and we feel God’s refreshing grace as we meet at table in this place.
4- We are one as we hear, as we hear heart and hand unite,
in the word we receive there’s a sense that God is light.
We are one as we leave, as we love, we are loved;
and we seek justice in God’s ways as we move together from this place.
Words © 1988 Doreen Lankshear-Smith, Music © 1987 Jeeva Sam, arr. © 1995 David Kai
Song #59e0e28addd02 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Did you make breakfast for your Mom this morning? Or give her a card and a hug? That’s right! This is the day we usually celebrate our Mothers, but you might have noticed that, in the church, today is called “Christian Family Sunday”, not “Mother’s Day”. Did that make you wonder a bit?
I think that it makes a lot of sense when you think about all the different kinds of families there are in this world. Some families don’t have someone who is specifically called “Mom” or “Mother” or “Mama” but that doesn’t mean the people in that family don’t have someone who loves and cares for them in the way a good mother would. It might be an aunt or a grandmother, or a friend; it might be a father or grandfather or uncle! In fact, I hope that everyone has at least one person who loves them like that. There are also lots of women in our world who might not have any children of their own but still love other children in that way, people who become part of our family through their love rather than their birth. I guess the point is that we want to include everyone who should be honoured on this day. When we call it Christian Family Sunday, we get to include all of those caring and loving folks. It’s a reminder that there are many different kinds of families and that every one of them includes people who care for each other like a mother would, the kind of people that make you feel that you are loved and safe and at home with them.
In today’s scripture reading, Jesus talks about this kind of love. He tells his followers to love each other the way he loves them, to make themselves at home in that love. The way he describes this love sounds a lot like being a mother – but he calls them friends. This reminded me of a memory I have from when I was very little – when I was around 3 or 4 years old. I remember being out shopping with my mom. We were crossing the street so she took my hand and I was so filled with love at that moment that I needed a way to tell her. So, I said, “We’re best friends, aren’t we Mom?” It was a way of telling her that I knew she would do everything she could to make sure I felt cared for, protected, secure, and happy – and that I would do everything I could to make sure she felt that way too. It is the kind of love that goes both ways. I think this is the kind of love that Jesus was talking about too… and I think this is the kind of love that we want to celebrate today.
I hope you let your Mom know how special she is to you today and I hope you also remember to celebrate all the people in your life who fill that role for you – in your family and in the world of people who are like family to you, today and every day.
Let’s say a short prayer:
Thank you, God, for family and friends who love us and help us grow. Today I especially ask you to bless my mother and help me to be a blessing. Amen
Hymn: Come In, Come In and Sit Down - Voices United #395 Kim-guitar, Erin-flute
Refrain:
Come in come in and sit down,
you are a part of the family.
We are lost and we are found,
and we are a part of the family.
1 You know the reason why you came,
yet no reason can explain,
so share in the laughter and cry in the pain,
for we are a part of the family. R
2 God is with us in this place,
like a mother's warm embrace.
We're all forgiven by God's grace,
for we are a part of the family. R
3 There's life to be shared
in the bread and the wine,
we are the branches Christ is the vine.
This is God's temple, it's not yours or mine,
but we are a part of the family. R
4 There's rest for the weary
and health for us all,
there's a yoke that is easy,
and a burden that's small.
So come in and worship and answer the call, for we are a part of the family. R
Words & Music © 1984 James K. Manley; harm © 1987 Daryl Nixon
Song # 26147 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination Reader: Barbara Bole
Embracing God, continue to surprise us and breathe your spirit freshly upon us as your church family; that renewed in faith, we may know your wisdom through your Living Word. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: John 15:9-17 (The Message) - Love One Another
9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.
May the love of Jesus Christ dwell where the Word is spoken. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Jesus: A Family Friend” Rev. Kim Vidal
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” These are the words of Jane Howard, author and actress.
Over the years, the meaning of family has taken a different spin. There used to be a time when a nuclear family is defined as the basic unit of a society which includes a father, a mother and children. Nowadays we have so many family configurations and definitions. Some belong to a blended family or an extended family. Others might have a single mom or a solo dad who look after their family. You might even know someone who has two moms or two dads, or those raised by their grandparents or foster parents. We also have couples who don’t have any children but looks after pets who become part of their family!
What keeps a family together? What makes a family a shelter from the storm? Well, one simple answer is LOVE. A loving family sticks together through thick or thin. Rudyard Kipling writes: “A family shares things like dreams, hopes, possessions, memories, smiles, frowns, and gladness...A family is a clan held together with the glue of love and the cement of mutual respect. When there is love and mutual respect, a family becomes a shelter from the storm, a friendly port when the waves of life become too wild. No person is ever alone who is a member of a loving family” (from Fingertip Facts).
The church family is another kind of family to which we belong. It is like our spiritual home where relationships are treasured and nurtured. We become siblings in faith and treat each other as kin. We encourage each other in love and offers that love to the wider community. This church family is a haven of friendship– a place of prayer for kindred souls, a safe space for learning, nurturing and growing, where friends, young and old alike have a place to call it their second home.
An elderly woman was interviewed by reporters on her 102nd birthday. When asked about the benefits of living past 100 years, the woman answered, “No peer pressure! All of my friends were gone! So let’s talk about “friends.” In our lectionary group this past Tuesday, the members came up with words that best describe what true friendship means. Let me share some of these words: reciprocal relationship, equal footing, trust, counting on each other, give and take, non-judgemental, being present, selfless love, always on call, being a good listener. What about you? What kind of friends do you have? Why do you call them friends? What makes you stick with each other? A middle school teacher asked her class to write imaginative definitions of a friend. These were the descriptions she received:
“A friend is a pair of open arms in a society of armless people.”
“A friend is a warm bed on a cold and frosty night.”
“A friend is a mug of hot coffee on a damp cloudy day.”
“A friend is a beautiful orchard in the middle of the desert.”
“A friend is a hot bath after you have walked 20 miles on a dusty road.”
Today’s reading in John portrays Jesus calling his disciples 'friends.' One of the most common verbs for “love” in Greek is phileō and the Greek word for friend, philos, comes from this verb. In the first century world, a “friend” is immediately understood as “one who loves.” This fundamental connection between love and friendship is an essential starting point for reclaiming friendship as a resource of faith and ethics for us today. Jesus, a model of wonderful friendship, speaks of his disciples as 'friends' not followers, not servants, not subordinates, not second-class citizens. Just simply friends. He called them "friends" because everything he has learned about God, Jesus has "made known" to them. Friendship for Jesus is a word of intimacy and depth. What Jesus has "made known" to the disciples is the very heart of God, which is self-giving and unconditional love. For philosophers like Plato, friendship was a key social relationship. In the Symposium, Plato writes, “Only those who love – those called friends wish to give their lives for others.”
Two dimensions of friendship in the first century Mediterranean world— the gift of one’s life for one’s friends and the use of frank and open speech—informed the way that the Gospel of John and its readers understood the language of friendship. To be considered a friend was to be in a position of honour. Being a friend meant being treated as kin –they now become part of one family. To be a friend meant to look out for the welfare of the other, to put the other's needs on an equal footing. Friendship implied reciprocity -- to consider someone a friend meant counting on that person to return that level of concern and care. When John’s Jesus calls his disciples "friends" he is investing them with this kind of concern. He has shared with them what God has revealed to him, and he has given them the task of going out and sharing this revelation with the world. Jesus relates to his followers in an egalitarian way. He had rejected the word "servants" in favour of "beloved friends"-- a relationship of equality. In the foot washing episode which is a story unique in the Gospel of John, Jesus offers himself completely to his disciples, assuming the social role of a beloved friend, in order to give a tangible shape to his love. Friends, not masters, wash the feet of guests, and in the foot washing, Jesus makes the ultimate act of hospitality and friendship. Kris Lewis says “Jesus calls his disciples friends and in doing so, he upsets the usual teacher-pupil relationship, he breaks boundaries, and he brings a new dimension to the bond he has with his disciples. No longer are they master and servant. Rather, they are ‘friends’ with all that entails.”
This gospel reading in John is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus, in his final speech, prepares his disciples, as best as he is able, for his ultimate departure. He tells them many times and, in many ways, how much he loves them. He taught them and mandated them to love one another as he and God, his Father have loved them. Jesus knows the struggles they will face without him. But they will need to rely on each other, trust each other, look out for each other, reprove each other, and forgive each other. In other words, they will need to be more than a group of people who love and follow Jesus. They will need to think of each other as friends. Jesus’ definition of love and friendship in John is summed up in this familiar verse: "No one has greater love than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn. 15:13). There are several ways how to understand this verse. Eugene Peterson translates this in a more modern way: “This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.” But the best one I picked so far is a contemporary reading of this verse offered by the Listening Hermit, Peter Woods: “There is no greater unconditional love than when someone gets their ego out of the way for another.”
Our day-to-day choices are not likely to lead to martyrdom or literally dying for others, but each day we have to decide how we will spend our time, our resources, our talents, our lives. How do we do this? Getting your ego out of the way could mean walking the extra mile, standing with the people who are being put down, doing acts of kindness that will receive no applause, building partnership with people in Chipembi and other places in the world that needs our care, treating the marginalized, people with addictions and the physically and mentally challenged as friends, shopping for someone else’s groceries, reading stories to someone else’s children, taking flowers to someone who’s not a bosom friend, visiting someone else’s mother in the nursing home, talking about faith when we would rather be silent, doing good for people who will do not good to us in return, praying not for an easier life but for strength to give our lives away. I could go on and on... And what do we get in return? Nothing fancy – perhaps a word of thanks and a murmur of appreciation or maybe just a dose of tremendous comfort and peace of mind knowing that we have made a difference in someone’s life. But – we might also gain a friend or two or more and we become a family!
To think of Jesus as a family friend means that we can find Jesus in our human friendships and connections. We are able to see the face of Jesus in the faces of those not only who we care for but also those who are ignored by society or those who felt lost, scared or anxious. By being friends, we create a family. Let me close with a paraphrase of Psalm 8 entitled “Friendship flowers” written by Rev, James Taylor in his book Everyday Psalms:
O God, what glorious gifts you have given.
Above the marvels of nature rises the miracle of friendship.
Friends take time for each other. They put their lives in each other’s hands.
Stars and nebulas are far away, but friends are near at hand.
Friendship flowers unpredictably.
The desert blooms, the ice melts, the distance disappears.
Friendship has no parallel in the world.
Envy and jealousy dissolve.
Fear and suspicion evaporate.
This is how God meant the world to be.
Nothing compares with the wonder of friendship.
O God, our God, what a glorious gift you have given! Amen.
Sources:
BCUC Lectionary Group, Alyce Mackenzie, patheos.org., Gail R. O’Day, “I Have Called You My Friends”
Lynne M. Dolan, “Friendship”, James Taylor, Everyday Psalms
Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Today, O God, on this Christian Family Sunday we pray for all households
created and blessed by your love. We give thanks and pray for our families.
We thank you for families rooted in love, where character is formed and values are learned,
where lives are filled with hopefulness and laughter.
We acknowledge that families often disappoint us.
People fight; people hurt one another. Forgive us, gracious God.
Where there is pain, resentment, or bitterness, enter with your healing love.
Open our hearts to families who suffer abuse and violence.
Increase our compassion towards all with painful memories.
We pray with hope that all families may be a source of blessing and abundant life.
Today, O God, we pray for our faith family. We give thanks for the love and support our
members give to each other, especially through this past difficult year of pandemic. We pray
that this sense of caring community remains strong. Give us patience and resilience to see this
hard time through. We pray with hope for the day that we can gather again as your children.
Today, O God, we pray for all those whose lives are especially difficult due to illness or injury,
loneliness and isolation, grief, worry and stress. We pray that they feel your presence and find
the strength and support they need to cope with the present and feel hope for the future. Keep
our hearts open to the needs of our neighbours near and far that we may be part of that
strength and support. We pray with hope that your message of love will be enacted and felt.
Today, O God, we pray for this planet we call home; all of its inhabitants, and all of its
resources. We pray that we can be good stewards of this world and that we pay attention to
how our way of life affects it. We pray with hope for the healing of the earth.
All these things we pray in the words that Jesus taught those he called friends and family:
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. Kim Vidal
God has blessed our lives with relationships—joy inspiring and challenging.
In response to God’s blessings in our lives, 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, you have blessed our lives with relationships that both inspire and challenge.
We offer these gifts so that we might continue to build relationships with one another and with your whole creation. Bless these gifts that they may bring wholeness and life abundance to all your people. We pray. Amen.
Sending Forth Rev. Kim Vidal
God gives life. God renews life. God is life.
We celebrate the life within us and let it overflow to enliven the world.
May the faithfulness of mothers, fathers, sons and daughters be affirmed and celebrated.
May God’s gift of love, Christ’s abiding peace, and the Spirit’s wisdom
bless all families this day and in the days to come. Amen.
Opening Hymn: Would You Bless our Homes and Families - Voices United #556
“In celebration of our families” (Sue & Rick Morrison)
1 Would you bless our homes and families,
Source of life who calls us here,
in our world of stress and tension,
teach us love that conquers fear.
Help us learn to love each other
with a love that constant stays;
teach us when we face our troubles,
love’s expressed in many ways.
2 When our way is un-demanding,
let us use the time that’s ours.
To delight in simple pleasures,
sharing joys in gentle hours.
When our way is anxious walking
and a heavy path we plod.
Teach us trust in one another
and in you, our gracious God.
3 From the homes in which we’re nurtured,
with the love that shapes us there,
teach us God, to claim as family
everyone whose life we share.
And through all that life may offer,
may we in your love remain,
may the love we share in families
be alive to praise your name.
4 Let us reach beyond the boundaries
of our daily thought and care
till the family you have chosen,
spills its love out everywhere.
Help us learn to love each other
with a love that constant stays;
teach us when we face our troubles
love’s expressed in many ways.
Words © 1977 Walter Farquharson, Music © 1977 Ron Klusmeier, Hope Publishing Co. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. Song#80568 All rights reserved.
Departing Music
Ashokan Farewell – violin: Amelia Baynes
O Pastorzinho – a British folk tune – violin duet: Georgia & Amelia
Zoom Fellowship – 11 am
[1] Seasons of the Spirit, 2015.
[2] Jackie Harper, “Kin to One Another”, united-church.ca
[3] Jackie Harper, “Kin to One Another”, united-church.ca