Christmas Eve Service - December 24, 2021

CHRISTMAS EVE / AGAPE MEAL

December 24, 2021

The Ministers – Rev. Lorrie Lowes & Rev. Kim Vidal
Music Director – Abe TeGrotenhuis 

The video recording of this service can be found here.

The Gathering

Gathering Music: The Cradle Rocks in Glory! - Grace Notes, BCUC 2019 Concert, Percussion: Raven/Heidi/Arcadie

Traditional Spiritual, additional words © Besig & Price, arr. © Don Besig
ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Welcome             Rev. Kim Vidal

Good evening. Merry Christmas! On behalf of BCUC and in the name of Jesus Christ, I welcome and greet you to our Christmas Eve Service. Tonight, we are not only celebrating the birth of Jesus, but more importantly, that we recognize the truth at the heart of this story: that Love was born at Christmas. This is the good news of great joy! May tonight’s service reminds us too that we are all God’s children - recipients of God's hearty welcome to the manger and God’s table of grace.

We will be sharing an agape meal during the service. Please make sure you have some bread or crackers and any beverage ready to partake during the agape meal.

I would like to highlight a couple of announcements:

On the First Sunday after Christmas (Dec 26) there will be a joint service with Glen Cairn and Kanata congregations. The service will be hosted by Glen Cairn United Church and it will be offered onsite at 10 am and live stream via YouTube. If you are joining onsite, you are required to be fully vaccinated and wearing a mask. Youtube link on website at gcuc.ca.

Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, all worship services, gatherings and events in the BCUC building are cancelled until further notice.  The Sunday worship service will be offered online via Youtube and through telephone. Check our website for the link at bcuc.org.

Let us now prepare our hearts, mind and spirit as we gather in our Christmas Eve service.

Carol:  “O Come All Ye Faithful”    - Voices United #60        BCUC Choir

1.O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem: come and behold him, born the King of angels;

Refrain:
O come, let us adore him, (3x)
Christ the Lord.

2 God of God, light of light,
lo, he abhors not the virgin's womb,
very God, begotten, not created: R

3 Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God in the highest: R

4 See, how the shepherds summoned to his cradle, leaving their flocks,
draw nigh with lowly fear;
we too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; R

5 Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be all glory given;
word of the Father, now in flesh appearing: R

Words in English: Frederick Oakeley, 1841; Music: John Francis Wade, 1743.    
Song # 592e04d371906  Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: Monica Peck, David Jones and Samantha

(Eric Hebert-Daly, Gathering, ACE 2021-2022. Used with permission.)   

Reader 1: Enter, with your vulnerabilities and with your whole self just as you are.
We come seeking hope.

Reader 2: Come with your brokenness.
We come seeking peace and healing.

Reader 3: Come with your desire for new life.
We come seeking joy.

Reader 1: Come with your desire to love and be loved.
We come seeking love. We come to prepare the way of love.

Reader 2: Come at God’s invitation this night.
We come to welcome the Christ child.

Reader 3: Tonight, hope, peace, love and joy are found in a manger and throughout the world. 

(The Christ Candle is lit).

Sung Response:  A Candle is Burning - Voices United #6 (Verse 5)

We honour Messiah with Christ candle’s flame,
our Christmas Eve candles glad tidings proclaim.
O come, all you faithful, rejoice in this night,
as God comes among us, the Christian’s true light. 

Words © 1986 Sandra Dean, Music: James R. Murray, 1887.         
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Call to Gather      Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(Rt. Rev. Richard Bott, Gathering, ACE 2018-2019. Used with permission)

Why do we gather here,
on a night so beautifully dark and quiet?
To celebrate the birth of a child.
Who is the child that is born this night?
The One, the Christ, the God-with-Us.
Who are we, that we commemorate this birth?
His sisters and brothers and siblings,
his disciples and friends.
Then, as family and friends, let us come together,
to tell stories and sing songs,
to share in the feast of thanksgiving,
to celebrate and worship our God! 

Opening Prayer

(Kerry Parsons, Gathering, ACE 2021-20122 Used with permission.)

Loving and faithful God, as we once again celebrate the Christmas season,
we are reminded that you gave us a gift:
A gift that lets your light in.
A gift that encourages us to depend on you.
A gift that offers us hope for your reign.
A gift that sustains our faith.
A gift that tests our call to say “yes” to you.
A gift that we are allowed to re-gift freely.
A gift that abides with us eternally.
A gift of love.
The gift of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Special Music:   Shepherd Boy - Charlotte Algozin       CGS/Bells Canto & Erin Berard

Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, look up at the star.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, it guides from a-far.
Its radiant beams shine down through the night.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, follow it’s light. 

Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, hear the an-gels sing.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, hear the tidings they bring.
In the city of David lies a baby so fair.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, go find him there. 

Leave your hillside don’t delay.
Find his manger bed of hay.
Play your pipe and dance with joy.
Welcome Ma-ry’s newborn boy. 

Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, see the Christ child so sweet.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, kneel at his feet.
He is God’s Son sent from heaven above.
Shepherd boy, shepherd boy, his message is love.

Time for the Young at Heart        Rev. Lorrie Lowes

A Carol for Christmas – written by Ann Tompert and illustrated by Laura Kelly

Silent Night was written on December 24, 1818,
and first performed that very night
in the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria.
It was the creation of Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber. 

This is the legend of the creation of that beautiful hymn – told from the perspective of a small church mouse. In the cold winter of 1818, food is so scarce that the mice at St. Nicholas Church resort to making soup from the leather that connects the organ strings to the keyboard – making the organ completely out of service. On Christmas Eve, the pastor and the organist decide to write new Christmas music for midnight mass that would be suitable to be played on guitar. In our story, the pastor’s words to the hymn are inspired by a visit to a poor couple who has just welcomed a newborn baby in their small woodcutter’s hut in the forest of Oberndorf – and the mouse receives a miraculous chunk of cheese to share with his family.

Carol: Away in a Manger  - Voices United #69

1 Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, 
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. 
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.  

2 The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, 
but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. 
I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky,
and stay by my side until morning is nigh.  

3 Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay 
close by me for ever, and love me, I pray. 
Bless all the dear children in your tender care,
and fit us for heaven, to live with you there.

Words: Author Unknown; Music 1895 William James Kirkpatrick
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

The Word

Prayer for Illumination      Reader:  Barbara Bole

(Laura Rousseau, Gathering, ACE 2021-20122 Used with permission.)

Holy God of angels and shepherds, of magi and refugee families, we pray today:
prepare our hearts to receive the hope of the Christmas Story.
Amen.

The Nativity Reading:  Luke 2:1-20    (NRSV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

May the light of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Ministry of Music: Noel Tidings (Sing We Now/God Rest Ye): – BCUC Choir 2019 concert

arr. © Lojeski,   ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Christmas Meditation          Rev. Kim Vidal

Christmas Eve is just a few hours from now.  What comes to mind when you talk
about Christmas Eve - the night when we celebrate the birth of Jesus? Something hopeful and celebratory?  Perhaps a grandiose family dinner? Gift-giving? A holy, silent night? To some, maybe, it is just an ordinary night like the rest of the nights?  What about calling Christmas Eve “a night of great joy”? That for me, is the closest phrase I could think of. It reminds me of the angels bringing good news to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds, to the townfolks and yes even to the animals in the stable.

What does joy mean for you? Why would Christmas be a day of rejoicing despite the ongoing life challenges? Does joy have to do with “doing the right thing” as in meticulous preparations and perfect gift-giving? Is it about opening your homes to family and friends for dinner? Is it about carol singing or poetry reading? Does it have to do with a table set flawlessly with a full course meal, followed by gift-exchange with excited children running around the house? What makes Christmas Eve a night of great joy? The prose and poetry of our Christian faith speak about the joy of Christmas Eve that are filled with light, glory and revelation. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them has light shined." Luke's nativity story too, is filled with light bursting out of the darkness: "As shepherds watched their flocks by night, a being of light appears, and the glory of God shines around them. A message is given, be not afraid and the night sky is filled with the light of the heavenly host who proclaimed good news of great joy.”

It is so wonderful to hear these readings and yet ...what happens when the turkey isn’t cooked quite right and the table is short of some cutleries and the gift has not been fully appreciated, and you did not receive a Christmas card from your best friend and the children gets squirmy while eating cookies and the clothes you are wearing isn’t the right colour for you? Maybe Christmas Eve isn’t something you are looking forward to. Maybe it isn’t meant to be joyful for you. What do you do when the night of great joy lacks the luster you were hoping for? This year, sadly, Christmas Eve will be different from the other Christmas Eves that we have celebrated due to the ongoing COVID-variant pandemic. Not everyone are looking forward to Christmas. Being together with family is not good news for everyone.  Not good news for those confronted with illness, isolation or grief. Not good news for the community where shelters for the homeless like The Mission and Elizabeth Fry are filling up again as the days get colder.  Not good news for those who cannot afford a decent meal. There is nothing worse than feeling alone and hopeless, when the rest of the world seems to be gushing with joy.  Globally, we might think we are not there yet in terms of joy.

Listen once more to these verses: "While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”  It is so easy to forget, isn’t it, that the first Christmas didn’t go all perfect either. We hear the story almost every year on the same night and we assume that the birth of Jesus had been joyful and flawless! Sometimes the carols we sing are not in sync with the real birth story. We love to sing “Away in a Manger” especially that part that says, “The cattle are lowly; the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.” It is a great carol, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think baby Jesus was quiet at all. I’m sure he cried a lot like most newborns do.

Don’t you think it would be nice for someone to write a Christmas carols about how stinky the animals smell… about how difficult the labour was for Mary - not to mention the agony that Joseph went through as he waited and watched... or a verse about the mosquitoes biting the shepherds who endured from “keeping watch over their flocks by night”? When this happens, Christmas Eve might not be the perfect event but it becomes so close to reality – so earthy and so close to our very own lived experiences. I don’t mean to diminish the luster - all the glory and joyfulness of this Christmas Eve, All I wanted to say is that if things aren’t perfect for you, take heart! You are in good company with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and the shepherds and all of creation. Maybe we should redefine the word “joy” to mean more like a gift from God, not something that we put in a box and tweak it the way we wanted it to be.  The good news of great joy is this. The God of Christmas comes to us through the birth of Jesus, in our wildernesses, changing our darkness into light, sorrow into singing, hatred into peace, fear into joy. No matter how bleak the tragic course of history, how unnerving our personal circumstances, or how pessimistic the forecasts of intellectuals, with joy, we can expect God’s love to blossom even in the dust and dirt of our lives. There is still joy in the world!

“Joy” comes from the word “to rejoice”. It is a feeling of “great delight caused by something or someone exceptionally good or satisfying”. Other words for joy include bliss, jubilation, glee, and appreciation. And for those of us who take joy in God’s love, there is a gift of joy, on this holiest of nights, a baby born in a stable to a poor, ordinary couple, who will later on walk and talk the meaning of hope, peace, joy and love to all.

As we gather for an agape meal, let us remember that this night is made joyful not because of what or how much we do or don’t do; not because of all the meals we prepare, or the gifts we wrap, or even the worship service we celebrate. The joy of Christmas Eve shines with the brightness not of our individual candles, but the brightness of the Christ candle - the light of Jesus who will guide us in the new year to come. Every moment of our lives is infused with joy because God has indeed become like us. As the theologian Karl Barth puts it: "the God remembered at Christmas is a God with a name, a God with a human face." God was born this night to dwell in places of poverty, to take on our frailness as holy and fragile. God came as a precious and vulnerable child - who is named “Emmanuel” God-with us.

We work hard, don’t we, to make this Christmas Eve a night of great joy and yet in spite of all that we do, it hardly seems anywhere close to enough, does it? So when the turkey isn’t cooked quite right and the table is short of some cutleries and the gift has not been fully appreciated, and you did not receive a Christmas card from your best friend and the children gets squirmy eating the cookies and the clothes you are wearing isn’t the right colour for you and when we are disappointed because of the COVID pandemic, take heart! At Christmas, we remember that we are unconditionally and deeply loved by a God who cares for all people and the creatures of the world, from the smallest to the most important, from the wisest to the weirdest. God cares for the world in all its brokenness and imperfections.

Beloved friends, on this holy night, a Holy child is born - Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-Us. This is the good news of great joy! Thanks be to God. Amen.

The Response 

Christmas Prayer         Rev. Kim Vidal

(UCC Intergenerational Christmas Service, 2016)

God of hope, of silent prayers and urgent cries,
we pray for your world and its people…
          for those who will spend this day alone;
          for those who will not enjoy a feast this day;
          for those whose tables will have an empty place this year.

Lift our hearts in anticipation of your vision.
Shine a light in the depth of fear.
Sing a song of joy in the lonely heart. 

God of peace, on this Christmas day we pray
for the people of Bethlehem, of Israel and Palestine;
for refugees who have nowhere to lay their heads,
for those who find themselves in strange lands.
Watch over and protect them, God of the morning star.
Guide us in the ways of mercy and reconciliation. 

Open our hearts, that we might receive you
and hear your voice, Loving God.
May we share the gift of your heaven,
your vision for all people:
hope of fulfillment,
peace in our time,
joy that persists through trial and celebration,
and love that heals the wounded heart.
In the name of Jesus whose birth we celebrate on. Christmas. Amen. 

Carol: ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime – Voices United #71

1.  'Twas in the moon of wintertime,
when all the birds had fled,
that mighty Gitchi Manitou
sent angel choirs instead;
before their light the stars grew dim,
and wandering hunters heard the hymn:

Refrain:
Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born, In excelsis gloria. 

2.  Within a lodge of broken bark
The tender babe was found,
A ragged robe of rabbit skin
Enwrapped his beauty round,
But as the hunters brave drew nigh,
The angel song rang loud and high.  R

3.   The earliest moon of wintertime
is not so round and fair.
As was the ring of glory on
the helpless infant there.
The chiefs from far before him knelt
with gifts of fox and beaver pelt. R 

4.  O children of the forest free,
the angel song is true.
The holy Child of earth and heaven
is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy
who brings you beauty, peace and joy. R

Words: Jean de Brebeuf, 1641, English trans Jesse Edgar Middleton, 1926; Music: French Folk Song, 16th century
Song Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Celebration of Agape Meal      Rev. Lorrie Lowes & Rev. Kim Vidal

The Invitation        Kim

Friends, welcome to this still, sacred night, where bread is broken for the gifts of compassion, and the wine poured for the healing of all. For in this moment of celebration of the common with the extraordinary, earth with heaven, and of the humanity with the Divine, the joy and mystery of Christmas is given, not just to behold, but to live out with gratitude, love and joy.

Prayer of Thanksgiving             Kim

May the peace of the Infant Jesus be with you.
Lift up your hearts.
Pour out your souls.
It was as a baby that you came to us, gracious God.
A child in a manger, staring out in wonder and sleeping in contentment.
As we celebrate Jesus’ birth once again, fill us with wonder and joy.
As we celebrate his birth, so we commemorate his time among us.
He grew up as an adult to be your instrument of love, healing the sick,
preaching your Word, and being one among the people.

The Fraction          Lorrie

We remember how Jesus sat at supper with his disciples.
While they were eating, Jesus broke bread and as he shared it, he said,
“remember me.”
Later, he took a cup of wine and shared it with these words: “remember me.”
And so, as Jesus did, we bless these gifts and share them amongst ourselves,
and in doing so, we remember his presence with us – always.
Bless us, God, in the breaking of bread and inspire us through the sharing of cup.
For these unfolding gifts, we are grateful. For this living hope, we offer our lives.

The Lord’s Prayer           Lorrie

Let us recite together this prayer that Jesus taught his friends and followers in the language of your choice.

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.

The Sharing of the Bread and the Cup           Kim

Let us now share and partake the bread and the cup reminding us of God’s unconditional love.
This is the bread – food for the journey. Take, eat and be nourished by God’s love.
This is the cup – drink for the journey. Take, drink and be sustained by God’s grace.

Prayer after Meal           Lorrie

We give thanks O God, because you have refreshed us at your table, touched our deepest needs, and called us to a life shared in memory and hope. Send us forth with courage and joy in the name of Jesus Christ, that we, too, may become bread and peace for one another and the world. Amen.

Invitation to Offer          Rev. Kim

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, remember that the gift of love came to all of us, enabling us to make the world a more welcoming place for the God of joy and peace.  I invite you to respond to that love by offering our time, talents and treasures together and present them as an offering to God. 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

(Inspired by the prayer of David Sparks, Gathering, ACE 2021-20122 Used with permission.) 

Loving God, we bring these gifts of Christmas for your blessing, knowing that in the midst of a challenging time, our willingness to give joyfully and generously will be a gift. In the name of Jesus, whose birth we are celebrating, Amen.

The Blessing

*Carol:  “Joy to the World”  - Voices United #59

1. Joy to the world! the Lord is come:
let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.  

2. Joy to the earth the Saviour reigns:
let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks,
hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sins, and sorrows grow,
or thorns infest the ground.
He comes to make his blessings flow,
far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found  

4. He rules the earth with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719; Music: attrib. George Frederic Handel, 1742
Song 592e04d32d423  Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

*Sending Forth        Rev. Kim

(Robin Wardlaw, Gathering ACE 2017-2018)   

Send us forth this Christmas Eve, O Love Incarnate,
with the light of Jesus glowing within us.
Send us forth from this feast of love to celebrate
the One who is bread for the journey
and the cup of blessing.
Go in hope, peace, joy and love now and in the days to come. Amen. 

Carol:  Silent Night, Holy Night – Voices United #67

Silent night! Holy Night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace!  

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!  

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light
radiant beams from thy holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

Words; Joseph Mohr, 1818, English trans. John Freeman Young, 1863 et.al. Music: Franz Xavier Gruber, 1818
Song 92350 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Departing Music: Never Been a Night Like This! BCUC combined choirs 2019 concert

Words & music © Lloyd Larson         ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Bonus: Nutcracker Jingles:  BCUC Choir 2019 concert

Words & Music © Pierpont/Tchaikovsky, arr. © Chuck Bridwell

ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!! 

Sunday Worship Service - December 19, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT / LOVE

DECEMBER 19, 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 / Carol Sing:

Good Christian Friends Rejoice VU 35 (vs. 1-2)
(Words: Latin, 14th century, trans. John Mason Neale, 1833;

Music: German melody, harm. Gary Alan Smith, 1988.)

1.    Good Christian friends, rejoice
With heart and soul and voice!
Give ye heed to what we say:
News! News!
Jesus Christ is born today.
Ox and ass before him bow
And he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today! Christ is born today! 

2.    Good Christian friends, rejoice
With heart and soul and voice!
Now ye hear of endless bliss:
Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He hath opened heaven’s door
And we are blessed forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this! 

All Poor Ones and Humble VU 68 (vs. 1-2)
(Words: v.1 Katherine Emily Roberts, 1927, alt. v. 2 William Thomas pennar Davies, 1951;

Music: Welsh carol, harm. Erik Routley, 1951.)

1.    All poor ones and humble
And all those who stumble,
Come hastening and feel not afraid
For Jesus, our treasure
with love past all measure,
In lowly manger was laid.
Though wise men who found him
laid rich gifts around him,
Yet oxen they gave him their hay,
And Jesus in beauty
Accepted their duty
Contented in manger he lay. 

2.    The Christ Child will lead us
The Good Shepherd feed us
And with us abide till his day.
Then hatred he’ll banish;
Then sorrow will vanish,
And death and despair flee away.
And he shall reign ever
And nothing shall sever
From us the great love of our King;
His peace and his pity
Shall bless his fair city;
His praises we ever shall sing. 

Refrain:
Then haste ye to show him
The praises we owe him;
Our service he ne’er can despise;
Whose love is able to show us that stable,
Where softly in manger he lies. 

Welcome & Centering for Worship             Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Good morning! Welcome to this fourth Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Love as we prepare ourselves to welcome the birth of Jesus. Whether you’re at home or elsewhere or joining us onsite, we are glad that you have joined us today.

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org.

Lighting of the Advent Candle:  Joy    Acolytes: The Kelly Family

(Eric Hebert-Daly, Gathering ACE 2021-2022. Used with permission.)      

Reader 1:     Today we light the candle of Love.

Reader 2:     Love is not always what we expect.

Reader 1:     It may come through unexpected people and at unexpected times.

Reader 3:     God’s love is not always what we expect.

Reader 1:     God’s love comes to us in gentle whispers as well as with and insistent voice that we can’t ignore.

Reader 4:     God’s love finds us when we are lost and heals us when we are broken.

Reader 5:     May we allow God to love us into wholeness today,

So that we may share that love tomorrow.

All:              May love be found in a manger and throughout the world.

(The fourth Advent candle is lit.)

Sung Response:  Hope is A Star (Verse 4) VU 7

(Words: Brian Wren, 1985; Music: Joan Collier Fogg, 1987.)

Love is a flame that burns in our heart,
Jesus has come and will never depart.
When God is a child there’s joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
And none shall be afraid. 

Call to Gather           Rev. Kim Vidal

(Carol Frost, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.) 

Come! Hear the exciting news!

Elizabeth and Mary, two friends, sharing the excitement of the upcoming birth of their children, Gabriel’s announcement, and what God has chosen them to do. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and Mary, mother of Jesus, the son of God.

Come together, as friends, to sing God’s praise, and trust that we will discover what it is God has chosen us to do.

Elizabeth and Mary, companions, ready to support one another along their spiritual journeys.

Through the love and trust of God and filled with the Holy Spirit, their world will be forever changed!

Come together as companions in our spiritual journey, ready to support one another.

Remember the birth of Christ and how it changed the world, and trust that it will change our lives as well.

As Elizabeth and Mary understood and accepted their roles, we see the strength of their faith and their assurance of the love and the blessing of God.

Come together to praise God and to be guided by God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit.

We trust that we will come to understand and accept our role in this time and place.

Let us worship God, ever thankful for Elizabeth and Mary’s faithfulness and friendship!

Opening Prayer and Silent Confession:   

(Dora White, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.)

Holy and Eternal God,
You call us to gather in the midst of crisis and celebration, joy and sorrow.
You are with us; we are not alone.
Like Mary, may we overcome our fears.
You are with us; we are not alone.
Like Mary, may we find a safe place to go.
You are with us; we are not alone.
Like Mary, may we recognize your call for justice.
You are with us; we are not alone.
Like Mary, may we realize that we are blessed and chosen by you.
You are with us; we are not alone.
Like Mary, may we exalt and praise your name.
For you are with us; we are not alone.
Holy and Eternal God, we praise your name today. Amen. 

Silent Confession

Words of Assurance

(Elaine Bidgood Sveet, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.)

Praise the Lord, for unto us was born a child in the city of David, the Messiah, the Son of God, Emmanuel, God-with-us, our judge and our hope. Your sins are forgiven. Believe. Receive. Rejoice! Thanks Be to God!

Advent Hymn:   My Soul Cries Out      MV120

(Words: Rory Cooney, 1990; Music: traditional melody, Ireland; arr. Rory Cooney, 1990.)

1.    My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
And my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight and my weakness you did not spurn,
So, from east to west shall my name be blessed. Could the world be about to turn? 

Refrain:
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn! 

2.    Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me,
And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn,
You will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn. R 

3.    From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;
There are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn. R 

4.    Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,
Til the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

Storytime for the Young at Heart             Rev. Kim Vidal

Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent. This means that Christmas is really getting near! Are you getting excited? I know, I am! What are some of the things that you look forward to at Christmas, besides opening presents and having a delicious meal with your family? This year, celebrating Christmas will be different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But we still can enjoy it! Maybe if we get a lot of snowfall, your family can make a snowman or go for a drive to look at the colourful lights near the Parliament Hill. Or maybe you get to decorate a Christmas Tree with your favourite ornaments. What about making a gingerbread house? Or baking yummy cookies? I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.

Can you think of some of the family traditions your family has? One important tradition in our family is a get-together and dinner at midnight after attending the Christmas Eve service. I come from a big family of 11 children so you can imagine the merriment and fun as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Oh yes, our house was very loud with laughter, games, carol-singing, dancing, food and stories!! On Christmas Day, we expect a visit from our close relatives and friends and have another good time together. Visitation is an important aspect of Christmas for my family. It reminds me of our Gospel story today when Mary went to visit her older relative Elizabeth.

Our story tells us what happened when God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Mary that she was going to have a baby and that she would name him Jesus. Can you imagine how Mary, perhaps a teenager, engaged to marry Joseph, must have felt to hear news like that? I’m sure she was nervous and scared or maybe a little excited? After a while, the story tells us, that Mary visited the home of Elizabeth to tell her the news. Elizabeth who is much, much older than Mary, was also expecting a baby and the story tells us that when she heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in Elizabeth’s womb!

Elizabeth blessed Mary and said to her, "God has blessed you above all women, and the baby you are carrying is also blessed." That is awesome! Before Mary even said a word about having a child, Elizabeth already knew and that Mary’s child was going to be a very special baby! Mary and Elizabeth shared a love that only mothers know when they are expecting a child. So, Christmas story begins with the celebration of Jesus’ birth and it was love through Jesus that makes Christmas so special!

Let’s close with an embodied prayer. Please repeat after me:

Holy One (reach up and out)
May your love (cross hands and lower arms over heart)
Be in my head... (touch head)
...and heart (touch heart)
May your love (keep touching heart)
Be in my actions (touch eyes and mouth)
May your love (cross hands over heart)
Be in all I say... (touch mouth)
...and do (extend hands, or in a group, hold hands)
AMEN (head down, hands at prayer with palms together)

Hymn:  Love is the Touch MV 89

(Words: Alison M. Robertson, 1998; Music: John L. Bell, 1998)

1.        Love is the touch of intangible joy;
          love is the force that no fear can destroy;
          love is the goodness we gladly applaud:

God is where love is, for love is of God. 

2.       Love is the lilt in a lingering voice;
          love is the hope that can make us rejoice;
          love is the cure for the frightened and flawed:

God is where love is, for love is of God. 

3.       Love is the light in the tunnel of pain;
          love is the will to be whole once again;
          love is the trust of a friend on the road:
          God is where love is, for love is of God.

4.       Love is the Maker and Spirit and Son;
          love is the kingdom their will has begun;
love is the path which the saints all have trod:

God is where love is, for love is of God.

Prayer for Illumination         Reader:  Will Wightman

(Beth W. Johnston, Gathering A/C/E 2021. Used with permission.)

Open our hearts to the mystery of your word, Holy God.
Open our spirits to its meaning for our lives.
Be with us as we listen for and receive your word today. Amen. 

The Gospel Reading:    Luke 1:39-55 (NRSV)

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

May the love of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon:    “How Could Mary Know?”    Rev. Lorrie

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we look away from John the Baptist, preaching his heavy messages from the banks of the Jordan. Oh, we aren’t leaving him altogether, of course; we will meet him again soon. He will still be preaching and baptising, urging the people to change their thinking and their actions, to turn their lives around, to repent. The crowds will still be gathering, people from all walks of life. Some will be there out of curiosity; some may be simply looking for a ritual cleansing. Some will be wondering if this wild man could be the promised Messiah… And that next time we meet John the Baptist, one person in the crowd will stand out. Jesus will come to be baptised by him.

Who are these two men – John and Jesus? Where did they come from? Where did their radical thinking originate? How did they come to be so full of prophetic wisdom?

And so, today we turn away from the banks of the Jordan River to look back to where it all began, to the time leading up to their births - two lives that were intertwined long before Jesus joined John on the banks of the river.

Today our scripture tells us the story of two pregnant women – one an unwed teen and the other a post-menopausal woman – both expecting their first child. That, in itself, is interesting, I think. Mary, of course is a familiar figure to Christians – the mother of Jesus, revered in many denominations and celebrated by all at Christmas time. But what about Elizabeth? Why don’t we hear more about her, the mother of John the Baptist?

Mary and Elizabeth, cousins who live far apart and are far apart in age but women who share a common passion and an unbreakable bond, friends who, beyond all imagination, are sharing their first experience of pregnancy. They share their fears, and worries. They share their joy and wonder. They share their hopes and dreams for the future of their sons… They share their hopes and dreams for the future of the world. They share their understanding of the responsibility they have been given. The elderly wife of a priest, and the young daughter of a peasant family from a small backwater village, share the dream of a better world, not just for their children, but for all people everywhere. These are the dreams of all new parents, I think. What sets these two apart is that their dreams are revolutionary for the time and that they believe these dreams are possible to achieve. After all, Gabriel has just told Mary that nothing is impossible with God. The immediate evidence is here, in the pregnancies of these two. Their faith that God is indeed with them gives them the courage to take the action that will set these dreams, these possibilities, in motion.

What do we know about the place of women in biblical times? For the most part they had no status of their own, their place in the world depended on the significant men in their lives – first father, then husbands, and then sons. Most of the stories in our Bible feature men as the main characters. There are some exceptions, of course, but very often the women we read about are seen as sinful. Where men might be exalted for speaking up or taking a stand, often the independent women of our stories face punishment – Eve is expelled from the garden and she is condemned along with all women to suffer greatly in childbirth… Miriam is given a disfiguring skin disease by a disgruntled God… Women are expected to be quiet, and to be subservient to their husbands. Meek and mild… hmm isn’t this how we have come to think of Mary? Mary, accepting her fate, saying “Let it be”, giving birth in a stable seemingly without complaint and immediately receiving visitors – shepherds, magi, and perhaps even a little drummer boy (just what every woman wants right after giving birth, and just what a sleeping newborn needs!) – all the while smiling sweetly, nodding quietly.

But, is that what the gospel story is really telling us? Let’s look again at the passage Will read for us this morning…

When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary – giving her the fright of her life! – Mary makes a decision that will alter the course of her life, and of the world. At first, she says, “This isn’t possible! I’m just a girl! I’m not ready for something like this!” … but, in the end, she says, “Let it be.” She could have said, “No way, Gabriel! I’m not the one for the job; tell God to find someone more capable.” But she didn’t. What if, instead of picturing her as obedient and submissive, we hear this as an acceptance of the challenge? In today’s world, I hear her saying, “OK, let’s do this!”

And then… she needs to share the news and to process it, to figure out what the implications of this might be. Does she run to her mother? To a trusted girlfriend down the street? To the man to whom she is betrothed? No, she sets out on a three-day journey – alone from all we read, and isn’t that a scary thought! – to the house of her cousin Elizabeth, the one Gabriel has told her is also experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.

Now I see a girl who is independent and brave, someone who realizes that she has been given an opportunity and a responsibility, not someone who is accepting an unpleasant fate. She goes to the one person she knows will understand what she has experienced and what she sees in her future. To make this journey and to do it with haste tells me that, although Elizabeth may be far away geographically, she is someone Mary knows and trusts, someone who accepts and even encourages Mary’s dreams, her independent thinking, her chutzpa. We are told that Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah but, rather than seek welcome from this priest, she immediately greets Elizabeth, the one whose counsel she needs and trusts.

Can you imagine their greeting?

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth! Something has happened and I need you to help me understand. How can this even be possible? Am I crazy? What have I done? What have I gotten myself into?? Please help me figure out what I’m supposed to do now!”

We know right away that Mary has come to the right place. Elizabeth, old enough to be Mary’s mother or even grandmother, is happy to see her. She doesn’t scold her, she doesn’t say, “Oh, now you are in trouble! What were you thinking?” She is filled with joy! Even the baby in her womb leaps for joy! “What a blessing, Mary! And how blessed you are to be chosen to mother this child!” Elizabeth is certain that if God needs a messenger to transform the world, Mary is the right person to raise him. Mary, outspoken, brave, and passionate; Mary who looks at the world and sees a need for revolutionary change; Mary who loves and trusts God. Elizabeth sees a mother who will instill in her child a sense of justice and a drive to make a difference.

Elizabeth gives Mary the boost of confidence she needs; she dismisses all doubt; she assures this young relative that she is on a right path; and she assures Mary that she has her support.

Elizabeth is older, more experienced, and therefore we presume, the wiser of the two women in our story…and yet she seems to put this young girl above herself. “Why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”

Mary responds with a song from her heart. “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed…”

In many denominations, this is where the reading of the Magnificat ends – with Mary praising God and looking toward a future where everyone will know that she is favoured in God’s eyes. Back to Mary, meek and mild – convinced that this tricky situation is actually a blessing and all will be right with her world. It’s clean, it’s comfortable. It fits with our beautiful nativity stories, and it doesn’t ask us to do anything. Our UCC resources give us the option of stopping even before this, with Elizabeth’s enthusiastic welcome of Mary and her news…

But, I think we need to go on, to hear the parts that are avoided because they are uncomfortable, especially to those in power and those with privilege. The parts that show Mary’s revolutionary thinking, her vision of what God wants for the world… a scattering of the proud, removing the powerful from their thrones, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich away empty…

In our Lectionary Study this week, we wondered if this song of Mary that we call the Magnificat could really have come from her. It was remarked that it seems very polished for a 14-year-old girl. How would Mary know all this? How could she possibly have so much insight at such a young age? Why would Elizabeth value the thinking, the dreams, of a child? Maybe it was really Elizabeth who said these things, as some theologians believe… or maybe it was a quote from the song of Hannah in the Hebrew scriptures… maybe it was something written by Luke and put into the mouth of Mary …

And then we thought about Malala, and Greta Thunberg, and Amanda Gorman, and Autumn Peltier… all young girls who have raised their voices in today’s world, young women with passion, insight, and wisdom… strong women who make us uncomfortable, strong women who will go on to raise strong children…

None of these young women came into the world fully formed, with minds aware of not only the beauty of this world but also its inequities, its injustice, the destructive behaviour of its people. All of these young women were born into families and communities who taught them to see and to think.

God didn’t send John or Jesus into the world as fully formed men, ready to take on the problems in the world. God sent newborn babies to families with vision, families who had strong faith in God – but not blind faith or passive faith – families who knew that the world would never change without putting faith into action, families who nurtured strong minds and strong voices.

It all began with a family.

Both Matthew and Luke spend time sharing the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew starts with Abraham and Luke goes all the way back to Adam. Is this simply to prove that Jesus is descended from David as was prophesied? If that’s the case then why continue back so far?

Family Trees traditionally go down through the male line, but Matthew mentions five women in the family tree of Jesus – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, all determined and resourceful women who took matters into their own hands and all women who had a shady history - seducers, an adulterer, and even a prostitute! All women who were not willing to be passive when they saw a need for action. And he ends with Mary… I wonder, did Matthew see something other than a meek and mild servant of God?

I know many people today are interested in genealogy. We are intrigued by our roots, by the people and the circumstances that played a part in creating us and who we have grown to be. If you have studied your own family tree, you know how complicated it can become when you try to define relationships… is he a first cousin once removed or a second cousin? We want to know more than what appears in a birth announcement; we want to know where they lived, what they did in their lives – because our family history is a lot more than our genes, it is all part of what makes us who we are today. We want to know about the women in our past, not just the men. How did they meet? Why did they marry? Who were their children? Am I the first to follow this career path or do I follow a long line of ministers? It’s not a straight line, it’s a spiral. And it all plays a part in who we are today.

The mothers of John and Jesus were cousins, John and Jesus are part of the same family tree. They were raised by strong, free-thinking women who were likely married to men who thought and lived in the same way. They grew up in families and communities that nurtured, their faith, their intellect, and their sense of social justice.

Our scriptures tell us little to nothing about the childhoods of these two men – at least not directly – but they do tell us where they came from and where they began. Perhaps that’s all we need to know. The messages that they gave the world are as linked as their roots.

And so, today we celebrate their mothers who had the courage and the faith to say yes to God, and the insight to raise men who would have the insight and the tools needed to transform the world.

There is a beautiful song that we hear at this time of year called “Mary Did You Know?” It asks if Mary had any idea of who her son would grow up to be. One of my colleagues calls the words a bit “mansplainy” as if Mary was just the vessel to bear Jesus and nothing more. Of course Mary knew! She had a big part in who he would become! So, she found new words to this song that were written by Jennifer Henry, a name you may recognize as she was the speaker from Kairos who came to BCUC a few years ago on an Indigenous Sunday. My friend and classmate, Bri-Anne Swan recorded it and I’d like to end by sharing this version with you.

Thanks be to God for Mary and Elizabeth. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer       Rev. Lorrie

Holy One,

In this time when the world seems lost to injustice, violence, despair, and self-centredness, we, like Mary, pause to remember the great things you have done for us. We remember that, no matter how bleak the situation may seem, you are always with us, not to simply rescue us but to give us the strength, the courage, and the compassion to do the hard work of creating your perfect kin-dom here in this earthly place.

We pray with thanks for all the people in the world who are working for transformation – the helpers, the leaders, the writers, and the activists, young and old, who use their skills to heal, their hearts to comfort, and their voices to prophesy.

We pray for those who suffer at the hands of the proud and the powerful – that violence be replaced by peace, neglect by compassion.

We pray for those who hunger - for food, for spiritual nourishment, or for love and kindness – that they might be filled in all these ways.

We pray for the marginalized that they might find welcome in community - welcome for who they are now, not who we wish they could be.

We pray for ourselves with all of our pride, our power, and our privilege – that we might find the clarity, the faith, and the courage of Elizabeth and Mary, to not only hear your message but be moved to action.

As the day of celebration approaches, keep us aware of the amazing gift that Jesus was – and is – to the world. Help us to truly share this gift in transformational ways.

All this we pray in the ancient words of prayer that he gifted to his followers:

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

(Lori Van Santvoort-Jansekovich, Gathering Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission)

It is the season of Advent, the season of gifts and giving. With love in our hearts, let us worship god with our offerings as we anticipate in wonder the birth of the Christ Child. Let us gather our time, talents and treasures together and present them as an offering to God. 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

(Bob Root, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.)

In these days of waiting, O God,
As Mary grew Jesus in her womb, so grow in us a spirit of generosity.
Bring to birth within us a passion for justice and peace.
As we share these gifts, which you have entrusted to us,
so may your dream for the world come closer to fulfillment.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Sending Forth         Rev. Lorrie

(Bill Steadman, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.)

In the words of Luke’s gospel:
“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment
of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
May we also seek to fulfill our calling
and to be open to the blessings of God,
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, now and always. Amen.

Hymn:    There Was a Child in Galilee           MV134

(Words and Music: Janet Gadeski, 2005; arr. Patricia Wright, 2006.)

1.    There was a child in Galilee
who wandered wild along the sea.
A holy child, alone was she
And they called her Dreaming Mary.
And she dreamed, rejoicing in her saviour; She dreamed of justice for the poor. She dreamed that kings oppressed no more. When she dreamed, that Dreaming Mary. 

2.    One holy day an angel came
With voice of wind and eyes of flame.
He promised blessed would be her name, When he spoke to Dreaming Mary. Then she spoke, rejoicing in her saviour. She spoke of justice for the poor. She spoke that kings oppressed no more
When she spoke, that Dreaming Mary. 

3.    And did she dream about a son?
And did he speak, the angel one?
We only know God’s will was done
In the son of Dreaming Mary.
Then she prayed, rejoicing in her saviour. She taught him justice for the poor. She taught that kings oppressed no more. When she taught, that Dreaming Mary. 

4.    Then Jesus grew in Galilee,
They wandered wild along the sea.
Now he calls to you and me
To dream with Dreaming Mary.
And we dream, rejoicing in our saviour. We dream of justice for the poor. We dream that kings oppress no more. As we dream with Dreaming Mary.

Departing Music:  Mary and Elizabeth – Pepper Choplin

Sung by Erin Meyers and Sarah Parker, Advent Concert 2015.

Advent Memorial Flowers

Announcements

Sunday school activities - December 19, 2021

Advent 4 - Love

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent and we light the candle of love. When this Sunday comes, I know that Christmas is almost here! How do you feel? What are you expecting to happen on Christmas Day?

Family is very important in the Christmas story. What kind of family do you have What family activities are you planning to do especially in this COVID-19 pandemic? Do you have some family traditions that you love doing? What are they?

Our gospel story today talks about two women who played important roles in the birth of Jesus – the young Mary and her older relative, Elizabeth.

Watch the story on Youtube:

Here are some questions to think about:

• When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, how do you think Mary felt? How would you feel if you were visited by an angel? Will you be scared? Excited? Joyful? Confused?

• Why do you think Mary would travel to visit Elizabeth who was much older than her? How do you think they viewed each other?

• Do you listen to someone older than you? When do you ask someone older or wiser than you for help?

• Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months! Share what you think they might have done together.

• As we embrace LOVE as a symbol of the birth of Jesus, how is love present in your family?

• Think of ways how you can share love outside your home.

I hope this Christmas will bring you love in your home as we celebrate the birthday of Jesus and share that love with others.

Response Activity Ideas

Nativity ornament

(modified from: https://homanathome.com/2016/12/nativity-ornament-kids/)

Click to print PDF

Materials: Craft sticks or cinnamon sticks, paper, glue gun/string, colouring tools, small amount of yellow or gold paper.

Colour the picture of Jesus’ family or draw one of your own.  Using craft or cinnamon sticks make the shape of a stable and secure with glue or by wrapping joints with string.

Glue or tape in the family picture.  If you would like to make the picture part sturdier, cut out a piece of cardstock or construction paper and glue it to the back of the drawing.

Cut a small loop of ribbon and glue it to the top for a hanger.  Add a star to the top of the stable!

Family Traditions Song Challenge

Have you seen this video where Olaf goes looking for holiday traditions?

What if Olaf came to your house?  What would he see, hear, experience? 

Can you write a rhyming verse of the song about your traditions and then make an illustration to go with it?

Illustrated Ministry Advent Package – To choose love

This week’s reflection talks about how Mary opened her heart to God’s call, and opened her experience to others who came to celebrate Jesus’ birth – shepherds, animals, angels, wise ones.  She shared the love and that message of love was passed on and on.  Like the Magic Penny song says, “Love is something if you give it away.”

Using the instructions on pg 32 and template on page 35, make a love treasure box to look at when you have big negative feelings to help you decide how to respond with love.

If you did not receive an Advent package and would like one, please contact the church office.

Blue Christmas Service - December 15, 2021

A Service of Healing and Renewal
BCUC Blue Christmas Service

December 15, 2021 – 6 pm

Ministers: Rev. Lorrie Lowes & Rev. Kim Vidal
Music Director: Abe TeGrotenhuis
Members of the Pastoral & Spiritual Care Team

The audio recording of this service can be found below.
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104

Gathering Music:  Come and Find the Quiet Centre VU 374

(Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1989; Music, attrib. Benjamin Franklin White, 1844)

Come and find the quiet centre
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be. 

Silence is a friend who claims us,
cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us,
knows our being, face to face.
making space within our thinking,
lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we're shrinking,
finding scope for faith begun. 

In the Spirit let us travel,
open to each other's pain,
let our loves and fears unravel,
celebrate the space we gain:
there's a place for deepest dreaming,
there's a time for heart to care,
in the Spirit's lively scheming
there is always room to spare

Words of Welcome          Rev. Kim Vidal

Welcome to our annual service of hope, healing and renewal also known as Blue Christmas service. For some of us, memories of past experiences and the pain of present experiences and situations can become overwhelming. For some of us, this season of joy and wonder can be very difficult and sometimes it reminds us of the challenges in our lives, particularly, as we go through the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite all the decorations, the greeting cards received, the Christmas carols sang, the anticipated presents and dinner with families and loved ones and the advertisers who want you to believe that you can buy joy, I’m sure that some of us don’t really feel very much like celebrating. The idea that a Merry Little Christmas is all you need for your troubles to be miles away has a hollow ring to it.

I hope that you’ll find this service a safe place to be transparent with yourself and with God, a comforting place to admit that maybe you’re not ok at the moment, that maybe what you’re really feeling is sadness, grief, or even anger. This healing service is a place for you to be real with your struggles and your questions.

Those of us feeling blue at this time of the year, particularly those who lost a loved one this year can feel edged out and forgotten as everyone else seems caught up in the mad frenzy of preparations and celebrations. I hope that as you think about Christmas, you’ll find comfort and hope in knowing that you are not alone. We are here to give you comfort and healing love.

In this service, I invite you to listen. I invite you to pray. I invite you to sing. I invite you to meditate upon the pain and anguish you may have—and I invite you to offer your heart and tears. And as you do so, I trust that you will find hope, healing and comfort as we seek God’s light. I now invite you to open your heart and mind as we come together in God’s presence.

Call to Gather[1]             Rev. Lorrie Lowes        

All around us, lights are lit and carols play.
The season heaps joy upon us.
Yet, we who come here, we carry more than joy;
we carry loss, worry, grief and pain.
We come weary, seeking rest from expectations.
We also seek a holy presence to be with us.
We come to this place, by the resilient grace of God:
love that never lets go.  

Hymn:  Stay with Us VU 182

(Words: Walter Farquharson, 1988; Music: Ron Klusmeier, 1989)

Stay with us through the night
stay with us through the pain
stay with us blessed stranger
till the morning breaks again.

Stay with us through the night
stay with us through the grief
stay with us blessed stranger
till the morning brings relief. 

Stay with us through the night
stay with us through the dread
stay with us blessed stranger
till the morning breaks New Bread.  

A Prayer of Lament[2]     Rev. Kim Vidal

The human journey is thwarted with struggles and challenges. Our prayer today comes in acknowledgement of this journey and in our primal need for God’s presence in our lives.

I now invite you to reflect with me in this Lament for a Blue Christmas by Heather Grobb.

Oh God, my God,
Why do I feel so far away from you?
Why does it seem like you are nowhere to be found in my life right now?
I feel so separated from your love in this time of distress? 

Moment of Silence

My nights are long with sorrow.
My days are dull with pain.
No one seems to understand me.
I move wearily through life alone.
My heart is heavy with grief.
The light has gone from my eyes,
eyes made red from crying.
O God, my God, hear me in my times of sorrow.
O God, my God, be with me in my time of need. 

Moment of Silence

And yet, you are the all-loving One.
The Alpha and the Omega.
The Everlasting Day after the seemingly ceaseless night.
Beyond all time and space, you are God.
The meager things of this world will soon fade away
into the presence of your love for us. Praise be to you name, O God, my God. 

Words of Assurance

When burdens get piled on top of other burdens, the load can crush us or at least seem like it is crushing. Jesus offers to help carry our burdens and responsibilities. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)

Reflections of the Heart

Reading 1

Reader: Barbara Bole

God is our hope. We remember all those we have loved and lost.
We pause to remember their names, their faces, their voices.
We give thanks for the memory that binds them to us during this season of holy waiting.
May God’s eternal hope surround us all.

Advent by Jessica Powers

I live my Advent in the womb of Mary.
And on one night when a great star swings free
From its high mooring and walks down the sky
To be the dot above the Christus i,
I shall be born of her by blessed grace.
I wait in Mary-darkness, faith’s walled place,
with hope’s expectance of nativity.
I know for long she carried me and fed me,
Guarded and loved me, though I could not see.
But only now, with inward jubilee,
I come upon earth’s most amazing knowledge:
Someone is hidden in this darkness with me.

Sung Response: Don’t Be Afraid MV 90
(Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule, 1995; Music: John L. Bell, 1995)

Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
and I have promised, promised to be always near. 

Reading 2

Reader: Susan Young

God is our healer. We remember before us the pain and loss:
the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, and the loss of health.
As we gather up the pain of the past, we offer it to you, Holy One.
We pray that into our broken hearts and open hands, you place the gift of peace.
Refresh, restore, renew us, O God, and lead us in your way.

The Shadow Falls Past Christmas by Andrew King

Shadow falls past Christmas.
But see the light still shining;
faith and hope still singing; the contest
for the human heart goes on.
May we, as Mary and Joseph did,
Keep listening to the words of visions and dreams.
Keep moving the feet
toward morning’s hope,
free as a gift of love,
however distant the dawn.
And may the darkness fail to chase us down. 

Sung Response: Don’t Be Afraid MV 90
(Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule, 1995; Music: John L. Bell, 1995)

Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
and I have promised, promised to be always near. 

Reading 3

Reader: Rev. Lorrie Lowes

God is our comforter. We remember our faith and the gift of love
which God offers to us in the Christmas story.
We remember that God, who shares our life,
promises us gifts of hope, peace,
joy and love through the birth of Jesus.
Let us remember the One who shows the way
and goes with us into tomorrow.

An Unending Love by Rabbi Rami Shapiro

We are loved by an unending love.
We are embraced by arms that find us even when we are hidden from ourselves.
We are touched by fingers that soothe us even when we are too proud for soothing.
We are counseled by voices that guide us even when we are too embittered to hear.
We are loved by an unending love.

We are supported by hands that uplift us even in the midst of a fall.
We are urged on by eyes that meet us even when we are too weak for meeting.
We are loved by an unending love.

Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled,
Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;
Ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles;
We are loved by an unending love.

Sung Response: Don’t Be Afraid   MV90
(Words: John L. Bell & Graham Maule, 1995; Music: John L. Bell, 1995)

Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger,
and I have promised, promised to be always near. 

Prayer of Healing and Hope & The Lord’s Prayer      Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(selections from Celebrate God’s Presence)

God of comfort and compassion,
Hear us as we pray for ourselves and for all who live with loss and loneliness, pain and grief, hurt and isolation.
We ask for strength for today, courage for tomorrow, and peace for the past. 

God of hope,
Give us this night a glimpse of trust and assurance,
A sense of purpose and possibility.
Come into our hearts and our minds, bringing comfort, health, and peace.
Recreate in us a sense of thanksgiving, in the joy of your love. 

And now we raise our hearts together as we pray the ancient prayer that Jesus taught his friends.

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. 

Carol:   Silent Night               VU 67

(Words: Joseph Mohr, 1818, English trans. John Freeman Young, 1863; Music: Franz Xavier Gruber, 1818)

1 Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace 

2.Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing 'Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

3.Silent night, holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth. 

Benediction [3]             Rev. Kim Vidal

May the love of the faithful Creator,
the peace of the wounded Healer,
the joy of the challenging Spirit,
the hope of the Three in One
surround and encourage you,
today, tonight and forever. Amen.

Departing Carol:     Dreaming Mary   MV 134   

(Words & Music: Janet Gadeski, 2005) 

1.          There was a child in Galilee
             who wandered wild along the sea.
             A holy child, alone was she,
             and they called her Dreaming Mary.
             And she dreamed, rejoicing in her saviour;
             she dreamed of justice for the poor.
             She dreamed that kings oppressed no more
             when she dreamed, that Dreaming Mary.            

2.          One holy day an angel came
             with voice of wind and eyes of flame.
             He promised blessed would be her name
             when he spoke to Dreaming Mary.
             Then she spoke, rejoicing in her saviour.
             She spoke of justice for the poor.
             She spoke that kings oppressed no more
             when she spoke, that Dreaming Mary. 

3.          And did she dream about a son?
             And did he speak, the angel one?
             We only know God’s will was done
             in the son of Dreaming Mary.
             Then she prayed, rejoicing in her saviour.
             She taught him justice for the poor.
             She taught that kings oppressed no more
             when she taught, that Dreaming Mary. 

4.          Then Jesus grew in Galilee,
             they wandered wild along the sea.
             Now he calls to you and me
             to dream with Dreaming Mary.
             And we dream, rejoicing in our saviour.
             We dream of justice for the poor.
             We dream that kings oppress no more
             as we dream with Dreaming Mary.

Bonus: I’ll Have a Blue Christmas - piano Abe

Extra Bonus: God is Good (Joy Comes, Tears Fall) - Francesca Battistelli

[1] Loss, Healing, and Hope: A “Blue Christmas” Service. United Church Website.

[2] Heather Grobb, Gathering ACE 2020-2021, p. 73. Used with Permission.

[3] Kathy Galloway, The Pattern of Our Days, Wild Goose Publications, 1998

Sunday Worship Service - December 12, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT / GAUDETE SUNDAY / JOY

DECEMBER 12, 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 / Carol Sing:

He is Born  VU 50  (Words:  trad. 19th-century French carol, trans. George Evans, 1963; Music: 18th-century French carol)

Refrain:
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
sing we all of the Savior mild.

1 Through long ages of the past,
prophets have foretold His coming;
through long ages of the past,
now the time has come at last!

Chorus:
Il est ne, le divin Enfant,
Jouez, hautbois, resonnez, musettes;
Il est ne, le divin Enfant;
Chantons tous son avenement!

2 Ah! qu'il est beau, qu'il est charmant,
Que ses graces sont parfaites!
Ah! qu'il est beau, qu'il est charmant,
Qu'il est doux le divin Enfant! 

Refrain:
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!
He is born, the divine Christ Child;
sing we all of the Savior mild.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing VU 48 (vs. 1-2)

 (Words: Charles Wesley, 1739; Felix Mendelssohn, 1840)

1 Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild, 
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations, rise, 
join the triumph of the skies; 
with the angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!" 

Refrain:
Hark! the herald angels sing, 
"Glory to the newborn King!"

2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come, 
offspring of a virgin's womb. 
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; 
hail the incarnate deity. 
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel! R

Welcome & Centering for Worship       Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! Welcome to this third Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Joy, as we prepare ourselves to welcome the birth of Jesus. This Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday-a day of rejoicing, a respite from the penitential blues in Advent. Today, we embrace the meaning of joy symbolized by the pink colour. Whether you’re at home or elsewhere or joining us onsite, we are glad that you have joined us today.

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org.

Friends, in the busyness of this Advent season, it is easy to get sidetracked with the business of preparing our homes and finding the perfect recipe for Christmas dinner. Let us take a moment to reflect and remember what Advent is meant to be: to make our hearts ready for the birth of Jesus, giver of joy. Let us now gather in worship.

Lighting of the Advent Candle:  Joy    Acolytes: The Berard Family

(Eric Hebert-Daly, Gathering ACE 2021-2022. Used with permission.)  

Reader 1:    

Today we light the candle of Joy.
Joy can be elusive.
In shadowed times, it is difficult for us to find joy.

Reader 2:    

The night may feel like it is closing in on us on these shortest days of the year.
Yes, we believe that joy is possible.
We believe that light will return.

Reader 3:    

Embracing joy in times of trouble is a choice.
May we find the strength to choose joy.

Reader 4:    

May we let God lead us through the tears
to the places and people of joy.
May joy be found in a manger and throughout the world.

(The Advent candle of joy is lit.)

Sung Response:  Hope is A Star (Verse 3) VU 7  

(Words: Brian Wren, 1985; Music: Joan Collier Fogg, 1987)

Joy is a song that welcomes the dawn,
telling the world that the Saviour is born.
When God is a child there’s joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid.

Call to Gather          Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(Barbara Johns, Gathering ACE, 2021-2022, Used with permission.) 

We come before God this day,
waiting, waiting.
With trepidation and longing.
With joy, anticipating the glorious news.
With expectant delight at the miraculous babe to be born.
With wonder at the promise of salvation.
With hearts open to God’s message of love.
We come before God this day
to worship as we wait!

Opening Prayer and Silent Confession

(Larry Doyle, Bob Root & Darrow Woods, Gathering, ACE 2013-2014, Used with permission.)

Let us pray…
God of light and love, today we rejoice and celebrate in your reign
And seek to participate in it through our acts of faithful living.
We celebrate justice and righteousness, and with joy,
we accept your Christmas presence as we strive to give you our presence.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray that you might bless us
with an audacious, daring and joyful faith.
Let’s take a moment of silent confession… 

Silent Confession

Words of Assurance

(Catherine Tovell, Gathering, ACE 2017-2018. Used with permission.)

Even within the deepening shadows of this season, the joy of God abounds. 
We are a pilgrim people. God will be with us wherever we go.
Let us not be discouraged. Let us rejoice and be open to the Light.
Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Advent Hymn:   All Earth is Waiting VU 5

(Words & Music: Alberto Taule, 1972; English trans. Gertrude Suppe, 1987)

1.    All earth is waiting to see the Promised One,
and open furrows await the seed of God.
All the world, bound and struggling, seeks true liberty;
it cries out for justice and searches for the truth. 

2.    Thus says the prophet to those of Israel:
'A virgin mother will bear Emmanuel,'
one whose name is 'God with us' our Saviour shall be;
through whom hope will blossom once more within our hearts.

3.    Mountains and valleys will have to be made plain;
open new highways, new highways for our God,
who is now coming closer, so come all and see,
and open the doorways as wide as wide can be. 

4. In lowly stable the Promised One appeared;
    yet, feel the presence throughout the earth today,
    for Christ lives in all Christians and is with us now;
    again, on arriving, Christ brings us liberty.

Storytime for the Young at Heart          Rev. Lorrie

Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? We have. Neil and I bought an artificial tree this year for our new little place. I kind of miss having a real tree – but this way I get to enjoy it for a longer time, so that’s good. The other thing that’s happening is that presents are starting to pile up under it already!

Take a look at this one, isn’t it pretty? I wonder what’s inside? Hmmm… I could just open it up now and take a look… No one else is home, so, if I’m really careful removing the tape, I bet I can wrap it up again and nobody will even know that I peeked… I am excited, just thinking about it! It’s from somebody I love, somebody who knows me well, so I know it is going to be really nice, something I will really love… oh, I wonder what it is!... maybe just a little peek…

But, you know what? I’m not going to do it. Just looking at this gift and knowing that it is there waiting for me under the tree, gives me joy. If I open it and see what’s inside today, I am sure it will make me happy, but after that? Well, the joy will be gone, or at least it will be a lot smaller; I will have to pretend to be surprised on Christmas morning, and every time I look at this present between now and Christmas, I think I might feel a little bit guilty. That’s not very joyful. So, I think I am going to leave it just the way it is and enjoy the feeling I have today right up to Christmas.

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. The candle we lit this morning is the candle for Joy. Did you notice that it is a different colour from the others in our wreath? The others are a dark blue or purple, but this one is pink. In this time of Advent, when we are waiting for Christmas, each candle gives us things to think about. We have been hearing stories about John the Baptist. In the first two Sundays, his words have helped us understand the meaning of Hope and Peace. He has had some hard messages for people to hear and some hard things for us to do to make sure that hope and peace are present in the world. Today, this pink candle reminds us that Joy is also important, because Joy gives light to the world, no matter how dark it sometimes seems. So, the candle today is a lighter colour to remind us of how Joy lightens the world and how important it is to spread that feeling around. We need Joy to help us as we wait – and work – to make the world a better place.

Advent is a busy time. As Christians, we take this time to reflect on the gift that Jesus was to the world. As Canadians in our culture, we also use this time to decorate and bake and shop and wrap and send cards and write letters to Santa… sometimes we just wish Christmas could just hurry up and be here! That would be fun, right?  and then we wouldn’t have to do all this work to get ready. But, then it would all be over and we would miss all the good things that happen in this time of Advent – the Santa Claus parade, going to get our Christmas tree and decorating it, all the Christmas music, all the movies, all the lights and decorations, all the crafts and baking cookies, all the dreaming of what might be under the tree for us on Christmas morning.

So, I think this candle we lit today is a reminder to us to lighten up, to slow down, and to find the joy in all the busy-ness of waiting for Christmas. So, let’s take the time to notice the joyful parts of all this preparation and waiting. And, let’s not forget to spread joy to others while we’re at it! I think it will make the big celebration on Christmas day even more special. In fact, even the hard work of getting ready will begin to feel like a celebration too!

Let’s finish with another body prayer:

Holy One (reach up and out)
May your joy (put hands toward centre, wiggle fingers)
Sustain me (reach arms to sides, flexing fingers)
May your joy
Bubble up in me (wiggle fingers, bringing over head)
May your joy
Grow in all of creation (circle wiggling hands around head)
Amen (head down, hands at prayer with palms together) 

Song:  He Comes! - CGS/Bell Canto with Erin Berard

He comes, He comes!
He comes in the name of the Lord our God.
Let all rejoice with heart and voice and thankful be.
The chosen one, God's only son, blessed is He.
Light for Him a candle, He is drawing near.
Sing for him a carol loud and clear!
He comes, He comes!
He comes in the name of the Lord our God.
Let all rejoice with heart and voice and thankful be.
He comes, He comes!
He comes in the name of the Lord!

Prayer for Illumination         Reader:  Denis Watson

Show us the way, O God, to reshape our lives
with your Word of wisdom.
Open our hearts to rejoice in renewed relationships
so we can look forward to the birth of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Gospel Reading:    Luke 3: 7-18 (NRSV)

The Ministry of John the Baptist

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 

9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 

11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 

13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 

14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,

16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

May the joy of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon:    “Advent’s Expectation: Justice Overload!” Rev. Kim & Keith Bailey

Introduction (Kim)

          Prayer: Empower us all O God, by your indwelling Spirit, so that we may listen to your voice and move us to concrete actions. Amen.

          I read an article this week entitled, “Who Are the Best Preachers?” In that article, about 150 people were asked what they value in a preacher. The responses were overwhelming. The characteristic most often mentioned was the sincerity, compassion and deep faith of the preacher. Others liked preachers whose sermons were short & sweet. Over half of the respondents commented on the importance of the sermon relating to their everyday life. A surprising number mentioned good preaching as one that is solidly grounded in the Bible and a sound theology. Names of modern preachers like Billy Graham, William Willimon and Barbara Brown Taylor came up. And the last word was a plea from one of the respondents to all preachers. He said: "Please talk to us. Apply what you preach. A pinch of humour would be nice. When I leave the sanctuary, I want to remember what the message was."

          The plea of that fellow caught my attention. So, without the knowledge of the Worship/CE Committee, I invited a guest preacher today - one who might share good news or bad news depending how one listens to him. He doesn’t need any further introduction since I have introduced him to you in my sermon last Sunday. But just a word of warning, his words might offend or insult you. So, prepare yourself accordingly. Friends, on this third Sunday of Advent, please welcome our guest preacher, no other than the famous prophet, John the Baptist.

The Message of John the Baptist: (Keith)

          So I see that another large crowd of you have come out here into this dry, rugged and barren wilderness to see and hear me, the one you call John, son of Zechariah, the priest. But some of you call me The Baptist!  I know that everyone in Jerusalem and all of Judea is talking about me, this strange, smelly prophet ranting and raving out in the desert calling for repentance. Some of you have probably come here, just because you are curious; you want to see what I look like, and if I really dress as strangely as people say.  You may even hope that I will reach down and pick up a bug or two and munch them down, because you have heard rumours that for food I eat locusts dipped in honey. Others among you may have heard that I am a fire and brimstone preacher, and with nothing better to do today, you thought you might as well come out here in the hope of hearing an inspiring message, so that you can return home feeling good. Feeling good? Hahaha! You wish!

          You might have heard that I often harshly criticize those “brood of vipers” – those good-for-nothing, corrupt religious and political leaders of our time, and you have come in the hopes of being entertained by some of my famous rantings. But there may even be some of you, who are here because you are truly searching for ways in which you can be more faithful in your life, and more committed to serving God. For centuries our ancestors have been waiting for the coming of God's promised Messiah. God's special anointed servant who would come and fix all that is wrong with this crazy, mixed-up world, and make it the kind of place God intended it to be. 

          Well, I am here to tell you that our time of waiting is almost over, God's Messiah will soon come and God's love and power will be made real among us.  But we need to prepare ourselves – to be ready and undergo a total make-over – a re-construction of our lives - or we might miss it.  We could be so busy and preoccupied with the day to day tasks of life, that when the Messiah comes, we will not even notice.

          We should remember what the great prophets taught, prophets like Isaiah who spoke to our ancestors when they were in exile as slaves in Babylon.  Isaiah said that the Spirit of God would rest upon this Anointed One, so that he would rule with justice, equity, and righteousness, bringing good news to the poor, and release to the oppressed, while establishing a reign of peace and security for all of God’s people.  Isaiah told the people of his day to prepare the way for this coming Anointed One, to make the road straight and smooth for him to travel.  In the same way, our lives are the road on which the Anointed One will travel, and we need to get our lives ready, straightened, paved and levelled for his coming.

          Now some of you might ask, “How do we get our lives ready for the arrival of the Anointed One?"  Well, have you listened to your heart? Do you feel accountable of your sins and misdeeds?  Each of you must look at your lives and consider what is most important to you in order to make sure that you have your priorities straight.  Where do you spend most of your time, energy, and resources? What is it that hinders you from having a deeper faith in God? What limits your ability to live the way you know God wants you to live? What is it that holds you back from loving and being loved?

What did you say, brother Joseph? What should you do?” Well, you have a closet full of coats, while others have none. I’m sure you sleep well at night while others are shivering in the cold. Give away some of your coats! You there, brother Andrew – I know that you have pantries full of food and wine but your next-door neighbours don’t even have food and drink on the table. You want to be changed? Then go and share food and drink to your hungry neighbours! Or better yet, invite them to come to dinner!

          Oh- who do we have here?  Ah – the famous tax collectors who serve the temple and the emperor! What are you doing here? What did you say, Matthew? Are you asking me what you should do? Do you and all the tax collectors realize that people shun away from you because you were reputed to be scheming, dishonest and good-for-nothing cheaters! As long as you can exploit others with a big kick back in your pockets, you couldn’t care less. You want me to tell you what you should do? Simple! Collect no more than the amount prescribed to you! Do not cheat, do not lie. Treat others, especially the vulnerable, the gullible and the innocent fairly!

          You – out there – yes – you in uniform! Have you come to be insulted by me? Is that you Cornelius? Are you asking me what you should do? Are you not here by the order of your commander to maintain peace and prevent chaos in case I might incite a rebellion? Don’t you represent the Imperial Rome in all its glory? Are you ready to be offended? Then listen to what I tell you! Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation and be satisfied with your wages!  Do not take advantage of your authority or the weight of your badge. Do not take bribes – respect your position by respecting others. Do not assume that you are always correct. Treat others justly.

          Repent!! See what things you need to change. Shift the direction of your lives and re-orient yourselves towards God.  Don’t you go on waving your patriarchal cards at me; who cares if you are the descendants of Abraham? God could care less. Show you are serious by living justly! It is true that we have a covenantal relationship with God – a promise of hope, joy and reconciliation, but what is of true importance is what’s in our hearts.  our own lives must reflect the faith we have in God today.

          I do not know each of you well enough but I will say this.  Do not use your power and influence to take advantage of others.  Be completely honest in all you do, not just selfishly doing only that which is good for yourself and helps you get ahead, but also to consider the good of others in your dealings with them. I also encourage you to share what you have with those who are in need.   Each of us must look at our own lives, and find the ways we can continue to serve God where we are, for this is how we prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

          I know that I preach a harsh message of doom and gloom which is hardly good news in your hearing.  But I make no apologies for being blunt. Whether you like it or not, the news I am announcing is good news.  Because I believe there is hope. No matter how bad things seem to be in our world, or how far we ourselves have strayed from the path God has set for us, things can get better.  We can change - we can change our own lives, and we can change the world, when we repent and turn to back to God.  I know that change is not easy, and can be quite frightening.  In fact, I think the more comfortable we are, the less we want to change.  And yet it is obvious that if our world is to survive, there must be changes, and those changes start with us.

          Some people say my message of change and transformation through repentance is radical.  It upsets the status quo, and they want to stop me.  Well the status quo needs to change too.  We must never become complacent when it comes to our faith in God, and our love for God’s people.  And even if I will be imprisoned or killed for preaching my message, that won’t stop the changes which are coming, because they are God’s changes, and the Messiah is on his way. 

          As a symbol of your changed lives, I invite each of you to come and be baptized in the Jordan River.  Each of you needs a good refreshing, cleansing, renewing bath. Remember, I baptize you with water, symbolic of your change of heart, and renewed faith in God, but there is one coming after me who will baptize you with Holy Spirit and with fire; it is he that will truly fill your lives with the power of God's love. Now I tell you – Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near!

Closing Words (Kim)

          Thank you, John, for engaging us in your radical message of repentance and transformation. Friends, like his audience in the past, we, too, must ask the same questions, “What should we do in this big messy world? What should we do with our lives so we can experience God’s news of salvation?” I’m sure John doesn’t mind telling us what to do as he did in his world. “Share your resources. Don’t accumulate things you don’t need. Don’t cheat. Live within your means. Give of yourself.  Serve dinner to the community. Wrap gifts for the less privileged.  Give food to the Food Bank. Stop worrying and start praying. Trust fully in God because God loves you unconditionally. Give thanks.”

          “The whole tenor of Advent”, according to Walter Brueggemann, “is that God may act in us, through us and beyond us, more than we imagined because newness is on its way among us.” The good news of joy is almost here. God-in-the-flesh will soon come and will usher in a transformed world of kindness, generosity, compassion, justice and love. That is the good news John preached. It is the good news that we long to hear, the hope that sustains us, the vision toward which we work as a faith community. And it is no wonder then, why we celebrate this Sunday of Joy. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer      Rev. Kim

Our prayer today was written by Rev. Ted Dodd, a Diaconal Minister of the United Church of Canada. (Used with permission).

Holy One, Divine Friend, Spirit of Life,
these days of Advent, leading to Christmas, have a special magic,
but these days are also full of 
the wrath of gender-based violence,
the raised stones of political polarity,
the tree axing of clear-cut forests, and
the fruitless languishing impact of COVID.
One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire,
renew and change us, and the world, during this Advent time.
One who gathers wheat into the granary,
pull us together as your people.
One who burns the chaff with unquenchable fire,
help us sort out what is important, essential, and faithful.
Holy One, what then shall we do?
You teach us to share, be generous, and to care for the needy and naked.
Encourage us to offer this kindness to those in our lives and 
to work to convert the systems that keep poverty and hunger in place.
Divine Friend, what then shall we do?
You urge us to be honest, fair, and to not take more than our share.
Empower us to act in this way of integrity and grace in our personal lives,
and to insist this way is followed in our political, social structures.
Spirit of Life, what then shall we do?
You admonish us and tell us not to extort, not to threaten, not to accuse falsely.
In our relationships, our communities, our world,
inspire us to live without dominating, controlling, and power-grabbing.
Holy One, Divine Friend, Spirit of Life
proclaim your good news.
May joy ring through your children.
Advent heralds the coming of love, 
may unexpected and amazing newness arrive in our midst again this year.

All these we ask in the name of the one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, Jesus, who in his later life would teach his disciples this prayer that we all recite together:

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

Even in difficult times we remember that God has done great things for us. We choose to live our lives in joy, counting on the goodness of God in every way.  As a sign of our trust in God, we share our gifts this morning, strengthening the ministry of this church as we seek together to extend joy to others.  Let us gather our time, talents and treasures together and present them as an offering to God. 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 (spaciousfaith.com)

Holy One, this Advent season we wait in joy,
and we give with joy.
Joy for all you have given us;
joy because of your sacred promises.
Receive these generous offerings,
and use them to spread your joy in our world. Amen.

Sending Forth          Rev. Kim

Go into the world with joy.
We are not alone. God is with us.
Joy is promised in these Advent days.
God bless you as you wait.
God bless you as you work for joy.
Your rejoicing is blessed. Go in joy! Amen.

Hymn:   Joy Shall Come VU 23 (Sung 3X)

(Words & Music: Israeli traditional)

Joy shall come, even to the wilderness,
and the parched land shall then know great gladness;
as the rose, as the rose shall deserts blossom,
deserts like a garden blossom.
For living springs shall give cool water,
in the desert streams shall flow;
for living springs shall give cool water,
in the desert streams shall flow.

Carol:  Silent Night VU 67

Advent Memorial Flowers

Departing Music:  You Shall Go Out with Joy  – Mark Hayes

Announcements

Sunday school activities - December 12, 2021

Advent 3 - Joy

This is the third Sunday of Advent and the candle we light today is for Joy. This candle is pink – a lighter colour than the dark blue or purple of the other candles in the wreath. This is because Joy brings light to the world. As we listen to the preaching of John the Baptist in our Bible stories this month, we can get pretty worried about the world. Joy helps us remember the good things that are happening as we work toward a world full of Hope, Peace, and Love – the kind of world that God dreams for us.

There are lots of examples of joy in the Christmas story. The angels bring joy to the shepherds in the field when they sing about the news of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds are filled with joy when they see the baby and run to tell everyone about it. The angels and the shepherds can’t keep the joy to themselves, they need to spread it around. How can you spread joy to others? How can you make someone who is feeling sad or afraid feel joy?

Christmas is a time when we are usually full of joy. What are some of the things that bring you joy or make you happy at this time of year?

Response Activity Ideas

Joy Ornament

Gather 2 pieces of paper (14x14cm) to try making these Christmas bells.  Add holly with pieces of green paper (6x6cm).

Spread JOY with a card

Make a card to give someone to bring some joy to their day!

Print the template for the JOY letters or design your own open font.  Fill in the letters with patterns and designs, then cut them out to decorate the front of a card. (Alternatively, print out the Joy template directly onto cardstock and decorate.) Inside the card, write a message to bring a smile to someone’s face and send it to them!

Click to print PDF

Illustrated Ministry Advent Package – Week 3: To Practice Joy

Have you ever made a gratitude journal before?  How about a ‘joy’ journal?  This week’s activity on pg. 24 encourages us to take time to remember the joy in our lives.  Cut out the scrolls on pg. 27, record the year at the top, then write down the joys you have experienced this year.  Using the toothpicks provided in your kit, or other sticks, roll up the scroll and hang on your tree (ribbon and string provided).  Save it for next year with your other decorations and unroll to remember these joys again!

Sunday Worship Service - December 5, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT / HUMAN RIGHTS SUNDAY

DECEMBER 5, 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 / Carol Sing:

Away in a Manger VU 69 (vs 1, 2)

(Words: Author Unknown; Music: William James Kirkpatrick, 1895)

1 Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, 
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. 
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.  

2 The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, 
but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. 
I love you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky,
and stay by my side until morning is nigh.  

Joy to the World VU 59 (Vs 1, 2)

(Words: Isaac Watts, 1719; Music: attrib. George Frederic Handel, 1742)

1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room
and heaven and nature sing
and heaven and nature sing
and heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

2 Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns;
let all their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hill and plains,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

Welcome & Announcements            Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! Welcome to this second Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Peace as we prepare ourselves to welcome the birth of Jesus.

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org.

Here now is Bill McGee, Chair of Finance to give us some financial updates.

Financial Update            Bill McGee

Good Morning. The members of our Board have asked our treasurer Ross Mutton and me to give a short update on our financial position. This talk is based on complete results for the first 3 quarters of the year. I will concentrate on the Operating Fund which covers salaries, payments to the Mission and Service Fund and a United Church assessment, building expenses, support for local charities, and miscellaneous operating expenses.

Our Operating expenses are down somewhat. Although there was a furnace unit malfunction that has replaced, the efforts of Jean and Ross Brown around the church have kept the building in good order without the usual janitorial expense.

Our Revenues to cover Operating expenses are below budget. PAR receipts are as expected, and the successful Fall Fair has helped our balance sheet a lot. But envelope givings are down, and the rental situation is still below expectations.

The situation with Directed Funds is positive, but of course these cannot be used for operating expenses.

Here are our year-end projections. These are hard to make, but show our mean estimate. As shown expenses are expected to be down a bit, but income is expected to be lower than budgeted. Therefore, it seems that there may be a deficit of about 10 percent at year end. This follows some past years when the year-end gave small surpluses.

Here are a few ways to help us make up the difference. One is to check that our givings are up to date. The second is to consider a special contribution to the Operating Fund for 2021.

Thank you on behalf of the Board, our Treasurer, and the Financial Management team.

Centering for Worship            Rev. Kim

Friends, in the hustle and bustle of the Advent season, it is easy to get swept up with the business of preparing our homes and finding the perfect gift for our loved ones. Let us take a moment to slow down and remember what Advent is meant to be: a time of waiting for the birth of Jesus. Let us now gather in worship.

Lighting of the Advent Candle:  Hope            Acolytes: The Fowler Family

(Eric Hebert-Daly, Gathering ACE 2021-2022. Used with permission.)  

Reader 1:
Today we light the candle of Peace.
Peace doesn’t always mean being quiet.
We seek to be a people of peace, living from a place of justice.
We join our voices with others who want to give birth to a new way of being.

Reader 2:
Peace calls out to us, so that we may help it become a reality.
God is our peace.

Reader 3: 
May we let God reconcile in places of conflict,
creating bridges where divisions have grown,
sewing all of creation into a new tapestry.
May peace be found in a manger and throughout the world.

(The Advent candle of peace is lit.) 

Sung Response:  Hope is A Star (Verse 2) VU 7

(Words: Brian Wren, 1985; Music: Joan Collier Fogg, 1987)

Peace is a ribbon that circles the earth,
giving a promise of safety and worth.
When God is a child there’s joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid. 

Call to Gather           Rev. Lorrie

(Bill Steadman, Gathering ACE, 2018-2019, Used with permission.) 

We are a people open to anticipation and ready for a celebration.
Behold the birth of the Christ Child is expected.
We are a congregation that remembers the message of peace.
Behold, the birth of the Christ Child is near.
We are a community inspired to live lives of service and of wholeness.
Behold, the birth of the Christ Child will transform our hearts.
As we gather today and beyond.

Opening Prayer and Silent Confession

(Larry Doyle, Bob Root & Darrow Woods, Gathering, ACE 2013-2014, Used with permission.)

Let us pray…

We live in a world where peace seems like a distant dream, O God.
And so, we pray – not just for the absence of violence and conflict,
but for the deep peace of knowing and trusting your will and your way.
As the darkness and coldness of December set in,
we trust that the light and the warmth of your Holy Spirit will enfold us and remind us of the shalom that is to come and the shalom that is already within us.

Let’s take a moment of silent confession…

Silent Confession

Words of Assurance

Take heart! The God of peace will encourage us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are loved! Thanks be to God.  

Advent Hymn:   Come Thou Long Expected Jesus VU 2

(Words: Charles Wesley, 1744; Music: Psalmodia Sacra, 1715)

1 Come, thou long-expected Jesus
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

2 Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art,
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

3 Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.

4 By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Storytime for the Young at Heart             Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Here’s a fun repeat-after-me action poem that I think you will all recognize:
We’re going on a bear hunt!
We’re gonna catch a big one!
We’re not scared!
What a beautiful day! 

Oh, oh! Grass!
Long wavy grass…
Can’t go over it
Can’t go under it
Can’t go around it
We’ve gotta go through!

Swishy swashy, swishy swashy…

Oh, oh! A river!
A deep, cold river…
Splash, splosh, splash, splosh… 

Oh, oh! Mud!
Thick oozy mud…
Squelch, squerch, squelch, squerch… 

Oh, oh! A forest!
A big dark forest…
Stumble, trip, stumble trip… 

Oh, oh! A snow storm!
A swirling whirling snow storm!
Hoooo woooo, hoooo woooo… 

Oh, oh! A cave!
A narrow, gloomy cave…
Tip-toe, tip toe… 

WHAT’S THAT!
One shiny wet nose!
Two big furry ears!
Two big goggly eyes!
IT’S A BEAR!
Quick!
Back through the cave! Tiptoe! Tiptoe! Tiptoe!
Back through the snowstorm! Hoooo woooo! Hoooo woooo! Hoooo woooo!
Back through the forest! Stumble trip! Stumble trip! Stumble trip!
Back through the mud! Squelch squerch! Squelch squerch! Squelch squerch!
Back through the river! Splash splosh! Splash splosh! Splash splosh!
Back through the grass! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!

Get to our front door.
Open the door.
Up the stairs
Into the bedroom
Into the bed
Under the covers
I’m not going on a bear hunt again.

Isn’t this a funny way to start a children’s story on the day we light the Peace candle?

This story doesn’t make me feel very peaceful at all! In fact, when I do this poem with kids, they usually get all excited and fired up and then I can’t get them to settle down again!

In our Bible reading this morning, we meet John the Baptist. He was a guy that got people all excited and fired up – like our Bear Hunt poem. Most of the descriptions of him in the Bible tell us that he was like a wild man, living in the wilderness. He dressed in the skins from animals and ate bugs and wild honey – and he shouted a lot! He told people they needed to repent – to change. I don’t think he made people feel peaceful at all.

John the Baptist told the people that they needed to prepare a path for God – to make it straight… to fill up the valleys and bulldoze down the mountains to make it flat… and to smooth out all the rough places. It sounds like hard work!

What a strange story for us to read on the day we light the Peace candle…

Let’s think about that Bear Hunt again…

We wanted to find a bear, right? But by the time we actually found one, we were exhausted and excited. We couldn’t quietly watch the bear sleeping and then tip-toe out of the cave; we ran through all of the obstacles again and finally jumped into bed and covered our heads – as if that would protect us from a bear!

But what if we followed John the Baptist’s idea and made a smooth and easy path to the bear’s cave… If the grass was cut, if there was a bridge over the river, if there was gravel filling the mud hole, if a smooth path was cleared through the forest, if we took the time to plan our trip for a day with no storm in the forecast …

Maybe then we would have arrived calmly – peacefully – at the bear’s cave. Maybe then we would be able to be quiet enough to not disturb the bear, to enjoy seeing him and then leave him in peace.

If this was the way the bear hunt went, rather than hiding under the covers with our hearts pounding and being afraid to go to sleep, I think we would be able to climb into bed at the end and doze off to sweet dreams.

Maybe that’s our message for today. Peace isn’t just about stopping wars – though that’s important too – it’s about making life calm and stress-free for everyone.

How can you make a peaceful path as you get ready for Christmas?
How can you make this season peaceful for the people around you?
How can we make life more peaceful for people in our world who are struggling to find enough food to eat, or warm clothes, or a safe place to sleep out of the cold?
How can we make their paths smooth?

Maybe that’s what John the Baptist meant when he asked us to prepare a path for God…

Let’s finish with another body prayer:

(from “Advent Unwrapped” UCC)

Holy One (reach up and look out)
May your peace (clasp hands over heart)
Surround me (circle arms in front of body)
May your peace (clasp hands over heart)
Work through me (use some force to push arms to sides with fingers up)
May your peace (clasp hands over heart)
Extend to the world (unfold arms in front with open hands)
Amen (head down, hands at prayer with palms together) 

Hymn:  CGS/Bell Canto with Erin Berard

(Words: Isaiah 40:3, adapt. & Music: Michael Burkhardt, 1990)

Prepare the way of the Lord!
Prepare the way of the Lord!
Make a straight for him,
make a straight path,
prepare the way of the Lord!

Prayer for Illumination          Reader:  Erin Berard

Open us, O God to your unfolding vision of peace.
Through your Word, shape us for shalom
by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen. 

The Gospel Reading:    Luke 3: 1-6 (NRSV)

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 

2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 

3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 

4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

 “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
    and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

May the peace of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon: “Advent’s Yearning: Prepare the Way!”      Rev. Kim

Let your spirit of wisdom flow through us, O God, as we reflect on your Word of life. Amen.

On this second Sunday of Advent, an important figure takes center stage, one who is the “front man”, the harbinger of Jesus, who with his outspoken and rash behaviour, prepares the people for Jesus’ arrival. Walter Brueggemann calls him the “checkpoint” and declares that one cannot get to Jesus on Christmas without passing through him. I guess you know who I’m talking about. Mark calls him the Baptizer. Matthew calls him the Baptist and Luke calls him “John, son of Zechariah.” We meet him this time of the year and we somehow can never get rid of him. It was Matthew who described John’s fashion and eating habits. Imagine for a moment if he was at your party! His outrageous outfit of smelly camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist would not blend in very well with red silk or tuxedos – or any designer’s clothing.  His hair is unkempt and his beard long and straggly. You would also have difficulty cooking his favourite recipe: locusts drizzled with wild honey! And what a downer if he starts mingling with people and calling them brood of vipers!

As son of Zechariah, John comes from the line of priests. His call to ministry was similar to the prophets – the hopers, the demanders and the bidders who called for change, for transformation, for renewal. He was fearless, denouncing sinfulness and acts of injustices wherever he found it. For 400 years before his birth there had been no prophet in the land of Israel. Scripture reminds us, "There was no voice, nor any that answered." With John's emergence from the wilderness, the sound of the prophetic voice was again heard in the land. And this wildman prophet trot into our worship service today who promises us an Advent of repentance. Are we ready to listen to him?

According to Luke, John’s prophetic ministry took place in the first century during the reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius, Governor Pontius Pilate of Judea and King Herod, ruler of Galilee – three infamous political leaders who were known for terror, cruelty, corruption and persecutions.  Luke also added Annas and Caiaphas – High Priests of the Temple, in cohort with the Roman rulers, who took part in the trial of Jesus. They were people of power - the center of religious and political authority. But God’s word doesn’t come to any of them.  Rather, the Word of God comes to John in the wilderness. Did I say wilderness? What is it about the wilderness that draws one closer to hearing God’s word? Debie Thomas writes: “In the wilderness, there’s no safety net.  No Plan B.  No fallback option.  In the wilderness, life is raw and risky, and our illusions of self-sufficiency fall apart fast. To locate ourselves at the outskirts of power is to confess our vulnerability in the starkest terms.  In the wilderness, we have no choice but to wait and watch as if our lives depend on God showing up.  Because they do.  And it’s into such an environment — an environment so far removed from power…that the word of God comes.”

From the wilderness, John cries out to the people: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Get ready for God’s arrival!” He was like a thundering voice. He called for repentance for the forgiveness of sins - difficult words to ponder in this time of Advent. These words invoke a sense of guilt, of not doing enough, of not measuring up. A theologian once said that “Repentance doesn't mean to feel bad, but to think differently. To repent doesn't mean to grovel in self-hatred, morbid introspection, or pious sorrow.  It consists of both outward acts and an inward disposition. When you repent you turn around, change directions, choose a different path, and make a radical rupture. Repentance signals an abrupt end to life on auto-pilot or to business as usual.”

Rabbi Eliezer taught his disciples to "Repent one day before your death." One of his disciples asked, "How will we know when that day is?" To which the Rabbi replied, "All the more reason to repent today, lest you die tomorrow" (Blomberg, 194). In the first century world where John lived and preached, the call to repentance, to scold the people of their wrongdoings, makes the people turn around, to change their ways, to come back to God. John proclaimed a baptism of repentance – a cleansing bath in the wild waters of Jordan. A bath that says it all: “Examine your life—examine your priorities, your values, and your behaviour. Check out your emotional, your spiritual, and your moral-ethical lives. Are you headed in the right, life-giving direction? Are you headed in the direction towards God? If not, then repent. Turn around. Have a change of heart.”  John is drawing us to the paradox of our faith—that the free and lavish grace of God makes no difference unless we realize that we are accountable for our behaviour. The Rev. Susan Andrews writes:  “the unconditional love of God cannot find fertile soil unless we first uproot the weeds in the wilderness of our souls. The truth of the gospel is that we must judge ourselves—we must face the truth of who we are and claim the hope of who we want to become. And after we judge ourselves—after we honour this call to accountability—then we can receive God, as God recreates us in holy image.”

Why do people need repentance then and now? The dark world of John is not too far from our world today. The present world is still in great distress. The crooked path is choked with consumerism and materialism. The rocky valleys are groaning with the cries of those whose human rights are violated, the indigenous community, people of colour, those from other faiths, the marginalized and the ignored. The mountains of power are the stronghold of leaders whose priorities are questionable. The unlevelled road is screaming from the cries of those who live in poverty, the homeless, or those who were denied access to resources because of their gender, class, or ethnicity. The highway is barricaded with armaments and weapons of war and destruction. The muddy plains are filled with refugees - children, women, and men fleeing their homeland and seeking refuge from countries of wealth. The earth too is groaning in pain. We sacrifice animals, plants, soil, water, and air for the sake of those who wield the most power. God’s voice through John calls us to repent! To repent of the things that betray the holiness and the love of God. To repent from words and actions which hurt our neighbours, the strangers, our loved ones and ourselves. To repent from plundering and destroying Mother earth. We need to repent from our sins – all those things that alienate us from God, from others, from ourselves and the whole of creation.

John did not stop there in the river of Jordan. John nudges us to listen to Second Isaiah’s words: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.”
These words do not simply call us to be waiting patiently in silence or busying ourselves with pointless preparations, but rather, they call us to action. Friends, this is hard work! Who is going to buy into this kind of preparation? Is this the yearning of Advent - to undergo a road construction project? But this is how true repentance works. We need to undergo construction, deconstruction and reconstruction in order to fully access the Good News of God’s salvation. 

At our lectionary discussion this past Tuesday, Susan Young shared a personal story that brings John’s words to life. With Susan’s permission, let me share her story with you:

“You don't always need a big four-lane highway to get where you need to go. When I was growing up, my family had an old log cabin by a small lake. It had been built long before I was born, by a distant relative that I never knew. We liked to go to the camp on weekends and holidays to fish, pick berries and mushrooms, swim or toboggan, depending on the season. Since there was no road access, we had to park our vehicle a few miles from the camp and then walk the rest of the way. The first part of the trail crossed a field and, in the summer, the grass grew very tall. I remember my grandmother cutting it with a scythe, so it would be easier for us kids to walk and we wouldn't get stung by the wasps that made nests in the ground. There were some swampy places along the trail too. My grandfather made a dry place for us to walk by putting some fallen logs in the mud. I remember my dad carrying my little brother in a packsack because it was too far for him to walk. That's how the whole family made many happy trips to the camp.”

Susan’s story resonates well with John’s call to repentance and transformation. There is hard work involved. But at the end of it all – when all the tall grasses were cut off, when swampy places were turned to dry land, when logs are laid down in the mud, when we carry each other’s burdens and joys – then the journey will be happy, comfortable and meaningful – “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Friends, what kind of wilderness are you experiencing in this Advent season? How is God calling you to participate in that uncomfortable but essential work of leveling, straightening, smoothing out those rocky roads and filling those potholes in your life? Whether we agree with John or not, repentance is something that we should aim for in Advent. John’s invitation is a call to root ourselves in truth rather than false pride. Because when we repent, truth emerges and our self-deception ends. God’s word came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness. May God’s word come to us too, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus into our own lives. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer        Rev. Lorrie

(Written by Ted Dodd for DOTAC and the Diakonia World Federation)

In the second year of the reign of COVID,
when climate change governs over the planet,
when racism and injustice rules in so much of the world,
when siblings, violence and war, preside in so many regions,
and the high priests of inequity and imbalance dominate our earth,
please, dear God,
we pray for your Word to come to this wilderness.
We long for a prophet to speak your good news, for this time.
We urgently plea for a proclamation of hope, 
for the particular places where we live and interact with others and Creation.
In this Advent time,
As we make ready for Christmas,
may the tender, strong voice of the divine reach us.
May we prepare in your way of compassion.
May we walk paths of reconciliation and respect.
May the valleys of 
poverty and hunger,
grief and loss,
loneliness and desperation, be filled with comfort and kindness.
May the mountains and hills of the powerful and the privileged,
be brought low with sharing and equity.
May the roughness of addiction and homelessness be made smooth.
Transform us, individually and corporately.
Change us, personally and collectively.
Turn us around, God of grace.
And may we all feel your presence,
alive in our lives.
Reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Disclose the divine in our human encounters.
Expose the miraculous in the everyday. 

We pray as we hear the cries of John and Isaiah; we pray in the words of Jesus, the long-awaited one:

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

In this busy season, our most important preparations will happen here in our hearts when we make a way for God to come into our lives, when we "prepare the way of the Lord." In the midst of our preparations, we bring gifts to share so that God's love will shine brightly through the ministry of this church and in our own lives as well.

Let us gather our time, talents and treasures together and present them as an offering to God.

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: (spaciousfaith.com)

Holy One, this Advent season we wait in peace,
And we give in peace.
A peace deeper than our anxiety and fear.
A peace growing from our trust in your loving power.
Receive these generous offerings,
And use them to bring your peace to our world. Amen.

Sending Forth          Rev. Kim

As you go from this worship,
may the light of peace burn brightly in your hearts.
Go and be signs of peace in the world
as you prepare the journey towards Bethlehem.
And may you always know that you are not alone.
May God’s peace sustain you now and always. Amen.

Hymn:   Herald! Sound the Note of Gladness VU 28

(Words: Moir A. J. Waters, 1968; Music: adapt. From Joachim Neander, 1650)

1 Herald! Sound the note of gladness!
Tell the news that Christ is here;
make a pathway through the desert
for the one who brings God near.
Sound the trumpet!
Tell the message!
Christ the Saving One has come!  

2 Herald! Sound the note of judgement,
Warning us of right and wrong.
Turning us from sin and sadness,
Till once more we sing the song.
Sound the trumpet!
Tell the message!
Christ the Saving One has come!  

3 Herald! Sound the note of pardon!
Those repenting are forgiven;
God receives these wayward children,
and to all new life is given.
Sound the trumpet!
Tell the message!
Christ the Saving One has come!  

4 Herald! Sound the note of triumph!
Christ has come to share our life,
bringing God's own love and power,
granting victory in our strife.
Sound the trumpet!
Tell the message!
Christ the Saving One has come!

Carol: ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime VU 71

(Words: Jean de Brebeuf, 1641, English trans Jesse Edgar Middleton, 1926;

Music: French Folk Song, 16th century

Advent Memorial Flowers

Departing Music: African Advent Carol Michael Barrett

– sung by BCUC choir Advent 2015

Announcements

Sunday school activities - December 5, 2021

Theme Discussion

Today we lit the second Advent candle - for Peace. 

The Hebrew word, “shalom” is usually translated as “peace” but it means much more than the lack of conflict. It encompasses well-being, comfort, and a feeling that all is right with the world. In the story we read this morning, John the Baptist quotes from the prophet Isaiah about making a straight path for God.

“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth”

It’s part of a message to the Jewish people about finding comfort in a time when the world was a pretty scary place. Comfort is a big part of shalom, of feeling at peace. 

Even though we can say that Canada is a peaceful country, there are many people who do not live with a sense of shalom. Can you think of some examples? (homeless, people in hospital, people grieving the death of someone close, people struggling to make ends meet - let alone making Christmas special for their families...)

How can we be a source of peace and comfort?

Response Activity Ideas

Sensing Peace

Listen to this story about noticing peace with all your 5 senses.

Print out the booklet (PDF) and cut along the centre line as shown here in the instructions (PDF).  On each page, draw and/or write about ways you find or create peace around you.

Ornament – Shalom

Print out the globe image and cut out.  Glue onto cardstock or cardboard, leaving a border that could be decorated.  Using a permanent marker or glitter pens/glue write SHALOM across the front of the globe.  Punch a hole and attach a ribbon or string to hang.

Click to print PDF

Advent Package – Week 2: To Bring PEACE

This week’s devotional talks about the song Mary sang about God’s amazing love, power, and peace while she was visiting Elizabeth.  Singing or listening to music together can calm us down and make us feel connected.  Try the activity on pg. 16 of the package to make a paper chain highlighting lyrics to music that brings you peace. (Extra pre-cut construction paper to make chains was included in your Advent Package bag).

If you did not receive an Advent Package and would like one, please contact the church office.

Sunday Worship Service - November 28, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT / AGAPE MEAL

NOVEMBER 28, 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 / Carol Sing:

O Come All Ye Faithful (vs. 1, 2) VU 60

(Words in English: Frederick Oakeley, 1841; Music: John Francis Wade, 1743)

1 O come, all ye faithful, 
joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
come and behold him,
born the King of angels. 

Refrain:
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

2 God of God, light of light,
lo, he abhors not the virgin's womb,
very God, begotten, not created.  R

Angels We Have Heard on High VU 38 (vs. 1, 2)

(Words & Music: from a French Carol, 1860)

1 Angels we have heard on high
sweetly singing o'er the plains,
and the mountains in reply,
echoing their joyous strains.

Refrain:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

2 Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heavenly song?

Refrain:

Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Acknowledgement of Territory   Rev. Lorrie Lowes

As we begin our worship today, we remember that in this congregation, we live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe Peoples. We give thanks for their stewardship of the land and the water, the plants and the animals, through many generations. We also acknowledge their story, and our place in it, with sorrow. As we continue to live on this land with respect for it and for its people, may we commit to working toward truth, justice and reconciliation. All my relations.

Welcome & Announcements    Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, on this first Sunday of Advent - a time of waiting, of preparing, of getting ready, as we welcome and celebrate the birth of Jesus. As our usual practice, there will be an agape meal later in the service today. Please make sure you have some bread or crackers ready along with your favourite juice or drink.

Advent Poinsettia Memorial Flower Fund is back. You may donate a minimum donation of $10 to remember a loved one who had passed. A virtual poinsettia will be included in the online version of the service until Dec 19 with live poinsettia flowers will adorn our sanctuary. Please send in your request with a memorial note to the church office now until Dec 16.

If you are planning to attend the Christmas Eve Service, please register as soon as possible by calling or sending an email to the office. The list will help us plan for the service.

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org.

Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to centre yourself in the presence of God as we prepare to receive the gift of Advent hope. Let us gather in worship.

Lighting of the Advent Candle:  Hope            Acolytes: The Wightman Family

(Eric Hebert-Daly, Gathering ACE 2021-2022. Used with permission.)  

Reader 1:    
Today we light the candle of Hope.
Hope admits that we’re not quite there yet.
Hope means that something good is within reach.

Reader 2:    
Hope calls out to us, so that we come to see the good that awaits.
God is our hope.

Reader 3:    
Let us taste, see, hear, feel, smell and anticipate that hope.
May hope be found in a manger and throughout the world.

(The first Advent candle is lit)

Sung Response:  Hope is A Star (Verse 1) VU 7

(Words: Brian Wren, 1985; Music: Joan Collier Fogg, 1987)

Hope is a star that shines in the night,
leading us on till the morning is bright.
When God is a child there’s joy in our song.
the last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid. 

Call to Gather          Rev. Lorrie

(David Sparks, Gathering, ACE 2021-2022) 

It is Advent. Be alert.
In times of joy and abundance, we are ready.
In the midst of difficulty and danger, we are ready.
In times of uncertainty and fear, we are ready.
In times of apathy and despair, we are ready.
With anticipation and with hope,
We look for God’s long promised one.
We will not be disappointed,
We will not be disheartened.
Jesus’s birth is coming and we are ready!

Opening Prayer and Silent Confession

(Larry Doyle, Bob Root & Darrow Woods, Gathering, ACE 2013-2014, Used with permission.)

We enter, O God, into this season of preparation and anticipation, longing to skip ahead and celebrate the coming of your light into our darkness. You would have us first slow down, breathe deeply and prepare ourselves to receive your gift. We know that your Holy Spirit comes in powerful and unexpected ways and so we pray we might recognize you moving in and through the season. In Jesus’ name and in Jesus’ way, we pray in hope.

Let’s take a moment of silent confession…

Silent Confession

Words of Assurance

(Catherine Tovell, Gathering, ACE 2017-2018, used with Permission)

Even within the deepening shadows of this season, the light of God abounds.
We are a pilgrim people; we set out on journeys that lead to new insights and reveal new experiences, knowing that God will be with us wherever we go.
Let us not be discouraged. Let us be open to the light. Let us give thanks to God. Amen. 

Advent Hymn:   O Come, O Come Emmanuel (vs 1-4) VU 1

(Words: trans by John Mason Neale, 1851; Music: 15th Century plainsong melody)

1 O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. R

3 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe. R

4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave. R

Storytime for the Young at Heart             Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Did you hear what Rev. Kim said?? This is the first Sunday of Advent!! That means Christmas is coming up really soon and we need to get ready! That’s what “advent” means after all. It’s more than getting to open a window on the calendar every day and getting a chocolate treat… well, maybe that’s what it is for you kids, but I’m not a kid anymore and Advent means getting things ready. I’ve already started decorating but there are some other things… so many things to do!

Let’s see… I need to make a list…
Put up the lights
Send cards
Shop for food
Bake sweets
Wrap gifts

Oh, wait! First, I need to buy those presents!

So, here’s my list. It’s making me tired just thinking about it! I think I will be exhausted by the time Christmas gets here. I am getting tired just thinking about it! Sometimes I wish I was still a kid and could just enjoy the season…

There must be something I can do. I don’t think Jesus would want us to celebrate his birth by being anxious and tired… I think maybe I need to change this list. Let’s see… not much I can leave out really, but maybe there is something else I can do to make it better …

Put up the Lights (BE the Light)
Send cards (Send LOVE)
Shop for food (DONATE food)
Bake sweets (USE sweet WORDS)
Wrap gifts (Wrap someone in a HUG)

Maybe if I do all these things, I can get through my busy to-do list and still feel the happiness of this season. Yes! I can…

Buy presents (BE present)!

And then I can ENJOY THE SEASON!

So… this is the first Sunday of Advent and we light the first candle in our Advent Wreath – a purple or blue candle that stands for HOPE.

Jesus brought hope to a world that was hurting more than 2000 years ago. Our world is still hurting today, isn’t it? We are dealing with a pandemic, worrying about climate change, hearing about terrible weather causing floods and landslides in BC and now threatening the east coast as well. I think we could all use a little hope today too. So, let’s open our hearts to the love of Jesus and the lessons he taught so that we can be the hope our world needs today.

Let’s finish with a body prayer:

(From Advent Unwrapped – United Church of Canada)

Holy One,                                            (reach up and look out)
May your hope encircle me;                (spread arms wide and then move arms in an arc))
May your hope grow within me;          (spread arms wide, then put them on your heart)
May your hope reach beyond me.        (spread arms wide, the stretch them out in front of you)
Amen                                                   (head down, hands folded in prayer) 

Hymn:  Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary   MV 18

(Words & Music: John W. Thompson and Randy Scruggs, 1982)

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
pure and holy tried and true; with thanksgiving,
I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.

Prayer for Illumination       Reader:  Rev. Dr. Karen Boivin

Help us, O God, to be alert to signs
of your reign breaking into our lives.
May your Word of hope inspire us to bring
your promises to life in our waiting world. Amen. 

The Gospel Reading:    Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV)

25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees;30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

May the hope of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon:  “Advent’s Imagination: Notice, Attend, Look!”      Rev. Kim

Gracious God, thank you for the gift of your Word and as we reflect on them, open our hearts and our minds to hear your message for us in this Advent time. Amen.

Alas! Advent is here. We think that the opening of the new liturgical year would be cheery, or celebratory, or joyful particularly as we anticipate the birth of Jesus. But before we jump for joy as the hymn goes – please be reminded that each year, the gospel reading in the first Sunday of Advent gives us a taste of “little apocalypse”. Darkness, fear and foreboding define the landscape of the first Sunday of Advent, falling over the human spirit. Advent, as a path towards Christmas, is filled with dark tales; risky and dangerous journeys - fear and uncertainty in Mary’s heart, anguish in Joseph’s mind, shepherds stumbling through the Bethlehem night, rumors from foreigners that alarm Herod and ignite his rage, the Refugee Baby and his parents in their flight to Egypt and so on.

This year, Luke will be our storyteller telling us first of a “fear and foreboding” scenario. We read of celestial signs, natural catastrophes, distress on earth, the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke has an important message to tell. He wants his audience to know that the followers of Jesus must be on guard – to look, to take notice, to pay attention, to be alert at all times, ready for the coming of the end. They should therefore not be caught up in either the excessive pleasures or worries of the day, but rather remain watchful and confident, eager for the events Luke describes as they signal the approach of the deliverance of Jesus’ followers. Eugene Peterson’s version of this verse makes sense for today’s hearing. He writes: “But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping.” Indeed, the events Luke describe will be most worrisome for the "world" and the "powers of heaven". As I ponder on this text, however, rather than assuming there will be an end of time, I am far more convinced in the idea of God's time and God's actions throughout time. Rev. Patricia de Jong puts it this way: “The advent of God's time is not solely about God's coming at the end of time, but God's intrusion into our human story in this time – here and now.”

Luke is not offering these images in order to scare the pants off people but rather to assure his listeners that the healing of the world is at hand, and that we need to stay awake, stay alert, and learn to watch for the signs of what is ahead. Are we looking forward to such experience as Luke’s community had been forewarned?

Watch for the signs! Fear and foreboding too have fallen over our world in these past weeks and months. The COVID variant pandemic tops the line; the flooding in BC; the drowning of 27 migrants crossing the English Channel; the continuing plight of the Indigenous people; climate change protests, running down, killing and injuring people at a Christmas Parade in Wisconsin. We who are watching and listening are terrified. Anguish and panic have arisen among world leaders giving voice to our fears, our desire to keep peace at hand, to keep violence away from us.  And many rises to offer us false hope, the false assurance that we can keep ourselves safe if we keep certain evil people away.

Barbara Kingsolver has a new book of essays called "Small Wonder," and it is a poetic proclamation of the power of hope. It is also a harsh criticism against the excessive self-centeredness of America. Taking a sharp look at the wars, the natural disasters, the political violence of the 21st century, she writes a modern translation of Luke's little apocalypse. By the end of the book, the reader is confronted about the wastefulness of food consumption, the natural disasters caused by genetic crop engineering, the distortion of patriotism, the horrors of war and capital punishment. But she ends with good news - soaring words of hope--a call to self-discipline and compassion and tolerance and moral living--a vision that matches the energy of Jesus' words for us today. Rather than feeling hopeless, Kingsolver suggests that we should bang on the door of hope and refuse to let anyone suggest that no one is paying attention. She writes, "What I can find is this and so it has to be: conquering my own despair by doing what little I can. Stealing thunder, tucking it in my pocket to save for the long drought. Dreaming in the color green, tasting the end of anger." She concludes: "Small changes, small wonders. These are the currency of my endurance and my life. It is a workable economy."

Inspired by Kingsolver’s wisdom, I thought to myself, what if we prepared differently this year? I read about a project called the "Advent Conspiracy." It was started by a group of Christians who conspired to change the way we celebrate Christmas. These co-conspirators discovered that North Americans spend over $450 billion each year buying Christmas presents. They also learned that the greatest health problem in the world today is the lack of clean water. It would cost $10 billion to solve that problem. They wonder--what if we bought one less Christmas gift this year--you know, the sweater that will never be worn, the candle that will never get lighted, or the knickknack that will get returned the day after Christmas? They wonder--what if we took the money saved by not buying that gift and gave it to help someone in need, like folks who need clean water? They wonder--since Christmas began with a group of people who follow the ways of Jesus Christ, what if we conspired together to begin this season of preparation by walking the talk? Why not make this year a better Christmas story for you? What if we conspired with the folks in Chimpembi to support their building project? What if we conspired to support the Christmas Hampers to feed the hungry? What if we conspired to buy less and donate to the Mission and Service Fund? What if we conspired as advocates of truth and reconciliation? Instead of paying more attention to “doomsday conspiracy”, let us start our own "Advent conspiracy" as we anticipate the birth of Jesus.

One of the ancient signs of hope is the fruitfulness of fig trees.  Fig trees can live hundreds of years and are some of the oldest living trees on the planet.  It was believed that Rabbis often studied Torah under the cool shelter of fig trees, and the tree was associated with a quiet place to seek wisdom.  In today’s parable, Jesus compares the signs of hope to the budding leaves of a fig tree, to note that we also must be patient with the work of God.  One day you look closely and the first tiny, yellow-green leaves unwrap themselves and spread toward the sky. Then you know the seasons are changing. Soon there will be juicy figs ripening in the sun. For Jesus to use this symbol of fruitfulness and growing life, is a bit unusual. The rest that we yearn and the peace in the world we long for, does not always come quickly.  We have to be watchful, paying attention to the signs of hope in our midst – it could be in the form of nature, or through music or a warm smile from a child. Signs of hope are everywhere if we only notice them.

Advent reminds us, that although we are to watch for the signs, we must, like the fig tree that Jesus evokes in this passage, be rooted in the life of the earth. What signs of hope have you been called to imagine, to look, to notice, to pay attention to? Perhaps you’ve seen shooting stars and comets that give you some sign of being called to a vocation? An earthquake that shook your faith? A red cardinal with a message pecking at your window pane? A fog that caused you to panic but still you arrived home safely? Signs are everywhere and all we need to do is to be alert and to pay attention. All of these signs unveil or reveal something. A message is there for us to discover. Jesus calls us in each moment through these signs that will stir up our imagination and hopefully nudge us to keep our faith alive. There is a sense, after all, in which we as Christians live the apocalypse on a daily basis. 

Friends, we have lit a candle of hope this morning, and during the coming week it is our job to keep that flame of hope burning.  As we come to God’s table of grace on this first Sunday of Advent, how is God inviting us to be imaginative and attentive at the same time? How are we preparing for the birth of Jesus? What are the things or experiences that keep us centered in God?  What is it that we long for in these Advent days? Sometimes we must be patient with God, like waiting three or four years for the fig tree to bear fruit.  Hope is like planting and tending a fig tree, paying attention and being patient that we may reap a lifetime of good fruit. Nancy Rockwell says it beautifully: “Be part of the fruitful time, not part of the terror. Be a fig tree, stand in the darkness and begin to blossom, do not join the world in its fear and foreboding, but let your faith in God’s coming shine in you. Let your light shine.” Welcome to Advent. Amen.

Sources that helped me with my sermon:

1. The BCUC Lectionary Group

2. Nancy Rockwell, “Fear and Foreboding”, patheos.org.

3. Rev. Bill Britt, Wake Up! Christmas Is Coming, Day 1. Org

4. Barbara Kingsolver, Small Wonder.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer       Rev. Kim

(Source: faithandworship.com)

Advent God, as we wait, we journey with you,
to Bethlehem’s stable,
ears attuned to the song of angels,
eyes alert for Bethlehem’s star.

This is Advent, the season of preparation.
The shops are full of gifts that we might give or receive.

Streets are decorated and carols are being played.
Forgive us, if on our journey,
we are distracted by the tempting offers of this world.

Prepare our hearts not only for the celebration to come,
but also, for sharing that Good News with family, friends and strangers.

Grant us courage and a real willingness to talk about the love
that came down to earth and walked among us. 
Let us be your agents of mercy and healing.

May we conspire to help those who lack resources for medical care,
for the homeless, for the hungry,
for those who are broken in body, mind, or spirit,
for those who are grieving and for all who are struggling.

Let us not overlook all those who need compassion and comfort
and those who yearn for hope.

Keep our hearts aflame with the hope of Christmas,
and the promise of birth. All these we ask in the name of Jesus Christ and in the words of this ancient prayer that we recite together: 

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. 

Communion Hymn: One Bread, One Body  VU 467  

(Words and Music: John B. Foley, 1978)

Refrain:

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the earth
We are one body in this one Lord

1 Gentile or Jew, servant or free
Woman or man, no more. Refrain

2 Many the gifts, many the works
One in the Lord, of all. Refrain

3 Grain for the fields, scattered and grown
Gathered to one, for all. Refrain 

The Agape Meal     Rev. Kim Vidal & Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(Kim)

 “Agape” is the New Testament Greek word for “self-giving love”. The kind of love that comes from God and models God’s loving choice for our well-being and all of Creation. In the Christian tradition, agape is also the name for informal meals and times of togetherness and mutual sharing which remind us of all those meals Jesus shared with his friends and the unity that his Spirit continues to give us even today.

Invitation (Kim)

(Peter Chynoweth, The Gathering, ACE 2019-2020. Used with permission)

Sharing food is an important part of our holy celebrations and gatherings with friends and family. We know that eating at table is one of the ways we experience companionship, share love and stories, nurture our social connections and satisfy our physical needs for sustenance. Today, we are invited by God to gather at this table where we share bread and drink as important symbols of our existence as a faith community, symbols of welcome to those who come to worship and eat at table with us. This is God’s table! These are God’s gifts. May we know and experience the welcome that is intended.

Prayer of Consecration (Lorrie)

Loving friend and companion, we welcome your presence with us. May these gifts of bread and cup, nourish our bodies, hearts and minds. And may our spirits be refreshed as we live in the light of your presence, with us now, and at all times and places. Send now your Holy Spirit upon this bread and this cup, O God that they might be our remembrance and our proclamation of the presence of Jesus Christ with us, through us and in us.  Amen.

The Sharing of the Bread and the Cup (Kim)

Let us now share and partake the bread and the cup reminding us of God’s unconditional love. This is the bread – food for the Advent journey. Take, eat and be nourished by God’s love.
This is the cup – drink for the Advent journey. Take, drink and be sustained by God’s grace. 

Prayer after the Meal (Lorrie)

(Rt. Rev. Richard Bott, Gathering, ACE 2015-2016. Used with permission.)

With this taste of the bread of life,
with this taste of the cup of Love,
send us into the world, God –
so that we might whisper your coming,
so that we might sing your Advent.
so that we might live your birth,
now and forever. Amen! 

Invitation to Offer             Rev. Lorrie

We are the work of God's hands, the psalmist says, and God continues to shape us each day into a people of goodness and peace. That is why we bring gifts this morning: to be part of creating a more beautiful world through the ministry of this church and the witness of our lives each day. Let us gather our time, talents and treasures together and present them as an offering to God.

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: (spaciousfaith.com)

Holy One, this Advent season we wait in hope.
And we give in hope.
Hope for your coming reign;
Hope because of your presence with us even now.
Receive these generous offerings,
And use them for your work of healing and hope in our world. Amen.

Sending Forth           Rev. Kim

(Bob Root, Gathering, ACE 2018-2019, Used with permission.)

And now, may the brightness of hope
be our gift as we leave this time and place.
May we go out strengthened because we have been together
and touched by God’s Spirit.
May we continue to be a light of hope to the world,
that everyone might see the good ness of God!

Go in hope. Amen!

Hymn:   O Come, O Come Emmanuel (vs 5-7) VU 1

(Words: trans by John Mason Neale, 1851; Music: 15th Century plainsong melody)

5 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death's abode.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.

 Refrain

7 O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain 

Carol: In the Bleak Midwinter VU 55

(Words: Christina Georgina Rosetti, 1872; Music: Gustav Theodor Holst, 1906)

Advent Memorial Flowers

Departing Music:  Minuet (G. F. Handel)

Announcements

Sunday school activities - November 28, 2021

Theme Discussion

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. “Advent” is the time we spend waiting and getting ready for Christmas. What are some things you do in your family to get ready for Christmas? Do these things help the time go by quickly? Imagine if there was no time to get ready for Christmas and it just came by surprise one morning and then it was over… Would there be some things you would miss? (Singing carols, baking cookies, writing to Santa, decorating the house, going for a Christmas tree…?)

At church we count the Sundays till Christmas. We mark them by lighting a new candle each week until the Sunday before Christmas. Did you notice how many candles are on our Advent Wreath in the sanctuary? There are 4 - just 4 Sundays till Christmas! Each one has a special word that goes with it. Today’s candle is for Hope.

The time when Jesus was born was a scary time in many ways for people the Hebrew people. They were ruled by an oppressive government and the world did not seem like a fair or a safe place. It’s often described as a time of darkness. Hope was certainly something the people needed. 

The words “hope” and “wish” are sometimes used in the same way but they are actually quite different. Wishes are something we desire but aren’t necessarily possible - like “I wish I could wake up with super powers like Spiderman!” Hopes are also something we desire, and they are usually things that would make life better for us or for the world - like, “I hope we can find a way to make sure everyone in the world has enough to eat.” Hopes are often even things we can help to make happen. 

Can you think of some hopes for this Christmas that you might have for yourself or the people around you? Are there some things you can do to help make them happen?

Response Activity Ideas

Hope Ornament

A candle in the darkness can be a symbol of hope.  Make this stained-glass style ornament for your tree or to hang in the window and think about being a light of hope for those around us.

Click to print template PDF

Materials: print out the template (preferably on cardstock) or make your own with black construction paper, scissors, small tissue paper squares, glue, string

Cut out the circles, including cutting out the white middle sections (around the candle).  Placing the candle circle face down on the table, glue tissue paper squares in an overlapping pattern to fill in the blank space around the candle.  When it is filled in, glue the plain circle, black side up, onto the back to make a tidy reverse side.  Attach a string to hang if you wish.

Symbol Scavenger Hunt

In today’s Bible passage being read in church, it tells us to get ready and pay attention!  It tells us to be on the look out for signs of hope, signs of good changes to come, and signs of ways for us to be like Jesus in our world today. This can be super-tricky when we’re SO busy and getting SO excited about decorations, shopping, gifts, and treats at this time of year!   

Think about focusing in on the signs of the real meaning of Christmas by doing a scavenger hunt with this list (PDF).

You may not find them all today, but challenge yourself to be on the lookout over the next few weeks and think about the meaning of the symbols you see!  Will you be able to slow down and take notice?

Illustrated Ministry Advent Package

The theme for week one is “To Hold Hope” and tells how Mary and Elizabeth were told that God had big plans for their babies! As they came together to support each other, the women were filled with the Holy Spirit and with hope for future, despite feeling nervous about all the uncertainty that lay ahead.

Follow the craft activity on page 8 (template on page 11) of the package to create a bird to remind us of the Holy Spirit’s messages of hope.

If you did not receive an Advent Package and would like one, please contact the church office.

Sunday Worship Service - November 21, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

REIGN OF CHRIST SUNDAY

NOVEMBER 21, 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: Fairest Lord Jesus (arr. Phillip Keveren)

Welcome & Announcements        Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ who reigns in our hearts forever! Today, the Christian Church is celebrating the “Reign of Christ” which is also referred to as Christ the King Sunday. This Sunday signifies that our faith in Jesus the Christ is founded on the principles not of tyranny & violence but of justice, compassion, integrity and love.

Please join us next Sunday, on Nov 28th, we begin a new liturgical season. It’s the First Sunday of Advent and we are celebrating the sacrament of communion at our onsite service and agape meal online.

Advent Poinsettia Memorial Flower Fund is back. You may donate a minimum donation of $10 to remember a loved one who had passed. A virtual poinsettia will be included in the online version of the service from Nov. 28 until Dec 19 with live poinsettia flowers will adorn our sanctuary. Please send your request with a memorial note to the office now until Dec 16.

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org to keep you informed and give you opportunities to respond.

Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to centre yourself in the spirit of Jesus Christ who reminds us that his reign is the reign of love and justice. Let us gather in worship.

Lighting of the Christ Candle        Acolytes: George & Susan Young

We light this Christ candle reminding us that God’s light reigns in our hearts.
We long for God’s love and justice to come to our world,
to break through and reign over us in this time and in this place.
May this flame renew our faith that we may live in Jesus’ way. 

Call to Gather                Rev. Lorrie Lowes

(Susan McAllister, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year B, 2021. Used with Permission.) 

Grace to you and peace from the One
who is, and who was, and who is to come.
Grace to you and the peace of Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness and bearer of truth.
Lift your voices in praise and thanksgiving,
For the end is no longer the end, but the beginning.
Shout your alleluias,
so we may renew our world with the vision
of peace and justice that God would have us live.
God is the Alpha and the Omega,
the One who is and who was and is to come.
Alleluia!

Prayer of Approach

(Moderator Rt. Rev. Richard Bott, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year B, 2021)

You are the source of all things.
You are the beginning and end.
You are the great “I am”.
And we are blessed in knowing you.
God of all things,
we ask for your help.
Help us.
We ask for your wisdom.
Guide us.
We ask for your compassion.
Love us.
So that we might be compassionate and wise
As we help in your world.
May it be this way,
By your grace, Loving God. Amen.

Hymn: I Danced in the Morning VU 352

(Words: Sydney Carter, 1963; Music: Shaker Melody adapt. and harm. Sydney Carter, 1963)

1 I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came from heaven and I danced on the earth;
at Bethlehem I had my birth.

Refrain:
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
and I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
and I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

2 I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
but they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
they came with me and the dance went on. R

3 I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
the holy people said it was a shame;
they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high,
and left me there on a cross to die. R

4 I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
it's hard to dance with the devil on your back;
they buried my body and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the dance and I still go on. R

5 They cut me down and I leap up high;
I am the life that will never, never die;
I'll live in you if you'll live in me;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he. R

Dedication of the Steinway Piano & The New Portico                 Rev. Kim

Words of Dedication:

Dear friends, this is a day of rejoicing. We come together to dedicate two special gifts to Bells Corners United Church for the glory of God.

First, we dedicate the Steinway Baby Grand Piano in loving memory of Cynthia Watson. We give thanks for the gift of music which she lavishly shared with all of us. Thank you, Denis Watson & family, for this precious gift.

In the name of the holy and triune God, Creator, Christ and Spirit, we dedicate this Steinway Grand Piano to the glory of God. May our worship services resonate with music that lifts our hearts and fills our senses, in hymns that support and nourish all who worship here, in songs that strengthen our faith and inspire our work, in melodies that proclaim our praise and joy, and in harmonies that heal and comfort all.

We also dedicate the new portico in grateful appreciation of all who have donated funds towards this project and in loving memory of Irene Stinson. We also thank the members of the Portico Project Team – Ron Chuchryk, Rory Gardiner, Bob Wright and members of the Property Management Committee for overseeing this project from conception to finish.

In the name of the holy and triune God, Creator, Christ and Spirit, we dedicate this new portico so that the life of our congregation and the community may be enhanced, deepened, and enriched.

In grateful remembrance of all who have loved and served this church in the past and for those who will serve it in the future, with sincere gratitude, consecrate and dedicate this Steinway Grand Piano and the New Portico.

Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Let us pray.

Loving God, giver of all good gifts, we give thanks for all those who by witness, generosity and work have contributed to the improvement of this sacred space, and in doing so have made a commitment to the long-term prosperity of this congregation. Bless these gifts for their usefulness. Help us take care of this grand piano and the new portico, be blessed by them,Ded care for them and pass them on to future generations. May we share the blessing of these gifts with others and the community. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Storytime for the Young at Heart         Rev. Lorrie

I bet you all have someone in your life who cares about you and wants to make sure that you are safe and happy. Most of us have parents or someone in our lives who would do just about anything to keep us from danger.

I read a very funny story about a mother who took that idea a little too far. It is called “Warner, Don’t Forget” and was written by Lynn Seligman. Warner’s mom was always reminding him of things… “Don’t forget to wear your hat and mitts… don’t forget to bring your bike home from the park… don’t forget to come straight home after school… don’t forget to brush your teeth…” mostly things that Warner wouldn’t forget – and you could almost hear Warner rolling his eyes. One day Warner brought home a note from school saying that his class was going on a field trip to the zoo. His mom wanted to go along but Warner told her that no moms were allowed. Can you imagine how his mom felt? She was really worried that he wouldn’t be safe if she wasn’t there to remind him of things – so she did something very creative. She dressed up in disguises and followed the class on the trip.

She dressed up as a crossing guard and reminded Warner, “Don’t forget to look both ways!” She dressed up as a ticket taker at the zoo and, when Warner came through the gate, she said, “Don’t forget to stay with your group.”

She dressed as a zookeeper and reminded him, “Don’t forget to stand back from the cages.” She even dressed up as a scuba diver and held up a sign in the window of the aquarium that said, “Warner, don’t put your nose against the glass!”

She didn’t fool Warner, though. At bedtime that night, he told her, “Don’t forget to tie your shoe laces, Mom; they’ve been undone all day.”

Warner wanted to be independent but I think he also knew that his mom did these things because she loved him. He didn’t get mad at her, he just let her know that he knew she was there beside him the whole way, making sure he was safe.

We are all glad to have someone who looks out for us and wants us to be safe, comfortable, and happy – but I don’t think we want our parents to be quite as obvious as Warner’s mom. At some point, she will have to trust Warner to make his own decisions. I think she can be pretty sure that he has learned a lot from her that will help him make good ones. And Warner will still know that she loves him, even without the reminders.

Our Bible reading this morning talks about God “who is and was and who is to come”. This is a God who was with us from the beginning of time and will always be with us. It’s comforting to know that God is always there, but God isn’t always as obvious as Warner’s mom. God sent Jesus to teach us the best way to live and now trusts us to make those good decisions that will make the world a better place. We don’t always notice that God is with us – unless we choose to look carefully. I bet Warner’s mom’s disguises would have worked and he would never have known she was following him if he wasn’t so observant. If we take the time to really look around us, I think we will see God is following us too. We can feel God’s presence in all the beautiful things in nature; we can feel God’s love in a warm hug from someone who loves us; and we can see God in the faces of people we meet – but we need to be looking, we need to be observant.

It’s comforting to know that God is always around us – is, and was, and will always be there. Knowing that helps us feel safe. Knowing that helps us remember all the things Jesus taught. So, keep your eyes and ears and hearts open!

Where did you see God today? 

Let’s finish with a prayer:

Holy One,
We are happy to know that you love us and will always be with us.
Thank you for all the lessons Jesus taught that will make this world a better place.
Thank you for trusting us to make our own decisions, and for still loving us no matter what happens. Help us to watch for you in all the places we go, and in all the people we meet. Amen. 

Hymn:   I’m Gonna Shout MV 183

(Words & Music: Bruce Harding, 1998)

1 I’m gonna shout, shout, shout out my love for Jesus, for Jesus!
I’m gonna shout, shout, shout out my love for God’s most holy child!

For whatever I might do today,
at home, at school, at work, at play,
I’ve got Jesus’ love deep down inside of me!

2 I’m gonna raise, raise, raise up my hands for Jesus, for Jesus!
I’m gonna raise, raise, raise up my hands for God’s most holy child!

For whatever I might do today,
at home, at school, at work, at play,
I’ve got Jesus’ love deep down inside of me!

3 I’m gonna dance, dance, dance all around for Jesus, for Jesus!
I’m gonna dance, dance, dance all around for God’s most holy child!

For whatever I might do today,
at home, at school, at work, at play,
I’ve got Jesus’ love deep down inside of me!

Prayer for Illumination  Reader:  Ian Howes

(Richard Bott, Gathering, Pentecost 2, Year B, 2015)

Holy God,
you are the Storyteller,
you are the Word.
Bless the reading.
Bless the listening.
Bless the sharing.
Bless the love in Christ’s name. Amen.    

The NT Reading:   Revelation 1: 4-8 (NRSV)

The Alpha & Omega

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;
    every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
    and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty

May the wisdom of God dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon:   “The First and Final Words”         Rev. Kim    

In the early 1920’s, the world was not in a good shape. There was a huge rise in secularism in the aftermath of World War I in which people lived their lives as if God did not exist. Dictatorial governments flourished and people were mass murdered by oppressive leaders. Those of the Christian faith began to doubt the authority and existence of Jesus Christ. There was a huge dissension against the Roman Catholic Church and people questioned the power of the Church to continue using Christ’s authority. Pope Pius XI felt the need for a feast celebrating the kingship of Jesus Christ over all humanity especially at a time when respect for Christ and for the Church was declining rapidly.  In 1925, Pope Pius XI assumed as his papal motto "Pax Christi in Regno Christi," translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ." He then proclaimed the Celebration of the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe known today as Christ the King Sunday or in some denominations like ours, The Reign of Christ Sunday. Pope Pius XI wanted to name Christ as King to remind Christians that their allegiance must remain in Christ – the true king, as opposed to any earthly rulers. 

I’m sure, that some of us are not comfortable with the image of Jesus as a king especially when it is understood to be an imperial title, or a monarch who could easily use his power in oppressing people; someone who is detached and remote from the realities of the everyday world. My personal understanding of Jesus is not one who is “high and mighty” but rather one “among the least”, the compassionate one, the one who lived humbly as a servant-leader. Instead of calling Jesus a king, I would rather describe him as kin to all. One who is among us. Is this the same Jesus Christ that John of Patmos talked about in the book of Revelation?

The word revelation is “apocalypse” in Greek which literally means “unveiling” or “disclosure”. For modern-day readers and hearers of this book like us, the word apocalypse evokes fear and mystery. The book is shrouded in symbols, images and numbers that speak of the end times and the “judgment day” - a time understood by many to be the end of the world. Sadly, the interpretation of this book has been left in the hands of many fundamentalists who take each and every word literally which are not useful at all. I admit - Revelation is full of violent language, riveting imagery and coded language. I would highly recommend that paying attention to its historical, social, political and religious contexts are essential in interpreting the book properly. If we do that, however, be prepared to be confronted with a revolutionary, subversive message that speaks directly to our own times.

Revelation reveals a story of the first century Christians who need assurance and hope as they persist in their faith. It is a story of the early followers of Jesus Christ, who lived under the terror of Roman power. It was a time when they were persecuted, murdered and exiled for following Jesus - a different “Christ” - not the Christ or Saviour or the Anointed One personified by Caesar of the Roman Empire. These early believers may well have wondered if God was in control.

 John, the writer of Revelation, believed to be an elder of the early church, was exiled as a political prisoner in the Island of Patmos, off the coast of present-day Turkey. While imprisoned in Patmos, he wrote his prophetic visions in coded forms addressed to the seven early churches in Asia Minor. John personally shares the suffering of the churches, hoping that it will bring an end to the old world of fear and oppression brought about by Caesar and in its place, a new movement with Jesus Christ. John strongly urges the early Christian that those who will remain loyal and faithful to God and acclaim Jesus as the true ruler until the end will be granted a utopian world – a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more tears nor sorrow nor pain. John believed that God through Jesus, the Ruler of the Universe, will come down when the end is at hand and tidy up the mess.  Early Christian communities believed that.  Unfortunately, they were wrong. The world did not come crashing down as predicted by John.

What is the message of John’s revelation for us today? What does it mean to be faithful in a time when faithfulness seems pointless? What does it mean to resist when resistance seems futile? In Chapter 1, John saw Jesus as the one "who is and who was and who is to come" echoing the God revealed to Moses in the burning bush. This God, according to the Rev. Jim Kast Keat “has been up to something, is up to something, and will continue to be up to something in our lives and in our world. It is this Jesus as God incarnate, the word made flesh, loving us and freeing us.”

John’s salutation in Chapter 1 introduces us to two important words:  grace and peace. Grace is the standard gentile greeting. Peace or shalom is the standard Jewish greeting. By putting these two words together in the opening suggests that the message of Revelation is for everyone. Grace and peace are gifts from a God who is dynamic not static.  Through grace and peace, we proclaim a dynamic faith in a God who was part of our history; a God who is present in the world; and a God who will midwife a new era or a new birth.

Grace and peace come from Jesus too, who according to John, is the Alpha and the Omega. the beginning and the end. As the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus reveals who God truly is – a God of love and justice. A God who was with us at birth and who will meet us at the end of life. It’s unfortunate that John of Patmos used coded language that are violent, exclusive and derogatory particularly for those who are not in the circle. But we have a responsibility to take John’s words, disagree with them and lay down our honest interpretation of our perception of who God or Jesus is. I cannot speak for each of you but I can start the ball rolling for a good dialogue. For me, Jesus Christ is not a tyrant ruler but a lover of humanity. He is not a power-greed leader but a servant-leader. Jim Kast-Keat writes: “This is not a Revelation of logical arguments or sound reasoning, but a Revelation of a person, a Revelation of a human relationship. And it is this person, this relationship, this Jesus that offers the hope for change, from hate to love, from sin to salvation… Change has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen. In Jesus we see God incarnate, the word made flesh, loving us and freeing us.” Revelation, though a very difficult book to understand, proved that no matter how much forces of evil are in the world, God will be God. There is no denying that forces of evil are very much present in our world today.  We need God’s grace and peace to love one another because in loving one another we come to know God incarnate in Jesus.  

Here we are, on this Reign of Christ Sunday, the end of a liturgical year, marked by the unending saga of the Covid-19 pandemic; of wars, violence and protests in many parts of the world; of stories of racism and discrimination; of millions of refugees fleeing their homeland and awaiting doors of refuge to be opened. All these things deserve our undivided attention because human life is sacred and precious wherever it is. We surely are living in desperate times.

Here is my challenge to all of you. If the book of Revelation teaches us how to resist evil violently, which I do not embrace, we need to counteract John’s words by resisting evil creatively. Through the power of grace and peace, creative resistance occurs when one reacts to any negative experience, be it pain, violence or death, in a creative way – like the use of music or art or humour to stop violence and hate. An African-American comedian who died not too long ago by the name of Dick Gregory has been credited by most as the first African-American comedian to reach fame by challenging racism through comedy. One of his classic jokes on this topic was about him going to a restaurant in the segregated South and being told by the white waitress, “We don’t serve colored people here.” To which Gregory replied: “That’s all right, I don’t eat colored people. Just bring me a whole fried chicken.” That’s what I call creative resistance. The actions of creative resistance bring communities together against the powers of evil of this world.

Dear friends, when you embody grace and peace to such a degree that you can mock evil to its face, that’s the way to resist evil in the world today. Grace and peace are always present when we love. Loving God and loving others are the ways of Jesus Christ in the world today. One final word. I don’t think Jesus wants us to call him King.  Or treat him like one.  I think he wants us to recognize him as our brother.  Our kin.  One who is like us. This good news requires lives of courageous faithfulness in key moments of our lives. This I know for sure. Change will come when the power of God’s love is greater than the love of power.  This, here, now, is the time for Advent to begin. God’s first and final words to all of us: grace and peace be with you. Christ reigns forever. Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer       Rev. Lorrie

Holy One, who is and was and is to come,
We approach you today holding the many joys and concerns of our hearts. 

We pray for those in our community and in this faith family who are struggling with illness, injury, and grief. Cast your light and love on all those who feel they are walking in dark times. Give them healing and hope.

We pray for those who feel abandoned, marginalized, or unloved. Wrap them in your loving embrace.

We pray for those dealing with insecurity – financially, and emotionally. We pray for those living in war and conflict. Give them peace and safety.

We pray for Creation: for this planet and for all its people as we deal with the many crises that face us.

This day, we hold the people of British Columbia in our hearts and prayers as they deal with the flooding and mudslides that have closed highways and threatened lives. We pray for the world leaders as they grapple with the complicated issue of Climate Change.

On this Reign of Christ Sunday, we share the words written by Ted Dodd  for DOTAC, the Diakonia of the Americas and the Caribbean:

Alpha and Omega,
Beginning and End,
Transcendent and Imminent,
you are our God.
Reveal yourself in the beauty and extravagance of your vision.
Help us see creation from your divine perspective.
Allow us to imagine the world from your eternal point of view.
Transport us into your grace and your presence.
Renew the hopes of your tired people.
Dwell with us in the work of justice.
Write words of compassion on our hearts.
Unveil the beauty of a new Jerusalem.
May the tears of the distressed and the lonely,
be wiped away from their eyes.
May the deaths of the persecuted and exploited,
be no more.
May the mourning of the those crying and grieving,
pass away.
Make all things new:
enough of the hatred and horror;
enough of the inequality and prejudice;
enough of the apathy and greed.
Alpha and Omega,
Beginning and End,
Transcendent and Imminent,
you are our God.
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

All of the joys and the concerns that we express aloud, and all those we carry in our hearts, we bring to you as we repeat the ancient prayer that Jesus taught his followers:

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

I invite you to give lovingly, as we serve God through the sharing and offering of time, talents and treasures. These gifts empower the ministry within our congregation and respond to the needs of our community and the world. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the mailbox 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

You are the Alpha and the Omega, the one who was, and is, and is to come. |
We give thanks for your faithfulness and love.
Receive now our response to your abundant grace.
Strengthen our generosity so that we may continue
to change the world according to your will.
In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Sending Forth           Rev. Kim

Sisters and brothers in Christ, as you leave this place,
offer to God your hopes and dreams for a better world.
Keep your hearts steadfast on the priorities to which Jesus Christ taught us:
to love God and your neighbours, to do justice, and to walk the talk.
Let us go forth with confidence in the name
of God the Alpha & Omega
of Jesus Christ, Love Incarnate,
and of the Holy Spirit, Comforter and Sustainer. Amen!

Hymn:   I See A New Heaven   VU 713 (vs 1, 3, 4)

(Words & Music: Carolyn McDade, 1979)

Refrain:
I see a new heaven. I see a new earth
as the old one will pass away,
where the fountain of life flows
and without price goes
to all people who abide in the land.

1 There, there on the banks
of a river bright and free,
yielding her fruit, firm in her root,
the Tree of Life will be. R

3 There, there where the darkness
brings visions from above.
There where the night, bearing new light,
reveals the promise of love. R

4 There, there where we work
with the love of healing hands.
Labour we must, true to our trust
to build a promised new land. R

Departing Music: (over announcement slides) Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (arr. Phillip Keveren)

Sunday school activities - November 21, 2021

Theme Discussion

Did you know that this Sunday is like New Year’s Eve in the church? The new church year starts next Sunday with Advent!

You may have noticed that the decorations in the sanctuary change colour throughout the year. Have you ever wondered why? These colours are all beautiful but each one is chosen for a reason. The colour of the banner behind the communion table, the table cloth, and the banners in front of the pulpit and lectern – and even the colours that Rev. Kim and Rev. Lorrie wear - follow the pattern of the church calendar and change with each season.

Here’s how it goes from now to the end of 2022:

Advent starts next Sunday and we will see the church decked out in BLUE for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. (Some churches will use PURPLE, either one is right). This is the time we prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. (November 28 - December 24)

On Christmas Day, it will change to WHITE to celebrate that birth, and stay that way for just a short time, for the season of Epiphany. Usually, we think of Epiphany as the time when the Magi visit the baby Jesus.  (December 25 – January 6)

Then we move into Ordinary Time, a time for learning about Jesus’ life and his teachings. It starts with the Baptism of Jesus Sunday (January 9) and the colour will be GREEN, all the way to March 1.

March 2 is Ash Wednesday and that marks the beginning of Lent. This is a season when we think about the time leading up to the death of Jesus and the colour for this season is PURPLE (except for Good Friday, when the only colour in the sanctuary is BLACK). This is usually a serious and sombre time. We “put away” the Hallelujahs for this season. It is a time for reflection. (March 2 - April 16)

Then, on Easter Sunday we celebrate that Jesus is alive in the world by changing the colour to a nice, bright WHITE again and we sing lots of hallelujahs! (April 17 - June 4)

The day that the Holy Spirit came to the disciples of Jesus is called Pentecost and the colour we us on that day is RED to represent the image of the “tongues of fire” from that story. (June 5)

The next day, we change the colour to GREEN because it is Ordinary Time again. (June 6 - September 10)

The next colour change happens on Thanksgiving Sunday. This is the beginning of Creation Time and is a bright, beautiful ORANGE – perfect for Fall! Orange Shirt Day happens in this season too! (September 11 – October 9)

And then it’s back to GREEN once more, the colour for Ordinary Time. We also think of this as a “saints time” because it includes Peace Sunday, All Saints Day, and Remembrance Sunday, all times when we think of people who do amazing things in the world. (October 10 – November 20)

And then the cycle will begin again!

1.     Do you think it’s a good idea to change the colours in the sanctuary as the church seasons change?

2.     Do you think the colours represent the seasons of the church well? Are there any you would change if it was up to you? Why?

3.     What is your favourite season in the church? Why?

Response Activity Ideas

Church Year Calendar

Print out the pie chart divided up for all the different ‘seasons’ of the church year.  Colour and decorate it following the example and explanation in the theme discussion.  If you can, mark and label other important church days like Palm Sunday, Remembrance Sunday, or the Baptism of Jesus, etc.

Click to print PDF

Design Antependia

Ante-what??!  Antependia are the decorative cloths and hangings that go on a communion table and hang from the pulpit or lectern.  At BCUC, there are special antependia for each of the seasons, some of them handmade by people in our congregation! 

Pick one of your favourite seasons in the church year and create your own decorative hanging for the pulpit on paper.  Think about the important colour for that season and use it a lot in your design or as the background.  What other symbols might you include to represent the meaning of the season or highlight the important days that take place during that time?

Christian Year Poem or Song

The CGS and Bell Canto Singers know a “Christian Year Chant” that they sing from time to time as a warm-up, rhythm game, and to remember the church seasons!  It goes like this:

Celebrate the seasons!
Celebrate the seasons!
Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent,
Easter, (Hallelujah!)
And a Pentecost event.
Christian Year!
Christian Year! 

It is missing the Season of Creation Time, though!  Can you write a new little poem or rhyme to help remember the seasons in order?  You could try using the tune from a song like Twinkle Twinkle or The Ants Go Marching or something to give you a melody and rhythm to follow.  Share it with Erin or a CGS/Bell Canto choir member if you come up with something fun!

Sunday Worship Service - November 14, 2021

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

25th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Youth and Children Sunday

November 14, 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: “Praise the Lord with the Sound of Trumpet” VU245

1.    Praise the Lord with the sound of trumpet,
Praise the Lord with the harp and lute,
Praise the Lord with the gentle sounding flute.
Praise the Lord in the field and forest,
Praise the Lord in the city square,
Praise the Lord anytime and anywhere.
Praise the Lord in the wind and sunshine,
Praise the Lord in the dark of night.
Praise the Lord in the rain or snow or in the morning light.
Praise the Lord in the deepest valley,
Praise the Lord on the highest hill,
Praise the Lord, never let your voice be still. 

2.    Praise the Lord with the crashing cymbal,
Praise the Lord with the pipe and string,
Praise the Lord with the joyful songs you sing.
Praise the Lord on a weekday morning,
Praise the Lord on a Sunday noon,
Praise the Lord by the light of sun or moon.
Praise the Lord in the time of sorrow,
Praise the Lord in the time of joy,
Praise the Lord every moment, nothing let your praise destroy.
Praise the Lord in the peace and quiet,
Praise the Lord in your work or play,
Praise the Lord everywhere in every way! 

Welcome & Announcements      Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Good Morning! Welcome to this service of worship on a day when we especially spotlight the children and youth here at Bells Corners. We sure miss their voices and their energy here in the building! This year and a half of YouTube and hybrid services has been good in many ways, but most difficult when it comes to feeling that wonderful sense of family that we enjoy as a congregation. So I hope this time of worship will help to lift your spirits and remind you that we are together in our hearts, even if we are not all together in the sanctuary.

We do continue to offer in-person worship in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. It is a modified hybrid of video recordings and live participation. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org to keep you informed and give you opportunities to respond.

Friends, in the knowledge that, even when we can’t all be together in one place, we know we are embraced in a wide circle of love. We begin our service this morning with a Minute for Mission highlighting one of the many ways the United Church of Canada takes this love out into the world.

Minute for Mission

Every Person Is a Superhero: Esbikenh’s Story
A story about a teacher using Superheroes to teach indigenous languages.

Lighting of the Christ Candle        Acolytes: Virginia & Sadie Davidson

(Scott Martin, inspired by Godly Play, Gathering Pentecost 2 2021, p30. Used with permission)

There once was a wonderful man who did wonderful things and they said, “He is the light of the world.” In his light, the light of Christ, we gather.

Call to Gather      Bree & Jack Kelly

(Selina Mullin, Gathering Pentecost 2 2021, p30. Used with permission)

All are welcome in this place, all are welcome in God’s space.
Young and old and in between,
Short and tall, large and lean.
Those who are lonely, tired, and hurting,
Or giggling, smiling, or practically bursting.
Each as we are, wonderfully made,
We join in God’s house together, today. 

Prayer of Approach

(Jim McKean, Gathering Pentecost 2 2021, p33. Used with permission.)

Strong and Tender One,
We approach you today, filled with childlike wonder and a willingness to express ourselves beyond our comfort level. Open us so we may soar beyond the comfort of the present. Move us into your presence, more and more, day by day. Amen. 

Hymn:   “Small Things Count”  VU361

1.    Small things count so Jesus said:
Cups of water, crumbs of bread,
Small things done because we’re kind
Count as big things in God’s mind. 

2.    Small things make the big things grow:
Grains of yeast inside the dough,
Puffs that fill a big balloon,
Notes that make a happy tune. 

3.    Every hair that’s on our head,
Every sparrow, Jesus said,
God takes care of, counts and knows,
God loves us from top to toes. 

Storytime for the Young at Heart     Noah & Nicholas Berard

“Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed” by Emily Pearson

This is the story of an ordinary girl named Mary who changed the world by one act of kindness that inspired others to do the same.

Music: “Peace in My Fingers” – The CGs (Christian Generation Singers)

Prayer for Illumination Reader: Raven Miller

Holy One,
These ancient words, so carefully preserved, are sometimes difficult for your children to understand today. Open us to the messages you want us to hear. Help us see our path in this world, through the wisdom of our ancestors. Amen.

The Reading:   Hebrews 10 :11-25 (NRSV)

11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
    after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds,”

17 he also adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

From this letter, written so long ago, may we find guidance for our living today.  

Sermon: Superheroes and Ordinary Marys      Rev. Lorrie Lowes

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Superman!

Superheroes capture our imagination, don’t they? I’m not just talking to the kids here, we adults love the stories, the comics, and the action films too. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman… we love them all – and we all have times in our lives when we wish one of them would suddenly appear to save the day.

I think many of us can identify with that feeling these days. After a year and a half of fighting against this pandemic with its restrictions and protocols, months without being able to gather with friends and family, worry over every cough or sneeze, and confusion over what is safe and what is not, we just want life to be normal – whatever normal will look like at the end of this.

In our Lectionary Group this week, we noted that it’s not just Covid 19 that has our minds in turmoil. There is a climate emergency to deal with as well, and both of these things affect our own sense of security – economic security, job security, food security, the hope for a secure future.  And, as if all that isn’t scary enough, it seems that other evil things are raising their heads – things we thought we were making progress on – things like racism, violence, conspiracy theories, and all the phobias that keep us from being part of a loving community. We hear so many differing opinions and theories that we can’t tell what is true anymore. We don’t feel safe in the world and so we build walls around us.

There are days when the idea of a superhero swooping in to save the day seems like the only solution.

Our reading today is from a letter written to a Hebrew community that, it appears, might have been feeling the same way. The audience is not specifically named but it seems to be a community of Jewish people who were followers of Jesus. What is clear is that they are being persecuted for their beliefs and that their faith is wavering. They are ready to abandon what they have been taught in order to make life easier…safer. Things were bad before Jesus… and they really hadn’t gotten better since he died, in fact, in many ways, they were worse.

We know that the people of Jesus’ day were hoping for a Messiah – a kind of superhero who would swoop in like Superman and destroy the oppressive Romans. But who they got was more like Clark Kent, a man like them. He was human. He wasn’t wealthy or powerful in the expected way. He didn’t come with a huge army or powerful weapons. He was a humble man who came with love in his heart and a sense of justice.

This letter to the Hebrews is not an easy one to understand. I have to say, it grates a little on my own theology with its message of Jesus being the sacrifice for the world, as if his death was all that was necessary to make things right, that the work was done and now Jesus was just waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” I can imagine that the people who received this letter were feeling a bit abandoned by Jesus. Miracles had happened, progress was being made, and then, like Superman, he disappeared. Where was Jesus now when life was so difficult? Had he really been just a human being after all?

Where this reading redeems itself for me is in the new covenant, a direct quote from Jeremiah – so not really new to this community of Jews – “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

This, to me, sums up Jesus’ messianic mission… to present the laws in a new way, a way that gives both hope and responsibility to each person for creating a better tomorrow, a way of life that becomes a part of who we are, so strong that it is indelibly written right on our hearts and minds.

The letter writer points out that, with the death of Jesus, much of life has gone back to the old normal. The priests still make sacrifices every day, avoid unclean foods and clothing, and people. They follow the laws to the letter – at least their interpretation of those laws – but nothing changes. The world goes on in its same corrupt way. There seems to be no magic in these laws carved in stone. These laws have no life. What’s missing is the understanding that God’s laws are not arbitrary actions to please a supernatural being, but an internalized way of living that ensures the health and growth of this world and everyone – everything – in it.

When these laws are part of our very selves, written on our hearts and minds, we see the world in a different way. We see the world in the way that Jesus did where everyone is worthy of love whether they are like us or not, where we don’t classify people as friends or foes but realize all people are trying to figure out the best way forward. A world where we stop avoiding or fighting each other but rather engage with each other in love, have those hard conversations and really hear what is being said. A world where we truly want the best for everyone, the best for all of creation.

It’s hard work! Work that takes courage and perseverance. This is the kind of work that takes generations to even come close to making a difference. It would be so much easier if all it took was a superhero … or a sacrificial lamb.

And so, the author of this letter implores the people to not give up now. Jesus began the hard work but we need to carry it on. The Hebrews who received this letter were told how this needs to be done… “to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” Some translations say “to encourage one another” but I like this word “provoke” – it seems to have more intention, more purposeful power.

And just how do we do that – provoke each other to love and good deeds? Do we do it by writing it into law and then creating a system to enforce it? We know that isn’t the answer. There will always be some who will break those laws; our justice system is full of them. We do it by continuing to show love, by continuing to help others – even when we are feeling pretty beaten ourselves.

The characters in the story Noah and Nicholas read for us today were all doing just that. The little acts of kindness didn’t solve all of their problems, Louise still didn’t have a home, Joseph was still poor, Sophia was still grieving…They could have simply been grateful for a little happiness in their day and left it at that. But they didn’t leave it there, they did something nice for five others. They provoked others to love and good deeds. No big, flashy miracles or displays of power, just small acts of kindness. The power was in the sheer number of little kind actions.

We aren’t asked to be superheroes. We are simply asked to love, even when it’s hard, even when we aren’t feeling very lovable ourselves.

This letter gives us one more nugget of wisdom. It comes right on the heels of provoking one another to love and good deeds… “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

It’s advice that seems written for us in this time when we are all isolated in our homes, advice that speaks to the power of community. The harder it gets, the more we need each other. We weren’t able to gather as a congregation for so long and we still aren’t back to the full house we were used to. I think we were all good at keeping in touch when this pandemic first reared its ugly head. Phone calls to check in… running errands for those who couldn’t risk going out even with a mask and a bottle of sanitizer… emails, cards and letters… but we’re getting tired now. We’re getting used to being at home in our own cocoons. We keep up with those closest to us, but we’ve started to forget the neighbour down the road or the people we would only see once a week at church. We keep our loved ones close, in our own small bubbles. Our personal sense of family or community has gotten smaller as this time has gone on. And those connections are more important now than ever. Don’t neglect them, warns the letter writer.

I have used the analogy with the kids that going to church is like taking your car to a gas station to fill the tank so you can keep going. We get filled up on Sunday morning with love, with learning, with purpose, with all the things that encourage us to go out into the week as good followers of the Way. Let’s not let each other’s tanks run dry now. Watching the service on YouTube is great and certainly keeps us connected to our faith but we also need the wonderful community that has been built here at BCUC. It’s a reminder to reach out to those we miss…to keep the Circle Wide.

To connect to the children’s story this morning, what would happen if you contacted five people and they each reached out to five people…

We are all hoping for a miracle – or a superhero. We just want one perfect vaccine that will wipe out all the variants and is accessible to everyone in the world… We just want one wise and benevolent government leader who can make everyone happy, everyone in the world… We just want someone to stop the wars, stop the hatred, stop the global temperature from rising…

The people of the Bible were a lot like us. They were looking for a Messiah to solve the problems of their world. They wanted Jesus to be a superhero. Was he?

If Jesus had raised a heavenly army and defeated the Roman Empire, would that have changed the situation forever? Or would another power have taken its place?

What does it really take to change the world?

Long before Jesus was born, Micah told us… “Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God”.

Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Imagine if we all truly lived that way, not because these laws were written in stone, not because breaking them would lead to punishment or eternal damnation, but because they are part of who we are, because they were good laws written on our hearts?

Here’s a trivia question for you…What is Superman’s motto?

Well, according to Marvel Comics, for a very long time it has been “Truth, Justice, and the American Way”.

However, I read this week that it has just been changed. Now it is “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow”.

A motto worth remembering, one to write on our hearts.

Amen.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer       Rev. Kim Vidal

Let us gather our hearts in prayer.

Miracle of life,
may we honour your presence
in the promise of the chilly morning,
in the dancing brightness of the sun,
in the music of our spirits,
in the laughter and joy of all.

We are grateful for our youth and children whose voices we hear and whose presence we celebrate.

We are thankful for our young adults and elders whose wisdom and faithfulness move us to acts of kindness and love.

We are struck in awe before the great mystery of I Am who calls us to take heart. We are powerfully moved by a deep concern for our world and our care for one another.

May ours be a faith that is more than words and ideals.
May ours be a faith of vitality and compassion.

(Silence)

We lament that there are many people especially youth and children in the world who are burdened
by hunger and pain,
by sorrow and anxiety,
by violence and loss.

May they find comfort and peace, and may their burdens be lifted from them by our actions as peacemakers and doers of justice.

For we are the body of Christ on earth.

(Silence)

May we find it in ourselves today to work toward a better world.
May we make use of that energy to take part in the lifting of burdens.
May our gratitude find expression in the care of others, both near and far.
May we find ways to live and grow on the margins.
May we leave behind us a trail of encouragement and hope.

To make all things new: to restore peace where there has been hatred, to reduce tension where there has been anger, to rekindle friendship where there has been enmity, to relieve suffering where there has been violence and to recreate a community; for the good of the people and for the peace of the world.

These we pray in the name of our superhero, Jesus Christ who brings us to God’s reign as we recite this prayer that he taught his friends.

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

We may not be able to save the world with super powers, but we do have the power to make a difference in many humble acts of love. Let’s take this time now to share our gifts of time, talents, and resources. Every gift we give, big or small, is a message of God’s love sent out into the world.

Offertory Prayer

(Rev. Dr. Karen Boivin, Gathering Pentecost 2 2018, p40. Used with permission.)

Here are our offerings of faith, O God: to provide resources for ministry and tools and education for abundant living. We share your gifts in hopes this will encourage others to gather and share your love and bounty. Amen

Sending Forth       Rev. Lorrie Lowes

God’s call is not for the faint of heart,
God’s call is not for the timid or weak.
We worry that we do not have the courage, the strength, or the will required to follow.
But God’s call is not for superheroes.
God’s call is for ordinary people like us, people with extraordinary powers of love and hope for this world.
Go out into the world, knowing that the God who calls us to make the difference the world needs, accompanies us every step of the way.
Go in love, go in hope, and go wrapped in God’s blessings. Amen. 

Hymn:   “May the God of Hope Go With Us”         VU424

May the God of hope go with us every day
Filling all our lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of justice speed us on our way,
Bringing light and hope to every land and race. 

Refrain:
Praying, let us work for peace, singing, share our joy with all,
Working for a world that’s new. Faithful when we hear God’s call. 

May the God of healing free the earth from fear
Freeing us for peace both treasured and pursued.
May the God of love keep our commitment clear
To a world restored, to human life renewed. Refrain 

Departing Music:  “Pass It On”     VU289

1.    It only takes a spark to get a fire going
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it:
You spread God’s love to everyone, you want to pass it on. 

2.    What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding,
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming;
That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it:
You want to sing, it’s fresh like spring, you want to pass it on. 

3.    I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found –
On God you can depend, it matters not where you’re bound.
I’ll shout it from the mountain top; I want my world to know:
The Lord of love has come to me, I want to pass it on.

Sunday school activities - November 14, 2021

Theme Discussion

Did you get a chance to hear the story “Ordinary Mary’s Extrodinary Deed” read during today’s church service?  If not, check it out here:

Isn’t it amazing how one small action led to so many kind deeds?  Some people call this the ripple effect or a domino effect. 

Try setting up dominoes or books with 1 in front, then 2, then 3, etc.  Give a push and watch how one domino or book can have a huge chain reaction! 

Try fill a large baking dish or tray with water, then gathering an assortment of items that could be dropped in (stone, potato, button, paperclip, etc.).  Drop the items in, one at a time.  Do small items make waves just like little objects?  Small acts can have big results!

How is Jesus like the first domino or object dropped into to water?

What can you do to start a chain reaction in your family or circle of friends?

Response Activities

Random Acts of Kindness

Pick some ideas from the list or come up with some of your own!  Can you do 5 kind things like ‘Ordinary Mary’ this week?

Click to print PDF

Extraordinary Deed Comic

Print out the template and make up your own story of a good deed that leads to more and more kindnesses!

Click to print PDF

Click to print PDF

Kindness Cards

How about leaving a surprise message with kind words for someone to find!

Print out the following cards, cut apart, and tape up in your house or community (or tuck one into someone’s lunch box or purse!).  If you’re feeling creative, design and create your own messages!  Many more examples can be found online, too, if you need more inspiration!

Click to print PDF

Sunday Worship Service - November 7, 2021

 BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

24th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

November 7, 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:   Jimmy Findlater – bagpipe: David Brown

Remembering our Veterans and those Active in Uniform (Photo Slides)

Acknowledgement of Territory              Rev. Kim Vidal

As we begin our worship today, we remember that in this congregation, we live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe Peoples. We give thanks for their stewardship of the land and the water, the plants and the animals, through many generations. We also acknowledge their story, and our place in it, with sorrow. As we continue to live on this land with respect for it and for its people, may we commit to working toward truth, justice and reconciliation. All my relations.

Welcome & Announcements          Rev. Kim Vidal

Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ in this time of remembering. Today we remember those “who shall not grow old” and to honour those who knew what those wars were like and lived to tell their stories.  We remember the brave souls who are out there currently serving in many parts of the world that peace may prevail. We honour and give thanks to the veterans and their loved ones. From those who shivered and starved through the winter, crouched in the muddy trenches of France, to those seaborne in the Battle of Normandy and liberation of the Netherlands, those who fought in the Korean War, or the peacekeepers in Kosovo, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq, we remember and honour them all. Our presence today reminds us that we cannot be silent when the terrors of wars confront us. In today’s remembering, I invite you to reflect within the context of our faith, to uphold the teachings of Jesus when he declares, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am. If you wish to attend the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others. Let us continue to be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. 

During this time of pandemic, the work of the church carries on. Please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org to keep you informed and give you opportunities to respond.

Friends, in the quiet of this moment, in the stillness of our hearts, I now invite you to centre yourself in the presence of God who opens us to the Spirit of peace and freedom. Let us gather in worship.

Lighting of the Christ Candle       Acolyte: Kael Fowler

We light this Christ candle as we honour and celebrate those who have offered their lives in the name of peace and freedom.

The light of this candle represents our grief, our courage, our memories, our love and our hope.

It also reminds us that the light of Christ shines on the road to peace and illuminates our most difficult moments.

Call to Gather        Nicole Beaudry & Gerald Okolowsky

The United Church of Canada - Contributed by Capt (Rev.) Nathan Wright—Chaplain, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Fredericton, NB). French Trans – Nicole Beaudry. Used with permission.

From east and west, north and south, we gather on this day of remembrance to give thanks and praise.
Nous sommes inspirés par la Parole de Dieu et honorons les sacrifices de ceux qui se sont engagés à servir les autres avant de se servir eux-mêmes.
(We come to be inspired by the Word of God and honour the sacrifices of those who have committed themselves to service before self.)

In times of peace, in times of conflict, and in times of uncertainty,
Nous nous souvenons que nous ne sommes pas seuls.
(We remember that we are not alone.)

We are the people of God, connected across time and space, from generation to generation.
Nous sommes unis par l’amour de celui qui a dit: “Il n’y pas d’amour plus grand que celui de donner sa vie pour ses amis.”
(We are united by the love of the One who said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”)

As we gather to remember, let us sing and pray.
Ensemble, adorons Dieu!
(Let us worship God together!)

Opening Prayer           Nicole Beaudry

Let us pray…God of our past, present, and future, we have come together today as a people of hope. We hope for a future without war and a world that lives together in peace. In years past, and in the present day, members of our armed forces have put their lives at risk for this hope, with some paying the ultimate cost. May what we do here today strengthen our resolve to work together so that this hope may be fulfilled. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Prière d'ouverture

Dieu de notre passé, présent et futur, nous sommes ici en tant que peuple d'espérance. Nous espérons un avenir sans guerre et un monde qui cohabite en paix. Au cours des années passées et de nos jours, des membres de nos forces armées ont risqué leur vie pour cet espoir, certains en donnant leur vie. Que ce que nous faisons ici aujourd'hui renforce notre détermination à travailler ensemble pour que cet espoir se réalise. Au nom de Jésus, nous prions. Amen.

Hymn:  I Feel the Winds of God VU  625

(Words: Jessie Adams, 1907; Music: English & Irish Traditional melody)

1 I feel the winds of God today; 
today my sail I lift,
though heavy oft with drenching spray
and torn with many a rift;
if hope but light the water’s crest, 
and Christ my bark will use,
I’ll seek the seas at his behest, 
and brave another cruise.

2 It is the wind of God that dries 
my vain regretful tears,
until with braver thoughts shall rise 
the purer, brighter years;
if cast on shores of selfish ease 
or pleasure I should be,
O let me feel your freshening breeze, 
and I’ll put back to sea.

3 If ever I forget your love 
and how that love was shown,
lift high the blood-red flag above; 
it bears your name alone.
Great pilot of my onward way, 
you will not let me drift;
I feel the winds of God today,
today my sail I lift.

Storytime for the Young at Heart:   Why We Remember by Nicole Beaudry

(Show a Memory Stick).  This is a Memory Stick. On this small stick there are thousands of photos all stored in different albums - Family photos - travel photos - people, places….There are also letters written to special people over the years -  notes and reports from meetings .  If I want to see a photo , say….of my parents’ wedding: I just pop this into my computer and Voilà! the image shows up.  Isn’t this great!

There are things that we don’t want to lose or forget. We want to be able to find them - to remember them : like some special person’s birthday or anniversary- an important appointment  or meeting-  when to take our medication , dates of holidays, of visits…. We use different ways to make sure we remember: (demonstrate) calendars - sticky notes -  bulletin boards - pill dispensers - tying a string to your little finger….- even asking someone to remind us - using Alexa or Eco….(demonstrate: Eco…. remind me….)

…. There are things we really want to keep in our memory and never , never forget:  they are stored on our big Memory Stick: our brains. Everything we’ve ever done, ever seen - ever heard - people we’ve met  - names - places - everything  is stored there in our memory.  Sometimes -  things get messed up or lost in that memory box - we don’t know where we’ve put things. Sometimes we find them -  other times they are lost for good . We have to rely on others to help us remember, to jog our memory for us.

One of those things that we need to remember  is all those who fought and gave their lives so we can have peace. If we never talk about it we will forget. So to remember: we tell the stories - we share the photos - we wear poppies - we lay wreaths - we hold moments of silence -we visit cemeteries -we tell children - we have special days and ceremonies.  Some are like here today, in church - others  take place at cenotaphs, at war cemetaries, in town squares. Some are simple and quiet, others have hundreds, maybe thousands  of people attending - with parades and veterans wearing their uniforms and medals, with cannon salutes and fly-by planes. We call this day Remembrance Day - it is a very special day all over Canada and around the world. All this goes to our memory stick in our brains - in our memory drawer - for safe keeping.

That’s what we do here today. And we’ll do this again next year, and the next and the next. Many of those who served in the wars and peace keeping missions have died.  Many are old with memories failing. So it is our duty remember  - to remember them and to remember for them . Lest we forget!  Let us not forget!

Hymn:   Make Me A Channel VU 684

(Words: St. Francis of Assisi, 1220; Music: Sebastian Temple, 1967)

1 Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me bring love
Where there is injury, your healing power
And where there's doubt, true faith in you 

2 Make me a channel of your peace
Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness ever joy

Chorus:
O, Spirit grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love with all my soul 

3 Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all that we receive
And in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

An Act of Remembrance

The Story of Remembrance:[1]      Rev. Kim

Across Canada, and in many other countries, people gather on November 11 to honour the courage and devotion of brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice of dying for their country. The hostilities of the First World War ceased on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 a.m. the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The following year marked the first observance of a day to remember and honour those who died, as well as to give thanks for the sacrifices of those who came back from serving their country. Since then, Canadians have fought in other conflicts and many have given their lives so that we might enjoy freedom today. They too should be remembered.

*Laying of Wreath      Maj. Angela Starchuk & MCpl (ret’d) Trevor Starchuk       

Poem: “In Flanders Fields” (by LCol John McCrae)   Liam Eaton

In Flanders fields the poppies blow,
between the crosses row on row that mark our place;
and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing,
fly scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead.
Short days ago we lived,
felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved,
and now we lie, in Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw the torch;
be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep,
though poppies grow in Flanders fields. 

*Response         Rev. Kim Vidal

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.   
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn            
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them. We will remember them!        

*The Last Post                          

*Two-Minute Silence

*Rouse

*Lament: Flowers of the Forest – bagpipe: David Brown

*National Anthem:  O Canada (Bilingual Version)
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command,
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits,
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Prayer for Illumination  Reader:  Capt. Angela Starchuk

Gracious God, as we hear your Scripture today, bless us with your spirit of understanding.
Heal us from the pains of war and make us instruments of your peace. Amen.

The Gospel Reading: Mark 12: 38-44 (NRSV)

Jesus Denounces the Scribes

38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

May the light of Christ dwell where the word is spoken. Thanks be to God!

Sermon:   “Everything She Had!”         Rev. Kim

Let us pray.

Use me and my words, gracious God, as I invite your people in remembrance. Make us open to your Good News so we may become Good News for others. Amen.

I was reading some postings on Facebook one day and I stumbled upon an article written by the Rev. Trisha Elliott, columnist of the former Broadview magazine, The Observer, that she titles: Canadian artist who painted horrors of post-war Europe was nearly forgotten. Under the title was a short blurb that drew my undivided attention. “Mary Riter Hamilton created more than 300 paintings that capture the death and destruction of the Great War. But years later, some of her works ended up molding in a library.” I immediately found myself reading the whole article with enthusiasm and I thought to myself, what a wonderful story to share on Remembrance Day.

Mary Riter Hamilton was born in Teeswater, Ontario in 1843, and was raised in Clearwater, Manitoba. She studied art in Europe, where her paintings garnered considerable attention and then returned to Canada. In 1919, she undertook a "special mission" for the War Amputations of Canada. Her task was to provide paintings of the destructions caused by the battlefields of France and Belgium for publication in a veterans' magazine, The Gold Stripe. She stayed in Europe for several years, producing over 300 battlefield paintings during the years 1919 to 1922.

During her lifetime, Ms. Hamilton endured incredible hardships: makeshift shelters, inadequate food and hostile weather. Her deep desire to document the horror and carnage of war for fellow Canadians eventually left her emotionally and physically drained. She was never able to paint with the same intensity again. Despite her poverty, Mary Riter Hamilton refused to sell any of her battlefield paintings, choosing instead to donate the canvases to the National Archives (now part of Library and Archives Canada). She wanted them to remain in the hands of all Canadians for the benefit of war veterans and their descendants. She offered everything she had. Rev. Elliott writes: “Her hope that Canadians would recall the realities of war she portrayed in her art mirrors my hope for her—that they will also deem her an artist worthy of remembrance.”

Today’s gospel reading has two parts. The first part shows Jesus’ remark against the scribes who, according to Jesus, were attention getters - walking around in their expensive robes, desiring the best seats at gatherings or expecting people to greet them with honour and respect. But Jesus’ critique of the scribes’ practices became more serious, as Jesus questioned their behaviour towards the lowly and the poor. Mark accused them of “devouring widows’ houses”. In the modern language, could this mean that the scribes foreclose or take away the widows’ houses?  Or, could it mean that these scribes exploit and use up the resources from widows’ homes? We certainly don’t know. Mark wants to let readers like us know that the account regarding the scribes is a continuation of the second part of the reading which is the main gist of my sermon today - the widow offering her last two mites!

Who hasn't heard of the moving account of the widow who went into the Temple, drops her very modest offering into the treasury, and had been used by preachers to illustrate the meaning of giving and stewardship?  But before we hold her up as the ultimate example of generosity, before we applaud her behaviour as matchless and sacrificial, before we start using her as our model for our giving plans, let’s take another look at her story and why Jesus used her as a point of a teaching moment.

This story is quite challenging- not because it indicts my personal giving, but because the story has other twists to it that I'd like to admit.  Something in me doesn't want this story be reduced to a moral example, or being exploited for the sake of stewardship campaigns and annual budgets.  In our lectionary group discussion last Tuesday, Jan Pound wondered about the widow's state of mind. What was the widow thinking as she walked up to the treasury box and put in every cent that she owned? Did she feel a sense of responsibility? What if she had children? Is giving everything to the temple more important than feeding her family? Was she expected by the religious leaders running the temple that even she, a lowly widow, must contribute to the temple, even if it's the last scrap of wealth she has? Did she fear a rebuke or retribution or shame if she didn't give? Should we cheer her on because of her self-sacrificing attitude or should we get upset because for some of us, she is irresponsible and naïve?

The widow was a sharp contrast to those in power. Jesus, in my opinion, used her as an illustration of the corruption of those in political & religious power who trampled the poor and the destitute. Those who flaunted their authority and wealth in public but ignored the plight of the needy. Often misread as a statement in praise of ‘sacrificial’ giving, Mark included the widow’s offering to condemn exploitative structures that prey upon the most vulnerable. We should not be able to read this account without reflecting upon systems of economic injustice in our current times.

The religious leaders who were supposed to look after the vulnerable such as the widows, the orphans, the women and children, to name a few, are not doing their responsibility yet expects them to offer money in order to access the temple. I wished Mark had included the widow’s name. I wished the widow realizes that her fierceness exceeded the piety we've imposed on her.  I wished Jesus was able to talk to her in person just like he did with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Mark did not tell us if she had lived longer or died few days after she offered her last coins.  Yes, I’m sure she died.  She died, probably mere days after she dropped those two coins into the Temple treasury.   In case that's a surprise, consider again what Jesus said about her as she left the Temple that day: "She - out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Jesus wasn't exaggerating at all.  If he says the woman gave everything she had, well, she gave her all - everything she had.  We know she was an impoverished widow in first century Palestine, a woman living on the margins of her society.  She had no safety net.  No support system of any sort. No husband to look after her, no social status to be proud of.  She was vulnerable in every single way that mattered. 

Centuries of stewardship sermons on this story make us think that Jesus commends the widow. In my opinion, Jesus never did. He did not applaud her self-sacrifice, nor invites us to follow in her footsteps. Jesus simply notices her, and tells his disciples to notice her, too. Jesus sees what everyone else is too busy, too grand, too spiritual, or too self-absorbed to see.  For me, this is the good news of the story — that Jesus' eyes are ever on the weak, the insignificant, the invisible of the community. What did Jesus notice in her?

The members of the lectionary group came up with some answers. First - Jesus noticed her dignity.  Surely, she had to brace herself when widowhood rendered her worthless — a person marked as useless even in the Temple and the community she loved.  Surely, in faith, she had to trust that her tiny gift had great value in God's eyes because she believed that God values her as the giver.

Second - Jesus noticed her courage and boldness. In the midst of the affluent and pompous rich people dropping their heavy bags of coins in the treasury, she did not feel embarrassed nor did she hesitate to show her generous offering of 2 mites. She didn’t care if she did not make it to the top ten givers to the temple.

Third - Jesus noticed her calling.  Whether she knew it or not, the widow's action in the Temple that day was prophetic.  She was a prophet in the sense that her meager offering amounted to a statement of denunciation of injustice and corruption in those days. She had to offer everything she had to live on. A self-sacrifice if you ask me.

Fourth and finally, Jesus I’m sure, noticed her faith in a God who provides. She knew in her heart that somehow, God will provide for her needs and those who she loves and cares for.

As we ponder on the widow’s sacrificial offering, we also take time to notice that today is a time of many complex emotions. When we think of the “crosses row on row….” we mourn for the many, many young lives cut short by war. Those fallen soldiers who never got the chance to grow old. They have given everything they had – they offered their future, their lives. If their deaths could awaken in us an understanding of our need to break down barriers of hate and the call to all of humankind to giving peace a chance, then we are remembering them as they should be remembered. And remembering what they gave for us - a better world. Today, we honour and notice intentionally their courage, their dignity, their vocation.

Remembrance Day is not just about remembering – it is more about affirming gratitude. We need to earnestly say “thank you.” But our thanksgiving should lead to action, not in idleness, both in support of the well-being of the veterans and survivors and their loved ones, especially those who have been injured or traumatized by war. Let us remember the mothers and fathers who grieved the death of their sons and daughters for the sake of peace and freedom.

Many of us have stories to tell – stories of both joy and sorrow. Stories of loved ones lost and those who stood proud after the wars were over. We are not here to glorify wars – we are here to remember human sacrifice and suffering with a commitment to support the veterans as well as those who are still serving and their families. To say no to terror, violence and hatred that prevails even to this day.

And when the sun sets and we face the darkness in the world, all we can do is pray that God will give us some relief from our moments of uncertainties, from our very own storms in life. Remember the story of Mary Riter Hamilton. Remember the story of the widow and her offering. Remember those who fought and are still fighting for true peace and freedom. Lest we forget. Amen.

Remembrance Day Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer         Rev. Kim

Contributed by Capt (Rev.) Nathan Wright—Chaplain, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Fredericton, NB)

© 2021 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Used with permission.

Holy One, we come before you now with praise and thanksgiving, as well as sorrow and concern, in our hearts. With gratitude on this Remembrance Sunday, we call to mind the soldiers, sailors, air personnel, and RCMP who have paid the ultimate price that we might live in freedom. We remember those who died in distant wars and those more recent. By sacrificing their lives, they left us the responsibility and the duty to continue their work on the things that make for peace. From generation to generation, may their valour and selflessness never be forgotten.

We are especially mindful today of the effects of military life on the body, mind, and spirit. Give courage, comfort, and healing to all those who suffer wounds, both visible and invisible. Help us to remember that the effects of conflict reach far beyond the battlefield and can last a lifetime. Enable us to provide the support our service members need to live happy and healthy lives. May our commitment to them be as full and complete as their commitment to serve Canada before self.

Lest we forget, the families and friends of our service members share in the burdens of military life. Bring comfort and strength to the relatives and friends of those who serve. When they are grieving the loss of their loved ones, may they know your compassionate and comforting presence. When they are separated from one another due to deployments or other operational requirements, may their bonds be strengthened. When their lives are uprooted because they are posted to a new location and everything is new all over again, may they be upheld by the constancy of your steadfast love. Accompany them in their daily joys and protect them in difficulties.

May our act of remembrance this day honour those who have put themselves in harm’s way for the safety of others. May we never forget their sacrifice, the families who grieve for them and support them, and their example of integrity, loyalty, courage, and duty.

As people of faith, we re-commit ourselves to work together for peace in our world. May the hope that we carry in our hearts lead us to seek new and creative ways to resolve our differences. We look forward to that day when your reign is fully realized among us and swords are turned into plowshares and nation no longer lifts up sword against nation.

We also long for the moment when mourning, suffering, and sickness are no more. Until that day comes, we ask that you respond to us when we lift before you in the silence of our hearts the names of those people, places, and situations that are in need of your tender loving care this day…(moment of silent prayer)…Restore them to health and wholeness, O God.

We lift these prayers in the name of Jesus who taught us the way to peace, as we recite together these words he taught his friends:

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

There are opportunities to give every day, certainly through gifts of time, talents and money, but also through brave and courageous action, faithful service, and loving devotion. Let us share of ourselves and of what God has so graciously given. I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents, resources, bravery and courageous acts 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 (Gord Dunbar, Gathering, 2015)

Our gifts seem so insignificant against the needs and conflicts of the world, yet we still are called into witness and service. Bless us God and these gifts we offer, that we may fulfill your mission for all creation. Amen.

Sending Forth (Sandy Ferguson, Gathering, 2014)      

People of God, once more we return to the world,
remembering what was lost to secure what we have today.
Let this Remembrance renew our faith in the peace
that God continues to create through us.
Let our witness be a guide to others
so that we will no longer have to add names
to our sacred task of remembering.
Go in peace. Amen. 

Hymn:   Your Hand O God Has Guided   VU 274

(Words: Edward H. Plumptre, 1864; Music: Basil Harwood, 1898)

1 Your hand, O God, has guided
your flock from age to age;
the wondrous tale is written,
full clear, on every page.
Our forebears owned your goodness,
and we their deeds record;
and both of this bear witness:
one church, one faith, one Lord.

2 Your heralds brought glad tidings
to greatest as to least;
they bade them rise, and hasten
to share the heavenly feast.
And this was all their teaching,
in every deed and word,
to all alike proclaiming:
one church, one faith, one Lord.

3 Through many days of darkness,
through many scenes of strife,
the faithful few fought bravely
to guard your people's life.
Their gospel of redemption,
sin pardoned, earth restored,
was all in this enfolded:
one church, one faith, one Lord.

4 And we, shall we be faithless?
Shall hearts fail, hands hang down?
Shall we evade the conflict
and cast away our crown?
Not so: in God's deep counsels
some better thing is stored;
we will maintain, unflinching,
one church, one faith, one Lord.

5 Your mercy will not fail us,
nor leave your work undone;
with your right hand to help us,
the victory shall be won;
and then, by earth and heaven,
your name shall be adored,
and this shall be our anthem:
one church, one faith, one Lord.

God Save the Queen (instrumental)

Music: Something Told the Wild Geese (Field/Porterfield)

sung by Grace Notes recorded May 7, 2017 (over Announcements)

Departing Music: Maple Leaf Forever – bagpipe: David Brown

[1] Veterans.gc.ca

Sunday school activities - November 7, 2021

Theme Discussion

Watch today’s Bible story:

If the first person gave bags of money to the church, and the widow only gave 2 little coins, how could it be that Jesus said the widow gave the most?

For the rich person, giving away a lot of money was easy – they had lots to spare.  What was in their mind as they were making their donation, do you think?  Why were they putting the money in?   Perhaps they cared about the work of the church, but maybe they were also just trying to show off and look good to their friends?

The widow was giving all the coins she had – just two.  What was in her mind as she was dropping in the coins, do you think?  Why might she be giving those coins to the church? 

Have you ever heard someone say they’ve “given it everything they’ve got”?  It means they tried very hard and put all their efforts into succeeding in a task.  The person usually feels pretty good, because they know they’ve done their best, even if it didn’t work out perfectly.

The widow gave everything she had to God.  She was being both generous and also trusting that God would provide for her.

How can we give ‘everything we’ve got’ to God?  What is it that God wants and needs from us?

There are many real heroes in our world who ‘give everything they’ve got’ to help others. Today we are honouring the men and women of the armed forces who gave, and continue to give, so much in wartime, peace-keeping missions, and disaster-response.    How will you recognize and remember them this year?

Response Activity Ideas

Colour by Number

Click to print PDf

Write to the troops

Canadian Armed Forces personnel appreciate receiving encouraging messages, letters, or cards from Canadians.  Visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/contact-us/write-troops.html for information on how to post a message online, and where to send hand-written cards and letters.

These can be sent via the Any Canadian Armed Forces Member Program: “All mail that arrives at the Canadian Forces Postal Unit is sorted between the different operations/locations, combined into larger shipments, and then sent to each location on a weekly basis. This work by the postal unit staff continues every week, all year round. Regardless of what day it is on the calendar, any received mail item is always appreciated by the deployed soldier, sailor or aviator when it arrives.”

Silhouette Art

Materials – white paper, paint, pastels, crayons, or pencil crayons; copies of silhouette print-out or black paper, glue

Using paint or other colouring medium, fill the white paper with sunset or sunrise colours as a background.  Next cut out the silhouettes of your choice from the templates or cut out your own from black paper.  Glue them onto the background. (Alternatively, if you used paint for background, you could paint the silhouettes overtop using black paint.)

Click to print both PDF pages