BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER / CELEBRATING EARTH DAY
WORSHIP SERVICE
April 26, 2020
[The video recording of this service can be found here]
Gathering: Grieg Water Birds – Morgenstimmung – Grieg – performed by Abe including nature sounds and photos by Abe
Words of Welcome & Announcements – Kim
Good morning! This is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ as we worship together on this 3rd Sunday of Easter. Wherever you are, whatever time of the day, whoever you’re with or just by yourself, I am so glad you have joined us in our virtual worship service!
Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day which began in April 22, 1970.
We join with all people around the world to honour Mother Earth, to recognize how deeply we are interrelated with all of creation and to do our part in being good stewards in caring for the earth.
In this time of church closure, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Please check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with our weekly announcements and updates.
Beyond worship service, there are other weekly activities and meetings offered online. And in this time of pandemic, I encourage you to make a difference by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
I now invite you to centre yourself in the presence of God’s spirit as we worship together.
Lighting of Christ Candle: Berard Family
We light this Christ candle to celebrate who we are as resurrected people and to remind us that “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it…”
(Psalm 24:1a)
Call to Gather: Erin Berard
Come, friends of the Risen Christ, let us give thanks for creation.
We gather to praise God for the miracle of the earth.
Come, believers of Jesus, Wisdom of God, who delights in creation’s goodness,
and open your hearts to wonder.
We gather to praise God for the miracle of our lives.
Come, co-creators with God, who is in all and through all, who is above all
and below all and open your hearts to mystery.
Let us gather and give thanks to God, the Heart of all creation.
Prayer of Approach
Let us pray.
Holy God, You are like a mother, teaching and
challenging us to be the best we can be.
You are like a father, delighting in us and offering us all that you have.
Help us to open our minds that we may hear what Jesus is telling us;
open our hearts to hear what the Spirit is saying.
Help us discover the new possibilities that you lay before us.
Help us be the hands and feet of Jesus on earth,
that we may do your work, as Christ’s Body, here on earth.
Help us to be like Christ, that we may experience holiness
in your creation and in each other. Amen.
Opening Hymn: Called by Earth and Sky MV 135 (English & French)
Refrain:
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high.
This is our sacred living trust, treasure of life sanctified,
called by earth and sky.
1 Precious these waters, endless seas,
deep ocean’s dream, waters of healing,
rivers of rain, the wash of love again.
Refrain: (French)
Du-ciel et de la terre,
Nous entendons l’appel’
Nous de-vons ché-rir l’univers,
é-crin de vie, pré-cieuse et belle;
du-ciel et de la terre.
Verse 2 (French)
Pré-cieux est l’air que l’on respire,
libre est le vent; Es-prit qui souffle,
viens nous in-struire, de grâ-ce
nous com-blant.
Refrain: (French)
Du-ciel et de la terre,
Nous entendons l’appel’
Nous de-vons ché-rir l’univers,
é-crin de vie, pré-cieuse et belle;
du-ciel et de la terre.
3 Precious these mountains, ancient sands;
vast fragile land.
Seeds of our wakening, rooted and strong,
Creation’s faithful song.
Refrain:
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high.
This is our sacred living trust, treasure of life sanctified,
called by earth and sky.
4 - Precious the fire that lights our way,
bright dawning day. Fire of passion,
sorrows undone, our faith and justice one.
Refrain:
Called by earth and sky, promise of hope held high.
This is our sacred living trust, treasure of life sanctified,
called by earth and sky
Words & Music: 2005 Pat Mayberry, Arranged: 2005 Marg Stubington Song#119776
Words and Music © 2005 Pat Mayberry www.patmayberry.com
Translation: 2006 David Fines arrangement © 2005 Margaret Stubington
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved.
Storytime for the Young at Heart with Erin
We celebrated Earth Day this Wednesday, so I thought it would be fun to take our Time for the Young at Heart outside into the garden.
One of my favourite jobs to do in the Spring is to rake off all the old leaves that have been acting like a blanket for the gardens. I love to rake and find those little shoots of daffodils and tulips just poking up out of the cold ground. It's so exciting!
In our Bible passage today, we're going to hear about God breathing life into the creatures as the world is created. Every Spring we have this new life being created; new daffodils, new buds and leaves on the trees, and baby birds in nests. And now this Spring we humans are learning to do new things. Some of you are learning how to use Google Classroom to submit your assignments to your teachers, grown-ups are working from home, and we're learning how to get by without going to the stores as often as we used to. And this is having amazing results for our Earth, isn't it? Some places are seeing less air pollution, some waterways are becoming clearer and cleaner.
God is breathing life into our Earth and into us. Let's help take care of this beautiful creation!
Children’s Hymn: Like A Rock MV 92
Like a rock, like a rock, God is under our feet.
Like the starry night sky, God is over our head.
Like the sun on the horizon, God is ever before.
Like the river runs to ocean, our home is in God evermore.
Words: 1998 Keri Wehlander, Adapted to Music: 1999 Linnea Good Song #97534
Words and Music © Borealis Music www.LinneaGood.com
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved.
Prayer for Illumination: Kim
Holy God, with your life-giving Word, transform our hearts and minds as we follow the Risen Christ, making the earth a place of your reign of love and peace. Amen.
OT Reading: “Another Account of Creation” Genesis 2: 4- 9, 15-22 (NRSV)
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” 19 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man[c] there was not found a helper as his partner. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to all of us. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “The Breath of Life” Rev. Kim Vidal
Once upon a time, there was only the sky, the sea, and a black bird. The bird grew tired and could not find a place to rest. In his frustration, the bird agitated the sea until its waters touched the sky. The sky was so upset that it showered the sea with big rocks and boulders in order to calm it down. The bird picked one of the islands to be its home. One day, the bird was struck by a bamboo tree, believed to be the child of the land and sea breezes. Upset, the bird pecked at the nodes of the bamboo until it split into two. Half of the bamboo came the first man named Malakas, meaning strong and from the other half the first woman called Maganda, meaning beautiful. Then the earthquake gathered all the birds and fish to see what should be done with these two beautiful creatures, and it was decided that they should marry. They did and had a great number of children.
The story I just shared is a pre-colonial creation myth in the Philippines which is part of my cultural upbringing. I’m sure that every culture and every place, every group of people have its own creation story. Some of the ancient writings particularly those in Ancient Near East – Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sumer, Egypt – have creation stories that were very much part of the people’s way of understanding how the world and human beings came about. Some biblical scholars believed that these ancient myths have shaped and influenced the creation stories that we read in the book of Genesis. And because these myths are stories of sacred importance to a particular culture and group of people, we need to read the creation stories in Genesis metaphorically not literally It is important to note here that there are two versions of the creation story in Genesis.
Genesis 1, written by priestly tradition, presents God creating the world out of chaos in a cosmic, poetic form. From day one to day six, in a very orderly manner, with an affirmation that “it was good!”, there came light and darkness, sky, land and seas, all kinds of vegetation, the sun, moon and the stars, all sorts of living things and then finally, human beings. In this particular version, human beings were created in the image of God, the Creator, and were given “dominion” over the other living things. From an ecological perspective, the word dominion has become problematic. Over the centuries, this word has been interpreted by many as “power over all creation” which sounds like- we, humans can subdue the earth without restraint, that we can do whatever we want without regard for the earth’s health. But dominion is not the same as domination. The word “dominion” means to exercise responsible caring for the earth and the whole creation which I think is what God intended from the very beginning.
The creation narrative in Genesis 2, written by the Yahwist tradition, portrays a different tale. God, according to the Yahwist mindset is anthropomorphic – very much like a human being. God is imaged here as talking, walking, thinking, feeling - like one of us. In this version, the first thing God created was Adam – a male being, named as such because he came from “adamah” which is Hebrew word for “dust” or “dirt”. Adam was of the earth. In this story, Adam received life through the very breath of God - the breath of life. God breathed ruach – a Hebrew word meaning wind or spirit into the nostrils of Adam and made him alive. Then God planted a garden in Eden filled with all kinds of vegetation. And God’s ruach breathed into all these plants and trees and give them life. This garden is –like heaven –we call it paradise. And God put Adam in the garden with a responsibility - to be its tiller, caretaker and steward. Adam was to care for and safeguard the garden – not to plunder, rape and abuse its resources.
With vegetation surrounding him, God senses that Adam was still lonely - so God formed animals from the dust of the earth to be Adam’s helpers and companions. God breathed ruach, the breath of life upon these animals and gave them life. God entrusted Adam to name every animal, every bird and cattle – every insect - which for me indicates that humans are gifted not only with intellect but also with creativity and imagination. In the Hebrew tradition, naming implies taking responsibility. When God asked Adam to name the animals, God is entrusting Adam to care for them. But despite the fact that animals and plants are there to give Adam company, God in this story knew that none of the animals were found to be suitable companion for Adam. He needs someone who can understand his nature – his emotions, his physical needs, his intellectual capacity.
So the woman was created. And we know how she was created in this story. God formed woman right out of Adam’s rib. Later on, she will be called Eve taken from the Hebrew word chavah meaning life. The name Eve means “mother of the living”. To the ancient Hebrew mindset, both Adam and Eve were actually parts of one another. Eve would be an integral part of Adam’s life and his very foundation. Without her, he will not be complete. Interpreted this way, this whole thing about the equality between women and men should not be an issue today. Ancient Hebrews who wrote this creation story have in their minds that all human beings are created equal. It is sad to note that this original intention has not been put to practice by many people over the course of time until today. Domestic abuse and violence are still present in all sectors of our society. Women continue to find their voices in a patriarchal-driven world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live together recognizing this truth of being part of one another? Not just between women and men but also people of varied colours, or creed, or ethnicity, or sexual orientation or social status. Unless we realize that all of us are recipients of the breath of life from one source of life we call God, we can never heal the earth. We need to acknowledge that we are all part of the whole- that one will not be complete without the other. We call this interdependence. As we care for creation, we care for humankind. If we desecrate the earth, we destroy our present world and the future of the generations to come. Sadly, we are still far from reaching this perfect dream for humanity and for all creation. To dream of a healed earth, is that even possible?
An English philosopher and statesman Thomas More said – it is possible. All we have to do is to re-create the earth where we live. Thomas More wrote a book in 1516 called “Utopia” – also known as a “perfect society” based on the story of a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect social-political-legal system. In this book, More acclaims that on Utopia Island, there is no private property , with goods being stored in warehouses and people requesting what they need. It is very similar to living in commune. Everyone is fed, everyone has a place to rest, everyone has access to education and health care. In Greek, “utopia” has double meanings – one that denotes “a good place” and the other, “a place that could never be.”
Perhaps, for us too, we often dream of such place or hope that utopia could happen. Sadly, today we are less connected to the earth. We have lost touch with the rhythms of the earth. Thousands of species are going extinct as they are being hunted or their habitats are being destroyed. The earth’s water, air, forests and soils are suffering from pollution and wild fires. We are facing global warming and climate change and we bear a significant moral responsibility to heal the earth’s wounds. When we look at what’s happening in the human world, where there is famine and disasters, where there is poverty, unjust wars, injustices, alienation, or moral decline, and add to the list – the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we tend to lean more on the other meaning of utopia which is – “a place that could never be.” It will remain as a dream and will never happen in reality.
But there is hope. If we look closely at the intent of the writers of Genesis, their words continue to challenge and to disturb us- that no matter how ugly or sad or imperfect the earth seemed to be, this earth is our home. This is where we encounter life. This is where we experience love. This is where we acknowledge God’s presence through human beings and all of creation journeying together here and now. Do your part. Plant a tree. Tend a garden. Be informed about climate change. Recycle. Reuse. Reduce. Be an advocate for human and animal rights. There is a lot yet to be done. And it’s never too late to do your part. There is hope.
The Creation story in Genesis 2 is profoundly ecological in the sense of declaring God’s commitment to human beings, and human beings’ commitment to all creation in healing the earth and making it a better place. We need to profess with our words and with our actions that we are indeed stewards and co-creators with God. As we celebrate Earth Day, let us remind ourselves of the breath of life that causes us to live with dignity, imagination and creativity. Let this breath of life nudge us to care for the earth responsibly and for all that lives in it, humans included. I leave you with the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky when he writes: “Love all God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.” Love the earth. May this be so. Amen.
Sources: The BCUC Lectionary Group, Thomas More’s Utopia, Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dosteoevsky, Encyclopedia Mythica (pantheon.org).
Prayer of the People & The Lord’s Prayer
Creator God, we give you thanks for the care that we can give and receive as your creatures.
We thank you for the land upon which we dwell, land that nourishes body, mind and soul.
O God, as the land cares for us, may we care for the land.
We thank you for fresh water to drink and water that flows in rivers and lakes.
O God, as the water cares for us, may we care for the water.
We thank you for the air which gives life to all.
O God, as the air cares for us, may we care for the earth.
We thank you for seeds and crops, plants and trees, for birds and animals.
O God, as earth’s vegetation and creatures care for us, may we care for them in return.
Loving God, we acknowledge the fragility of all life and pray for ourselves as your people.
Free us from harmful attitudes towards the land, crops, animals and human beings.
Free us from despair in times of calamities, famine, drought or flood.
Free us from wastefulness and greed in times of plenty.
May our lives reflect awareness of our bonds with the earth and with all of creation.
We pause at this time to remember the people in Portapique and its neighbouring communities in Nova Scotia, especially the grieving families and loved ones of the victims who died in the recent mass killing. We ask your blessings and love to heal their broken hearts and spirits as they mourn their loss.
We also remember those whose loved ones who died due to COVID-19 especially those in retirement and nursing homes. We pray particularly for Connie Davidson and family in the passing of her parents due to this virus. Give them the comfort they need in this time of sorrow.
We pray for our loved ones and friends, those who have been diagnosed, those undergoing treatments and those who are recovering from this virus and other ailments. May they find healing, comfort and full recovery knowing that we are praying for them in this time of need.
We continue to pray for the frontliners, the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, personal support worker, the grocers, the postal workers, the essential services employees and our leaders. Keep them safe and give them good health, wisdom and courage as they serve others in this time of pandemic.
This is our prayer in Jesus’ name who taught us this prayer we now recite in the language of our choice:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in 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 kingdom, The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.
The Offering
This is now the time to offer our gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of our gratitude to God’s blessings. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the 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
From our joyful hearts that give, take our offering and turn it into acts of love.
Let us give thanks to God who moves us to share, bringing hope to a world in need of healing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Sending Forth
May the blessing of God, who causes the land to put forth plants and trees;
of Jesus Christ who calls all creation to new life;
and of the Holy Spirit whose breath energizes all of the earth
be with you all, now and always. Amen!
Departing Music: Now the Green Blade Rises VU 186 - soloist Vernon Sulway
1 Now the green blade rises,
from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again,
that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
2 In the grave they laid him,
love by hatred slain,
Thinking that he would never awake again,
Laid in the earth
like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
3 Forth He came at Easter,
like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain;
Raised from the dead,
my living Lord is seen:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
4 When our hearts are wintry,
grieving, or in pain,
Your touch can call us back to life again,
Fields of our hearts
that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again like wheat arising green.
Words: 1928 John MC Crum, harmony: 1928 Martin Fallas Shaw Song#59341
Music: traditional French carol Words and harmony © Oxford University Press
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved