BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
May 22, 2022 – 10 am 6th SUNDAY OF EASTER
Theme: “Being Open ”
* The live service will be broadcasted and recorded on YouTube, check your email for the link.
The audio recording of the live service should be available by phone Monday afternoon at 613- 820-8104
Gathering Music: Prayer for Today BCUC Choir, flute: Erin Berard
God in heaven, I make my prayer for all the people everywhere
who live in fear or pain or doubt; Whose homes are gone, and hopes run out.
God in heaven, I make my prayer for all the children everywhere
Who live in terrible, warring places; Who live with hunger and strange sad faces.
God in heaven, I make my prayer for all good people everywhere
who live in comfort, love and peace; And pray sincerely for strife to cease;
But who do not always hear the call of those who live with nothing at all.
God in heaven, hear my prayer! Help all people everywhere
To come closer together in plenty and need,
And to make our world your home, indeed.
Text, Tune & Accompaniment © 1988 Mary Coulson, Margaret Tucker, Choral arr. Michael Kemp
Song #CGA855 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Welcome & Centering for Worship Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Good Morning, and welcome to this service of worship on the 6th Sunday of Easter. It is good to be here! I am happy to be leading worship this morning while Rev. Kim is on Study Leave and I am grateful, as always, to everyone who has helped put the service together and this week give special thanks to Arcadie, our summer student, who jumped right in on her first week with us to help with the Powerpoint slides!
There are many announcements today that you will see at the end of the service but I will just highlight a couple of important upcoming events:
- June 5 is Pentecost Sunday and we will celebrate with an outdoor service followed by a Family Picnic. Everything will be provided, it’s not a potluck. Two Men and a Stove will be manning the barbecue. Food and cold drinks will be provided from the proceeds of the Hymn Sing Request. Please let the office know if you will be attending the picnic to help us plan the food and the activities. It will be wonderful to get together for fun and fellowship after these long years of isolation!
- The Worship and CE committee is planning a Memorial Service for members and adherents of BCUC who died during these two past years of pandemic.
- I now call on Gerry and Nicole for today’s Minute for Mission
Minute for Mission Nicole Beaudry & Gerry Okolowsky
“Acting Together for Ukraine”
https://united-church.ca/stories/acting-together-ukraine
Lighting of Christ Candle: (Responsively) Acolyte: Arcadie Gagne
(Anita Rowland, Gathering L/E 2019, p41. Used with permission)
This is the light of Christ, a promise of Love,
This light shines for us, and for all of creation.
For this we give thanks. Hallelujah!
Sung Response: “Halle, Halle, Halle” – Voices United #958
Halle, halle, halle - lujah! (3x) Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Words: trad, liturgical text; Music: anon., arr. © The Iona Community, 1980
Call to Gather: (Responsively) Rev. Lorrie Lowes
(Peter Chynoweth, Gathering L/E 2022, p43. Used with permission)
In this space and time, we form community:
Like singing in unison with the strength of common word and action, and like singing in harmony with the depth and richness of different notes and themes.
The Christian church is about community:
And we ascribe to that tradition with the joys and struggles that come about in relationship.
We live in community:
Community with Great Spirit God and community with each other as people of the Spirit.
Let us worship together with God and with each other in our hearts and minds,
In the building up of the community we are called to be,
Seeking to be one, just as Jesus prayed we would be.
Opening Prayer: (Responsively)
(Fern Gibbard, Gathering L/E 2016, p40. Used with permission.)
God of the Calling Voice,
How seldom we sit in silence, waiting, listening for your voice to speak
The Good News that will change our lives…
When we stand on that in-between place of water and shore, of coming and going, of giving and holding back, we need to listen in silence for the sound of your voice and
The Good News that will change our lives…
When we yearn for a closer walk with you, for healing and renewal in your hurting world, let us listen in silence for your voice telling us
The Good News that will change our lives…
Amen.
Hymn: God of the Bible (Fresh As the Morning) - More Voices #28
1. God of the Bible, God in the Gospel,
hope seen in Jesus, hope yet to come,
you are our center, daylight or darkness, freedom or prison, you are our home.
Refrain (2X)
Fresh as the morning,
sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful,
you do not change.
2. God in our struggles, God in our hunger, suffering with us, taking our part,
still you empow’r us, mothering Spirit, feeding, sustaining, from your own heart. R
3. Those without status, those who are nothing, you have made royal, gifted with rights, chosen as partners, midwives of justice, birthing new systems, lighting new lights. R
4. Not by your finger, not by your anger will our world order change in a day,
but by your people, fearless and faithful, small paper lanterns, lighting the way. R
5. Hope we must carry, shining and certain through all our turmoil, terror and loss, bonding us gladly one to the other, ‘til our world changes facing the Cross. R
Words © 1996 Shirley Erena Murray Hope Pub, Music © 2001 Tony Alonso GIA
Song #02882 & 02880 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime: Erin Berard
Hymn: Draw the Circle Wide – More Voices #145
Refrain
Draw the circle wide. Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side, draw the circle wide.
1. God the still-point of the circle,
‘round whom all creation turns;
nothing lost, but held forever,
in God’s gracious arms. R
2. Let our hearts touch far horizons,
so encompass great and small;
let our loving know no borders,
faithful to God’s call. R
3. Let the dreams we dream be larger,
than we’ve ever dreamed before;
let the dream of Christ be in us,
open every door. R
Words & Music © 1994 Gordon Light, Common Cup, arr © 1998 Michael Bloss, Wood Lake Books
Song # 117657 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination: (In Unison) Reader: Sue Morrison
Open your word to us this day, loving God. Open our hearts and minds to their guidance on our journey of faith. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: Acts 16:9-15 (The Living Bible Translation)
9 That night Paul had a vision. In his dream he saw a man over in Macedonia, Greece, pleading with him, “Come over here and help us.” 10 Well, that settled it. We would go to Macedonia, for we could only conclude that God was sending us to preach the Good News there.
11 We went aboard a boat at Troas, and sailed straight across to Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis, 12 and finally reached Philippi, a Roman colony just inside the Macedonian border, and stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank where we understood some people met for prayer; and we taught the Scriptures to some women who came. 14 One of them was Lydia, a saleswoman from Thyatira, a merchant of purple cloth. She was already a worshiper of God and as she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart and she accepted all that Paul was saying. 15 She was baptized along with all her household and asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am faithful to the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we did.
May the love of Jesus Christ dwell where the Word is spoken. Thanks be to God!
Ministry of Music: Every Morning is Easter Morning – ©1972 Avery/Marsh BCUC Choir
Sermon: “Being Open” Rev. Lorrie
Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer: Rev. Lorrie
Holy One,
We thank you for the wonder of this world we live in, with all its beauty and diversity.
Help us as we strive to look beyond the familiar and the expected, so that we, like Paul and Lydia, can see the gifts that come to us in surprising ways.
Help us pay attention to the ways you nudge us in new directions.
Open us to finding blessings in unexpected places.
Hear us as we pray for those in our community who are dealing with difficulties of many kinds:
Those who are ill or injured
Those who are grieving, isolated, or lonely
Those who are dealing with conflict or violence
Those who are anxious or afraid of what the future holds.
Give them the assurance that you are with them and offer them comfort.
Hear us as we pray for the people of the world
Those who are caught in the horror of war and acts of aggression
Those who are displaced from their homes for any reason – economic insecurity, political unrest, or natural disasters like famine, flood, or fire
Those who are oppressed or discriminated against
Those who suffer only because they are different from those around them
Give them the courage to move ahead and the peace of knowing there is support for them in this world.
Hear as we pray for those who are called to lead
Those who have sought opportunities for leadership
Those who have had leadership responsibilities thrust upon them
Those who find themselves in unexpected leadership roles
Give them the wisdom to lead with clear vision and with compassion for those their decisions impact.
Hear us as we pray for ourselves and for the things that trouble our hearts and minds.
Nudge us to take action that will lead to hope, healing, and confidence in the coming days.
Give us the clear vision to recognize you in the friends, family and caregivers around us.
Help us see the world through the lens of love – both received and given
Help us share your love in everything we do and say
Help us be the face of the assurance, comfort, courage, and wisdom we ask for in this world.
All this we ask as we repeat together the words 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. Lorrie
As the apostle Paul freely offered the Good News to a community outside his own, as Lydia freely offered her home and hospitality to strangers from far away, may we freely offer our love to God’s world through our gifts of time, talents, and treasure to further the mission of this church in answer to Jesus’ call. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the mail slot at the kitchen door of the church drop by the church during office hours – we are always happy to see you! – or send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer: (In Unison)
(Wanda Burse, gathering L/E 2022, p49. Used with permission.)
Eternal One,
We offer our gifts, reaching out from the familiarity of our community to the unknown aspects of life and living.
May the Spirit encourage our sharing and our serving.
Bless these gifts, O God, in Jesus’ name. Amen
Hymn: May the God of Hope Go with Us - Voices United #424
1 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 Christ's call.
2 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. R
Words © v1 1984 Schutmaat, v2 1993 Kaan Hope Pub., Argentine Folk Melody
Song #78182 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Sending Forth: Rev. Lorrie
(Richard Bott, Gathering L/E 2022, p51. Used with permission.)
We go into God’s world to share what we have.
We go into God’s world to share who we are.
We go into God’s world. With God’s love, Christ’s peace, and the Holy Spirit’s song.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Departing Music & Announcements
Guide Me Great Jehovah with Klein Nachtmusic