Sunday Worship Service - August 9, 2020

BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

10TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
SUMMER WORSHIP SERVICE

August 9, 2020

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: Precious Lord – Voices United #670    Duet: Ellen & Bernice

Acknowledgement of Territory

We begin our worship service by acknowledging the territory where most of us gather and where I am located. We acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe First Nation. We pay respect to the elders past and present and honour all indigenous people’s reverence of this land throughout the ages. May we live in peace and friendship to sustain the earth and all its people.
Thank you for permitting us to live and work on this land.

Welcome & Announcements

Good day everyone! On behalf of Bells Corners United Church, I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, wherever you are, in today’s worship service. This is the second Sunday of the summer sermon series in the book of Proverbs. Today we are going to hear Lady Wisdom, calling us again from the streets and public squares to pay attention reminding us that she was created by God at the very beginning even before the world was created.

During this time when we are not able to worship in the church sanctuary, please know that BCUC offers worship service in a number of ways. Check our website at bcuc.org, for our worship service in audio, video and text formats along with the weekly announcements, online meetings, events and other updates. You can also listen to the service via telephone by dialing 613-820-8104. I also encourage you to show that you care by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.

Here are some announcements:

  • The Book of Memories Volume 2 is completed and copies are now available for purchase. You can order a print copy with a suggested minimum donation of $30 or a Digital copy with a suggested donation of $15. Please contact the office to place an order.

  • Join us for a spontaneous Prayer Circle every Wednesday at 8 pm. Wherever you are, say a prayer for the world, your community and the congregation, your family, and yourself.

  • David’s Flowers are back drive-through style and they are available every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 am. The flowers will be displayed on tables outside the main entrance, and everyone is asked to remain in their car, bring exact change or prepared cheque for donations, and follow instructions of volunteers. Thank you for your support!

  • Grocery cards are now available for purchase. Please call the office to place your order.

  • For those of you who are able to join us via Zoom, there will be zoom fellowship every Sunday at 11 am. Link will be emailed to you or call the office for more information.

  • Friends, I now invite you to reflect and to listen to Wisdom’s calling. May we hear her call and grant us the courage to respond. Let us gather in worship.

Lighting of the Christ Candle   Acolyte: Victoria Ogden

All creation is made of star stuff.
From the basic building blocks of the universe,
come fire, air, earth and water.
All creation sings praise to the Creator of all.
Warmed by this flame,
We go where Christ’s wisdom shines! 

Call to Gather: (inspired by the prayer of Rt. Rev. Richard Bott, 2017)  Lorrie Lowes, DM

Let us gather to praise God of all life,
whose hands touch Creation, and it moves;
whose heart beats and life pulses anew;
whose Spirit dances and the world is changed!
In this time together,
let us praise Wisdom and help us move,
to live,
to be changed
by God’s love,
for the sake of Creation.
Let us gather in worship.

Prayer of Approach: Walking with Wisdom   (from If Darwin Prayed by Bruce Sanguin)

O Holy one,
we come in humility and awe,
waiting on Wisdom, Holy Sophia,
to reveal to us Her way.
She, incarnate in Jesus,
embodies in cells and centipedes,
woos us with a wink
into an unknown and unknowable future:
except that is shall be delightful,
for She is delighted by creation;
and it shall be beautiful,
for beauty is the path She walks;
and it shall be good,
for She is the irrepressible goodness of creation;
and it shall be just,
for she is outraged by oppression,
of all Her children,
human and other-than-human. 

O Holy One,
we turn now from our foolish ways
to walk the path of Wisdom –
lightly, lovingly –upon and as
this beautiful green planet.
Amen. 

Hymn: Oh a Song Must Rise More Voices #142

Refrain
Oh a song must rise for the spirit to descend
Oh a song must rise once again (again)
Singing out God’s praises and glory,
the faithful voices blend,
Oh a song must rise for the spirit to descend. (descend) 

1. From the mountains to the valleys,
from the desert to the sea,
a song must rise once again.
From the voices of our leaders,
the voice of you and me,
a song must rise for the spirit to descend. 

2. From poverty and riches,
from the voice of young and old,
a song must rise once again. (again)
From the free and the imprisoned,
the timid and the bold,
a song must rise for the spirit to descend. 

3. From ev’ry house of worship,
in ev’ry faith and tongue,
a song must rise once again.
From the villages and cities
a new song must be sung,
a song must rise for the spirit to descend.

Words & Music © 1995 Paul Svenson, Arr © 2006 Bryn Nixon       dadsongbook.com
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved 

Storytime for the Young at Heart       Lorrie Lowes, DM

Good Morning! We are continuing on with our series about Wisdom in the Bible, and today we’re reading again from the book of Proverbs. It’s difficult to talk about and to describe God in a way that makes sense, that is big enough to cover what God really is to any us. And so, the writers in the Bible often given God many personalities. We talked about that when we talked about the Trinity, didn’t we – that there are lots of different ways of describing God and that sometimes it makes it sound like God is more than one being or one existence. Well, the writers of the book of Proverbs have talked about Wisdom in that way, like a separate kind of being, and generally as a woman. She is sometimes called Sophia or, as in the reading we are looking at today, Lady Wisdom.

This is a really beautiful passage, talking about Wisdom being right there as a part of Creation. I love the verses that really point this out. In verses 30 and 31 of Proverbs 8 it says,

“I was right there with God, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there with my joyful applause, always enjoying God’s company, delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.”

It really brings out that excitement, doesn’t it? I can imagine how exciting it would be to have been around when Creation happened. And I think sometimes, that whole idea of excitement has to do with wonder as well. Wonder is something we are familiar with in our world, and I think that in being wise, wonder plays a big part. Delighting in the beauty and order of the created world is a way that we wonder. When we think about how a caterpillar can turn into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly, that’s something that is really a wonder. As we wonder and learn about how those things happen in the world and about how they fit together that’s a way we become wise, as we learn things, as we talked about last week.

So, what does Wisdom have to teach us about the way we look at God’s world? Well, I think that Wisdom tells us in this passage that we should delight in the way everything fits together so beautifully, how Creation is organized to work together as one, how we should rejoice and delight in Creation, about our place in Creation and how we can help make this all work together, and how every single piece of it is an important part of God’s world.

I hope that you will look at the world today with a sense of Wisdom’s wonder!

A Poem: God’s Garden (by Dorothy Frances Gurney)    Vernon Sulway

THE Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.
So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the goose,
For there in the cool of the evening
God walked with the first of us.
And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

Hymn:  O Beautiful Gaia    More Voices #41

Refrain:
O beautiful Gaia, O Gaia,
calling us home.
O beautiful Gaia, calling us on. 

1.       Soil yielding its harvest,
O Gaia, calling us home.
Soil yielding its harvest,
calling us on. R 

2.       Waves crashing on granite,
          O Gaia, calling us home.
          Waves crashing on granite,
          calling us on. R 

3.       Pine bending in windstorm,
          O Gaia, calling us home.
          Pine bending in windstorm,
          calling us on. R 

4.       Loon nesting in marshland,
          O Gaia, calling us home.
          Loon nesting in marshland,
          calling us on.

Words & Music © 2000 Carolyn McDade & Atlantic Singers, Arr © 2006 Lydia Pederson
Song # 125416 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Prayer for Illumination     Reader:  Nicole Beaudry

O wise God, let your word speak in each heart. Let your truth set each one free. Let your wisdom inspire us for justice. Let your presence fill us with joy. Amen.

The Reading: “Lady Wisdom Calls Out”    Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-36 (The Message)

8 1-4 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?
    Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She’s taken her stand at First and Main,
    at the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square
    where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
“You—I’m talking to all of you,
    everyone out here on the streets!

22-31 “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
    before God did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
    well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
    yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
    I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,
    and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
    I was there.
When God mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
    built the vast vault of Heaven,
    and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When God drew a boundary for Sea,
    posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,
    I was right there with God, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
    always enjoying God’s company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
    happily celebrating the human family.

32-36 “So, my dear friends, listen carefully;
    those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.
Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;
    don’t squander your precious life.
Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,
    awake and ready for me each morning,
    alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.
When you find me, you find life, real life,
    to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.
But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;
    when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to all of us! Thanks be to God!

Sermon: “In the Beginning was Wisdom”     Rev. Kim Vidal

In 2005, about 400 women and a few men, comprised of clergy, feminist theologians, Bible scholars, professors, church lay leaders and advocates gathered at Carleton University in Ottawa for what turned out to be one of the most controversial yet transformational ecumenical church events that I’ve ever attended. The conference was sponsored by Women’s Ordination Worldwide, an organization run primarily by feminist members, mostly connected with the Roman Catholic Church, whose main goal is to raise awareness about and advocate for the ordination of women not only in the Roman Catholic Church but in all Christian churches. I attended the conference partly due to two feminist theologians that I follow: Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and Rosemary Radford Ruether.

“Breaking Silence, Breaking Bread – Christ Calls Women to Lead” - the theme caused tidal waves across the Christian religious landscape because it did what its title said it would do. It broke women’s silence, particularly those who are advocates of women’s ordination, while breaking bread together, placing diverse women’s experiences at the centre of Jesus’ ministry. It also emphasized female images of the Divine at the centre of the worship and ritual life of the conference. The backlash to the conference was tremendously big. It concluded with the so-called ordination of four Roman Catholic “priestesses” and five “deaconesses” on the St. Lawrence River that drew media attention.

During the conference, there was one particular worship experience that introduced me to Lady Wisdom, also known as Sophia that I remembered so well. In that worship service, I was introduced to songs from the album Dancing Sophia’s Circle composed by Colleen Fulmer, a former member of Loretto Spirituality Network and converted to the United Methodist Church, now an ordained minister. 400 plus voices all joined in the refrain- “O Wisdom Sophia, Wisdom Sophia, the power and presence of God.” The worship centered around the image of Lady Wisdom that broke open something in me. I would say it was life-changing. It transformed me!

 I have had amazing spiritual and theological experience during and after the conference, not to mention the friendships formed and the wisdom that I learned from the marvelous speakers.  

So here we are on this second Sunday of the sermon series on Lady Wisdom, challenging and disturbing, yet transformational. Last Sunday, we have heard her voice for the first time in Proverbs 1 calling out to everyone from the streets and marketplaces, from the hub of communal life. Wisdom is portrayed as a woman who will not be silenced, standing at the public square, calling the attention of humanity, insisting that she be heard, frustrated by those who pretend they don’t know any better, pointing an angry finger at those who choose ignorance over wisdom. She wrestles with questions about how one ought to live and about the meaning of life.  With questions about justice and fairness and where God is in the midst of our human experiences. 

Today in Proverbs 8, Lady Wisdom calls out again from the same spot on First and Main streets, on the city square, but this time, she will tell us that in the beginning, even before the world was created, she already existed with God, like a master worker, a co-creator in the formation of the world.  The ancient Israelites wrote of wisdom, first in God’s creation, witnessed all of creation and worked alongside the Creator God. Both are complementary dimensions of the creation process, or as Proverbs describes it, Lady Wisdom is at God’s side, as an agent, companion and celebrant in the creation process.

Proverbs 8 is a beautiful depiction of creation that would complement the creation stories in Genesis. Wisdom is earthy, deeply rooted and is woven into the fabric of all creation, personified as symbolic of transcendent power ordering and delighting in the world. In the words of feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson, “She is constantly luring human beings to life, to a way of living that rightfully orders the world such that everyone is able to delight in it. She has been there from the beginning of this world.” Listen again to her words translated by Eugene Peterson in The Message

“God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—before God did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start…   

 I was there…I was right there with God, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
    always enjoying God’s company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
    happily celebrating the human family.”

From the beginning, Lady Wisdom dances and rejoices and delights in Creation. She is a lover of people – she “delights in the human race and happily celebrating with them.” Historian and author Lilian Calles Barger, writes: “In the biblical Proverbs, Woman Wisdom is identified with God, present at Creation and infusing all. She seeks close engagement with the world and delights to be with humanity. Contrary to gender-stereotyped images of women, she is in no way passive but is portrayed as a liberator and establisher of justice, a lover in pursuit of humanity who, in return, responds to those who love her.” Wisdom invites us to delight with her in creation – and to care for all life. She is so intimately connected with the earth and nudges the people to nourish and care for our environment.

Where can we find Lady Wisdom so that we can participate in this whole creative process?  Rev. Greg Wooley in his sermon on wisdom shares wonderful insight to this question. He says: “One good place to start, is to cultivate personal habits and spiritual practices that invite God’s wisdom into your day. This includes moments of contemplation, prayer or journaling, doing yoga, visualization, meditation, and breathing-prayers.” Rev. Wooley also encourage us to slow down our information intake relying on high-speed, internet sources, by enhancing it with other sources that take us deeper. Books, including the Bible, newspapers, documentaries, thoughtful magazine articles and podcasts can all help. Taking a deep breath and inviting a deep thought provides favourable conditions for the growth of wisdom. And I would add to this list, inspiring music – both instrumental and sung, traveling and nature walks, as well as wise people and friends – our family and social circles – these are wonderful sources of wisdom. A wise person once said: “Surround yourself with positive people who will inspire you to do better.”

If there is one thing that I hope we will take away from this sermon, it is this: The ancient writers of Proverbs 8 were on to something wonderful when they depicted Lady Wisdom in such a vivid and tangible way – not as an abstract philosophical concept or idea, but as a real, live, flesh and blood, living being, when they imagined her side by side with God from the beginning of time, standing on the street corners, at our borders, at our city gates, calling to us from all of the highways and byways of life. We all can be vessels of wisdom. We all can be co-creators with God and we can claim the gift of creativity if we follow Lady Wisdom’s ways. Poets, artists, musicians, preachers, leaders, housekeepers, health workers, gardeners, bakers, everyday workers, young and old– we all can claim our work as part of God’s creative power. We, alongside with God, contributes to this creative process in preserving and healing the earth.

Lady Wisdom emerges in our actions, in our choices, in our relationships. Like water, she finds Her way. Like light, we turn toward Her, especially as the darkness deepens. Like a tree, she taught us to become deeply-rooted with creation and the world where we live. Wisdom and life are inseparable. This human life, this pilgrimage, this adventure, this journey, this is where Wisdom comes to find us. Wisdom calls us not out of our lives, but deeper into them: deeper into our innermost being, deeper into our relationships, deeper into our communities and neighborhoods, deeper into the presence of creation itself.

Going back to the 2005 Women’s Ordination Worldwide Conference that I have attended, if there’s one thing that have inspired me in my ministry and in my life, it would be the wisdom and music of Colleen Fulmer, particularly her song In Your Presence that we’ve sang during one of the worship services in that gathering. Let me share some of its lyrics with the hope that you will find it inspiring too as you continue to seek and follow Lady Wisdom-Sophia in your life journey:

We are bathed in radiance, clothed in glory
Crowned in splendour, embraced in joy.
O Wisdom Sophia, Wisdom Sophia,
The power and presence of God.
Our earth was created as you danced and played
So delighted by beauty and form.
You sang and mountains and valleys appeared.
All the meadows, the seas and the shores.
O Wisdom Sophia, Wisdom Sophia,
The power and presence of God. 

I thank God for Lady Wisdom. With her beauty and grace, she invites us to walk, sing, laugh, play, work and dance into the light of God’s new day. Thanks be to our wise God. Amen.

Sources that I used:

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

Like gentle rain from above that blesses us each day,
so are your gifts of life to us, Creator God.
In your wisdom you move our hearts from anxiety to an act of gratitude.
Like the sun that rises in the morning so is the steadfastness of your love that provides for us.
In your grace, you move us from trust in things we’ve made to trust in your goodness and promises. Like a surprise gift, you offer us possibilities and a chance to breathe again.
In your presence, you move us from fear to courage in your ways.  

Creator God, in your wisdom,
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.
We thank you for fresh water to drink and water that flows in rivers and lakes.
We thank you for the air which gives life to all.
We thank you for seeds and crops, plants and trees, for birds and animals.
As earth’s vegetation and creatures care for us, may we care for them in return.
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 Beirut especially the grieving families and loved ones of the victims who died in the recent deadly explosion. We ask for your blessings and love to heal their broken hearts and spirits as they mourn their tragic loss. We pray for healing and comfort to those who are injured, shelter to those who are homeless and sustenance to those who hunger.

We continue to pray for Canada and the rest of the world as we continue to combat the ongoing pandemic. We pray for our loved ones and friends, those whose loved ones perished due to this virus, 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 workers, the grocers, the postal workers, the essential services employees, church people and our leaders. We pray for their safety and good health, wisdom and courage as they serve others in this time of pandemic.

Wisdom-Sophia, may your Spirit bless us with wisdom and help us to change.
To change ourselves and to change our world.
To know the need for it.
To deal with the challenges of it.
To feel the joy of service.
To undertake the journey knowing that you will journey with us.
All these we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Wisdom’s incarnate, who taught his friends and disciples this prayer that we say 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:      Lorrie Lowes, DM

I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents and resources 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

Sophia God, we hear and we respond to your words of wisdom, 
your words of call and life. May these gifts, not only of our time, talents and treasures,
but of our very selves be acceptable to you and help spread your justice and love. Amen.

Sending Forth:  (based on the words of  Bob Root, Gathering 2020)    Lorrie Lowes, DM

And may the God of Wisdom who brought us into being,
to care for creation and one another
bless us as we leave:
May we be blessed in the air we breathe,
the relationships we nurture,
and the acts through which love is shared,
that God’s blessing, light, and love
will be known by all.
Go in joy,
blessed to be a blessing. 

Hymn:   Teach Me, God, to Wonder - Voices United #299

1. Teach me, God, to wonder,
teach me, God, to see;
let your world of beauty capture me. 

Refrain:
Praise to you be gi-ven,
love for you you be lived,
life be celebrated, joy you give. 

2. Let me, God, be open,
Let me loving be;
Let your world of people speak to me. R 

3. Let me, God, be ready,
let me be awake,
in your world of loving my place take. R 

4. Teach me, God, to know you,
hear you when you speak,
see you in my neighbour when we meet. R.

Words © 1973 Walter Farquharson, Music © 1974 Ron Klusmeier Arr. 1987 Gerald Hobbs
Song # 80492 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved

Departing: Fairest Lord Jesus – Voices United #341 Arranged: Stewart Landon Duet: Ellen & Bernice

Zoom Fellowship hosted by Lorrie at 11 am. Link has been emailed. See you there!