BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

June 27, 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: The Rose - Amanda McBroom Abe-electric piano

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

…

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose

Lyrics © Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp., Third Story Music, Inc.

Welcome & Centering for Worship Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Good morning! On behalf of Bells Corners United Church, I welcome you to this service of worship from wherever you are. We are really pleased that you have chosen to join us this week!

As we continue to be on stay-at-home order, please be reminded that 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. Also, please remember look at the many announcements on our website to keep you informed and give you opportunities to respond.

Friends, I now invite you to open your hearts to God’s generous gifts of love and life abundant as we gather in worship.

Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolyte: Liam Murray Eaton

As we light this candle, we light a symbol of the presence of Jesus with us individually and as a community of faith.

As we light this candle, we acknowledge it as guiding us to Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God that is our call and the framework for our discipleship.[1]

Sung Response: Spirit of the Living God - Voices United #376 – Quartet with flute: Erin

Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on us.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on us.
Break us, melt us, mold us, fill us.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on us.

Call to Gather & Prayer of Approach Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Our God of abundance, infinite in grace, surrounds us with blessings, but never overwhelms us with them.

There is enough, always enough, of what we need.

But it is hidden, tucked beneath the surface, waiting for us to release it, if we will act with generosity and grace.

So, we gather to learn anew our calling as co-creators with God, whom now we worship.[2]

Let us pray:

Loving God,
The summer beckons, but we are still too busy.
Our minds and our calendars are overflowing with “to-dos.”
Calm our souls and still our hearts that we may be present with you, and in you this day.
Show us how to breathe deeply of your love.
Instruct us how to listen for the whispers of your guidance.
Enliven us to the stirring of your Spirit within.
Equip us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, we pray.
Amen.[3]

Hymn: This is the Day More Voices #122 BCUC music team

1 This is the day that God has made; we will rejoice and be glad! 2x
Singing hallelu, singing hallelu, singing hallelu!
We will rejoice and be glad! 2x

2 Voici le jour que Dieu a fait; nous le vivrons dans la joie. 2x
Chantant Al-le-lu! (3x); nous le vivrons dans la joie.
Chantant Al-le-lu! (3x); nous le vivrons dans la joie.

Repeat verse 1

Storytime: Anna’s Garden - Karen Boivin

Anna was a long time member of her church. She was a widow living on the farm where she and her husband had brought up their family. Now in her senior years she was having trouble walking and felt more secure staying close to home, so she hadn’t been out to church services for quite a while.

She looked forward to her weekly visit from Tim, a friend and member of the church pastoral care team. She always made something special for their tea time together. During one visit she mentioned to Tim how disappointing it was not to feel well enough to tend what had always been her very impressive kitchen garden. Oh well she said, “I can’t eat all those vegetables myself anyway. And I certainly don’t have the energy to make them last longer by preserving them.” That didn’t sound too convincing. On his way home Tim couldn’t stop thinking about how disappointed she sounded.

The next time Tim visited Anna, he had a proposition. Would she be willing to let church families tend her kitchen garden for her? Of course she could take all the produce she wanted from it, but maybe the rest could be donated to the town food bank? Anna was intrigued but unsure. The garden was a lot of work.

“Tell me more,” she said. Eventually they came up with a plan that made Anna excited to offer up her garden.

Driving home Tim secretly worried however that he might not be able to find the volunteers to make the plan work. However when it was time for the ground of the garden to be prepared a caravan of church families arrived at Anna’s farm. Anna had been like a grandma or a favourite aunt to many of the younger church members and they had missed seeing her. Under her direction, children and their parents and other church members set to pulling out old stalks from the year before and grass that had already begun to encroach from the edges. The soil was turned over and clumps broken up. There was a real party atmosphere on the farm with everyone working hard, laughing together and enjoying the ice cold lemonade and chocolate chip cookies Anna had ready for them.

The next week another parade of cars made it up her driveway with church friends and family ready to start the planting. Children and adults followed Anna’s directions careful about where, how many and how deep to plant the seeds. They had a real feeling of accomplishment when they were done and looked forward to seeing what was going to come up.

It had been a little harder for Tim to fill up the weeding roster but eventually he had a family name on the list for each week. Many of the seed planters had signed up excited to see what came of their hard work. An unexpected bonus of this project was the number of visitors that now came to Anna’s farm. She got to know the families in her congregation better and had a lot more excuses to bake! And they too were blessed by her wonderful stories and knowledge. And each week when Tim came by for his visit he also harvested whatever was ready; offering it first to Anna and taking the rest to the foodbank who were very excited to receive this fresh produce.

There was one role in the garden however that Anna had insisted she wanted to do and was perfectly capable of doing. She wanted to do the watering. Early morning watering had always been her favourite part of the tending. “Fantastic,” said Tim.

One act of generosity often leads to another; actually more than another; one leads to two leads to four and on and on! Tim’s visiting Anna and looking for a solution to Anna’s disappointment over her garden led Anna to happily offer her garden, her watering and hospitality to the project; the congregation members then offered their time, labour and friendship for it to unfold; and Tim took the weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables to the foodbank for their patrons to enjoy. And because of all this ….everyone had a happier summer!

Hymn: Small Things Count – Voices United #361 Erin, Lowes & Bram

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!

4. 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.

Prayer for Illumination[4] Reader: Will Wightman

Gracious God, take the words I will speak and bless them.
Take the listening we will bring to the Word
and empower our reflection with action. Amen.

The Epistle Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. 13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15 As it is written,

“The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.”

Herein is wisdom. Thanks be to God.

Sermon: “From the Fear of Scarcity to the Joy of Generosity”

When Neil and I sold our big family home, just two years ago, we got a huge lesson in what it means to have too much stuff! We were downsizing to a house less than half the size of the one we had brought our kids up in, and from a large rural property with many outbuildings to a small suburban lot with a tiny garden shed. We gave away furniture and treasures, we passed on lawn equipment and tractors to our kids, we sold a few things, and we filled a dumpster – twice!

Although we were at first a bit reluctant to let go of things that “still had some good in them”, once we settled into our new home, we found that we didn’t miss those things at all – and that we still have too much “stuff”. So, now we find ourselves downsizing once more – and there is still a lot to get rid of. It’s a little easier this time, but it amazes me that there is still so much of it!

One of my favourite things to do these days is to haunt the “Buy Nothing” site in our area. People post things that they no longer want or need, and others snap them up. Sometimes, people post that they are looking for something and others realize they have just that item lurking in the dark corner of a cupboard somewhere. It’s not so much “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” as being able to fill a need for someone else out of your own abundance. We have been able to gift others with things as big as bedroom furniture and as small as a tiny bottle of essential oils for a toddler’s tummy troubles or a few tablespoons of an ingredient to finish a recipe, and everything in between… We have been the beneficiaries of this community generosity too – drywall and light fixtures when we were getting the basement finished, and packing boxes as we get ready to move again. It is a wonderful community building project. It’s an opportunity to recycle rather than send things to a landfill. It’s an opportunity to meet others and to share our abundance – along with making each of us aware of how blessed with abundance we are!

I think you can see how, in the midst of this, I was drawn to this reading from another one of Paul’s letters to the people of Corinth. He is asking them to be generous. It’s not a command but a request. Sounds a bit like a stewardship campaign, doesn’t it? He is, after all, asking for money to support another community of Christians – and that, in turn, reminded me of our Advent and Lenten Appeals to support worthy causes locally and globally… and I wondered, why does it feel easier to be generous on my “Buy Nothing” site than it is to write a cheque or increase our PAR contributions? How is it different?

As I was pondering this, I came across a wonderful article written by Walter Brueggemann from 1999, entitled “The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity”. In it, he talks about how we, in North America have invested our lives in consumerism and our love affair with “more”. This isn’t a new revelation, of course. We know we live in a consumer society where status and success are often judged by the size of your house or the kind of car you drive, or the clothes you wear. What was new for me in Brueggemann’s article was that there is precedence for this attitude in the Bible, right back to the Hebrew Scriptures in the book of Genesis. The Bible starts out with a liturgy of abundance, according to Brueggemann:

“Genesis I is a song of praise for God's generosity. It tells how well the world is ordered. It keeps saying, ‘It is good, it is good, it is good, it is very good.’ It declares that God blesses -- that is, endows with vitality -- the plants and the animals and the fish and the birds and humankind. And it pictures the creator as saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ In an orgy of fruitfulness, everything in its kind is to multiply the overflowing goodness that pours from God's creator spirit.”

The fruitfulness of the world, says Brueggemann, is guaranteed, and evidence of this is present throughout the book of Genesis – until the 47th chapter. Then Pharoah dreams there will be a famine – so he organizes control and monopoly over the food supply. He is so worried that there isn’t enough, he wants to get it all. Sound familiar? It reminds me of the crazy toilet paper hoarding that happened at the beginning of this pandemic. We can laugh at that because it seems absurd, but I think we can find many serious examples of that kind of hoarding behaviour in society today – in the hoarding of natural resources, wealth, and power that goes on all the time in the name of business and growth and success.

Pharoah’s actions are based on fear and this myth of scarcity. In his attempt to control the food supply, he becomes ruthless. When the crops fail, the peasants turn to Pharoah, through Joseph, for help. In return for food, they first give up their land, then their cattle, and finally their freedom. Even then, Pharoah is so worried about them being too numerous that he orders Hebrew baby boys to be killed, and, when that fails, he tells Moses to take them all away – and the Exodus begins.

By this time, that fear of scarcity is engrained, even in the Israelites. Remember the grumbling that happened on that journey? “We should have stayed in Egypt. At least we had food to eat there!” Once again, God’s gift of abundance comes through in the form of manna – enough for everyone… you can’t trade it for anything… it spoils if you try to hoard it… but there is always enough. No one has too much, no one has too little or goes hungry. There is enough for everyone.

The stories in our scriptures go on and on, and Brueggemann says that these stories warn us, again and again, that possessing land, property, and wealth makes people covetous. We see evidence of this all through history – wars fought over land, colonizers destroying cultures to gain power and control of property and resources – and it continues today with mining companies razing villages and killing those who fight back in third world countries, in big corporations clear- cutting ancient forests and stripping the vegetation for profit or to make way for their own enterprises.

Creation was designed to provide abundance for all. We read that in our scripture. We sing about it in our hymns… Another quote from Brueggemann:

“Whether we are liberal or conservative Christians, we must confess that the central problem of our lives is that we are torn apart by the conflict between our attraction to the good news of God's abundance and the power of our belief in scarcity -- a belief that makes us greedy, mean and unneighborly. We spend our lives trying to sort out that ambiguity.”

Jesus knew this about us humans… in Matthew, we hear him say, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Letting go of our possessions is hard – and seems to get harder as our possessions increase.

I am reminded of a funny story Neil tells of a time when he was working for a large public corporation (I won’t say which one, it doesn’t really matter). He was working at his desk when his pen ran dry and so he went to the stationery stock room and asked for a pen. The woman at the desk said, “I can’t give you one. I just have one left and someone might need it.” I guess it didn’t dawn on her that someone who needed it was standing in front of her. She was afraid to let the last one go.

She was afraid to be without a safe stash… we are all afraid of scarcity and so we hang on tight to what we have and we do our best to make that safe stash grow. We spend our lives worrying about not having enough. Jesus tried to tell us that we were worrying about the wrong thing and missing the point.

Again, in Matthew 6, he tells his followers:

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

I don’t think Jesus is telling us to just stop working and expect that everything we need will drop into our laps. Birds work hard to find the seeds or insects they need to eat. They work hard to build their nests and raise their young. The ecosystem is designed for their needs to be met – until we humans intervene anyway. I think Jesus is saying that we are so afraid of scarcity that we are missing the incredible abundance that is built right into creation… that this fear keeps us from seeing that there is plenty for all.

He tells the story of the wealthy land owner who has a particularly good season and builds bigger and bigger barns to store his grain but dies that very night. Wealth and possessions can’t buy us life.

I don’t think these scriptures are telling us to give everything away and hope for some divine benevolence. I think the message is to relax and stop worrying about scarcity. It’s that fear that is skewing the balance so that a small number of people hold all the resources while so many live without… so that the natural world is stripped of its ability to sustain life.

Be generous, says Paul to the Corinthians. Help other communities grow and thrive just like you are doing.

When I think of the kind of generosity that Jesus taught, I think of the joy that comes with the kind of giving that happens in our “Buy Nothing” group. There is no bartering, no expectation of paying anyone back or getting the best deal. It is all about sharing our abundance with others to meet a need or just to put a smile on another person’s face. Many posts begin with, “I loved this when my babies were small and it’s time to pass it on to another new mom”… or “My rhubarb is producing more than I can use, anybody want some?”… I find myself wishing I had three or four of something I am offering so I could give them to everyone who needed them – and I know I’m not the only one. This isn’t charity – it doesn’t just flow one way. It’s the generosity of sharing your abundance no matter how big or small it may seem. It’s a sharing among people who care about each other, whether they are long-time neighbours or people they have never met. It’s good for everybody involved, and it’s good stewardship of the environment. It’s loving your neighbour being lived out in a community.

You don’t have to be wealthy to be generous. As Paul tells the Corinthians, “I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you.” It’s about finding that balance between abundance and need.

We are blessed with many very generous people in our congregation here at BCUC – and I’m not just talking about what goes in the collection plate. During this time of pandemic, many hearts have been warmed by people offering to pick up groceries for shut-ins, sharing baking with friends and neighbours, making phone calls and sending emails to each other – all ways of making sure our love for our neighbour doesn’t stop just because we can’t be together physically. Imagine a world where this kind of care and generosity spread further, even globally.

Creation was designed to provide abundance for all. Do we have the faith to believe that is true? Can we put aside our fear of scarcity and find ways to restore that balance? I worry that, if we don’t, we will continue to destroy that very creation we were tasked to protect.

Sallie McFague who passed away not too long ago, was a theologian who taught at the Vancouver School of Theology, here in Canada. She believed that we are called, not just as Christians, but as part of humanity, to work toward restoring that balance. Her book, “Life Abundant”, gives a powerful message about the urgency of doing so - and I recommend it to you. She knows that it will take a huge shift in our thinking before this can happen – a shift that is very similar to Brueggemann’s shift from the myth of scarcity to the liturgy of abundance. Without that shift in thinking and understanding, the kind of generosity that Jesus taught and Paul asks from the Corinthians can never truly take place. We have a lot of work to do before we get there – but it is urgent work.

We cannot make that shift happen overnight on a global scale, but we can start by applying that shift to our own attitudes and actions.

If you could put aside your fear of scarcity, and trust that there is enough for all, what do you have in abundance that you could share? Is it something tangible like money or clothing or food? Or is it something intangible like time or expertise, joy or comfort, or perhaps a voice that can speak up to injustice?

The story of manna in the book of Exodus talks about a time when “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” We can see in our reading today that it was a lesson Paul felt the people of Corinth still needed to hear when he was writing his letters, and it is a lesson our world still needs to hear today.

May it be so. Amen.

Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Extravagant God,
We thank you for this amazing Creation that you have designed,
For the intricate web of life that works to ensure abundant life for all living things.
Help us learn to be stewards of this world so that your plan to provide for all will flourish.
Help us remember to trust your divine plan and let go of the fear of scarcity.

This day, in the spirit of generous love, we offer our petitions for those who are hurting,
That they be blessed with your healing grace and our healing acts of love.

We pray for all who live in fear…
We pray for all whose lives are touched by violence…
We pray for all who live in want for the necessities of life…
We pray for all who suffer from illness or injury…
We pray for those who feel forgotten and ostracized by society…
We pray for those who mourn…
We pray for all who struggle with the isolation this pandemic brings…

Help us to be your hands and feet in this hurting world, that we open our hearts and hands to give generously so that others can live in abundance and love.

All this we ask in the name of Jesus, our example and our guide,
And in this ancient prayer he 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 Lowes

As we have been loved, so may we love others.

As we have been fed, so may we feed others.
As we have received from God’s hand blessings beyond measure, may we also generously share with one another and with God’s world. Let us present our offerings.[5]

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, mail them to BCUC, or send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to Bells Corners United Church.

Offertory Prayer

Ever-giving God, you lavish us with great abundance. Grace, comfort, and eternal life are priceless gifts. Empower us to herald that truth in word and action. May these offerings be only a small part of our commitment to your way of extravagant sharing. Bless all they represent, as you sanctify us in your love. Amen.[6]

Sending Forth Rev. Lorrie Lowes

Go out in Jesus’ name with ready hands to bring God’s kingdom into this world.
Go out to bring love and justice into a world of hurt and pain, knowing that God is with us always. Amen.[7]

Hymn: “Go Make a Diff’rence” - More Voices #209 Music Team

Refrain: Go make a diff’rence. We can make diff’rence.
Go make a diff’rence in the world. (2x)

1. We are the salt of the earth, called to let the people see,
the love of God for you and me.
We are the light of the world, not to be hidden but be seen.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.

2. We are the hands of Christ reaching out to those in need,
The face of God for all to see.
We are the spirit of hope; we are the voice of peace.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.

3. So let your love shine on, let it shine for all to see.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.
And the spirit of Christ will be with us as we go.
Go make a diff’rence in the world!

Departing Music: O Canada (only 4 days away (and it’s independence day next Sunday))

Zoom Fellowship – 11 am

[1] Bill Perry, Gathering Pentecost 1 2018, p32. Used with permission.

[2] Rod Sykes, Gathering Pentecost 1 2018, p34. Used with permission.

[3] Gord Dunbar, Gathering Pentecost 1 2016, p33-34. Used with permission.

[4] David Sparks, Gathering, Pentecost 1 2018, p43. Used with permission.

[5] Karen MacNeill, Gathering Pentecost 1 2021, p51. Used with permission.

[6] Laura Turnbull, Gathering Pentecost 1 2021, p52. Used with permission.

[7] Fern Gibbard, Gathering Pentecost 1 2020, p47. Used with permission.

Sunday Worship Service - June 27, 2021