BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
INDIGENOUS DAY OF PRAYER / HONOURING FATHERS
June 19, 2022 – 10 am
Summer Sermon Series: “The Good News in One Word”
* 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: We Must Learn to Walk Together – Waites
Singalong
Refrain:
As the seasons keep on turning,
we are held in Creator’s hands.
We must learn to walk together,
to reconcile this land.
To reconcile this land.
1. When our respect grows, day by day,
when we learn, and sing, and pray.
When courage rises in one and all,
then justice comes, and truth stands tall!
Justice comes and truth stands tall! Ref
2. When honest words replace old lies,
when we smudge, and sweat, and cry.
When wisdom calls and we sing Love’s song,
then balance comes, and we’re made strong!
Balance comes and we’re made strong! Ref
3. When we have honoured elder’s years;
when their stories soothe our fears
When laughter rises, we dance and drum,
then healing comes, our hearts are one!
Healing comes our hearts are one! Ref
Words & Music © 2016 Lisa Waites
Reprinted with permission for Indigenous Sunday June 2022. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgement of Territory[1]
Rev. Lorrie Lowes
We begin this time of worship by acknowledging that we are meeting on the land of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe people. This land has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples from the beginning. We thank all the generations of Indigenous people who have taken care of this land and been its stewards for thousands of years. We give thanks for the countless ways they have assisted the settler peoples who came to inhabit the land. We also recognize the contributions Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made in shaping and strengthening this region, the provinces, and Canada as a whole. May the Creator hold us gently in this time as all mourn the loss of innocent Indigenous children’s lives. Meegwetch. All my relations.
Welcome & Centering for Worship
Rev. Kim Vidal
Lighting of the Four Candles
Acolytes: Ruth & Ian Howes
From the light of Christ, we light these four candles to remind us of our relationship with our indigenous sisters and brothers.
We share in God’s dream of abundant life for all. (Yellow candle is lit)
We give and receive gifts of deep emotion, deep wisdom, and deep love. (Black candle is lit)
With gratitude, we praise Creator God, to seek transformation, and to celebrate the power of the Spirit who is always moving. (Red Candle is lit)
We light this candle to remind us that we are not alone as we do the work toward God’s dream of truth and reconciliation. (White Candle is lit).
Sung Response: Spirit of the Living God - Voices United #376
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on us. (2x)
Break us, melt us, mold us, fill us.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on us.
Words & Music © 1926 v.1 Daniel Iverson, arr. © 1987 Darryl Nixon.
Song # FBC-A003716 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved.
Call to Gather & Prayer of Approach [2]
Rev. Lorrie Lowes
In the presence of Creator, we gather:
People carrying burdens we may not know about looking for comfort; folks needing their spirits refreshed.
We draw together hoping for that touch that will enliven us, longing to be embraced in arms of love and understanding.
Help us to put aside our differences and see the earth as you see it, boundary-free.
You call us all: babies, toddlers on unsteady feet, school-age children with curious minds, teens with questing spirits, full of youthful confidence one moment and like frightened children the next.
We are called, as adults trying to take good paths watching out for the next generations, and those easing into their winter years passing on our teachings.
We are all kin in this meeting place whether we gather in person or through technology, our spirits joining to say meegwetch for all that we have been blessed with.
Thanks be to God for the goodness in our lives. Amen.
Opening Hymn: Called by Earth and Sky – More Voices #135
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)
3 Precious these mountains, ancient sands;
vast fragile land. Seeds of our wakening, rooted and strong, Creation’s faithful song.
Refrain
4 - Precious the fire that lights our way,
bright dawning day. Fire of passion,
sorrows undone, our faith and justice one.
Refrain
Words & Music © 2005 Pat Mayberry, Arranged © 2005 Marg Stubington, Translation: 2006 David Fines
Song#119776 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved.
Storytime
Rev. Lorrie
Hymn: We Are One in the Spirit (They’ll Know We Are Christians by our Love)
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (2x)
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored. Ref
Refrain: And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand; (2x)
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land. Ref
We will work with each other, we will work side by side (2x)
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride. Ref
Words and Music © 1966 Peter Scholtes FEL Publications assigned to Lorenz
Song #81199 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination[3]
Reader: Jordan Berard
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 Gospel Reading: Luke 8:26–39 (The Living Bible)
26 So they arrived at the other side, in the Gerasene country across the lake from Galilee. 27 As he was climbing out of the boat a man from the city of Gadara came to meet him, a man who had been demon-possessed for a long time. Homeless and naked, he lived in a cemetery among the tombs. 28 As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell to the ground before him, screaming, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of God Most High? Please, I beg you, oh, don’t torment me!”
29 For Jesus was already commanding the demon to leave him. This demon had often taken control of the man so that even when shackled with chains he simply broke them and rushed out into the desert, completely under the demon’s power. 30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked the demon. “Legion,” they replied—for the man was filled with thousands of them! 31 They kept begging Jesus not to order them into the Bottomless Pit.
32 A herd of pigs was feeding on the mountainside nearby, and the demons pled with him to let them enter into the pigs. And Jesus said they could. 33 So they left the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the whole herd rushed down the mountainside and fell over a cliff into the lake below, where they drowned. 34 The herdsmen rushed away to the nearby city, spreading the news as they ran.
35 Soon a crowd came out to see for themselves what had happened and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, clothed and sane! And the whole crowd was badly frightened. 36 Then those who had seen it happen told how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 And everyone begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone (for a deep wave of fear had swept over them). So he returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.
38 The man who had been demon-possessed begged to go too, but Jesus said no.
39 “Go back to your family,” he told him, “and tell them what a wonderful thing God has done for you.”
So he went all through the city telling everyone about Jesus’ mighty miracle.
May God’s wisdom invites us to reflect on this Gospel story. Thanks be to God.
Ministry of Music: O God, I Know Not What to Ask - Snowdon
BCUC Choir
Sermon: “Legion”
Rev. Kim Vidal
Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer
Rev. Lorrie
Grandparent God, look at our brokenness—
we know that in all creation
only the human family has strayed from the Sacred Way.
We know that we are the ones who are divided
and we are the ones who must come back together
to walk in the Sacred Way.
As we reflect on the history of the relationship
between the church and Aboriginal peoples,
we pray for openness.
In our learning and in our growing, may there be healing.
As we open ourselves to the stories
of Aboriginal peoples hurt and wounded
by residential school and other experiences,
we pray for compassionate listening.
In the telling and in the hearing, may there be healing.
As we feel the pain of individuals and communities
and recognize our impoverishment of spirit
through our failure to honour the gifts of different cultures,
we pray for a hunger for new ways
of walking the earth together.
In our recognition of the need for forgiveness
and for change, may there be healing.
As we work together to embody
the spirit of reconciliation and healing,
we pray for expectant anticipation that our life together
in the church will be enriched and deepened.
In the giving and in the receiving, may there be healing.
As we move forward as the people of God,
lifting up and supporting our sisters and brothers
of all tribes and races, we pray for God’s richest blessings.
In the honouring and in the sharing, may there be healing.
Grandparent, Sacred One,
teach us love, compassion, and honour
that we may heal the earth and heal each other. [4]
All these we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us join together in reciting the First nation’s version of the Lord’s Prayer.
Great Spirit, whose long house is in the sky,
whose hunting ground is the earth,
mighty and fearful are you called,
Ruler over storm, over human, bird and beast,
over earthway, over skyway;
Find us this day our meat and bread,
that we may be strong and brave.
Put aside from us our wicked ways,
as we put aside bad works of them who wrong us.
Let us not be led into troubled roads
but keep us from all evil.
For yours is all that is: the earth, the sky, streams and hills,
the stars, the moon, the sun,
and all that live and breathe the wonderful shining mighty,
mighty Spirit. Amen
Invitation to Offer
Rev. Kim
Our offering of time, talents and treasures, is an act of love. We give from what we have and as we are able; but always, we give in the name of love. 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
The world is very much with us this day: places of peace and places of conflict.
Receive these gifts from our hands and hearts, so that the world may be changed through them, by the power of your Spirit working in them and working in us. Amen.[5]
*Hymn: Faith of our Fathers Voices United #580
1 Faith of our fathers, living still
in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy,
whene’er we hear that glorious word:
faith of our fathers, holy faith,
we will be true to you till death.
2 Faith of our mothers, daring faith,
your work for Christ is love revealed,
spreading God’s word from pole to pole,
making love known and freedom real:
faith of our mothers, holy faith,
we will be true to you till death.
3 Faith of our sisters, brothers too,
who still must bear oppression’s might,
raising on high, in prisons dark,
the cross of Christ still burning bright:
faith for today, O living faith,
we will be true to you till death.
4 Faith born of God, O call us yet,
bind us with all who follow you,
sharing the struggle of your cross
until the world is made anew.
Faith born of God, O living faith,
we will be true to you till death.
Words (v2-4) © 1981 Joseph Alfred
Song # 01214 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
*Sending Forth
Rev. Kim
Return now to the circle of Life, knowing,
That the love of Creator God is with us,
The compassion of Jesus inspires us,
The hope of the Holy Spirit comforts us.
May everyone we meet, know of our praise
of God’s name, by the singing and dancing
of our hands, heart, and feet! [6]
Amen.
Departing Music
[1] © 2022 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non- commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.
[2] Ibid.
[3] David Sparks, Gathering, Pentecost 1 2018 (Year B). Used with permission.
[4] Celebrate God’s Presence, p530-531. Used with permission.
[5] Kate Crawford. Gathering Pentecost 1 2019, p49. Used with permission.
[6] Lee Claus, Francis Sandy Theological Centre, 2008.