Sunday, April 6, 2025 The Fifth Sunday of Lent

 

This Friday, April 4th was World Refugee Day. We can take some time to reflect on whether these times of uncertainty make us more or less inclined to be welcoming to others. 

Hymn      Beneath the Cross of Jesus #135

Scripture Lessons:       Isaiah 43:16-21

                                     Psalm 126 p.850VU

                                     John 12:1-8

Message

Prayer:  O God, sometimes life’s events call for extravagance and sometimes for restraint. Sometimes they call for thrift and other times they call for abandon. Help us in our discernment so that we can respond to life’s events in the way that are both faithful and life-giving, ways that show others and ourselves that you are present in all events even if we cannot feel you there. Show us your way to share your love. Amen. ( a prayer written by Catherine Tovell of Kilworth UC in London ON and printed in Gathering L/E 2025, slightly adapted.) 

Hymn        Take My Life and Let it Be #506

This Sunday’s services will be Ormstown at 9:30 and Howick at 11:00. Howick will also offer craft activities for families. Ormstown’s worship services will return to the church this week. 

Howick UCW will meet next Wednesday, April 9th at 7pm. The subject for discussion will be technology. You are invited to bring your devices, if possible, so we can try out the solutions we find for each other. 

St Paul’s Session will meet Wednesday, April 9th at 1pm in the hall, to plan and prepare for Holy Week and Easter. 

Next Sunday, April 13th will be Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. There will be services in Howick at 9:30 and Ormstown at 11:00. There will be craft activities for families in St Paul’s as well. 

There will be an extra blog for Good Friday, April 18th, as well. 

Easter Sunday, April 20th there will be Easter Sunday services with Communion, in Howick at 9:30 and in Ormstown at 11:00. 

Nakonhaka Regional Council is inviting applications for the IFE and Hugh Duncan bursaries for postsecondary students. Applications are available from the website, Nakonhaka.ca, and the deadline for applying is June 2nd. 

Sunday, March 30, 2025 The Fourth Sunday of Lent

 

Hymn        Come Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love #574VU

Scripture Lessons:        I Corinthians 5:16-21

                                      Psalm 32 p.759VU

                                      Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Message

Prayer:  Blessed are you who don’t have all the right answers. 

You who say “I don’t know” because i’s the best response for now. 

You who lean in, unafraid to learn, change, be wrong along the way. 

Blessed are you, stretched and pressed and pulled

By the uncertainty, deciding to not to stay the same, 

We are not who we were. 

We have been pulled into the unknown without our permission. 

But the challenge is the same: reveal Truth with love amid chaos. 

Blessed are you who realize that community can help see truth more fully. 

Being fragile amid a world of hammers takes courage

To be wrong, to learn something new, to choose humility and kindness 

Over being right. 

May we be people who don’t have it all together

(And who are done posturing). 

Curious, hopeful, courageous. (Written by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie printed in The Lives We Actually Have:  100 Blessings for Imperfect Days.)

Hymn        Amazing Grace #266 VU

This Sunday’s service will be a combined service in Howick. The service will begin at 11:00, with coffee and more beginning at 10:30. 

Congratulations to Dustin and Liz who have welcomed a new daughter, Eloise, this past week. 

Next Sunday Howick United Church will be offering craft activities for families on Sunday, April 6th at the 11:00 service. 

In Ormstown, there will be craft activities offered at the Palm Sunday service, Sunday, April 13th at 11am. 

On Easter Sunday, there will be Easter Sunday services with Communion in both congregations, 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown. 

Nakonhaka Regional Council is inviting applications for bursaries for postsecondary education (IFE bursaries for college level and Hugh Duncan bursaries for university level) for confirmed members of the United Church of Canada. Applications are available on the RC website, nakonhaka.ca and the deadline for applying is June 2, 2025. 

There will be an online Cross Canada Check-in with the Rev. Michael Blair and members of the General Council Executive on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6pm. Registration is available through CHURCHx (churchx.ca). 

Sunday, March 23, 2025 The Third Sunday of Lent

 

This is also the first Sunday in spring for this year! As we watch and wait for signs of new life around us, let us also hear the call to repentance and renewal we find in our faith. 

Hymn       Let Us with a Gladsome Mind #234VU

Scripture Lessons:       Isaiah 55:1-9

                                     Psalm 63:1-8 p. 781 VU

                                     Luke 13:1-9

Hymn       I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

Message

Prayers God, with Lent we approach the springtime of the year when the face of the earth is renewed and life emerges out of death. 

   We pray that this season of Lent may be a true springtime for our souls, so that our lives, quickened by the breadth of the Spirit and warmed by the sunshine of your love, may bear abundant fruit and be made radiant with the beauty of holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ( a prayer written by Frank Colquhoun and printed in Contemporary Parish Prayers.)

Hymn         Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life #681VU

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick. Next Sunday we will hold a combined service in Howick at 11:00, with coffee and goodies starting at about 10:30. 

Copies of both the newsletter and the annual report are now available. Let us know if you would like to receive a copy. 

Howick Stewards will meet on Tuesday, March 25th at 7pm in the church hall. 

Nakonhaka Regional Council is inviting applications from post-secondary students for the Hugh Duncan and IFE bursaries. Students must be confirmed members of the United Church of Canada. The application deadline is June 2, 2025 and applications are available from the Nakonhaka Regional Council website, nakonhaka.ca. Or you can request a copy from Barbara, she will be happy to provide a copy. 

There will be an online cross-Canada check-in to be held with the GeneralSecretary of the General Council Executive, The Rev. Michael Blair and other members of the General Council Executive, on April 2nd at 6pm. Registration is available through CHURCHx (churchx.ca).

Sunday, March 16, 2025 The Second Sunday of Lent

 This weekend there will be many St Patrick’s Day celebrations (even though St Patrick’s Day is Monday). We can remember that this day is also a day to celebrate our faith, as well as Irish heritage. 

Hymn.       Great is Thy Faithfulness #288

Scripture Lessons:        Genesis 15:1-12, 17, 18

                                      Psalm 27 p.754 VU

                                      Luke 13:31-35

Message

Prayer:  Mothering God, you watch your children grow AND YOU LET US GROW. 

Mothering God, you teach us what is true AND YOU LET US GO. 

Mothering God, you show us what is just AND YOU LET US GO. 

Mothering God you give us what we need AND YOU LET US GO.

Mothering God, you shelter us under your wings AND YOU LET US GO. 

Mothering God, be our light and salvation, this day and always. AMEN. (adapted from a prayer written by Ruth Burgess and printed in the Iona Community’s Lenten Resource, Eggs and Ashes)

Hymn.       My Faith Looks Up to Thee #663

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown. March 30th there will be a combined service in Howick at 11:00, with a fellowship time beginning at 10:30. 

We express our sympathy to the family if Jim Chisholm, following his death this past week. 

St Paul’s Stewards will meet Wednesday, March 19th at 7:30pm in the hall. 

Howick United Church’s Stewards will meet on Tuesday, March 25th at 7pm in the church hall. 

The new Gifts with Vision has now been launched. It can be found at giftswithvision.ca and includes projects such as supporting a girls’s school, a kindergarten in a refugee camp, food for the north, or a centennial gift celebrating the centennial of the United Church of Canada. Gifts can be given through the website or by calling 1-844-715-7969. 

Nakonhaka Regional Council is now inviting applications for the IFE and Hugh Duncan bursaries for post-secondary studies from confirmed members of the United Church. Applications are available on the Regional Council website (nakonhaka.uc.ca) or Barbara may provide a copy. The deadline for applying is June 2nd. Please let Barbara know if you have questions. 

The United Church of Canada will be holding an online Cross-Canada Check-in with the General Secretary Michael Blair and other members of the GCE on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6pm. Registration can be done through CHURCHx (churchx.ca). 

Sunday, March 9, 2025 The First Sunday of Lent

 Ramadan Mubarak! A blessed Ramadan to our Muslim sisters and brothers. We may be giving something up for Lent, but our brothers and sisters fast (food and water) from sunrise to sunset for the month of Ramadan.🙏🏽

Happy International Women’s Day to all the women of our congregations and our communities! 💐

Hymn       Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah #651VU

Scripture Lessons:       Deuteronomy 26:1-11

                                     Psalm 91:1,2,9-16 p.807VU

                                     Luke 4:1-13

Message

Prayer:  Jesus the Christ, you refused to turn stones into bread. 

Save us from using our power, however little, to satisfy the demands of selfishness in the face of the greater needs of others. 

Jesus the Christ, you refused to leap from the temple top. 

Save us from displaying our skills, however modest, to win popularity in the face of nobler calls on our abilities. 

Jesus the Christ, you refused to bend a knee to a false god. 

Save us from offering our devotion, however weak, to cheap or easy religion in the face of a harder path on which you bid us to follow you. 

Jesus the Christ, 

Give us wisdom to discern evil; and in the face of all that is deceptively attractive, help us to choose the will of God. Amen. 

Hymn       O Jesus I Have Promised #120VU

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown. This will be Ormstown’s annual meeting service where the worship service will be combined with the annual meeting. It will take place in the hall. (Please note: it is spring forward Sunday, so it will feel like 10:00!) 

Many thanks for all who supported and volunteered at the Shrove Tuesday Waffle Dinner. It was greatly appreciated! 

St Paul’s Session will meet Wednesday, March 12th at 1:00 in the hall. 

Howick UCW will meet Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm in the church. We will be discussing the situation of migrant workers in our area. (I said in the email that it was technology questions, but that is next month, sorry! )

There will be a Cross-Canada check-in with the General Secretary and members of the General Council of the United Church held online on April 2nd at 6pm online. This is an opportunity to ask questions and express opinions that may shape conversations and decisions going forward to the General Council meeting this summer and into our second century. If you wish to register to take part in this event, it can be done through Churchx. More information is available on the General Council website, generalcouncil.ca.

Sunday, March 2, 2025 Transfiguration Sunday

 Remember: the season of Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5th. Have you chosen something to give up? To add? Something else you have chosen for this season of Lent? 

Hymn.      When Morning Gilds the Skies #339

Scripture Lessons:       Exodus 34:29-35

                                     Psalm 99 p.819VU

                                     Luke 9:28-36

Hymn.       Open My Eyes #371

Message

Prayer:  God of the Mountaintops, from up here you can see forever— down onto fluffy white clouds, down further to the patchwork fields below. The air is so crisp and clean, a little thin…..

Is that part of my giddiness? 

I love you Jesus! 

When I am up here with you, everything is perfect. 

When I am up here, with a new friend, or a longtime love, everything else is so far away it doesn’t matter. But you are not just up here—

You are God of the Plains and God of the Valleys, God of the Every Day. 

You are still God when friends betray, careers collapse, when temptations’ snares have me struggling and I feel that I am below the bottom. Help me realize you were there and you carry me through, bringing me back to the here and now. 

God, you called Moses to lead your people out of slavery, and a bush. 

You gave Moses the law, and his face glowed. 

Spirit, you called Elijah home, and the chariot glowed. 

Jesus, you brought Peter, James, and John up the mountain, and you glowed. 

Glow through us, as we go through our valleys that others may see you and find the way. Amen. (prayers written by Kenneth C. Wells, in Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria L. Tirabassi’s Before the Amen.)

Hymn      I Love to Tell the Story #343

This Sunday’s services are Ormstown 9:30 and 11:00 Howick. In Howick the Sunday worship service will be combined with the annual meeting. Annual reports are now available. 

Next Sunday St Paul’s in Ormstown will be holding its annual meeting (once again in combination with the worship service). This will begin at 11:00. (Howick’s service will be at 9:30)

On Tuesday March 4th, Howick United Church will be holding a Shrove Tuesday Waffle Dinner from 4:30-6:30, either eat-in or takeout. Prices will be $15 for adults (2 waffles, 2 sausages, hashbrowns and applesauce) and $8 for children 6-10 ( 1 waffle, 1 sausage, hash browns and applesauce) and 5 and under free. This is planned as a fundraiser for the congregation. Hope to see you there! 

We have been hearing of a number of deaths in our communities recently, including Rachel Jacob, Yvon Tremblay and Roberta Todd. We hold their families, friends, and others in our thoughts and prayers. We also hold the family of Gerry McAdam in our thoughts following his death this past week. 

The new community of faith support person from the Regional Council’s, Esther Guillén, is inviting members and adherents to reply to a survey to try to help inform her of the needs in our communities of faith. Please let Barbara know if you would like to receive the link, and Barbara will send it to you. It can also be found in the Regional Council’s recent newsletter. 

Sunday, February 23, 2025 The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

 

Hymn.         Praise My Soul the God of Heaven #240VU

Scripture Lessons:       Genesis 45:3-11, 15

                                     Psalm 37:1-11 p.763VU

                                     I Corinthians 15:50-58

                                     Luke 6:27-38

Message

Prayer:  Sometimes, O God, your word is too much for us. You ask us to love our enemies, when we can scarcely love our friends as we should. You ask us to give when we want to take, and to forgive when we want to nurse bitterness. We thank you that you accept us as we are, and that you show us what we can be. Help us to believe that we can be loving, just, and holy like you; through the grace revealed in Jesus the Christ. Amen ( a prayer by Ruth C. Duck and printed in Flames of the Spirit.) 

Hymn.      Blessed Assurance #337VU

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.

We have been saddened this week to hear of the death of Rachel Jacob, a longtime resident of Ormstown and a member of St Paul’s, who died this week. A service will be held this spring or summer in Ormstown to celebrate her life. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family. 

The annual reports have now been printed and are now available for review. You can pick one up Sunday or request for one to be sent or delivered to you. 

Next Sunday, March 2nd will be Howick’s annual meeting, at 11:00 in combination with the worship service. 

Ormstown's annual meeting will take place on Sunday, March 9th in the hall at 11:00 in combination with the worship services. 

Howick United Church is planning a Shrove Tuesday Waffle Supper  March 4th from 4:30-6:30. Eat-in or take-out. Prices will be $15 for adults (2 waffles, 2 sausages, hash browns, applesauce and syrup) children 6-10 (1 waffle, 1 sausage, hash browns, apple sauce and syrup) $8, and 5 and under free. Tickets are available from Wilene. Volunteers always welcome! 

Please keep in mind the people and churches of the Democratic Republic of Congo, facing civil unrest and hundreds and thousands of displaced people. we hold them in our prayers and invite donations to the Global Emergency Response Fund to support the Église du Christ au Congo with their ongoing efforts to help those displaced.