Prayer: Merciful God, as we enter Holy Week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, to the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Bring us at the last with him and all the faithful to your new Jerusalem, your kingdom of peace and justice for all. We ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen ( from the United Church’s worship resource, Celebrate God’s Presence, slightly adapted.)
Scripture Lessons: Philippians 2:5-11
Psalm 118:19-29 p.837VU
Matthew 21:1-11
Hymn Hosanna Loud Hosanna #123VU
Message
Prayer: O God, we give you thanks for the gift of Jesus Christ, your Son. We thank you for the splendour of Christ’s life of faithfulness, compassion and service. We thank you for the symbols of love and humility he has given us to remind us. We ask that you will strengthen us for the service to which you call us, that we may find in serving and in other acts of mercy the fullness of life that we see in Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit live in eternity, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (a prayer from the Book of Worship of the United Church’s of Christ, adapted)
Hymn Ride On, Ride On in Majesty #127VU
This Sunday’s service will be a combined service in Howick United Church at 11:00, with members of the community choir taking part. We will begin with a fellowship time at 10:30 in the church hall downstairs
There will be a new newsletter available this Sunday.
There will be an extra blog this coming week for Good Friday. The walk of the cross will also take place in Huntingdon on Good Friday, April 3rd beginning at 9:30am at St John’s Anglican Church.
There will also be a Sunrise Easter service at the Huntingdon Hospital Gazebo at 7am followed by a Pancake Breakfast at Huntingdon United Church.
The Easter Sunday services will be held at 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick. We will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion as well.
The time has come to apply for the Regional Council bursaries off to university, college, and CEGEP students who are confirmed members of congregations in the region. Applications are available at the Regional Council website, nakonhakaucc.ca and the deadline for applying is May 31st.
Ramadan ends this weekend, with Eid. Meanwhile, we continue our journey through Lent. Saturday, March 21st is also the International Day to Eliminate Racism, so perhaps something to consider in our Lenten reflections.
Hymn. As Comes the Breath of Spring #373
Prayer: Almighty God, who did not spare your own Son, but did deliver him up for us all: in humility and penitence we draw near to you. As we call to remembrance the passion and sufferings of your Son, we beseech you to stir up within us the precious gift of faith, that we may rejoice in your great salvation, and offer to you the worship of our hearts and the service of our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen. (adapted from a prayer in the United Church’s 1968 Service Book)
Scripture Lessons: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130 p.853VU
John 11:1-45
Hymn. All People that on Earth Do Dwell #822VU
Message
Prayer: Eternal God, late in this season we gather beneath the lengthening shadow of the cross, and we are very much aware of evil’s reality and death’s power. There are times when this awareness makes us captives of our fears and imprisons us in the tomb of despair, and there is no life in us.
Living and Eternal One, breathe your Spirit upon us that we may awaken to the life that is ours in Jesus Christ and rise with him to serve you in faithfulness and justice all our days. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. ( from Gathering LEP2011, written and shared by John Moses then of Trinity UC, Charlottetown PEI.)
Hymn Beneath the Cross of Jesus #135VU
This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.
We continue to hold in prayer the family and friends of those we have lost in the past weeks. This includes Donald Grant, Bill Templeton, and Jean Niles.
Next Sunday will Palm Sunday and we will be holding a combined service in Howick at 11:00. We will also be welcoming the Community choir to the service. There will be a fellowship time before the service, beginning at about 10:30.
There will be an extra blog on Good Friday, April 3rd.
We will be celebrating Easter Sunday with a Communion Sunday service, at 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.
St Patrick’s Day is coming soon! We can enjoy the music, the parades and the celebrations, but let us remember this is also a religious celebration, celebrating St Patrick’s faithfulness, forgiveness, and vision of the faith, informed and shaped by his relationship with nature that helped to spread the Christian faith. 🙏🏽☘️
This is also the Sunday in Lent sometimes known as Mothering Sunday, which is not in fact a Sunday celebrating mothers, but our mother churches, where our faith was born and nurtured. 💒
Hymn Open My Eyes #371VU
Prayer: Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the heart of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the threeness,
through confession of the oneness of the Creator of creation. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. Amen. ( the closing words of St Patrick’s Breastplate.)
Scripture Lessons: I Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23 p. 749VU
John 9:1-41
Message
Prayer: The Lord is our hope, we shall not let go of.
She makes us seek universal justice, peace, and dignity.
She leads us toward reconciliation. She restores broken communities.
She takes us to places of horror, so that we can better proclaim the gospel of peace for her sake.
Even though we walk through uncertainty, indifference, and opposition,
We will continue to seek a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, for Iranians and Iraqis, and Lebanon.
For you are with us, your kingdom of justice, peace, and dignity for all comforts us.
You prepare tables of dialogue and opportunities for truth-telling around us.
You open the hearts of hurting people.
We witness to small signs of hope!
Surely we will continue to seek justice and resist evil, all the days of our lives, until we are all able to live abundantly. Amen. ( a prayer based on Psalm 23 and the Kairos document, developed and shared by the United Church of Canada.)
Hymn He Leadeth Me #657VU
This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown.
We continue to hold in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of Donald Grant, whose memorial service is Saturday, March 14th at the Athelstan Presbyterian Church.
We also remember the family and friends of Bill Templeton who died last weekend and whose memorial service will be next Saturday, March 21st at 2pm in St Paul’s United Church. There will be visitation held on Friday, at the McGerrigle Funeral Home from 2-4 and 7-9pm as well as from 1:00 at the church.
The Howick UCW meeting scheduled for last Wednesday was cancelled and will be rescheduled, probably to Wednesday, March 18th at 7pm in the church hall.
St Paul’s Session will meet on Wednesday, March 18th at 1pm in the hall.
St Paul’s Stewards will meet on Wednesday, March 18th at 7:30pm in the hall.
Have you heard of PIE Day? It is March 14th 03/14) when individuals and churches and other organizations show their Public, Intentional, and Explicit support for LGBTQ2S+ people in our community and world. The Moderator the Right Rev. Kimberley Heath has prepared a message for this day which can be found on the UCC YouTube channel, Facebook, as well as the United Church’s website, united-church.ca.
Today is International Women’s Day! Who are the women you would like to celebrate? Let us recognize and celebrate the gifts that many women bring to our community and to our world! 💐
Hymn. I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say # 626
Prayer: God of the Wilderness, God of the journey, soften our ears that we might heed Wisdom’s call. Stir us to vision and action, that we may extend your love wherever there is need for hope and healing. Amen. (a prayer from the United Church’s worship resource, Celebrate God’s Presence.)
Scripture Lessons: Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95 p. 814VU
John 4:5-42
Hymn Rock of Ages
Message
Prayer: O God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.
(prayer by Thomas Merton, found in In Touch with the Word by Lisa-Marie Calderon-Stewart)
Hymn Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah #651VU
This Sunday’s services are 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown, which is the annual meeting service for the congregation.
Barbara will be preparing another newsletter before Easter. Please let her know of any items to be included.
Howick UCW will meet Wednesday, March 11th at 7pm in the church. This will be a planning meeting for the rest of the year.
There will not be a St Paul’s Session meeting this week. It will be held next week instead, on Wednesday March 18th at 1pm, in the hall.
St Paul’s Stewards will meet on Wednesday March 18th at 7:30pm in the hall.
We hold the family and friends of Donald Grant (Wilene Cullen’s father) in our thoughts and prayers following his death on Friday. There will be a service to remember and celebrate his life next Saturday, March 14th, at 1:30 in the Athelstan Presbyterian Church.
Upcoming Worship Schedule for Holy Week:
Sunday, March 29 11:00 Palm Sunday service, combined service in Howick for Howick and Ormstown.
Sunday April 5. Easter Sunday service with Communion, 9:30 Ormstown, 11:00 Howick
A Good Friday blog will also be prepared and posted along with the Easter Sunday one.
This week events will be held leading up to next Sunday’s International Women’s Day. Let us acknowledge the variety of gifts that women bring to our communities, country, and world.
Hymn. My Faith Looks Up to Thee #663
Prayer: Your blessings, O God, poured out into our lives, are more numerous than the stars. When we hear your word aright, we are sometimes dazzled by the brightness of new insights. Open to us fresh thoughts; then move us beyond mere thinking to appropriate action. In Christ we pray. Amen.(a prayer by Lavon Baylee, printed in Flames of the Spirit, edited by Ruth C. Duck.)
Scripture Lessons: Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121 p. 844VU
John 3:1-17
Message
Prayer: Abraham and Sarah went out, not knowing where they were headed, because they trusted in you. Jesus went forward to his death in Jerusalem, trusting in your purpose. Help us, like them, to take you at your word, and thus to move onward in faith. Be the lamp to our feet, and the light to our path, through your Spirit of life and wisdom. Amen. (a prayer by Ruth C. Duck, printed in Flames of the Spirit, edited by Ruth C. Duck.)
Hymn. Love Divine
This Sunday’s services will be regular Sunday services, 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.
We continue to hold the families of Dorothy McCaig and Keith Rennie in our thoughts and prayers, following their deaths last week.
The annual meeting for the Union Cemetery will be held on Monday, March 2nd at 2pm in the hall in Ormstown. Directors are asked to gather at 1pm, also in the hall.
The Howick UCW will meet at the church on Wednesday, March 11th at 7pm.
This past week has marked a number of beginnings: we began the season of Lent on Wednesday, the season of Ramadan in the Muslim faith began Tuesday night as we were celebrating Mardi Gras (or Pancake or Waffle Tuesday) and it was also the lunar New Year this week, marking the year of the horse. Many reasons to pause, to reflect, and also to celebrate.
Hymn Take Time to be Holy #672
Prayer: Teach us, O God, so to use this season of Lent that we may be drawn closer to our Lord, and in fellowship with him may learn to hate sin, to overcome temptation, and to grow in holiness, that our lives may be strengthened for your service and used for your glory. We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen. (a prayer by Frank Colquhoun and printed in Contemporary Parish Prayers, edited by Frank Colquhoun.)
Scripture Lessons: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Psalm 32 p.759 VU
Matthew 4:1-11
Message
Prayer/ Reflection: The desert waits, ready for those who come, who come obedient to the Spirit’s leading; or who are driven, because they will not come any other way.
The desert always waits, ready to let us know who we are— the place of self-discovery.
And whilst we fear, and rightly, the loneliness and emptiness and harshness, we forget the angels whom we cannot see for our blindness, but who come when God decides that we need their help; when we are ready for what they can give us.
Hymn On Jesus I Have Promised
This Sunday’s services are Ormstown at 9:30 and Howick at 11:00. Howick will be combining its annual meeting with the Sunday service, a time to look back at what has been done, is being done, and what we might be planning to do in the future.
Many thanks for all who helped and supported our Waffle Dinner on Tuesday, a profit of $1447 was made, which will be a help in the coming months. If you have any feedback, please let one of us know. Thanks again!
The annual meeting for St Paul’s will be Sunday, March 8th, beginning at 11:00, combined with the Sunday service. Annual reports are now available for review.
We hold in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of Dorothy McNaughton McCaig and of Keith Rennie, who died this past week. The service for Dorothy will be held on Monday at 2pm with visitation at 1:00 at the Huntingdon United Church.
Happy Valentine’s Day or weekend! In this time of upset and division, let us celebrate the power of love to bring us together and take care of one another. 💞
Hymn Open My Eyes #371VU
Scripture Lessons: Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 99 p.819 VU
Matthew 17:1-9
Hymn Unto the Hills #842VU
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 and a bush glowed.
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 from Before the Amen, edited by Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirabassi.)
Hymn Be Thou My Vision #642VU
This Sunday’s services will be Howick at 9:30 and Ormstown at 11:00.
We are shocked by the reports of the shooting in Tumbler Ridge and pray for the victims, their families and all touched by this tragedy.n
The annual reports are now ready. You can pick one up or let Barbara or Wilene know you would like to receive a copy. ( Unfortunately a page is missing from Howick’s report. I believe Wilene has sent it out online and copies will be available in the church as well.)
The Waffle Dinner fundraiser is coming up! Please join us at Howick United Church on Tuesday, February 17th from 4:30-6:30pm. Tickets for eat-in or takeout meals are available from Wilene, Anita, Grace, Allyson, and Barbara, at a cost of $15 for adults, $8 for ages 6-12, and 5 and under free.
The Official Board meeting for Franklin and St Paul’s United Church will be held on Wednesday, February 18th at 1:30 pm.
St Paul’s Stewards will meet on Wednesday, February 18th at 7:30pm in the hall.
The annual meeting for Howick United Church will be held on Sunday, February 22nd, in combination with the Sunday services, beginning at 11:00. The storm date for this meeting will be March 1st, also at 11:00.
The annual meeting for St Paul’s United Church will be held on Sunday, March 8th, in combination with the Sunday service, beginning at 11:00. This meeting will be held in the hall. The storm date will be Sunday, March 15th at 11:00.
