Sunday, August 1, 2021

 Did you know that this is officially Emancipation Day in Canada? It marks the day when slavery was abolished in the British Empire, in 1834, including Canada. There is a video ecumenical service that has been produced and which can be seen on YouTube. 

Hymn      Let Us with a Gladsome Mind #234VU

Scripture Lessons:      Ephesians 4:1-6

                                    Psalm 51:1-12

                                    John 6:24-35

Hymn      Fight the Good Fight #674VU

Message

Prayer

Some times and places prompt me to pray: paddling along a beach;

lying on my settee with my cat purring on my stomach;

looking at the moon and the stars; 

walking barefoot through a field of buttercups;

sitting in a church, watching the sun shine through coloured glass 

and making changing patterns on the stones;

smelling bluebells in woods after it’s been raining; 

curling up warm and cosy when it’s dark and cold outside. 

Some times and places prompt me to pray. 

Words come joyfully and easy. 

Wow! Beautiful! Thank you, God. Amazing! Amen. (a prayer by Ruth Burgess and published in the Iona Community’s Bare Feet and Buttercups.)

Hymn     Your Hand O God Has Guided #274VU

This will be the last blog before September as I am going to take some vacation. I won’t be going far, so you can call and leave a message if I am needed and I will get back to you. There will be a service held in Howick United Church on August 8th at 11am with Debbie Beattie, and there will be services outside at Riverfield at 10am on August1st, 15th, and 29th, (in case of rain, the service may be held in Howick United Church), and there will also be services at Beechridge on Sunday, August 8th and 22nd at 1:30pm. I know other community churches may also be holding services. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Brooks family this weekend as they say  a final “good-bye” to Gordon and to Mary as well. 

Our thoughts and prayers are also with the family and friends of Wayne Sutton, following his death earlier this week. 

Please do keep in mind the special appeal the United Church has launched for global vaccine Justice, funding vaccines for places all around the world. If you would like to contribute, you may do so online, by phone with a credit card, or by mail with a cheque marked for this appeal on the memo line. 

Sunday, July 25, 2021

 

Hymn.     O God of Bethel #650

Scripture Lessons:      Ephesians 3:14-21

                                    Psalm 145

                                    John 6:1-21

Message

Prayer: O God of a thousand names and faces, mother and father of all life on earth, you who live in the cells of all life, Teach us to know and love you. 

Lady of peace, of love, and of wisdom, Lord of all the stars and planets, best consoles, inward guest, Teach us to know and love you. 

Giver of gifts and light of our hearts, fill the inmost depths of our hearts, And teach us to know and love you. 

Wash what is soiled, heal what is wounded, bend what is rigid, warm what is frigid, And teach us to know and love you. 

Restore to us our true humanity, And teach us to know and love you. (a prayer written by Sharon Owens and published in No Longer Strangers.)

Hymn.      What a Friend we have in Jesus #664VU

There will be services this Sunday, July 25th in Franklin and Howick. We will even sing in the service! This will be our final service until September. This afternoon there will be a service at the Beechridge Presbyterian Church at 1:30pm. There will be one more blog next weekend. 

In the month of August there will be a combination of services available to those who would like to attend. August 1 10am Riverfield, service outside (in case of rain, service may be held in Howick United Church)

            August 8. 11am Howick United Church with Debbie Beattie

                             1:30pm. Beechridge service

           August 15 10am Riverfield, service outside

           August. 22 1:30. Beechridge service

           August. 29 10am Riverfield, service outside

The United Church has launched a Global Appeal for Vaccine Justice, ensuring vaccines are available to people around the world. Donations may be made online, by phone with a credit card to 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2738, or by mail to The United Church Philanthropy Unit—Emergency Response, 3250 Bloor St W. Suite 200 Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4. Donations may also be made through the Gifts with Vision website, giftswithvision.ca. These donations are also eligible for matching federal funds. 

Sunday, July18, 2021

 

Hymn          Jesus, Where’re Thy People Meet 

Scripture Lessons:      II Samuel 7:1-14a

                                    Psalm 89

                                    Ephesians 2:11-22

Message

Prayer: O God, you have made many different lands, plants, animals, and beings, a great diversity, and yet it is all one, your creation. Help us to learn this lesson as we look at one another:  a great diversity of individuals with many different gifts, beliefs, origins, and practises, and yet we are all your children, members of one human family. Help us to care for one another in our need and to find in one another our hope and our joy. We pray in the name of our Saviour, who came to share our lives with us and also to reveal to us all that human life can be. Help us to walk in his way, now and always. Amen. 

Hymn      How Firm a Foundation

Best wishes to Eunice Livingston’s who is celebrating her 90th birthday this Sunday! 

I (Barbara) will be taking vacation in August, though probably not going very far away for long. There will be services held by Riverfield Presbyterian Church, outside if possible, on August 1st, 15th, and 22nd, at 10am.  There will be services held in Beechridge Presbyterian Church on the 8th and the 22nd at 1:30pm. Debbie Beattie will also offer a service on August 8th at 11am in Howick United Church. All are welcome to attend any or all of these services, but we will still be observing social distancing and wearing our masks as we enter and move around the service (or throughout the service if you prefer.)

Please keep in mind the special appeal that the United Church has launched to support vaccines in other parts of the world. Donations can be made online, by phone (with a credit card) or by mail, or by using the Gifts with Vision website. It has also been announced that the federal government will match donations, so the good we do can be multiplied! 

Sunday, July 11, 2021

 

Hymn     Joyful, Joyful We Adore You

Scripture Lessons:      I Samuel 6:1-5, 

                                    Psalm 24 p.751VU

                                    Ephesians 1:3-14

Message

Prayer:  God of unfailing love, Saviour to whom we belong, Spirit of truth, you we worship, you we love, you we trust. We long for wisdom to live well and faithfully all the days of our lives. You know the fears that bind us. You know how lost we get sometimes. Yet you search for us and find us; you never let us go. You pour grace upon grace into our lives. Then, you send us out into the world, which needs your light. As we seek to be what you have called us to be, fill our minds so that we observe the world through the light and love of Jesus’ cross and resurrection. Then, grant us courage to walk in the Way of Jesus who is your truth, your life. Amen. (a prayer by Christine Jarrett, of Edge: New Ministry Development and printed in Gathering, Pentecost 1 2020.)

Hymn     To God be the Glory

We continue to hold the family and friends of Bill Welburn in our thoughts and prayers. There will be a drive-in service held at Howick United Church this afternoon at 2pm. 

The services at Beechridge Church will begin holding services Sunday July 25th at 1:30. The services are held every second week. Masks will be required. 

The United Church has launched a special appeal for a Global Response for Vaccines, working for Global Vaccine Justice. We are invited to write our government; to make a donation through the United Church’s Philanthropy Unit online, by phone, or by mail; or buy a vaccine to donate through Gifts with Vision. 

Sunday, July 4, 2021

 

Hymn     You Servants of God #342VU

Scripture Lessons.     I Samuel 5:1-5, 9,10

                                   Psalm 48 p. 772-3

                                   Mark 6:1-13

Message

Prayer: Grandfather, 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 the Sacred Way. 

Grandfather, Sacred One, teach us love, compassion, and honour that we may heal the earth and heal each other. (from the World Council of Churches Worship book, Jesus Christ the Life of the World 1983.)

Hymn     Blest be the Tie that Bids #602VU

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Bill Welburn following his death this past week. A service of remembrance and thanksgiving, celebrating Bill’s life is being planned. 

Thanks go out to the Ste Martine IGA for their contribution to the repairs and maintenance of the church building. Their generosity is greatly appreciated. 

If any of you are looking for HAECC’s AYear in the Valley, at a suggested donation of $5-10.00 can contact Nadine Vick at 450-237-0526 and make arrangements to pick one up. 

For those who might be interested, the 79th Summer Event will be taking place on Zoom on July 24, 9:30-4:30 with the Rt. Rev. Richard Bott (current Moderator of the UCC). The deadline for registration is July 19th by emailing Carole Dallas-Arbuckle at cdallas@ripnet.com. You are asked to enter UCW on the subject line. For more info, you may contact Kim Baird at 613-933-5851 or at bairdjk@gmail.com, or check the poster in the church. 

Sunday, June 27, 2021

 This is the first Sunday of summer (though it might feel like it has been summer for a while.) This might not be a time of rest for you, but I hope you have a chance to enjoy it. 

Hymn.     When Morning Gilds the Skies #339VU

Scripture Lessons:      II Corinthians 8:7-15

                                    Psalm 30 p.757VU

                                    Mark 5:21-43

Message

Prayer: O Christ the healer, we have come to pray for health, to plead for friends. 

How can we fail to be restored when reached by love that never ends? 

From every ailment flesh endures our bodies clamour to be freed; 

Yet in our hearts we would confess that wholeness is our deepest need. 

How strong, O Lord are our desires, how weak our knowledge of ourselves! 

Release in us those healing truths unconscious pride resists and shelves. 

…Grant that we all, made one in faith, in your community may find

The wholeness that, enriching us, shall reach and shall enrich humankind. 

(A hymn by Frederick Pratt Green.)

Hymn.      How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds #344VU

We are now meeting in or around our churches, back to the regular schedule, which means there will be services in Franklin at 9:30am and in Howick at 11:00. Outside if possible, so bring your lawn chair and hat, as well as your mask. Next week we will have services in Ormstown at 9:30 (probably inside) and in Howick at 11:00. Stay well, and if you feel comfortable, join us for worship. If not, you can continue to follow the blog. B

Congratulations to all the students and teachers in our congregations! It has been a strange year, and sometimes a hard one, but congratulations to all who have finished the year. Also, congratulations to all our graduates who will be moving to a new school or a new stage in their lives. Best wishes as you move forward to new experiences and challenges. 

Last week the people who came to the service in Howick were able to pick up a copy of A Year in the Valley,  a community memoir produced by the HAECC for a small donation of about $5 -$10.00. If others would like a copy, Nadine Vick has agreed to be the contact to arrange to pick up a copy. You may contact her at 450-237-0526. 

Sunday, June 20, 2021

 This Sunday many families will be celebrating Father’s Day. Best wishes to the many fathers of our congregations and to those with treasured memories of fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and others, let’s be thankful. 

Hymn      Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me #637

Scripture Lessons:              I Samuel 17:1,31-49

                                            Psalm 9 p.732-3VU

                                            Mark 4:35-41

Meditation

Prayers:  O Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world— hear me— I come before you, one of your children. I am small and weak. I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made, my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise, so that I may know the things you have taught my People, the lesson hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength not to be superior to my sisters and brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me ever ready to come to you, with clean hands and straight eyes, so when life fades as a fading sunset, my sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame. So be it. (a prayer by Yellow Hawk, Sioux Chief.)

Hymn       Will Your Anchor Hold? #675

Over the next several weeks, we will be returning to services gradually. This Sunday we will be holding a service in Howick at 9:30am, hopefully outside. So bring your lawn chair along with your mask. 

Next week there will be a service in Franklin at 9:30 and in Howick at 11:00, also hopefully outside. Finally we will start services at Ormstown on July 4th at 9:30am, probably indoors, so bring your mask. 

We hold in our thoughts and prayers June Orr and all the family following the death of Eldon earlier this week. 

This Sunday is also National Indigenous People’s Sunday, and perhaps particularly this year, we hold our indigenous sisters and brothers in our thoughts and prayers.