Prayer: O God, you call us to be ready: to be ready to recognize your presence in the world, around us and with us. You call us to be ready for the wonderful things you make and share with us. You call us to serve you faithfully and joyfully each and every day. Help us to be open to all you call us to be and to do, in the way of our Saviour, Jesus the Christ, who came to reveal your love and grace to us. In his name we pray. Amen.
Hymn My Faith Looks Up to Thee #663VU
It is good to be back home and back to the regular routine once again. We are back to the usual schedule of worship services: 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.
This Sunday, August 7th, the new Moderator, The Reverend Carmen Lansdowne will be in stalled at 1pm. (Ooops! I have discovered this is Pacific time, so if you want to see it live, it is actually at 4pmEDT.)This will be available for viewing on YouTube Livestream, on the united church channel, I believe.
Prayer: May you breathe in the beauty of summer with its power of transformation. May this beauty permeate all that feels un-beautiful in you.
May the God of summer give us beauty.
May you seek and find spaces of repose during these summer months. May these moments refresh and restore the tired places within you.
May the God of summer give us rest.
May you be open to times of celebration and recreation that are so much a part of summer. May you find happiness in these times of play and leisure.
May the God is summer give us joy.
May your eyes see the wonders of summer’s colours. May these colours delight you and entice you into contemplation and joy.
May the God of summer give us inner light.
May you feel the energy of summer rains penetrating thirsty gardens, golf courses, lawns and farmlands. May these rains remind you that your inner thirst needs quenching. May your inner self be refreshed, restored, and renewed.
May the God of summer give us what we need for healing.
May you savior the fresh produce that comes to your table and enjoy the fruits of summer’s bounty.
May the God of summer give a sense of satisfaction in the work of our hands.
May you find shelter when the stormy skies of summer threaten your safety.
May the God of summer give us shelter when inner storms threaten our peace of mind and heart.
May you enjoy the unexpected and find surprises of beauty and happiness as you travel the roads on summer vacation.
May the God of summer lead us to amazing discoveries as we travel the inner roads of our soul as well.
( a prayer from Joyce Rupp’s and Macrina Wiederkehr’s The Circle of Life)
Hymn. Love Divine #333
As I prepare to go off on vacation, have a safe and blessed summer and I look forward to seeing you again in August.
Many thanks to all who helped out or supported St Paul’s Strawberry Social this year.
lying on my settee with my cat purring on my stomach;
looking at the moon and the stars;
walking barefoot through a field of butter ups;
sitting in a church, watching the sun shine through coloured glass
and making changing patterns on 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 easily.
Wow! Beautiful! Thank you, God! Amazing! Amen. ( a prayer written by Ruth Burgess and printed in the Iona Community’s Bare Feet and Buttercups, resources for Ordinary Time)
Hymn. O Master Let Me Walk with Thee #560
Please note that this Sunday’s service will NOT be held at the Knox Cemetery in St Louis as with this week’s rain it is believed that the road in would not stand up to the traffic. Please join us in Howick and we will worship outside if the weather cooperates.
This Sunday’s service will be the last service before August as Barbara will be on holiday in July. There will be services alternating between Riverfield and Beechridge churches through the summer. Riverfield’s services are held at 10am and Beechridge’s services are held at 1:30 in the afternoon. Beechridge’s services will be held July 3, 17, and 31st and Riverfield’s services will be held on July 10th and 24th.
Congratulations to Carmen Lansdowne who has been selected as the new Moderator for the United Church. She will be installed later this summer and serve for 3 years, until a new Moderator is chosen by the next General Council.
St Paul’s United Church will once again hold its Strawberry Social this year, but as a takeout only version. The Social will be held Thursday, June 30th in the hall, starting at 5pm until the berries run out. The prices will be $8 for adults and $5 for children 5-10.
There will also be a Bee to fix the strawberries held Wednesday, June 29th at 1pm in the hall. Please bring knives and bowls to use if you are able to help out.
You might also keep in mind Huntingdon United Church’s Ice Cream Social, which will be held on July 7th in the Huntingdon United Church.
This Sunday is the Sunday before National Indigenous Peoples Day which will be observed on June 21st.
Hymn. Lord Speak to Me #589VU
Scripture Lessons: I Kings 19:1-4, 8-15a
Psalm 42-3 p.768VU
Galatians 3:23-29
Meditation
Prayer: Creator, in love and through love, you have called all things into being. We thank you for you for Mother Earth, our home. We thank you for the heavens that watch over us and the starlight that warms and guides us. We thank you for all the plants— for those that are medicine, for those that express your delight through their beauty and diversity. We thank you for all of our fellow creatures; may we share this earth with the in respect, with reverence. We thank you for soil, for water, fire, air; for forests, plains, and mountains, deserts and tundra and oceans. And now, when so much of the world is threatened with destruction, help us to walk in humility with gratitude among all these sacred gifts from you.
We thank you for being a God of liberation, for you are ever seeking to bring us into the joy of your salvation; into a just, equitable and holistic celebration of life.
We thank you for your compassion, which holds each and every one of us. We thank you for coming to us as Jesus, our teacher, brother, and friend— for dying on the cross and breaking the power of death in order to bring back into harmony with you and all of Creation.
Creator, thank you for your truth and wisdom, and for inviting us to travel the healing path with you; we offer you our hearts and minds so that we might embody your grace and share your blessings with all who live upon the earth. Amen. (from a service for National Indigenous People Day of Prayer prepared by the Rev. Jan Jorgenson, who shares ministry with Robert Patton, a Kanien’keha:ka CongregationalDesignated Minister and Elder, and with the people of Kahnawake United Church. Material from this service is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License.)
Hymn. In Christ There is No East or West #606VU
Next Sunday there will be a 9:30 service in Franklin and in Howick we are hoping to hold an outdoor service, hopefully at the Knox Cemetery in St Louis de Gonzague at 11:00. If the weather does not cooperate we will be in the church as usual. Please keep in touch as decisions may have to be made next week about where the service will be.
The Trustees of Howick United Church will be providing some grocery gift cards to Ukrainian families that arrive in the area as a welcome. 4 cards have been purchased and more may be provided if needed. If you know of some families in the area, please let Debbi Templeton know. (also donations for more cards if needed gratefully accepted!)
There will be a meeting of St Paul’s Stewards held this week on Wednesday, June 22nd at 7:30 pm in the hall.
St Paul’s will once again be holding a Strawberry Social, though it will not be eat-in, but takeout only instead. It will be held Thursday, June 30th at MacDougall Hall. The prices will be $8 for adults and $5 for children 5-10. The Social begins at 5pm and continues until the berries are gone.
There will also be a bee to fix the berries on Wednesday June 29th in the hall, at 1pm. If you are able to come and help fix the berries, please bring a bowl or two and a knife as well as an apron.
There will be a summer event held in Cornwall this summer. It will be held August 13-14 in Cornwall ON and will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the UCW. This event is offered by the Eastern Ontario Outaouais UCW. For more information, please check the poster on the bulletin board.
Prayer: Almighty God, beginning and end; giver of food and drink, clothing and warmth, love and hope: life in all its goodness— we praise and adore you.
Lord Jesus, carpenter’s son; lover of outcasts, friend of the poor; one of us yet one with God; crucified and risen: life in the midst of death— we praise and adore you.
Holy Spirit, storm and breath of love; bridge builder, eye-opener, living power of Jesus; water of the oppressed, God of the unexpected, untameable energy of life— we praise and adore you.
Holy Trinity, forever one, whose nature is community; source of all sharing, in whom we love, and meet, and know our neighbour, life in all is fullness, making all things new— we praise and adore you.
(a prayer by Brian Wren and printed in Bread of Tomorrow, prayers for the church year edited by Janet Morley)
Scripture Lessons: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8 p.732VU
Romans 5:1-5
Meditation
Hymn For the Beauty of the Earth #226
A Benediction for Trinity Sunday: God be the road on which you travel:
He the mountains on which you are tested and challenged
He the wells at which you find healing and peace.
Christ be the light by which you travel:
He the vision which informs and enlarges you
He the lodestar shining in your darkest nights.
The Spirit inspire you as you travel:
She the restlessness driving you onwards
She the stillness leading you to the heart of God.
The Trinity, the Three, go with you as you travel;
and May your journey begin
Continue
And end in them. (written by Pat Bennett and published in the Iona Community’s Fire and Bread)
This week is Fair week and there will be no Sunday service in Howick but there will be services in Franklin (9:30) and Ormstown (11:00).
We were saddened to hear of Norman Fletcher’s death this past week. We hold his family and friends in our thoughts and prayers.
Howick United Church Stewards will be meeting this week on Wednesday, June 15th at 7pm in the church hall.
St Paul’s United Church Stewards will meet Wednesday, June 22nd at 7:30pm in the church hall.
St Paul’s will be holding a takeout only Strawberry “Social” at MacDougall Hall in Ormstown on Thursday, June 30th from 5pm. Prices will be $8 for adults and $5 for children between the ages of 5-10.
Volunteers will also be needed to fix the strawberries on Wednesday, June 29th. We will be fixing the berries from 1pm in the church hall. If you can, please bring bowls and a knife (and maybe an apron!).
Prayer: O Holy Spirit of God, Spirit of truth, of light, of love, by whom Jesus is made known to us and through whom the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts: come upon us in the power of Pentecost, to renew in us such gifts and graces as will glorify God and equip us for ministry and witness in the Church and in the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture Lessons. Psalm 104:24-34
Acts 2:1-21
Meditation
Prayer: Almighty God, you have taught us in your word that the fruit of the Spirit is love.
Give us by your Spirit the realization of that love in our hearts: the love that is patient, kind, and envies no one; the love that is never boastful, conceited, or rude; the love that is never selfish, nor quick to take offence; the love that does not gloat over other’s sins but delights in the truth; the love that will never end. Above all else help us, O God our Father, to know that Christ is love in person, and love is Christ in our hearts. Amen ( both prayers by Llewelyn Cummings and published in Frank Colquhoun’s Contemporary Parish Prayers.)
Hymn Breathe on Me Breath of God #382
This Sunday is also Anniversary Sunday in Howick. There will be a gathering with a light lunch following the service. All welcome to join in the celebration.
Howick’s Stewards are scheduled to meet Wednesday, June 15th at 7pm in the church.
St Paul’s United Church in Ormstown will be holding its Strawberry Social again, this year as a takeout only event. It will be held Thursday, June 30th from 5:00 until the strawberries are gone, in MacDougall Hall. The price will be $8 for adults and $5 for children 5-10. The strawberries will be fixed the day before, Wednesday, June 29th starting about 1:00. All help gratefully accepted.
Help us to come with boldness to the throne of grace.
Make us conscious of your presence in our midst.
Give us the freedom of the Holy Spirit.
Enlarge our vision and increase our faith.
And May our words and our thoughts be now acceptable in your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer. Amen ( a prayer by Frank Colquhoun from Contemporary Parish Prayers.)
Scripture Lessons: Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97 p.817VU
John 17:20-26
Meditation
Prayer: God of history, you share our joys and crushing sorrows, you hear the cries of the afflicted, you fill the hungry, and you set free the oppressed. We pray for an end to all injustice and violence. Inspire us with the all-embracing love of God, challenge us with the sacrificial love of Jesus, empower us with the transforming love of the Spirit, that we and all God’s children may live and be free. Amen. (a prayer from the Iona Community’s Iona Abbey Worship Book, adapted.)
Hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus #664
This Sunday May 29th there will be a single combined service for our three congregations to be held in Howick United Church at 11am. All are welcome to come and share our celebration.
Next Sunday will be Pentecost Sunday. There will be a 9:30 service in Ormstown and in Howick it will also be Anniversary Sunday, with an 11:00 service and a light lunch to follow. There will not be a service in Howick on June 12th due to the Ormstown Fair. There will be services held in Franklin (9:30) and in Ormstown (11:00).
The deadline is approaching for those who would like to apply for the Hugh Duncan or IFE bursaries through the Nakonhaka Regional Council. The deadline is June 3rd and is available to confirmed members of the United Church of Canada. More information and the application form are available at the region’s website (nakonhakaucc.ca), in our churches, or by contacting Barbara directly.
Also, it is still possible to register to attend the UnitedSpiritCamp offered through the Regional Council. The camp will be held June 26- July 2nd for young people between the ages of 8-15. The camp will be held at Camp Biblique d’Action near Richmond QC. The cost for the camp is $400. and help with this cost may be made available. The registration form is available in our churches or online at the camp’s website.
