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.