Sunday, January 30, 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

 

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

Scripture Lessons:       I Corinthians 13:1-13

                                     Psalm 71:1-6 p. 789VU pt. 1

                                     Luke 4:21-30

Meditation

Another excerpt from the Song of Faith, the United Church’s latest statement of faith. You can find the complete statement on the United Church’s website: united-church.ca. 

We sing of Jesus, a Jew, born to a woman in poverty

   in a time of upheaval and political oppression. 

He know human joy and sorrow. 

So filled with the Holy Spirit was he

that in him people experienced the presence of God among them. 

We sing praise to God incarnate. 

Jesus announced the coming of God’s reign—

   a commonwealth not of domination 

   but of peace, Justice, and reconciliation. 

He healed the sick and fed the hungry. 

He forgave sins and freed those held captive

   by all manner of demonic powers. 

He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender. 

He preached and practised unconditional love—

   love of God, love of neighbour, 

   love of friend, love of enemy—

and he commanded his followers to love one another 

   as he had loved them. 

Because his witness to love was threatening, 

   those exercising power sought to silence Jesus. 

He suffered abandonment and betrayal, 

   state-sanctioned torture and execution. 

He was crucified. 

But death was not the last word. 

God raised Jesus from death, 

   turning sorrow into joy, 

   despair into hope. 

We sing of Jesus raised from the dead.

We sing hallelujah. 

Prayer: O God, in Jesus you called us to come to you as a child, full of trust and hope and freely expressing our love, our joy, and our delight to you and to others. Through the apostle Paul you have also called us to grow into a mature faith and understanding of your kingdom and your call to us. Help us to keep this balance: to come as a child ready to experience and to share your love, AND to be ready to learn and to grow; to seek the knowledge and wisdom that can guide our living and our serving. Above all, O God, help us to live and share the love you have revealed in your children and your church and in your son and our Saviour, Jesus the Christ. In whose powerful name and spirit we pray this day. Amen. 

Hymn      Love Divine #333VU

I realized I had not set a deadline for reports to be submitted for the annual report, but this is usually the time. If anyone still has a report to submit, please let me or Evie (for Howick) know if it is still to come. You can email it to me or drop it off at the manse. Barbara

We hold in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of Winston (Wink) Keeler, who died this past week. 

This week (January 29th) marks the 5th anniversary of the mosque shooting in Quebec City. As we think of people in our own communities who are lonely or sad, we can also remember the survivors of this attack, and those who continue to live in fear because of events like this one. 💞

Tomorrow is February 1st and the beginning of Black History Month. Are you planning anything to mark this month, (such as read a book, take part in a virtual class or program)…..?