Sunday, July 30, 2023

 

Hymn       Tell Me the Stories of Jesus #357

Prayer:  Holy God, who is both near and far, huge beyond measure, and as tiny as a mustard seed, to you we come. We come to worship, to sing your praise to seek your help and to learn your ways. Help us to open our minds to all that you are: you contain all genders, all melodies, all colours, all languages. Our limited understanding seeks to name who you are and how you are, and all our words and all our images fall short. Keep us mindful, dear God, that our language may fall short but that you never do. Holy God, to you we come. Open our hearts and our minds to you. Amen. ( a prayer by Jane O. Sorensen printed inBefore the Amen edited by Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirabassi.)

Scripture Lessons:     Romans 8:26-39

                                   Psalm 105:1-11 p.828VU

                                   Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Meditation 

Prayer:  God, make our prayers like a candle-flame, always aspiring, hoping, stretching for heaven. 

God, make our prayers like a light-bulb, drawing energy from a network that extends far beyond my sight. 

Thank you for the vision you give us; and for the world-wide community of sisters and brothers in which you place us. Amen. (a prayer by Bob Warwicker of England printed in Wisdom is Calling edited by Geoffrey Duncan)

Hymn       I Love to Tell the Story #343

This Sunday’s service, July 30th is our final summer service for our 3 congregations, as Barbara will be on holiday through the month of August until after Labour Day. This Sunday’s service will be a combined service in Howick beginning at 11:00, preceded by a fellowship time beginning about 10:30. All welcome. 

There will be a shared service for our cluster (South Shore and Valley) to be held on Sunday, August 13th at 10:30am in the Kahnewake United Church. This will be followed by an introduction to the Teepee project and a lunch will be served. I have been asked for numbers for this, so if you are planning or hoping to attend, could you let me know and I will let the planners know. Also, I now have some info about where the service is to be held that I could forward to those who would like to receive it. Barbara

There will be an outdoor Quilt Show to be held this Sunday, July 30th from 11-4:00 at Tolhurst Farms. Admission is $5.00 and you are asked to bring a non-perishable food item as well. A light lunch will be provided. 

Huntingdon United Church will be holding its second Ice Cream Social Thursday August 17th from 5-9pm. Prices will be $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5-12 and under 5 free. Mark your calendars! 

I am hoping to prepare one more blog for the month I am away. It should be available after Monday. 

Sunday, July 23, 2023 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

(Rose among the briars instead of the wheat and the weeds!)

Hymn        This is God’s Wondrous World #296

Prayer:  O God, increase our faith. Within us all you have placed seeds of faith. Help us to let them grow, to give space and time and place to nourish and strengthen our faith. Make us powerful, moving forces for good. In Christ’s name. Amen (a prayer written by Camilla LaRouche of Mitchell ON and printed in GatheringS/A 2008.)

Scripture Lessons:       Genesis 28:10-19a

                                     Psalm 139:1-12 p.861VU

                                     Matthew 13:24-30

Song      We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder

Reflection

Prayer: O God, you have called us together and named us your people and your children. We come just as we are. We cannot pretend to be what we are not, for you have made us and know us through and through. In our weakness, we come with prayers for strength; in our doubt we come with prayers for faith and hope; in our strength we come with prayers of thanksgiving. Open our hearts that we may come before you with honesty and await your answers with renewed faith. May our prayers and worship offered this day be joyful and thankful. Amen. (a prayer from the United Church’s worship resource, Celebrate God’s Presence, adapted.)

Hymn     O God of Bethel #650

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Franklin and 11:00 in Howick. Next Sunday will be our final Sunday service and it will be a combined service in Howick beginning at 11:00. There will be a time of fellowship before the service with coffee and munchies. (Maybe more! ) Please plan on joining us there. 

There will be a combined service for our Cluster (South Shore and the Chateauguay Valley) held on Sunday, August 13th at 10:30am in the Kanewake United Church. Following the service, there will be a visit to the Tipi Project that will include lunch. Please try to let Barbara know if you are planning to attend so she can let the planners know. 

Please note that Huntingdon United Church will be holding a second Ice Cream Social Thursday, August 17th from 5-9:00pm. Prices will be $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5-12, and under 5 free. 

We have been saddened to hear of the death of Dorothy Clark this month. We hold her family in our thoughts and prayers. 

Sunday, July 16, 2023 The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

 

Hymn      Let Us with a Gladsome Mind #234

Scripture Lessons: Romans 8:1-11

                               Psalm 119:105-112 p. 841 part 5

                               Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Reflection

Prayer:  Lord, as your spirit falls on us, let it be as the first drops of rain on a parched and barren land: awakening us like seeds in the desert to flower and show your glory. 

Let it be like the ripples in the lake reaching out through minds, bodies and souls. 

Each one of us like a stone thrown into the lake:  

Our every word and action causes ripples that affect the lives of others. 

Help us to think before we speak or act, 

To listen

To your words to us, 

So that our ripples may stir the calm of complacency, 

Splash on the face of oppression and surge through barriers and divisions, 

That all the world may come to know your living water which satisfies our souls

And refreshes our inner beings. Amen ( a prayer by Moira Rose printed in Seeing Christ in Others, an anthology edited by Geoffrey Duncan.)

Hymn     I Sing the Mighty Power of God #231

This Sunday’s services are 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown. 

Best wishes to Adam Reynolds and Anick Thibault who were married in Howick United Church yesterday. 

We continue to hold the family of Donald Gruer in our thoughts and prayers following his memorial service yesterday morning at St Paul’s. 

We have heard of the death this past week of Frances Clement of Ormstown. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time. 

I have also heard through the Regional Council newsletter that the Rev. George Lavery, a former minister of the Howick Pastoral Charge in the early 1960s has died in Kingston. 

St Paul’s Stewards will be meeting Wednesday, July 19th in the hall in Ormstown at 7:30pm. Members of the Howick Stewards are also invited to hear more about the United Church’s Faithful Footsteps program, from Randy Rennie of Huntingdon United Church who has already used the program. 

Sunday, July 9, 2023 The Sixth Sunday of Pentecost

 

Hymn      Fairest Lord Jesus #341

Scripture Lessons:       Genesis 24:42-49

                                     Psalm 46 p.770VU

              

                                     Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Hymn.    I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say #626

Scripture Lessons:      Genesis 24:42-49

                                    Psalm 46 p.770VU

                                    Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Meditation

Prayer:  Blessed are you, summer, season of long days and short nights, you pour forth light from your golden orb, energizing the earth, and calling forth growth. 

Blessed are you, summer, with your generous gifts of heat. Your warm breath animates creation, encouraging all growing things to stretch toward the sun. 

Blessed are you, summer, you call us into playfulness, encouraging us to pause from work. You renew our spirits. 

Blessed are you, gracious season of summer, you surprise us with a variety of gifts from the earth. We too gaze into the earth of ourselves, beholding gifts waiting to be honoured. 

Blessed are you, nurturing season of summer, your fruits and vegetables appear on our tables, changing them into altars. Tasting of your life, we are made strong. 

Blessed are you summer, host of a star that shines with passion. Sun-soaked, we reach for your energy that drives us upward and onward. 

Blessed are you, sacrament of summer, nature’s green season, sweet echo of spring. You speak to us in living colour as you renew the earth with symbols of life for our bodies and souls. 

Blessed are you summer, season of roots that reach for water, even through cracks of the sidewalk, the song of your seed can be heard. 

Blessed are you, summer, season rooted in reality. Even as the perspiration collects on our brow, we experience your earthy joy. 

Blessed are you, summer, with your firefly evenings you minister to the child in us. You feed our hunger for beauty. (from The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr)

Hymn.      Be Still My Soul #652

This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 Franklin, 11:00 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick with Debbie Beattie. 

Worship Schedule:  July 16  9:30   Howick        11:00   Ormstown

                                July 23.  9:30   Franklin      11:00    Howick

                                July 30     11:00   Combined service in Howick

Barbara will be on holiday in August until September 4th. There will be a combined service for our cluster (Valley and South Shore) that will be held Sunday, August 13th at 10:30am followed by a lunch offered at the Tipi Project. Please let Barbara know if you are planning to attend so she can let the planners know. 

This Saturday, July 15th there will be a memorial service held for Donald Gruer at St Paul’s United Church in Ormstown, at 11am.