Prayer: O Jesus Christ, when I read the gospel stories I am touched by your healing power. You healed sick bodies to be sure, but you did so much more. You healed the spirit and the deep inner mind. Most of all I am touched by your actions off acceptance that spoke healing into those who lived on the margins of life— shoved aside by the strong and the powerful.
Speak your healing into me, O Lord— body and mind and soul. Most of all, heal my sense of worthlessness. My head tells me that I am of infinite value to you but my heart cannot believe it. Heal my heart, Jesus, heal my heart. Amen. ( a prayer written by by Richard Foster and printed in Prayers from the Heart)
Hymn How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds #344
This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Franklin and 11:00 in Howick.
We hold in our thoughts and prayers the families of Penny Anderson and Miller Carimichael, who died this past week.
This Sunday is the deadline for submitting reports for the annual report. Please let Barbara or Wilene know if your report will be late and when it might be available. Thank you.
The Official Board meeting for the Ormstown-Franklin Pastoral Charge will be held on Wednesday, February 21st in the hall in Ormstown at 1:30pm.
The dates for the annual meetings for our congregations have been set: February 25 for Howick (storm date March 3rd) and March 10 for Franklin and Ormstown. Please mark your calendars!
Many thanks to the Nakonhaka Regional Council who has provided copies of the Mohawk Bible to the Howick and Ormstown congregations. It allows us to honour the accomplishment of Harvey Gabriel, Satewas, in completing this translation over many years (decades) and also to acknowledge that we share this land with the Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) people.
This Sunday is the Sunday in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, ( January 18-25) when we pray for greater understanding and cooperation between Christians of all churches and people of all faiths.
Hymn. Jesus, United by Thy Grace #591VU
Scripture Lessons: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:5-12 p. 779VU
Mark 1:14-20
Hymn. Jesus Calls Us #562VU
Message
Prayer: Lord, have mercy on us and heal our souls, for we have sinned against you and against our sisters and brothers.
Renew the communion among Christians, healing their divisions, so that the world may believe in your love, Lord we pray.
For justice and peace in our society, for the overcoming barriers of fear, resentment, and distrust, Lord we pray.
For those who suffer want and anxiety through lack of work, Lord we pray.
For those who are separated from their families, and those who have no home or family, Lord we pray.
For the victims of drought and famine throughout the world, for the generous sharing of the world’s resources, Lord we pray.
For all who suffer trials and affliction and who need kindness and help, Lord we pray.
Keep all who have found you rooted in your love; may they grow in goodness and truth, Lord we pray.
We remember those who have died in the peace of Christ, and those whose faith is known only to you. Grant us to enter with them into the life that never ends, Lord we pray.
Grant us, Lord, the joy of praise, in communion with all your saints. Amen. (a prayer from the Taize Community, printed in Praying Together, adapted)
Hymn. All the Way My Saviour Leads Me #635VU
We have recently heard of the death of Mary Loree in London, ON. A memorial service was held for her this past week.
We continue to hold the family and friends of Susan Evans, whose funeral service was held this past week, and Karen Jones Buchanan, whose memorial service is being held on this Sunday in Georgetown Presbyterian Church.
Howick United Church will be holding a Session meeting this coming week, on Tuesday night in the church at 7pm.
Franklin United Church is planning a Joint Board meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd at 1:30 at the church.
Please get your annual reports completed and handed in so we can produce our annual report for last year. For Howick they can be given or sent to Wilene Cullen and in Franklin and Ormstown they may be given or sent to Barbara. Please try to have them in by January 28th, or let us know when they will be ready. Thank you.
There will be a Youth Forum through the Nakonhaka Regional Council held March 22-4 at the Mount Bruno United Church for young people aged 12-18. If you would like to receive information about this, please let Barbara know.
Prayer: O God, teach us to listen for your voice and your word.
Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest to me, my family, my friends, my coworkers. Help me to be aware that no matter what words I hear, the message is, “Accept the person I am. Listen to me.”
Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me— the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished.
Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside— in the deepest part of me.
Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice— in busyness and boredom, in certainty and in doubt, in noise and in silence. Teach me, O God, to listen. Amen. (Written by John Veltri and printed in Taste and See edited by Jacquelin Syrup Bergan and S. Marie Schwan)
Hymn O Master Let Me Walk with Thee #560VU
This Sunday’s services will be 11:00 in Howick, with Debbie Beattie, and 9:30 in Franklin and 11:00 in Ormstown, in the hall.
We hold in our thoughts and prayers the families of Donald McCormick, whose memorial service was held on Saturday, January 13th in St Paul’s United Church, Karen Jones Buchanan, whose memorial service will be held next Sunday, January 21st in Georgetown Presbyterian Church, and the family and friends of Susan Evans, who died this past week.
The time has come to prepare our annual reports for last year. If possible, they may be emailed to Wilene for Howick or to Barbara for Ormstown and Franklin.
St Paul’s Session will meet Wednesday, January 17th at 1:00 in the hall and its Stewards will meet that evening at 7:30pm, also in the hall in Ormstown.
Prayer: God of gold, we seek your glory: the richness that transforms our drabness into colour, and brightens our dullness with vibrant light; your wonder and joy at the heart of all life.
God of incense, we offer you our prayer: our spoken and unspeakable longings, our questioning of truth, our searching for your mystery deep within.
God of myrrh, we cry out to you in our suffering: the pain of all our rejections and bereavements, our baffled despair at undeserved suffering, our rage at continuing injustice; and we embrace you, God-with-us, in our wealth, in our yearning, in our anger and loss. Amen. (by Jan Berry, printed in Bread of Tomorrow, edited by Janet Morley)
A Home-Blessing for Epiphany
L: Blessed be this house.
P: And all who dwell here.
L: Three wise ones came to Bethlehem seeking the Christ child, and gave to the child precious gifts:
Gold for the true king, incense for worship, and myrrh for the body which someday would die like our own.
P: In your light, we see light. Thanks be to God.
L: O God, you led the Wise Ones by the light of a star to show your people’s the way to Jesus Christ. May we who seek Christ trust in you to light the way so we recognize the Christ-light in the epiphanies of the lives with which you bless us.
P: in your light, we see light. Thanks be to God.
L: Bless, O God, this household, and grant that all who live here may share the light of love within these walls. May this house be a haven of hope and hospitality, for neighbour and stranger in times of need. And May the light of love cast its beam beyond these doors to bless the world and all of creation.
P: In your light, we see light. Thanks be to God. Amen. (from Living the Christ Life, by Louise Manganese and Nancy Wyse with Lori Farr)
Hymn The First Nowell #91VU
I hope that everyone had a blessed and happy Christmas and new year. As we move into the new year, we get back to our meetings and routines. We will be looking forward to annual reports and meetings before we know it! Howick United Church will be holding a congregational meeting this Sunday following the service to discuss and decide on the Faithful Footprints application for Howick.
There will be a memorial service held for Donald McCormick at St Paul’s United Church in Ormstown on Saturday, January 13th at 2pm, with visitation preceding the service from 12:00.
