Litany of Gratitude for July 2 2017 -- #Canada150

God made known in creation;

for rocks and trees and skies and seas..your hands the wonders wrought

for sweeping prairie skies and waving grasslands,

for striking mountain peaks and deep valleys,

for lakes and rivers, for forests and tundra

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God who is present in the new things of life;

for those brave adventurers who struck out to explore a new place

for the people they met along the way who offered wisdom, and guidance and support,

for those who set the wheels in motion so that something new and different could begin, something that would grow from a notion into a nation

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God of community;

for the people who have challenged us to become a better, more caring community

for those who have helped us learn that we can be a community even while not being the same

for those who have stood up to speak for the members of our communities who were being abused, or oppressed, or simply ignored

for those who have made us better, those who have helped us draw the circle of what it means to be “Canadian” wider

for all our neighbours, near at hand or living many provinces away

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God who calls us to make use of your gifts;

for lumber shaped from forests to build ships and houses and cities,

for gold and iron and copper and other minerals mined from the rock

for coal and oil and natural gas, giving energy for us and the world,

for the fruit of the earth, the food which sustains and strengthens us

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

Gift Giving God, we thank and praise you for the wonders of your love we see around us.

And the people all said AMEN

For July 2, 2017 -- A service reflecting on #Canada150

(note: this service will also include litanies of Gratitude, Lament, and Hope.  These are yet to be written)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TREATY LAND

We gather here on land that is covered by Treaty #8, specifically the traditional land of the Beaver in the traditional territory of the Cree.

We thank them for their care for this land before our ancestors arrived. We pledge to work with them as we share this land into the future.

CALL TO WORSHIP

From a variety of backgrounds, different countries, different cultures,

we are drawn together.

We share a belief that God is with us,

and we gather to worship.

With the rest of the country us we celebrate our national birthday,

with the rest of the country we reflect on our shared story,

with the rest of the country we wonder what the future will bring.

We open ourselves to God’s presence,

as people of faith we invite God to be a part of our future as individuals, as a nation, as a church.

OPENING PRAYER

God of many faces, languages, places, names;

we gather to worship as one of the communities that makes up your global community.

God of our past, our present, our future;

we reflect on our past as a nation – the good and the bad,

we look at our present as a nation – the joys and the struggles,

we dream about our future as a nation – the possibilities and the challenges.

As we sing and pray and reflect,

awaken in us the vision of what this community of communities could be

send us out committed to ensuring that the love we see in Christ is a part of how we help to build the nation we want to live in.

We pray in the name of Jesus, who calls us to look beyond ourselves and our boundaries to experience the breadth of your love. Amen

COMMISSIONING:

This is God’s land, and we are people of God.

We are called to care for the land, to care for our neighbours.

We go back into the world,

to live in The Way of Christ,

to work for reconciliation and rebuilding of relationship,

to help build a community and nation where love is the guiding principle.

Go with God, who creates us anew,

To go with The Church in the World: Poverty and Wealth

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life.

We know that in the world there are winners and losers,

People who have a lot and people who have next to nothing.

We are called to care for our brothers and our sisters,

Seeking out abundant life for all.

God of abundance, we come to this time of worship,

thirsty for the water of life, seeking to be fed with rich food.

During this time of prayer and song, speaking and listening

open our hearts and our minds so that we will be ready to face the challenging question in a world of winners and losers.

We pray in the name of Jesus, who taught his friends to pray by saying together...

 

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

God, you created the world and said that it was good!

And then you called your human creations to be stewards of what was created.

God, as stewards, we are called to manage the abundance that surrounds us,

but we know that our stewardship has been found lacking.

God, you call us to care for those who struggle in life,

to ask seriously why the world has abundance for some while others lack what they need.

In a world where there are always those who do not have enough,

and where we sometimes fail to ask the hard questions, where we have failed to be good stewards of the world's abundance,

Forgive us, redirect us, lead us back to the path that leads to Eden...

...time of silent prayer...

God created the world and said it was good! God calls us to live in the Kin-dom of God! Through Grace we continue to return to the path to Paradise, where all have what they need.

Thanks be to God! Amen. 
 

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

We go from here to a world where there is great abundance.

We go from here to a world where there is great need.

Go out to challenge yourselves and those around you.

We go to ask the hard questions about how best to respond to the reality of winners and losers

Go to share the good news of God's abundance, calling those who thirst to come and drink, those who have no money to come buy and eat.

So that all enjoy the abundance of God.

Go with God, who calls us to return to Paradise on this Earth.

Amen.

To go with The Church in the World: IN But Not OF

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life.

We gather here as people who live in the world and yet,

we gather as people who have been called to see the world from a different viewpoint.

God has called us together, God has called us to be part of a community.

God challenges us to consider questions of priority as we engage with the world.

In this time together,

may God open our hearts, minds and eyes,

allowing us to see deeper, helping us to live in the world while still offering a challenge to the ways of the world.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

God of Grace, you call us to be different from the world,

but the world is seductive, and so we come here to be strengthened.

God of Vision, you hold before us an alternate way of life,

different priorities, different loyalties, different values.

But we know that the world is not only seductive but powerful,

and so we are drawn in to following its priorities, accepting its values, showing loyalty to its gods.

God who blesses the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful,

forgive us when we lose sight of these qualities, when we misunderstand their role in the world.

...time of silent prayer...

Rejoice and be glad! God is gracious and God offer blessings. God calls us to life in the world, God offers us the chance to explore how to live out God's vision. We are called, we are forgiven, we are blessed.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

We are Holy people, set apart from the world.

No. We are ordinary people, just the same as our neighbours.

We are both ordinary and holy,

we live in the midst of the world even as we name that there is a different Way to live.

As you go into the world,

may we share our understandings of how the world could be different.

And may the God who has set us apart in the midst of the world go with us.

To strengthen and embolden. Everywhere and always. Amen.

To go with The Church in the World: Witness & Testimony

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life.

We come together to hear again form the old old story,

knowing that in that story we find clues about life in the here and now.

We come together to be prepared to be sent out,

to share the story, to share The Way of life.

Story-telling God, in this time of prayer and song and listening,

remind us that we have a story to tell, renew our hearts that we can tell it.

This we pray in the name and memory of Jesus,

the One whose story is written in our hearts,

and who taught his friends to pray together saying...

  

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

It is said that evangelism is one beggar telling another where they can find a meal.

But God sometimes we are reluctant because we are unsure the news would be of interest.

It is said that evangelism is one injured dog leading another to the vet's door.

But we are reluctant, not wanting to force our idea of a cure on others.

It is said that evangelism is cutting holes in the blackout curtain so the light can shine through.

But we are reluctant, because people might prefer the darkness.

God, you have called us to share the story of life and love with the world in our words and our deeds.

For the times we have chosen not to share that story, for the times our words and deed have told an opposite story, forgive us and through your Grace renew us to meet the challenge.

...time of silent prayer..

The story we share is the story of a God who is Gracious, Merciful, and Loving. Through Grace God forgives us where we miss the mark and restores us to relationship. We are forgiven, loved, and accepted.

Thanks be to God! Amen

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

Go out to share the story of faith, the story of life, with the world around you.

We share the faith in word and in deed, in speech and in action.

As you go to giving a living witness, as you go out to testify to God's love active in the world, go knowing that God goes with you, sharing the laughter and the hope, the fears and the tears.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

To go with the sermon The Church in the World: Gospel in One Hand, Paper in the Other

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and work, our faith and our life.

As we gather in this place for our singing and praying and listening,

we carry with us the worries and the stories from the world around us.

Creating and re-creating God, in this time of worship,

open our hearts and minds to hear and see you in the world around us,

grant us the bigness of heart to hear the stories of the world,

help us to view the world through the eyes of Gospel.

And when our worship is finished,

lead us back out into the world where faith shapes our lives.

We pray in the name of Jesus, who openly embraced the world around him, and taught his friends to pray saying...

 

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

Go out with open eyes and open ears,

we go to see and hear the laughter and tears of the world.

Go to interpret the world through the eyes of Gospel people.

And in doing so we will carry the Gospel hope to that same world.

Go with God, who has created and is creating the world in which we live.

Thanks be to God, who is active and alive in the world. Amen.