May 2020 | Shaughnessy Heights United Church

SPIRIT DAYS!

Pentecost ~ May 31, 2020

Each time you see a musical link in the liturgy, mute or lower the volume on your device before clicking on the link. Once you have done that then click on the link. If an ad pops up, you can then “Skip Ad” and not be disturbed by the noise of the advertisements. Once you see that the music is beginning then unmute or raise the volume on your device. This will allow a more meaningful worship experience for you. Peace be with you.

Prelude: Sprit of God, Descend Upon My Heart J. Utterback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvqItkUk64E

Our Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We accept that Mother Earth and the peoples near us and around the world are all our relations. Thanks be to God.

Let us worship God together.

The GATHERING

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Introit: Come to Me Dan Forrest https://youtu.be/bi6IZCJx3qA

*Call to Worship:

Spirit of the Living God, visit us again this season of Pentecost.

Viens, Esprit Saint! Come, Holy Spirit!

On rushing winds that sweep away all barriers,

Viens, Esprit Saint! Come, Holy Spirit!

With tongues of fire that set our hearts aflame,

Viens, Esprit Saint! Come, Holy Spirit!

With love that overleaps all boundaries,

Viens, Esprit Saint! Come, Holy Spirit!

With power from above to make our weakness strong,

Viens, Esprit Saint! Come, Holy Spirit!

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Hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXO4rqBQOAU

Prayer of the Day:

Spirit of God, Holy Wind, Fire of God, Lively Energy,

anoint us this day to be people of your Good News.

Comfort us that we might bring comfort to those suffering.

Love us that we might bring love to a lonely, cynical world.

Challenge us with your truth that we might bring truth when all is confusion.

Reawaken us to the power of your loving presence, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Listening for THE WORD

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Choral Anthem: Call of Wisdom Will Todd

https://youtu.be/ACqvjwV1ZJo

http://www.artbymarianne.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/I-will-pour-out-my-spirit.-1200×959.jpg

Thanks to our readers: Paul Just with Rita DeKleer, June Dragman, Satoko Hashigasako, Cedric Hebert-Wong, Michelle Jinn, Ramona Luengen, Ib Nielsen, Marianne Szabo, Michael Szasz, Liisa Tella, Robert Wong, Alicia Zamora.

Scripture Reading: Acts 2: 1-21 https://youtu.be/OinD9W83VPo

A reading from the book of Acts chapter 2. Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked,

“Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,

“Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ This is the story of our faith. Thanks be to God!

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Hymn: Come Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fehCum04JQ

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Reflection: by Rev. Jay Olson

https://youtu.be/LdKRZsouGi

It seems fitting to me that my last Sunday with you all is the festival of Pentecost, the revealing of the Spirit. It is a celebration of God’s generosity, provision and promise of grace. In all my time at Shaughnessy Heights United Church I have felt the companionship of the Spirit. I have felt her restorative power and her prodding. One of the members of the Transition Team said at our last gathering that what will stay with her from our time together is the memory of those occasions when it was clear that “the Spirit was in the room”. This same Spirit Advocate that remains with you as you greet your new Ministers, will go with me as I become one in ministry with the good peoples of Marpole United Church and St. Stephen’s United Church. (pause)

Pentecost is one of the great festivals of the Christian church and it gets its name from the word for the number 50. “Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the twelve apostles, Jesus’ mother and family, and many other of His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover.” (stpaulskingsville.org)

It is the day that commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to all people. The liturgical colour is red, red for the colour of the tongues of fire and also for the blood of the martyrs (pause)

So it was that during an annual harvest festival that brought lots of people together, a day that many would have anticipated as a celebratory day (a sort of Thanksgiving Day), was the occasion for the giving of the Holy Spirit.

And she was revealed in 3 ways – through wind, fire and language.

Wind – “And suddenly from heaven came a sound like the rush of

a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2)

How frightening this must have been, just the sound of it. I don’t

know about you but I don’t like the wind. It makes me nervous and I feel vulnerable. In Juneau Alaska the Taku winds could blow 75 miles an hour up Gastineau Channel. The big window in my living room facing the channel would bow in and out and shake in the wind.

We all know what kind of damage is done in tornado season. The power of the wind can destroy and yet we need its power to propel vessels and create clean energy. It also clears away smog and brings in much needed moisture. We both welcome and tremble at its power.

There is no doubt that those in this story would have heard the sound. It was not something that could be ignored. It must have stopped them all in their tracks.

And then there was Fire – “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)

During the time of the Roman Empire, Emperors had images of

themselves everywhere. There were sculptures and works of art of all kinds that showed their likenesses. The Emperor’s images were pressed onto coins. In Canada we have the Queen’s head on our coins. In the United States they have the heads of Presidents on their coins.

The Romans didn’t have just the head of their Emperor on the coins. It had the Emperor’s image with a flame of fire resting on top of the Emperor’s head. This flame signified divinity. It was a statement to the people that the Emperor was a god.

At Pentecost when the flames were seen resting on the tops of the heads of everyday people from all corners of their world, it was a powerful political statement. And that statement was that in the Kingdom ofGod, the Emperor is not god. Through the Spirit, God’s power was being shared with all God’s people. Theology Professor Herman Waetjen calls it the democratization of the divine.

This political, highly subversive, declaration was that the Emperor was not God. He and those in power were to submit to the one God and to God’s will. That message would not have gone over well at all in the Roman Empire. It would not go over well today either even, and perhaps especially, in North America.

And Language – “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and

began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” (Acts 2:4)

The Holy Spirit gave them speech and more importantly understanding.

They were not mute and they were not drunk as some supposed. They spoke in recognizable languages, multiple languages, yet all understood what was being said about God and God’s deeds of power.

The Spirit was given to all without exception – regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, language or status. All were overwhelmed by and gifted with God’s Spirit.

If ever that message needs to be heard and lived it is today. We weep for the United States and Canada as racist attitudes and actions continue to play out in all areas of life. American cities are burning and Canadian citizens of various races and ethnicities are ignored or knocked down in the streets and degraded. Indigenous peoples are still struggling for recognition and basic human necessities and rights.

The Spirit rests on all. The Spirit sees each one as valuable as the next. The Spirit calls us to see with those same eyes. She will prod us out of our feelings of helplessness to take stands against the racism that lives in us and others and is expressed in systems and behaviours. We are not helpless. We are one with the Advocate. Those of us who are white and enjoy privilege must use our power to lift those who have been laid low. Prayers are not enough. Action and speaking the the language of truth are required now more than ever. If it was my brother or my friend who had to be taught from an early age to be extra careful with their lives simply because of their skin colour, I would be furious and fed up too. Oh wait a minute, George Floyd was my brother and all those I see on news releases are my relations.

The Spirit of Creation was given anew to empower all people to be as Jesus in the world, to be co-creators with God, co-creators of something better. That feels pretty challenging today when the virus has displayed for all to see the truth of injustices based on race and privilege and ownership. Yet this is the time to look out and see the tongue of holy fire that rests on the heads of each one. This is the time to make decisions, speak and act out of the truth that each and every one is a child of God and should be treated that way.

There is no going back to days passed. The Spirit of life is blasting through here and it is hard. It has our attention now and we need to go in the direction it is blowing us, the direction of justice, equity, peace and joyful imagination. There is something even better ahead and it is to be for everyone.

The fire of the Spirit empowers us to keep moving forward with courage, generosity, hope, intelligence and trust so that we will come to the day when there will be no more need of mass protests over racial and economic injustice, or active shooter drills in schools, or the need to plead for funding for medical research and treatments, or the need to remind the world that senior citizens and people with disabilities are people too.

The Spirit empowers holy understanding, the capacity to listen for and to speak with understanding the truth that God wills abundant life for all and we are empowered to make it happen, even and maybe especially in times of pandemic. Though we will do it a distance from one another now, let’s you and I, each of us, do our part in making it so.

Peace and courage be with you all.

Hymn: I Feel the Winds of God Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePNSaimeDA

The RESPONSE

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Pastoral Prayer: (led by Meghan Martin Pritchard) https://youtu.be/gpKgUYGjskY

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Gracious God, on this Pentecost Sunday, we give thanks for the reminder that your church is not confined to a room or a building. We hear with fresh ears and new understanding the story of the disciples being empowered by your holy spirit to go out into the world. We thank you for the timeless story of our faith and we pray that, like the disciples, we will be inspired to share your good news in the world.

While we celebrate this holy day, we recognize that there is also a weight on our hearts. We yearn for the opportunity to gather and honour Rev. Jay’s ministry with us. We are so grateful for her wise and compassionate leadership over the years and we pray that, despite our physical distance, she will feel surrounded by our love, our best wishes, and our gratitude today.

At the same time we pray for Rev. Dave and Rev. Deb as they complete their journey across Western Canada and settle into their new home in Vancouver. We pray that this time will be full of joy and excitement as they discover their new community.

Holy One, in our prayers we bring to mind all of the people and places that are in need of your care this day. We pray for the people of Hong Kong as they grapple with what a new relationship with China would mean for them. We pray for migrants around the world who are facing danger in their home countries and in their attempts to cross borders at this time. And throughout the world, in every nation, we pray for all of us taking part in the struggle to contain COVID-19. We ask that you continue to inspire the world’s leaders to take wise actions to keep us safe physically, mentally and emotionally.

Gracious God, we pray for those who have lost loved ones and for those who are sick or awaiting medical treatments. In the silence of our hearts, we lift to you the names of people we have particular concern for this week, and we ask that you surround all of these people with your healing and care.

Loving God, we’ve seen so many examples of people coming together to support one another, but this week we’ve also seen cruel reminders of inequity and injustice in our society for those with less power and privilege. Whether it’s the elderly in our communities living in inhumane conditions in nursing homes or people of colour who live in fear for their safety. Holy One, we pray that you will give us the courage to learn about the issues and to reject the social structures that devalue certain lives. We pray that your holy spirit will inspire us to play our part in ensuring that all people can live with dignity and security.

Finally, God, we pray for ourselves. There are times when we grow tired and give in to fear, resentment, and anger. Help us to be the best versions of ourselves. Help us to practice kindness and patience at this time of so much uncertainty. On this Pentecost Sunday, we open ourselves fully to your holy spirit moving in our lives and moving us to be your people.

We pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, our guide and our hope. Amen.

Response: Spirit of the Living God Fall Fresh on Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShhUWVKZnEk

Our Offering: In response to God’s great love for us we return to God a portion of what has been given to us. Take a moment now to offer the gifts of your time, your talent and your money for the work of ministry. Give thanks and give back to God. No gift is too small, and all gifts are sincerely appreciated.

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Choral Anthem for Reflection on the Offering:

Though the YouTube link here is a performance from the Kennedy Center Honors, listen to it as the witness of the gospel that it is. Celebrate how Cicely Tyson and CeCe Winans take the politicians and entertainers to Church! https://youtu.be/fiSkmbzS4nw

Prayer of Dedication:

Great God, thank you for your provision, for your presence, for your love. We return to you a portion of the gifts you have given to us. May they be used to further your purposes through Shaughnessy Heights United Church and all those who serve you. Amen.

The COMMISSIONING

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Hymn: Jesus Shall Reign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4IMtvp6bg

Rose Window: Holy Spirit, Truro Cathedral photo by Carol Saxon

Commissioning and Benediction:

Go into the world with a daring and tender love.

As you go,

may the blessing of the God of Sarah and or Abraham,

the blessing of the Son born of the woman Mary

and the blessing of the Holy Spirit who broods over us as a mother with her children,

be with you all, today and always. Amen.

A Special Choral Blessing:

It has been the choir’s tradition to offer a musical farewell and blessing to our leaving ministers.

Although we are sadly unable to sing this for you in person Jay, we are providing this Youtube link in our stead.

For your guidance through these years of transition, we thank you.

May the Lord indeed bless you as you begin yet another chapter in your life of ministry.

The Lord Bless You and Keep You: John Rutter

https://youtu.be/QcYzO8Y4PH0

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you
and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you
and give you peace, and give you peace.

Postlude: Water Music Suite No. 2 Alla Hornpipe (by request) G. F. Handel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeFS8L5l-L0

Compline, also known as Night Prayer or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is a service of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church. Derived from the Latin word completorium, Compline prayerfully acknowledges the completion of the working day and is often said just before retiring for the night.

As a way for our Shaughnessy Faith Community to gather again and acknowledge the end of another challenging week, either because of social distancing and isolation or because of worrisome work conditions, we invite you to set aside some time this evening. Take a moment to catch your breath. Settle yourself into a comfortable chair, pour a cup of tea, light a candle, and allow yourself to refresh and nourish your soul. Follow the short service below, listen to the music suggestions via the Youtube links (again, ads are unfortunately unavoidable), and give yourself up to quiet meditation and reflection. And even though we are doing this as individuals, we are also doing this as a faith community, connecting ourselves to each other in prayer and intention.

You are invited to share this service with others.

We ask that anyone using this document, outside of our own SHUC community,

to please acknowledge that this is the work of

Shaughnessy Heights United Church, Vancouver, Canada

SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS UNITED CHURCH

PRAYERS AT THE CLOSE OF DAY

Friday, May 29, 2020

Theme

There is sacredness in tears.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.

They are messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love.
– Washington Irving

God’s Presence

God, take our sacred tears and transform them into something beautiful.

Sojourners Magazine

Scripture

Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
My harp is turned to grieving,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.

Job 30: 25-28; 31

Musical Reflection

Versa est in luctum: Tomás Luis de Victoria

https://youtu.be/lsaLjDMmDFQ

My harp is turned to grieving
and my flute to the voice of those who weep.
Spare me, O Lord,
for my days are as nothing.

Our Prayer

God, protect me from hopelessness,

prepare me for courage,

and push me to love.

Psalm

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, Lord,

like streams in the Negev.

Those who sow with tears

will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126

Musical Reflection

Die mit Tränen säen, werden mit Freuden ernten: Heinrich Schütz

https://youtu.be/Z_vqBhZybzo

Those who sow with tears will reap with joy.

They go out and weep and carry seeds to sow,

and return with joy, carrying their sheaves with them.

Reflection

Prayer for Good Friday

Which isn’t good at all. One of the great misnomers of all time. It’s bleak, haunted, immensely sad. It rivets and ravages me every year as I sit hidden behind a post-beam in the balcony of the chapel, where no one can see me weeping at the poor lonely broken Yeshua, betrayed by His best friends, beaten by the sneering cops, blood dripping into His eyes, grilled by a police chief who couldn’t care less about justice and mercy and wants only to evade blame for a matter he considers minor at best. Yet it wasn’t minor at all, and somehow it turns on that harrowing day long ago. A mysterious young man from a country village, causing an epic political and civil ruckus in the city. A murderous mob, angry religious Brahmins, potential colonial unrest that will not look good at headquarters. Gnomic answers by the calm young man when interrogated. Poor Peter bitterly berating himself for his cowardice, and which one of us would have done better? The apostles frightened, the sound of hammers nailing the young man to a cross, the lowering darkness, the murmurs of fear through the city as the sun is blotted out. Veronica’s veils and Simon’s shoulders; did his compassion surge and make him step forth, or was he shoved into legend by a soldier? The gaunt young man sagging toward death; His quiet blessing of a thief; His last words to His mother; one last desperate cry; He thirsts, He prays, He dies. And in the chapel not another word, not another sound; and soon we exit silently, and go our ways…for once with a cheerful chaff for friends and handshakes all round; and no matter how bright the rest of the day, how brilliant the late afternoon, how redolent the new flowers, how wild the sunset over the river, you shiver a little; not just for Him, but for all of us, His children, face to face today with despair. And so silently home to pray for light emerging miraculously where it seemed all was dark.

A Book of Uncommon Prayer: Brian Doyle

Musical Reflection

Vide homo (from Lagrime de San Pietro): Orlando de Lassus

https://youtu.be/LFJlCWgcyKI

See, O humanity, what things I endure for you;
To you I cry, I who am dying for you;
See the pains with which I am afflicted;
See the nails with which I am pierced.
There is no suffering like unto that with which I am tormented.
And though the outward suffering be so great,
Yet is the inward suffering heavier still,
When I find you to be so distanced from me.

What Can We Do?

Life is fragile – handle with prayer.

-E.C. McKenzie

A Closing Prayer

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch,

or weep this night,

and give your angels charge over those who sleep.

Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying,

soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous,

and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Augustine of Hippo | Book of Common Prayer

Musical Reflection

Rain, Come Down: Shawn Kirchner

https://youtu.be/tV-8a1Tmj-8

Please note: The lyrics are provided on the Youtube link. Click “Show More” and scroll beyond the list of singers.

Come, rain, come down,

heaven’s tears of mercy,

come a-runnin’ down.

Say no words, it is too soon,

but wrap your quiet arms around,

hide us in your cloud.

Come wash away this grief and pain,

and let all hearts be clean.

And bring the fairest flowers to meet

the sorrows we have seen.

A little lower than the angels we were born to be,

yet which of all the creatures knows this misery?
Come rain, come down,

heaven’s tears of mercy,

come a-runnin’ down.

NEW LIFE!

Seventh Sunday of Easter ~ May 24, 2020

Note: Each time you see a musical link in the liturgy, mute or lower the volume on your device before clicking on the link. Once you have done that then click on the link. If an ad pops up, you can then “Skip Ad” and not be disturbed by the noise of the advertisements. Once you see that the music is beginning then unmute or raise the volume on your device. This will allow a more meaningful worship experience for you. Peace be with you.

Prelude: Vater unser im Himmelreich (Lord’s Prayer) G. Böh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuzQZkiBjIs

Our Acknowledgement: We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We accept that Mother Earth and the peoples near us and around the world are all our relations. Thanks be to God.

Let us worship God together.

The GATHERING

Introit: Holy Spirit, Truth Divine Andrew Carter

https://youtu.be/kBoE9sUuNFM

Holy Spirit, Truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine;
Word of God and inward light wake my spirit, clear my sight.

Holy Spirit, Love divine, glow within this heart of mine;
Kindle every high desire; perish self in Thy pure fire.

Holy Spirit, Power divine, fill and nerve this will of mine;
Grant that I may strongly live, bravely bear, and nobly strive.

Holy Spirit, Peace divine, still this restless heart of mine;
Speak to calm this tossing sea, stayed in Thy tranquility.

Holy Spirit, Joy divine, gladden Thou this heart of mine;
In the desert ways I sing, “Spring, O Well, forever spring.”

*Call to Worship: Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed!

In the newness and resurrection of this Easter season, there is hope.

In the freedom and joy of Easter, there is liberation.

In our Easter alleluias and amens, there is grace. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Hymn: Alleluia! Sing to Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2O_b_aqrPw

Prayer of the Day:

God of grace and glory, by the death and resurrection of your Beloved Child your reign of wholeness has been unleashed within our bent and broken world. Open us to your empowering grace that we may be bearers of your world-redeeming love; through the resurrected Christ, who is our dignity, our power, and our peace. Amen. VU 188

Listening for THE WORD

Choral Anthem: Ubi caritas O. Gjeilo https://youtu.be/zvI5sNucz1w

Where there is charity and love, God is there.

Scripture Reading: John 17:1-11 (read by Winston Lanyon)

A reading from the gospel according to John. Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the Church. 17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. This is the story of our faith. Thanks be to God.

Hymn: O Love that Will Not Let Me Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt69WDtYNLo

Reflection: by Rev. Jay Olson

In these last couple of weeks of the Easter season we have been reading from the farewell discourse in the gospel of John. We have learned that heaven is not a place but a relationship. Eternal life is knowing God, being at home in God as God makes home in us. This last Sunday of the Easter Season, the season of new life, we hear the prayer of Jesus from John chapter 17 which reads, “Holy God, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

The Rev. Dr. Janet H. Hunt wrote in her sermon, Dancing with the Word, these words,

“I wondered at how many would claim the unity Jesus prays for today as their own — a unity which ties us to each other because we all belong to Jesus. Indeed, as I read the Gospel for this week, the common thread seems to be that you and I come from the same place and we are blessed with the same destination and in this meantime — in this world where Jesus knows we need protection — sometimes the greatest blessing we can have is each other.”

John’s gospel speaks of a profound intimacy shared between the Godhead and all of creation. My Nanna said to me once, “People don’t understand that we need God. God is the very air we breathe”, she said. The relationship is one of deep intimacy, a profound connection whether we acknowledge it or not.

I hear often from folks who say that faith is personal, it is about my relationship with God and it’s private, none of anyone’s business. Perhaps at one level that is true for much goes on inside one’s own heart and mind. However, Jesus’ prayer for protection for these whom God gave to him is a prayer for unity.

Our protection is found in our unity, in our ability to love the world through our shared values and our disagreements, through our working together and bearing witness together for a greater good. Our protection is being at home in God all together.

The where of eternal life is not a place but a relationship. In such intimate relationships there is support, learning and protection.

I have had many people say to me over the years, “Why don’t you leave the Church and get a job without all the stress and baggage?” To which I respond, “The Church’s baggage is mine too. I can at least appeal to Church folks on the basis of our shared faith and values which come from our relationships with the Holy.”

Intimate relationships reveal who we are, the good and that which needs work, sometimes lots of work. Folks want to be part of a community that isn’t this kind of work, where we don’t have to deal with bad behaviours or take on responsibilities. Some want a Community of Faith to be a place of solace alone without any challenge or disruption. I have to say though that even times of personal, private devotion, those times when I am alone with my own thoughts and prayers and God, are often the most challenging and revealing times. Apparently, we were made for each other whether we like it or not. We are made to be one people, one Community of Faith.

Jayson D. Bradley wrote 5 Reasons I Won’t Give Up On the Local Church.

“5. I’m a huge part of the church’s problem. (A young person’s confession.) “Despite Christ’s prayer that the church would model Trinitarian-like oneness, we’re fractured and set against each other. The bride of Christ is a mess.”

The church needs prophetic voices.We must reform ourselves.
I still believe in the church’s goodness.Do good works, be your God-given self without needing attention, affirmation, without doing it for the thanks.
The church has played a big part in my growth.The people of the church have been there for me in my darkest hours.
The church is a spiritual discipline.I could chose to be just with people I like and with whom I agree but, “when I am honest with myself, most of my growth has come from interacting with people I wouldn’t choose…I need a multi-generational, ethnically and financially diverse community of people to mentor me and broaden my perspectives. I need people close to me who I can disagree with and challenge in a healthy way – while still loving and wanting what’s best for them. There’s no question that the church has significant problems, and I’ve often daydreamed about quitting her. But I truly believe we need each other.”

I think my Nanna was right. God is the very air we breathe. I learned that and breathed in that air growing up in Communities of Faith. Those communities did not and do not always demonstrate a joyful and just unity, but they worked at it. In the process of working at it, like housekeeping, some pitched in and did the work, and some felt compelled to leave.

No matter where we are in this profoundly intimate and complex web of relationships, remember that this Godhead is where we live, it is our home, and in this home is our Spirit Advocate – teacher, guide, comforter. When we are unable to call upon the Spirit and we are overwhelmed with fear, grief and doubt, it is our sisters and brothers in the Community of Faith who call on the Advocate for us, who become the hands and heart of the Advocate for us.

I encourage you this last Sunday of the Easter Season to breathe in deeply the breath of life. That very breath is the assurance that we are at home in the Godhead – that there is nowhere we can go and nothing we can do that will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. It is the protection for which Jesus prayed. It is so. Thanks be to God.

Hymn: Make Me a Channel of Your Peace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTg7aNJ7Z7E

The RESPONSE

Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer: (led by Winston Lanyon)

And so we pray,

Great God, we give you thanks for your faithfulness to all creation.

We long to see your Spirit at work in fulfilling Jesus’ prayer that we be one people, the living embodiment of your love, justice and peace. Help us to take each step forward and make each action we take lead us toward the unity for which you created us.

We entrust to you today those who are grieving over the death of a loved one, those unable to visit with loved ones in long term care, those who have lost income and dreams. Grant them your peace, O God and show them the next step forward into life.

We pray for an end to the COVID-19 crisis; that an effective vaccine will be found as soon as possible and be made available to everyone as soon as possible.

As the world begins to open up again, we pray that we will correct the terrible injustices that have been on full display during this crisis, namely the underfunding and neglect in long term care, the food insecurity affecting so many families, the wounding of the planet and, the inequitable distribution of wealth. Lead us to the resources that will bring life and show us how to share them equitably.

We begin now the loosening of some restrictions around being together. Please keep us mindful and careful so that our exuberance will not lead us to inadvertently do harm.

We are thankful for the myriad of people giving themselves fully to the causes of healing, wellness, justice and peace. For the people caring for the safety and comfort of us all. Bless them in their thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity.

We pray for Shaughnessy’s new Ministers who will soon be on their way to us. Bless Deb and Dave with good health, safe travels and all they need along the way. Prepare us all for the journey of ministry ahead. Help us to hold ourselves open to the presence and the work of your Spirit so that we can be who you created us to be. Make us wise, fearless, compassionate and joyful.

Hear us as we pray using the words of our Indigenous Australian neighbours.

Great Spirit, Creator of all,

from the stars to all the earth,

loved and respected be your name.

May it happen that all should live in your way

following your purpose for all creation.

Enable us to find what we need for today’s journey.

Forgive us when we go wrong

as we forgive those who wrong us.

Have compassion on us when we are being tested.

Do not abandon us to fear and evil.

Our hope is in your new community.

You are the one who can transform all creation,

making everything new,

now and for all eternity. Amen. Indigenous Prayer from Australia

Response: Ubi Caritas https://youtu.be/hHkmOi5Wzgo

Our Offering:

In response to God’s great love for us we return to God a portion of what has been given to us. Take a moment now to offer the gifts of your time, your talent and your money for the work of ministry. Give thanks and give back to God. No gift is too small, and all gifts are sincerely appreciated.

Choral Anthem for Reflection on the Offering:

I Can Tell the World: Spiritual arr. M. Hogan https://youtu.be/fL-ruavJcEc

I can tell the world, yes, about this, I can tell the nations, yes, that I’m blessed.

Tell them what my Lord has done, tell them that the conqueror has come,

And he brought joy to my soul.

My Lord done just what he said. Yes, he did! He healed the sick and he raised the dead.

He lifted me when I was down, he placed my feet on solid ground.

Oh Lord, he brought joy that morning, when he saved me.

Joy that morning, when he blessed me. I’ll tell it, how he brought this joy to my soul.

Prayer of Dedication:

Great God, we give our offerings to you from the gifts you have given to us.

Thank you for your provision, for your presence, for your love.

May these offerings further your purposes through Shaughnessy Heights United Church and all those who serve you. Amen.

The COMMISSIONING

Hymn: Ye Servants of God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngReLoza0Fk

Commissioning and Benediction:

Be witnesses in the world of God’s resurrection power by caring for the safety of others and doing so with all the confidence, joy and courage of an Easter people. Shout with all your might that the God of Life has had the last word, for Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!

Postlude: Transports de joie (L’Ascension) O. Messiaen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttiHvCHP2F0

Compline, also known as Night Prayer or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is a service of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church. Derived from the Latin word completorium, Compline prayerfully acknowledges the completion of the working day and is often said just before retiring for the night.

As a way for our Shaughnessy Faith Community to gather again and acknowledge the end of another challenging week, either because of social distancing and isolation or because of worrisome work conditions, we invite you to set aside some time this evening. Take a moment to catch your breath. Settle yourself into a comfortable chair, pour a cup of tea, light a candle, and allow yourself to refresh and nourish your soul. Follow the short service below, listen to the music suggestions via the Youtube links (again, ads are unfortunately unavoidable), and give yourself up to quiet meditation and reflection. And even though we are doing this as individuals, we are also doing this as a faith community, connecting ourselves to each other in prayer and intention.

You are invited to share this service with others.

We ask that anyone using this document, outside of our own SHUC community,

to please acknowledge that this is the work of

Shaughnessy Heights United Church, Vancouver, Canada

SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS UNITED CHURCH

PRAYERS AT THE CLOSE OF DAY

Friday, May 22, 2020

Theme

Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.

-Ursula K. Le Guin

God’s Presence

Christ of truth, who stepped into the chaos and shaped it into calm,

be present with us and comfort us in the midst of our wrestling and

re-imagining. Amen

– Sojourners Magazine

Musical Reflection. Panis Angelicus: Caesar Franck https://youtu.be/PK3TeWqSAZk

Heavenly bread that becomes the bread for all;

bread from the angelic host that is the end of all imaginings.

O miraculous thing.

The Lord becomes our food: poor, a servant, and humble.

We beseech you, Godhead One in Three, that you will visit us, as we worship you.

Lead us through your ways, we who wish to reach the light in which you dwell.

-Eucharistic prayer by (St.) Thomas Aquinas

Our Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought me in safety to the end of this week: Preserve me with your strength and in your love, that I may not stray away from you, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose. Amen.

The Divine Hours: Phyllis Tickle

The Psalm

Please note: Psalm 104, written out below, is beautifully and meditatively chanted via this Youtube link: https://youtu.be/dnAbh3Bzzy0

The full Psalm text is also provided there.

Praise the Lord, O my soul

O Lord my God, thou art become exceeding glorious;

thou are clothed with majesty and honour.

Thou deckest thyself with light as it were with a garment

and spreadest out the heavens like a curtain.

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters

and maketh the clouds his chariot,

and walketh upon the wings of the wind.

He maketh his angels spirits

and his ministers a flaming fire.

He laid the foundations of the earth

that it never should move at any time.

Thou coveredst it with the deep

like as with a garment

the waters stand in the hills.

At thy rebuke they flee,

at the voice of thy thunder they are afraid.

They go up as high as the hills,

and down to the valleys beneath

even unto the place which thou hast appointed for them.

Thou hast set them their bounds which they shall not pass

neither turn again to cover the earth.

He sendeth the spring into the rivers

which run among the hills.

All beast of the field drink thereof

and the wild asses quench their thirst.

Beside them shall the fowls of the air have their habitation

and sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from above,

the earth is filled with the fruit of they works.

He bringeth forth grass for the cattle

and green herb for the service of men;

that he may bring food out of the earth,

and wine that maketh glad the heart of man

and oil to make him a cheerful countenance,

and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord also are full of sap

even the cedars of Libanus which he hath planted;

wherein the birds make their nests

and the fir-trees are a dwelling for the stork.

The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats

and so are the stony rocks for the conies.

He appointed the moon for certain seasons

and the sun knoweth his going down.

Thou makest darkness that it may be night

wherein all the beasts of the forest do move.

The lions roaring after their prey

do seek their meat from God.

The sun ariseth, and they get them away together

and lay them down in their dens.

Man goeth forth to his work, and to his labour

until the evening.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

And to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen.

Scripture

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.“

John 6: 32-35

Poem

Communion Table, St. Edward’s Cambridge

The centuries have settled on this table,

Deepened the grain beneath a clean white cloth

Which bears afresh our changing elements.

Year after year of prayer, in hope and trouble,

Were poured out here and blessed and broken, both

In aching absence and in absent presence.

The table too the earth herself has given

And human hands have made. Where candle-flame

At corners burns and turns the air to light

The oak once held its branches up to heaven,

Blessing the elements which it became,

Rooting the dew and rain, branching the light.

Because another tree can bear, unbearable

For us, the weight of Love, so can this table.

The Singing Bowl: Malcolm Guite

Musical Reflection. Ave verum corpus: W. A. Mozart https://youtu.be/2UXLKmhd920

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary,
having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for humanity,
from whose pierced side flowed water and blood*.
Be for us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet
in the trial of death.

Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic prayer that dates back to the 12th century.

During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the sacramental bread during the consecration.
*Refers to John 19: ³¹ Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.

Thought

Where once there were parties and travel and offices and restaurants, now there is sourdough.

Loves and loaves and loaves of sourdough.

Reflection

Getting creative in the kitchen makes my life seem normal: Robin Gertin

Contributed to the Globe and Mail, April 22, 2020

I was born with the adage “food is love” in my DNA. There are a long line of balabustas, the Yiddish expression of good homemakers, who made tasty meals and delectable baked goods for every day and every occasion in my family.

Now, in this global pandemic, the symbolism has never been more powerful. My work with vulnerable seniors has been curtailed for the immediate future. For now, I am the CEO of our family kitchen. I have always been senior management in this department but with this new world disorder, I have received an unspoken promotion.

Every day now, my agenda is clear. It seems important to make an inviting dinner every night. This is the centrepiece of our day. The inquiries begin midmorning when my young-adult sons (home from senior year of high school and from senior year of an undergraduate thesis) sidle into the kitchen like wary cats to cautiously explore the fridge terrain. They ask what is for dinner, with three-quarters of their bodies submerged in the cool shelves. When I answer “shrimp risotto” or “shepherd’s pie” or “pork chops,” complete with Hello Dolly squares or chocolate cake or shortbread cookies, they will turn and glide over to me, again like cats, and gently, affectionately nudge me and purr their approval.

My husband will call home from his essential work around 4 p.m. asking what is up for the evening. He has already been home for lunch, heating up leftover rice and chicken from last night’s meal to get a break from the near empty office and the heavy silence of not enough phones ringing. His daily, late-afternoon call (“Hi Honey, what’s up for the evening?”) is an almost-25-years-of-marriage code that means, “What are you making for dinner?” In the new not-normal, the question carries even greater import. I know he is asking, what are you doing to hold down the fort? He knows he can trust me to be at the ready with Dan Dan noodles or fried rice with tofu and kimchi.

Some days, before these days, I have felt that my dinner contributions have, at times, been taken for granted. Definitely not now. He and the kids are very vocal in their appreciation. We sit together at the kitchen table and talk, really talk, over platters of food, with comforting steam rising up.

My daughter was brought home by the pandemic from a semester abroad, quarantined in the basement of her travel friend and fellow student. In the tense, hurried rush before she landed in Toronto, I asked her if she wanted me to bake chocolate chip cookies or banana bread – in our family these are both mainstays of comfort and normalcy. We rushed to gather bags of groceries and bring her banana bread to the back door of her home away from home. She sends us pictures of her meals away from us; her vegan bowls and avocado toasts have been a kind of comfort. They say she is still herself though she is not with us yet. We carefully set aside frozen edamame, and save our most favourite veggie meals to make when she is with us again.

My husband and I have slowly gathered, careful not to hog or stockpile, canned soup, tins of tuna, a few sweet potatoes and apples. These supplies now live in a cool dark storage area in the basement we have begun to call our “COVID pantry.” It is a modest and motley collection of goods that makes us feel just a little bit calmer. I find myself visiting this little corner, breathing in the distantly sweet smell of the apples.

No one who works from home, paid or not, will be surprised by how busy and distracting the management of the kitchen can be during social isolation. There are nourishing and economical vegetable soups to be assembled, new rice recipes to research and long-ago nostalgic casseroles to recreate. Using our starches, proteins, vegetables and fruits wisely is a bit of a puzzle. My goal is to stretch supplies while nourishing and uplifting. The other day I found myself questioning the morality – the morality! – of using legumes and meat together in one dish.

I miss my work. My other outside-the-kitchen work. Reminiscing makes me realize how often food’s ability to connect and nourish us, both physically and emotionally, comes into play. Many of my most engaging memories concern conversations with seniors and colleagues around food. Sharing snacks and lunches together created greater intimacy and expanded our knowledge of each other. What kind of meals and beverages we enjoy, even crave for comfort and celebration, are sign posts in the journey to draw us nearer to each other. It is why now, in isolation, I will FaceTime friends and family, asking them what they are eating. I so enjoy hearing about their chilis, muffins and stews. It is why I find myself thoughtfully mulling and then making meals of connection for my loved ones, confined to home.

I have only scratched the surface of the meaty subject of food offering a loving message. It is a rich multilayered subject that I will continue to consider, because it both distracts and motivates me. I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone is asking.

Robin Gertin lives in Toronto.

Contributed to the Globe and Mail, April 22, 2020

What Can We Do?

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart,

for God has already approved what you do.

Ecclesiastes 9:7

A Closing Prayer

For the love shared

we are grateful

For provision and nurture

we are grateful

For kindness given

we are grateful.

For the sorrow we’ve caused,

we pray for forgiveness

For injustices ignored,

we pray for forgiveness.

For the encounters with God today, in stranger and friend,

we bid you welcome.

For the encounters missed today,

we know that you always see us

even when we don’t see you.

For tomorrow,

may we see you

in ways expected and unexpected.

We welcome the dark of the night.

we make space for it, and we mark our place in it.

We remember that you, Jesus of Nazareth,

lived through nights of consolation and desolation.

Daily Prayer: Pádaig Ó Tuama

A Final Musical Reflection. The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father): Nikolay Kedrov, Sr. https://youtu.be/p3iYnHx8P0s

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass again us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen.

NEW LIFE!

Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ May 17, 2020

Note: Each time you see a musical link in the liturgy, mute or lower the volume on your device before clicking on the link. Once you have done that then click on the link. If an ad pops up, you can then “Skip Ad” and not be disturbed by the noise of the advertisements. Once you see that the music is beginning then unmute or raise the volume on your device. This will allow a more meaningful worship experience for you. Peace be with you.

Prelude: Variations on ‘God Save the King’ S. Wesley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XDFg0dNJS4

Our Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We accept that Mother Earth and the peoples near us and around the world are all our relations. Thanks be to God.

Let us worship God together.

The GATHERING

Introit: A New Commandment P. Nardone https://youtu.be/vUz6guhS5rg

I give you a new commandment: That you love one another as I have loved you.

Where there is charity and love, God is truly there.

*Call to Worship:

Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! In the newness and resurrection of this Easter season, there is hope. In the freedom and joy of Easter, there is liberation. In our Easter alleluias and amens, there is grace. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Hymn: Rejoice! The Lord Is King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFYMhF2GA4E

Prayer of the Day: God of grace and glory, by the death and resurrection of your Beloved Child your reign of wholeness has been unleashed within our bent and broken world. Open us to your empowering grace that we may be bearers of your world-redeeming love; through the resurrected Christ, who is our dignity, our power, and our peace. Amen. VU 188

Listening for THE WORD

Hymn: Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymKxTkrRNBA\

Scripture Reading: John 14:15-21 (read by Sam Dabrusin

A reading from the Gospel according to John. Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

This is the story of our faith. Thanks be to God.

Choral Anthem: Do Not Be Afraid P. Stopford https://youtu.be/KozC6btZUxU

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name; you are mine.

Reflection: by Rev. Jay Olson

If. If. If. Is the love of God conditional or not? Anything that begins with if seems to suggest conditions. But is that true in this passage? Are the commandments a condition or a result?

This week as I contemplated the sermon, I kept being driven back to the scripture from last week particularly the line that reads “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” What does that have to do with commandments and some possible conditional relationship?

Holding last week’s reading together with today’s reading makes the connection clearer.

Last week we heard, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.”

This week we hear, “I will not leave you orphaned.”

We often read these words from John at funerals and memorials, and we think of heaven, some place in the afterlife. We wonder, is there an actual place? What will it be like?

The word for rooms or mansions here translates – an abiding, dwelling place and it is not transitory. Once you are there, you are there.

So this is the ultimate stay home call! Our home is in God in this life and in the next. There are lots of rooms says Jesus and no one is orphaned.

To be home is to be home in God. It is intimate in that we are known by God, and we know God. This is where the “if” comes in, “if” in the form of direction or commandments. The commandments are not conditional “ifs”, they are a way to live into our home and our identity. Living into the commandment to love is the process by which we become love.

To be home in God is to be home to stay. We are heirs of God’s grace and we will not be orphaned or disinherited. Our job is to continue becoming, to continue believing into and to continue living into the commandments of God that result in making things right.

To be home in God is to continue to believe into Jesus and his place in the Godhead.

The commentators Malina & Rohrbaugh in their Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John say: “John’s peculiar way of phrasing it — believing ‘into’ Jesus — connotes being completely embedded in the group of which he is the central personage…Believing “into” is a characteristic Johannine idiom. Many commentators have pointed out that this construction implies trust rather than simple intellectual assent. Given the collectivist character of the relationships in ancient Mediterranean societies, however, even more is implied. Collectivist persons become embedded in one another. A unity and loyalty is involved that is extremely deep. Since personal identity in collectivist cultures is always the result of the groups in which one is embedded, that too is involved. John’s peculiar idiom (the Greek tense used connotes ongoing or continuous action) suggests exactly this kind of long-term solidarity with Jesus.

[p. 130].” (cited from Brian Stoffregen’s Exegetical Notes)

We are embedded in one another as God, Christ, Spirit are embedded together. To hold dear the commandments is to keep strong our connections with the Holy and with one another. When we read “If you love me…” we need not hear conditions but rather connections and results.

The Spirit of truth, the Advocate., will be our helper in keeping our connections strong. The Paraclete comes to speak to us for Jesus – to teach and remind us what Jesus said. Jesus’ teachings were demonstrations of the new commandment that we love one another as God has loved us – demonstrations of the holy ties that bind us to all that is good.

Holding dear the commandment to love, keeps us mindful that we are embedded in the Godhead (Creator, Christ, Spirit) – fully at home in God now and forever. That’s not conditional. That’s promise. That gives STAY HOME a whole new meaning filled with hope and promise.

Jesus said that those who love him and hold dear the commandments, will know the Godhead whomakes their home with them; who makes home in us. Thanks be to God.

The RESPONSE

Choral Anthem: Cantate Domino K. Jenkins https://youtu.be/w3lWSkmv9Zc

Alleluia. Sing to the Lord a new song. Alleluia. Sing joyfully, all, to God, all of the earth, sing joyfully to God. Serve the Lord in joyfulness. Sing and exalt and sing psalms to the King, and say a hymn to God. Alleluia.

Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer: (led by Sam Dabrusin)

And so we pray,

Great God, we give you thanks for your faithfulness to creation;

for your presence, your provision, your comfort and your correction.

We long for the presence of your Spirit so that we might be blessed with right direction, understanding and compassion.

We entrust to you Great God those who are grieving over the death of a loved one, the loss of income or the loss of a dream. May each one be gifted with your peace that passes all understanding.

We pray for an end to the COVID-19 crisis; that an effective vaccine will be found as soon as possible and be made available to everyone as soon as possible.

As the world begins to open up again, we pray that we will correct the terrible injustices that have been on full display during this crisis, namely the underfunding and neglect in long term care, the food insecurity affecting so many families and, the inequitable distribution of wealth. Lead us to the resources that will bring life and show us how to share them equitably.

We pray still for the people of Bella Bella as they continue to grieve the deaths of eleven of their beloveds. We pray still for the people of Nova Scotia as they learn to live again while carrying the burden of their grief. We pray too for Living Spirit United in Calgary that has been hit hard by the virus. We give thanks for the public witness of the churches in Saskatchewan that have been vandalized because of their stand for the rights and dignity of all persons regardless of identity. Overwhelm them all with your healing power and grant them your peace that passes understanding.

Today we are at the threshold of loosening some restrictions around being together. We long to be free again. Please keep us mindful and careful so that our exuberance will not lead us to inadvertently do harm.

We continue to be thankful for the myriad of people giving themselves fully to the causes of healing, wellness, justice and peace. For the people stocking grocery and drug store shelves, for shelter and food bank workers, for cleaners and for those who are providing meals for people in need. We cheer them on and long for them to know how grateful we are to them.

We long to know that you hear us as we pray and that you answer.

We ask you to help us unleash our resources and all the powers of good to find cures,

therapies and vaccines for devastating diseases.

We pray for comfort for those who are lonely and feeling lost.

We pray for the restoration of your world and all its creatures.

We pray that we would not go back to the way things were but that we will truly commit to

co-creating with you a better world especially for “the least” among us.

Help us to hold ourselves open to the presence and the work of your Spirit so that we can be who you created us to be. Make us wise, fearless, compassionate and joyful.

Hear us as we pray as Jesus taught using the words of our Indigenous Australian neighbours.

Great Spirit, Creator of all,

from the stars to all the earth,

loved and respected be your name.

May it happen that all should live in your way

following your purpose for all creation.

Enable us to find what we need for today’s journey.

Forgive us when we go wrong

as we forgive those who wrong us.

Have compassion on us when we are being tested.

Do not abandon us to fear and evil.

Our hope is in your new community.

You are the one who can transform all creation,

making everything new,

now and for all eternity. Amen. Indigenous Prayer from Australia

Response: Ubi Caritas https://youtu.be/hHkmOi5Wzgo

Our Offering: In response to God’s great love for us we return to God a portion of what has been given to us. Take a moment now to offer the gifts of your time, your talent and your money for the work of ministry. Prepare to give the offering away. As you do, tap that part of yourself where gratitude resides. Give thanks and give back to God. No gift is too small, and all gifts are sincerely appreciated.

Choral Anthem for Reflection on the Offering: Singt dem Herren

(from The Creation) J. Haydn https://youtu.be/dCWgjLLlU4w

Sing the Lord, ye voices all! Give him thanks, for all his works. Let us honour his name, let it resound on high. The Lord is great; his praise shall last forever. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication: Great God, we give our offerings to you from the gifts you have given to us. Thank you for your provision, for your presence, for your love. May these offerings further your purposes through Shaughnessy Heights United Church and all those who serve you. Amen.

The COMMISSIONING

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/05/26/11/21/abstract-354447_1280.jpg

Hymn: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spE-BE23qxA

Commissioning and Benediction:

Be witnesses in the world of God’s resurrection power by caring for the safety of others and doing so with all the confidence, joy and courage of an Easter people. Shout with all your might that the God of Life has had the last word, for Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!

Postlude: Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 E. Elgar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvxH8Q1BT-U

Compline, also known as Night Prayer or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is a service of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church. Derived from the Latin word completorium, Compline prayerfully acknowledges the completion of the working day and is often said just before retiring for the night.

As a way for our Shaughnessy Faith Community to gather again and acknowledge the end of another challenging week, either because of social distancing and isolation or because of worrisome work conditions, we invite you to set aside some time this evening. Take a moment to catch your breath. Settle yourself into a comfortable chair, pour a cup of tea, light a candle, and allow yourself to refresh and nourish your soul. Follow the short service below, listen to the music suggestions via the Youtube links (again, ads are unfortunately unavoidable), and give yourself up to quiet meditation and reflection. And even though we are doing this as individuals, we are also doing this as a faith community, connecting ourselves to each other in prayer and intention.

You are invited to share this service with others.

We ask that anyone using this document, outside of our own SHUC community,

to please acknowledge that this is the work of

Shaughnessy Heights United Church, Vancouver, Canada

SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS UNITED CHURCH

PRAYERS AT THE CLOSE OF DAY

Friday, May 15, 2020

Our Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought me in safety to the end of this week: Preserve me with your strength and in your love, that I may not stray away from you, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose. Amen.

Paraphrased from The Divine Hours: Phyllis Tickle

God’s Presence

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence.
See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars,
the moon and the sun, how they move in silence…
We need silence to be able to touch souls.
– Mother Teresa

Musical Reflection: Dum medium silentium: Plainchant

Translation: While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, thy Almighty word, O Lord, came down from heaven from thy royal throne. Alleluia.

Herbst Aust | Pixabay

The Psalm

The heavens declare the glory of the Creator;

The firmament proclaims the handiwork of Love.

Day to day speech pours forth and

Night to night knowledge is revealed.

There is no speech, nor are there words.

Their voice is not heard.

Yet does their music go out through all the earth,

And their words to the end of the world.

The law of Love is prefect, reviving the soul;

The testimony of Love is sure, making wise the simple;

The precepts of Love are right, rejoicing the heart;

The authority of Love is pure, enlightening the eyes;

The spirit of Love is wondrous, enduring forever;

The rites of Love are true, awakening compassion

Cleanse me, O Love, from all my hidden faults.

Keep me from boldly acting in error;

Let my fears not have dominion over me.

Then shall I become a beneficial presence,

Freely and fully surrendered to your Love.

Let the words of my mouth

And the meditation of my heart

Find favor in your heart

O my Beloved, my strength and my joy.

Psalm 19 from Psalms for Praying: Nan C. Merrill

Musical Reflection

Let the Meditations of My Heart: Elaine Hagenberg

https://youtu.be/r3j9BcIzI0k

Scripture

¹¹The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹²After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the Lord came in the thin voice of silence.

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1 Kings 19:11-12

Poem

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.

To Bless the Space between Us by John O’Donohue

Reflection

Over the years when I worked as an artist in elementary schools, I devised an exercise for the children regarding noise and silence. “I’ll make a deal with you”, I said, “first you get to make noise, and then you’ll make silence.

The rules for noise were simple: when I raise my hand, I told them, you make all the noise you can while sitting at your desk, using your mouth, hands, and feet. The kids’ eyes would grow wide – and the teacher’s as well – so I’d add, the important thing is that when I lower my hand you have to stop.

I found that we’d usually have to make two or three attempts to attain an acceptable din – shouting, pounding, stomping. The wonder is, we never got caught. Maybe because the roar last for just a few seconds and school principals assumed that they’d imagined the whole thing.

The rules for silence were equally simple. Don’t hold your breath and make funny faces, I learned to say, as this is how third graders typically imagine silence. Just breath normally but quietly: the only hard thing is to sit so still that you make no noise at all. We always had to try this more than once. A pencil would roll down someone’s desk, or someone would shift in a seat. But in every case but one, over many years, I found that children were able to become so still that silence became a presence in the classroom.

What interests me most about my experiment is the way in which making silence liberated the imagination of many children. Very few wrote with an originality about making noise. Most of their images were clichés, such as “we sound like a herd of elephants.” But silence was another matter; here, their images often had a depth and maturity that was unlike anything else they wrote. One boy came up with an image of strength as being “as slow and silent as a tree,” another wrote that “silence is me sleeping waiting to wake up.” “Silence is a tree spreading its branches in the sun.” In a parochial school one third grader’s poem turned into a prayer: “Silence is spiders spinning their webs, it’s like a silkworm making its silk. Lord help me to know when to be silent.” And in a tiny town of western North Dakota a little girl offered a gem of spiritual wisdom that I find myself returning to when my life becomes too noisy and distractions overwhelm me: “Silence reminds me to take my soul wherever I go.”

Amazing Grace: Kathleen Norris

What Can We Do?

For a peaceful night, we pray.

For a hopeful day, we pray

For a deeper generosity, we pray.

Music Reflection

Even When He is Silent: Kim A. Arnesen

https://youtu.be/hYwYMngq4II

The text was found in a concentration camp after World War II.

I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.

I believe in love, even when I feel it not.

I believe in God, even when He is silent.

A Closing Prayer

Your word is light as a whisper and sounds without noise; a profound silence is necessary therefore to hear it. O Loving Incarnate word, who once with one movement of Your hand, silenced the winds and calmed the waves, deign to repeat this action in my soul, so that a great calm, a great silence will reign in it.”

-Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity

French Carmelite nun and mystic canonized as a Saint in 2016

Encounteringsilence.com

Encountering Silence podcasts explore the beauty and importance of silence from many angles, not just the religious/spiritual/mystical, but also reflecting on the psychology of silence, silence and the arts, silence and politics, silence and education.

NEW LIFE!

Fifth Sunday of Easter ~ May 10, 2020

Mother’s Day

Note: Each time you see a musical link in the liturgy, mute or lower the volume on your device before clicking on the link. Once you have done that then click on the link. If an ad pops up, you can then “Skip Ad” and not be disturbed by the noise of the advertisements. Once you see that the music is beginning then unmute or raise the volume on your device. This will allow a more meaningful worship experience for you. Peace be with you.

Prelude: How Great Thou Art Swedish melody arr. D. Miller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOpd3Jxnfjo

Our Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We accept that Mother Earth and the peoples near us and around the world are all our relations. Thanks be to God.

Let us worship God together.

The GATHERING

Introit: Exsultate Deo A. Scarlatti

https://youtu.be/rvvX4XCgE3I

Sing joyfully to God our strength; sing loud unto the God of Jacob!

Take the song, bring forth the timbrel, the pleasant harp, and the viol.

Blow the trumpet in the new moon, at the time appointed for our feast day. [Psalm 80]

Call to Worship: We worship today remembering and honouring all those who identify as female. Centuries of women are our sisters and we celebrate the lives they have lived. We hold up half the sky and we see its beauty stretched out before us. We have discovered the Divine in us, around us and between us. We celebrate this day and all that is before us. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Hymn: Christ is Made the Sure Foundation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bC0tgG_blE

Prayer of the Day: Loving and persistent God, who searches for us like a mother in search of healing for her daughter, continue to seek after us until we respond,

giving you the respect, adoration and commitment that you deserve; so that we, as a Community of Faith, may be known and experienced as healers and peacemakers. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Listening for THE WORD

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Hymn: Seek Ye First https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS2xzxf6dZY

Scripture Reading: John 14:1-14 (read by Meghan Martin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6u79i_06L0

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to the place where I am going.” ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. This is the story of our faith. Thanks be to God.

Choral Anthem: Esto les digo K. Lange

https://youtu.be/pk6etgxAGq8

This I say to them: If two of you gather and agree, here on earth,

about what you ask in prayer, my Father, who is in heaven, will grant it to you.

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/05/02/22/16/apple-blossoms-1368187_1280.jpg

Reflection: by Steven Ansley

This was not the sermon I had intended to give when Jay offered it to me. In a flash of insight, I knew immediately how I was going to talk about my own personal journey these last several years, tie it into the evolution of the Church, and talk about hope for the future. And it was going to be funny, and people were going to come away feeling lighter and full of purpose. But, nothing remains untouched in this age of pandemic. Not even sermons. So, while I mourn the passing of one idea, I embrace the same scripture from a different angle.

Those of you who know me well will know that I am quite fond of film. For all my formative years spent in pew, just as many have likely been spent in a darkened movie theatre. And one of the things I miss most in this time of isolation is going down to the Cinematheque with my friends for an art house film followed by a long discussion over a piece of pie.

I bring this up, mainly, because my love of film has made me an amateur theorist on, the nature of heroism. In one of my favourite films, High Noon, a town marshal learns that an outlaw is riding toward town to get revenge on him. He tries to rally the town, but one after the other, each citizen turns him away due to fear, pride, ambition, or greed. Left with no one to count on, the marshal puts on his guns, ready to die for a town that cares nothing for him. I suspect that there are many first responders, seeing crowded beaches and anti-lockdown protests, feel this way sometimes. So, the question remains ‘why?’

Tell you what, let’s put a pin in that for now.

The gospels are not just a story of Jesus, but also the disciples: Those well-intended, stumbling people trying to keep up as they decode parables, witness mind-bending miracles, and make assumptions only to have them deconstructed in real time. While it was undoubtedly an amazing time of life, it is easy to imagine it being taxing on their minds and hearts. Science tells us that we often react to being told that we’re wrong the same way we react to physical pain. So, it takes a certain grit to ask questions at risk of being shot down, and then re-examine our assumptions; something the disciples no doubt grappled with on a daily basis.

Our reading comes from what is referred to as the Farewell Discourse: the events of the Last Supper and the last dialogue between Christ and his disciples before he is arrested and sentenced to death. For some, it is the last time that they will see their leader and friend before seeing him nailed to a cross. We often depict it as a solemn and holy occasion, but on the human side of things, I imagine it was a very uncomfortable dinner. Imagine if the most important person in your life told you that everything your life had been about was ending and that they will die. And then they shrug as they say that you will disown them. This gives some idea of the atmosphere.

But then, something important happens. Jesus tells them all is not lost. God has a place for them, he will take them there, and, what’s more, that they already know the way.

Thomas – whom I often feel doesn’t get enough credit – says, probably with some weariness, what everyone is thinking, “We have no idea what you’re talking about. And even if we did, how the heck are we supposed to get there?”

And then we come to that line, that famous line that everyone remembers, even if they completely forget the rest of the passage: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.

Obviously this is problematic to our modern pluralistic sensibilities, met in liberal circles with an uncomfortable shuffling as we suddenly contemplate our shoes. Meanwhile, across the aisle and throughout history, this line is stripped of context and emblazoned as a battle standard: ‘Embrace Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, or else…’

But that misses the whole point. As we’ve heard before, John was writing for a very specific group of people; a people maligned by Jews and persecuted by Romans. It is a text written for a suffering minority, not a national or institutional Church. Further, if we look at the original Greek, the phrase “If you know me, you will know my Father also”, we find that this conditional sentence is a conditional of fact. Meaning, it might be better understood to mean “If you know me (and you do), you will know my father also”. It is a word of comfort, not a condemnation or a threat for future generations. It is a promise that lends strength to what Jesus says after, which is “From now on, you do know him and have seen him”. This is a promise that the disciples have attained the personal transformation that they were seeking.

But the disciples aren’t quite convinced. In times of trouble, sometimes the only thing more terrifying than condemnation is vague reassurance. Philip does what many of us might do, and bargains: show us the Father. Give us a sign and that’ll be enough to shore us up. Jesus’ answer, ‘Don’t you know me…after so long?’ blasts a subtext heard loud and clear over two thousand years later: ‘Haven’t you been paying attention? Everything I said and did showed the Father to you, because we are two threads in the same stitch. Just as you and I are.’

In other words, Jesus is not the only the hero of the story. He is the mentor to the other members of this Hero’s Journey: the disciples. This is their final lesson before the test of the crucifixion, and the reward of the resurrection; before they are commissioned to spread all that they have learned. To paraphrase Joseph Campbell: “Those who know… that the Everlasting lies in them…drink the brew of immortality and listen everywhere to the unheard music of eternal concord”. They are on the final path to becoming the heroes of the story; sent out to mould people as they have been moulded; to create followers of Christ inspired by his Word and acting after his example; to create heroes in their own story.

And despite what was to come, that’s what they did. Despite his denials, Peter becomes the rock of the Christian Church. Despite his skepticism, history suggests that Thomas spread Christ’s teaching beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire, going as far as Kerala in India. Despite the omens of death, Christ walked into Gethsemane. Why do it? So that we could hear the words, so that we could know the Father, so that we could be the heroes of the story.

In these terrifying times, it can be hard to see the good being done, much less how we can add to it. Even now, as the curve begins to flatten, we are inundated with stories of body counts, people out of work and closing businesses. As ever, the media tells us a great deal about what’s wrong, but gives us few solutions. There is so much uncertainty about life: uncertainty about the next year, the next day, and the next hour. And I fear the only antidote is acceptance.

We don’t know what the future will be like this pandemic, but we know it won’t necessarily be easy. Businesses will close, bodies will be unburied, and the traumas of this time may stretch down into the decades. My grandparents grew up in the Dustbowl during the Great Depression. To the end of her life, my grandmother always put her cups in the cupboard upside down. I came of age in the Post-9/11 world and entered the world of work just as the market hit bottom the last time. There may never be a day when I can board an airplane without thinking about what might happen; or contemplate a job search without knots forming in my stomach. This plague may stretch on, and the economic consequences stretch on still longer. The young graduates of this world may face the kind of privation not seen in over a decade, perhaps even a century. It is so very easy to give in to fear or worse fatalism. It would be so easy to say it’s all over or that it makes no difference.

Nevertheless, most of us continue on physically distancing, making and wearing masks, making phone calls to the isolated, enduring the crushing loneliness and the uncertainty. Why? For the same reason the marshal goes to fight outnumbered and unloved and Jesus marches towards death at Gethsemane. Yes, it might make us safer – make others safer – but deep down I think there is some granular certainty, some objective truth: it is, objectively, the right thing to do.

As Albert Camus’ existential hero said in The Plague “I have no idea what’s awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing.”

There will come a time for each of us to be the hero. For those of us on the frontlines, that time is now and it is constant. I thank God every day for you and I know we all do as well. For the rest of us, our heroism can and must take other forms. There will come a time for each of us to show strength, whether it is buying groceries for an at-risk neighbour, having a zoom chat with a church member stuck at home or an isolated friend, writing chalk slogans on the sidewalk, banging pots at 7:00 pm, helping a young person in our lives find work or support, praying for the sick and the frightened.

Our new ministers will soon arrive from Saskatchewan. They will have to isolate for fourteen days, alone in a strange city, without the consolation of their friends and family. It is the worst way I can imagine beginning a new life. Making them feel welcome, cared for, and safe would be the best proof that Shaughnessy and God’s church possess good intentions and vitality to execute them out in the world. Even apart.

We do not know when this trial will pass, or what comes after it; but I do know that this will be the time for us to be the heroes in our own story. The Church, led by Jesus our way, truth, and life, will do what it has always done at its best: feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter the homeless, ransom the captive, visit the sick, and, yes, bury the dead.

The challenge lies ahead. To know God is to rise to meet it; to pray and praise without ceasing; to fight on with all the courage, decency, kindness, and will that we possess.

May it be so. Amen.

Choral Anthem: In My Father’s House P. Stopford

https://youtu.be/2x85pgTfE3c

The RESPONSE

Hymn: Blessed Assurance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnMbfXnP7YY

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/01/11/22/19/boat-3927685_1280.jpg

Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer: (led by Meghan Martin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8qubzWMx5k

Holy One,

as we settle into prayer this Mother’s Day Sunday we give thanks for all of the life giving forces in our lives. For the women who raised us, who guided us, and who continue to inspire us. For our Mother Earth whose beauty calms and connects us. And for your own mother-like love which sustains us. For all of these sources of life, we give you thanks.

Gracious God, as we reach a new stage in our fight against COVID-19 we give thanks for the leadership shown here in BC and around the world. We pray that you will grant those who have worked so hard for so long an opportunity for rest. We pray that you will grant each of us the patience and perseverance that we need to continue to take actions to protect one another.

Compassionate God, we pray for everyone experiencing illness, and in particular those who are struggling with their mental and emotional health at this time. We pray for those who are awaiting medical treatment and we ask for your blessing on those who have passed away and who are mourning the loss of a loved one. In particular, we pray for Betty Snodgrass and her family as they mourn the passing of Andy. In our hearts we name to you all of those for whom we have concern this week and we trust that you will surround them with your healing and your strength.

Loving God, although so much of our focus is on one disease right now, we know that does not put a halt to corruption, racism, poverty and other hardships. We pray for the people and places around the world that are in need of your loving care. In particular, we pray for those who continue to live with opioid addiction and we pray for those who are struggling to meet their basic needs. We also pray for those members of our community who are targeted with racist violence. With our new appreciation of our interconnectedness, help us to see their struggles as our own and take steps to ensure the safety and security of all people.

Holy One, within our church community, we are preparing for that time when we bless Rev. Jay’s move to her new communities of faith and welcome our two new Ministers, Rev. Dave and Rev. Deb. We appreciate the challenge in our community and Dave and Deb’s communities of parting with one Minister and welcoming another without having the chance to gather. We ask for your blessing on all of the communities of faith affected and your strength and guidance for our Ministers during this time of transition.

Finally, God, we pray for ourselves. The list of things we have left undone seems to grow every day. The list of people we want to connect with weighs on our minds and we wonder if we are doing enough for those who are less fortunate than us. Help us to be compassionate towards ourselves and others at this time when routines and norms have been upended. Give us patience and give us courage to continue to find new ways to be Christ’s servants in the world today.

Hear us as we pray as Jesus taught using the words of our Indigenous Australian neighbours.

Great Spirit, Creator of all,

from the stars to all the earth,

loved and respected be your name.

May it happen that all should live in your way

following your purpose for all creation.

Enable us to find what we need for today’s journey.

Forgive us when we go wrong

as we forgive those who wrong us.

Have compassion on us when we are being tested.

Do not abandon us to fear and evil.

Our hope is in your new community.

You are the one who can transform all creation,

making everything new,

now and for all eternity. Amen. Indigenous Prayer from Australia

Response: Ubi Caritas https://youtu.be/hHkmOi5Wzgo

Our Offering: In response to God’s great love for us we return to God a portion of what has been given to us. Take a moment now to offer the gifts of your time, your talent and your money for the work of ministry. Prepare to give the offering away. As you do, tap that part of yourself where gratitude resides. Give thanks and give back to God. No gift is too small, and all gifts are sincerely appreciated.

Choral Anthem for Reflection on the Offering:

O God Beyond All Praising G. Holst, arr. D. Forrest https://youtu.be/7G_u734OP-c

Prayer of Dedication:

Great God, we give our offerings to you from the gifts you have given to us.

Thank you for your provision, for your presence, for your love.

May these offerings further your purposes through Shaughnessy Heights United Church and all those who serve you. Amen.

The COMMISSIONING

Hymn: The Church’s One Foundation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCqXL3mCwU

Commissioning and Benediction:

Be witnesses in the world of God’s resurrection power by caring for the safety of others and doing so with all the confidence, joy and courage of an Easter people. Shout with all your might that the God of Life has had the last word, for Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!

Postlude: Tu es petra (You are the Rock) H. Mulet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh9nozKnO0Q

Compline, also known as Night Prayer or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is a service of the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church. Derived from the Latin word completorium, Compline prayerfully acknowledges the completion of the working day and is often said just before retiring for the night.

As a way for our Shaughnessy Faith Community to gather again and acknowledge the end of another challenging week, either because of social distancing and isolation or because of worrisome work conditions, we invite you to set aside some time this evening. Take a moment to catch your breath. Settle yourself into a comfortable chair, pour a cup of tea, light a candle, and allow yourself to refresh and nourish your soul. Follow the short service below, listen to the music suggestions via the Youtube links (again, ads are unfortunately unavoidable), and give yourself up to quiet meditation and reflection. And even though we are doing this as individuals, we are also doing this as a faith community, connecting ourselves to each other in prayer and intention.

You are invited to share this service with others.

We ask that anyone using this document, outside of our own SHUC community,

to please acknowledge that this is the work of

Shaughnessy Heights United Church, Vancouver, Canada

SHAUGHNESSY HEIGHTS UNITED CHURCH

PRAYERS AT THE CLOSE OF DAY

Friday, May 8, 2020

Theme

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

The Lorax: Dr. Seuss

Our Prayer

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night,

and give your angels charge over those who sleep.

Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Augustine of Hippo | Book of Common Prayer

Musical Reflection

God Grant with Grace: Thomas Tallis

God grant with grace, he us embrace,

in gentle part, bless he our heart;

With loving face shine he in place,

his mercies all on us to fall.

That we thy way may know all day.

While we do sail this world so frail,

Thy health’s reward is nigh declared,

as plain as eye all gentiles spy.

Scripture

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

– Matthew 5: 13-15

Musical Reflection

Exalt Us in Your Love: Will Todd

Almighty God, in whom we live and move, make us as a field that You have blessed.
That whatsoever things are true, pure and just, worthy unto You, may in us forever flourish.
Preserve in us always a perfect and unblemished name, send us out as Your disciples.
Exalt us in Your love and in the love of all, as an instrument of Thy glory.

Your love is my blessing, I walk within Your light.
Guide me on to rest in Your embrace.
I pray that You will always see the reflection of Your grace in me,
Till I behold Your face.
I live in Your service to bring to earth Your endless peace.
Clothe me with courage to praise You.
Exalt us in Your love and in the love of all, as an instrument of Thy glory

https://youtu.be/2mFh2vTfqUA

The Psalm

May the One who created you in wholeness

meet your needs when you call.

May the Name of Love be your protection

and rise up in your heart as a tower of strength.

May all you have given in gratitude and with open hands

be returned to you a hundredfold.

Let us shout for joy as Love triumphs over fear;

Let our thankful hearts sing

in loud acclamation to the Beloved,

who answers our heartfelt prayers.

Now I know that Love comes to all who open their hearts,

and dwells therein,

offering gifts of peace and harmony.

Some may boast of wealth and personal power;

They will stumble and fall.

Let us boast of the One who comes in the Name of Love;

We shall rise up strong and sure.

O Beloved, You who have created us,

hear our call,

make your home in our hearts.

Psalm 20 excerpt from Psalms for Praying: Nan C. Merrill

Ben Kerkx | Pixabay

Reflection

Excerpted from an article entitled “COVID is Us” by Philip Shepherd (April 11, 2020)

As the economic engines that propel civilization have reluctantly, suddenly, astonishingly been brought almost to a standstill, we find ourselves at a strange crossroads. This will all end, but when it does how will we move forward? At this point no one knows – but there can be no question that we are in the midst of an unprecedented opportunity to reassess. And it’s not just an opportunity – it comes upon us as a responsibility. If we are to honor the suffering and death the novel coronavirus has brought in its wake, we need to learn from it. We need to take stock. We need to newly assess what really matters in the long run. We need to open our eyes to what we have been devoted to as a culture and as individuals, and in the space of this strange pause, we need to consider what we will devote our energies to when it ends.

As I settle into the enveloping peace of my neighbourhood – punctuated by birdsong and underpinned by the whispering of the breeze through the trees – it seems to me that collectively we’re emerging from a sort of fog. There’s a sense that for decades we’ve been caught up in a giant, self-glorifying house party that has been going non-stop. Celebrating our own bravura, we’ve been obsessed merely with satisfying our desire for more: more stuff, more distractions, more status, more busyness, more titillation, more whatever. And the party has been roaring on heedless of its effect on the neighbours – but they weren’t invited anyway, and who really cares how they’re affected by our self-serving frenzy? And even as we exhaust ourselves in the process, the main thing has been to keep the party going – because we no longer remember what ‘enough’ means, and we crave and demand and feel entitled to endless more.

But now the party has been brought to a grinding halt. And as its mad energy dissipates, we begin to notice the mess we’ve made. We take stock of how our ‘neighbours’ have been affected: the bees, the monarchs, the frogs and turtles, the elephants. The trees, lakes, grasses and oceans. They are all suffering. And it slowly dawns on us that somewhere along the line we committed to a system that mistakes damaging failures for stories of success. In our muddled frenzy we got it backwards. Insanely backwards. The overriding concern of politicians and economists and corporations has been to keep the party going and growing – bigger! more! better! But in our self-obsessed, drunken oblivion we didn’t really notice that when the party is rocking the most – when our economy is firing on all cylinders – our ‘neighbours’ most deeply suffer. Disguised as a triumph of our cleverness, the system is actually set up so there can only be losers: the better the economy does, the greater the suffering of nature. And ultimately nature is all we have.

We’ve noticed the suffering of nature before, but we’ve noticed it the way one might notice the scenery outside the window of a railway carriage. We ‘know’ about the insect holocaust, the death of coral reefs, the plastics in our water, the degradation of soil, the species extinction, the melting of the permafrost, and on and on. But today the view has changed. The locomotive has come to a halt, and as we step out of the carriage onto the earth, we notice how different the world feels now that the rushing has stopped. With the most toxic effects of human activity on pause, our global neighbourhood – like a recovering COVID patient – is breathing a little easier. The birds on my street can communicate without having to compete with the roar of jet engines overhead. The air is noticeably clearer. The residents of Jalandhar in Punjab can see the peaks of the Dhauladhar mountain range for the first time in almost thirty years. Wild goats are roaming though Welsh villages. Herds of elk are strolling through downtown Banff.

As we witness these sporadic glimmerings of nature staging a tentative recovery, we are invited to see COVID-19 in a different light. When we look it in the eye, we find ourselves staring at our dopplegänger. COVID is our looking glass. It is us. The chaotic disarray it is visiting upon human life precisely mirrors how we have been affecting the delicate harmonies of life on earth. It’s as though nature were asking us, “How does it feel?” Our way of being is nature’s corona virus. How does that feel?

The crossroads at which we now sit has no sign pointing the way forward. This much is clear, though: the shutdown of the economy cannot go on indefinitely; but neither can ‘business as usual’.

…What is needed from us is a return to the body’s deepest understanding: that it indissolubly belongs to the world. Our newly awakened, heartfelt, embodied compassion for the most vulnerable among us has led us to sacrifice major conveniences and shut down the global economy. What is being asked of us now, in the midst of our hardship, is that we open our newly kindled compassion to all living beings, and feel with as much sober honesty as we can muster how they have all been ravaged by the virus of our fevered grasping. If we can extend our compassion to these ‘neighbours’ to whom we have brought so much suffering and death, we can come together in the same spirit of empowered, self-sacrificing unity with which nations around the world have faced COVID-19. The virus that is our consumer culture must be healed. And for that to happen, we need a new version of success – a version in which a healthy economy is one that promotes the health of life on earth.

Used with kind permission of the author. Philip Shepherd is recognized as an international authority on embodiment. His unique techniques have been developed to transform our disconnected experience of self and world, and are based on the vision articulated in his books, New Self, New World (2010) and Radical Wholeness (Nov 2017).

What Can We Do?

God, let us be people who do not sit by, but creatively express care toward our community.

-Sojourners Magazine

A SONG FOR NURSES

The first time I saw a nurse when I was four year old and someone cut my tonsils out and I woke up addled to find a cheerful woman wearing white learning over me and murmuring something gentle. The room was all white and the bed was all white and there were white curtains framing the window. I thought I had died and was in heaven and the women leaning over me was an angel. I was deeply relieved to be in heaven because I had recently sinned grievously and my brother still had a black eye. For a moment I wondered if the woman smiling at me was the Madonna, but then I remembered the Madonna wore blue.

The women leaning over me then said gently everything will be all right, which it was, after a while, during which I discovered that I was not yet dead and that she was a nurse. But for me ever since nurses are essentially angelic, and even now that I am deep into my fifties and have lived long and seen much, I have never yet been disabused of the notion that nurses are gentle and witty and brilliant and holy beings who bring light and peace, even though I know they must have dark nights when they are weary and sad and thrashed by despair like a beach by a tide.

I have seen nurses help bring my children out of the sea of their mother and into the sharp and bracing air of this world. I have seen nurses praying by my tiny son’s bed before and after his heart was edited so that he could live to be a lanky and testy teenager today. I have seen nurses grappling cheerfully with the wires and coils and tubes and plugs and buttons and toggles and keyboards of vast machinery beyond my ken. I have seen nurses with blood on their blouses in the nether reaches of the night in emergency rooms. I have seen nurses hold my children’s heads as my children were sick upon their shoes, and never a snarl did I hear from those nurses but only a soothing sound deep in their throats, a sound far more ancient than any civilization. I have heard friends of mine who are nurses speak eloquently and articulately about their work as witness, as story-saving, as patience and endurance, as being those souls who stand by the door between life and death and usher other people through it in both directions. I have quietly gaped in awe at the sinewy courage and flinty strength and oceanic grace of nurses, and many times considered what our hospitals and hospices and clinics and schools and lives would be without them; which is to say starker and colder and more brittle and fearful. We would be even more alone and scared than we are now when faced with pain and confusion.

We take them for granted, yes we do. We think of them with reverence and gratitude only when we see them briskly and gently at work, learning over us and those we love, being both tart and sweetest at once; but here, this morning, let us pause a moment and pray for them in the holy cave of our mouths and thank the Mercy for these most able and skillful agents of His dream for us: that we will rise to love and joy, that we will achieve humility, that we will shape our humor and labor and creativity into lives that are prayers in motion, prayers applied to salve and solve the pain of our companions on the road. Let us, in short, pray not only for the extraordinary smiling armies of nurses among us; let us pray to be like them: sinewy and tender, gracious and honest, avatars of love.

So Very Much the Best of Us: Songs of Praise in Prose: Brian Doyle (1956-2017)

A Closing Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought me in safety to the end of this week: Preserve me with your strength and in your love, that I may not stray away from you, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose. Amen.

Paraphrased from The Divine Hours: Phyllis Tickle

Sabine van Erp | Pixabay

Musical Reflection

Let My Love Be Heard: Jake Runestad

Angels, where you soar up to God’s own light,

take my own lost bird on your hearts tonight;

and as grief once more mounts to heaven and sings,

let my love be heard whispering in your wings.

NEW LIFE!

Fourth Sunday of Easter ~ May 3, 2020

Note: Each time you see a musical link in the liturgy, mute or lower the volume on your device before clicking on the link. Once you have done that then click on the link. If an ad pops up, you can then “Skip Ad” and not be disturbed by the noise of the advertisements. Once you see that the music is beginning then unmute or raise the volume on your device. This will allow a more meaningful worship experience for you. Peace be with you.

Prelude: Alle Menschen müssen sterben (All Must Depart) J. Pachelbel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS-qse3RmnY

Pachelbel composed this chorale prelude shortly after losing both his wife and son during the plague of 1683. Based on a well-known melody of the same name, earlier settings focused only on death and dying. Pachelbel’s version emphasizes the gift of patience and serenity believers can expect to experience in moving from the sadness of death to the joy of eternal life.

Our Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We accept that Mother Earth and the peoples near us and around the world are all our relations. Thanks be to God.

Let us worship God together.

The GATHERING

Introit: I Was Glad: K. Bissell https://youtu.be/8iaBVjmVWjo

I was glad when they said unto me, “We will go into the house of the Lord.”

Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem.

O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.

For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will wish thee prosperity.

Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do thee good. [Psalm 22]

*Call to Worship:

Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! In the newness and resurrection of this Easter season, there is hope. In the freedom and joy of Easter, there is liberation. In our Easter alleluias and amens, there is grace. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Hymn: The Strife is O’er https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9-FCgn-buw

Prayer of the Day:

God of grace and glory, by the death and resurrection of your Beloved Child your reign of wholeness has been unleashed within our bent and broken world. Open us to your empowering grace that we may be bearers of your world-redeeming love; through the resurrected Christ, who is our dignity, our power, and our peace. Amen. VU 188

Listening for THE WORD

Hymn: The Lord’s My Shepherd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbGsIVeKU_E

Scripture Reading: John 10:1-10 (read by Winston Lanyon) https://youtu.be/qXyrcKkWM8g

A Reading from the Gospel according to John. Listen for what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

10 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

This is the story of our faith. Thanks be to God.

Choral Anthem: Brother James’ Air https://youtu.be/Rsw1gix1CvA

Reflection: The Rev. Jay Olson https://youtu.be/d7gUGaFHduY

The biblical passage given to us today in the lectionary is one about Shepherd and sheep. I have to confess that I have never liked this image very much. I have never seen myself nor do I see myself now as a shepherd of a flock. Jesus is the shepherd not me. I’m one of the sheep and as a Minister of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care I also have an additional role and functions. I have been called and formed for this particular role in the Church that is to contribute to the vitality of life in this dynamic circle of faith. I’m a little bit like a sheepdog moving about in support of the care and leading of a flock. But I am not the shepherd!

What is most troublesome for me about the shepherd image is that it has been used to neutralize the radical character and teaching of Jesus. The image of Jesus as a gentle shepherd has so sentimentalized our picture of him that we do not see him as the gospels do and we do not hear his voice as it calls to us from the stories. This gentle Jesus remember is the same one who called out his followers for their lack of trust and for the ways they excluded the “least” among them. This not-always-gentle Jesus called them to wake up, pay attention, share everything they had and learn to live in God’s rule not their version of it. To see and limit Jesus the shepherd as a kindly sort who just takes care of people misses the point of the shepherd ruler in opposition to the conquering king ruler. In other words, a sentimental, gentle Jesus meek and mild, just does not cut it biblically. Not then and not now.

So what might these few verses be saying to us today?

As a Minister, when I think of you and remember us gathered together, I do not see you as sheep. I see you, us, as a community of people brought together by our experiences of the holy, brought together and continually becoming together to embody that holy presence for one another and for the world. And yes, I do see One with us who is here with us to lead and prod us in our becoming.

I see in these few verses vitality of movement and activity. There is a shepherd that goes in and out ahead of the sheep. There’s a gate that lets movement of people and creatures in and out. And there’s a gatekeeper and sheep; sheep who know the voice of their shepherd. And there are those that might be referred to as sheep rustlers and poachers.

These versus are to me like a snapshot of a circle of relationships that is community – God’s community – like the community for which Jesus prayed in the garden, remember when he prayed that they/we would be one. And in the margin of the snapshot is the caption about abundant life – similar to the vision of life in the 23rd Psalm, a life-cup filled to overflowing.

When I picture this activity in my head, I don’t see sheep, I see you! I see us. I see people gathered, virtually and in person (not individuals but groups of people – a great big, worldwide flock of us) Shaughnessy Heights United Church and every Pastoral Charge with which I have served. I see the pastoral charges across the Pacific Mountain Region and Canada, in the United States, the Philippines, Palestine, Britain, Norway, Korea – and and and…

I see us all in John’s active circle of complex relationships – shepherd, sheep, gatekeepers, rustlers, those who hear God’s voice and more.

The Christ is the gate, the opening for life, John tells us.

The Christ is gatekeeper welcoming in and sending out.

The Christ is the shepherd who calls and searches, protects and corrects.

The Christ for us is a gateway to the abundant life God makes available to us all.

Jesus, the Christ, witnessed to God’s rule of grace in opposition to rule by conquering forces. He did so by sacrificing himself for the good of all – what the commentator Gerard Sloyan calls, “…Jesus’ self-sacrifice to achieve a transcendent good for many.” Page 132

I believe the good news is this. God’s purpose in Jesus the Christ was and is that all would be fully alive, overflowing with life; that all would have enough and that we would be one people aligned in God’s purposes.

This is who the Shepherd ruler calls us to be. Perhaps this is how God longs to see us.

We know the voice of our not-always-gentle Shepherd and we hear the call to life. How then will we respond especially now? In this spectacularly opportune time as we figure out how to put the world together again, will we follow the route and the plans of the rustlers or will we listen for and follow the voice of the One who is the Way of life?

Too often we have lived, worked and worshipped as a group of individuals. The virus has reminded us ever so painfully of the truth that we live and move as a people not just as individuals. So let us listen for the voice of God as one people and let us move together as one people co-creating with God for a much-needed better world. The gate is open. Here we go.

The RESPONSE

Choral Anthem: Listen to the Lambs R. N. Dett https://youtu.be/hhjJo3zsixk

Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer: https://youtu.be/lhFD67Fs3H0 (led by Winston Lanyon)

And so we pray,

Great God, we give you thanks for your faithfulness to creation;

for your presence, your provision, your comfort and your correction.

We listen for your voice out of our longing for direction, understanding and compassion.

Open the gate of understanding and wisdom for us to enter.

Lead us to the resources that will bring life and show us how to share them equitably.

We pray still for the people of Bella Bella as they grieve deeply the deaths of eleven of their beloveds and for the people of Nova Scotia as they learn to live again while carrying the burden of their grief. Overwhelm them all with your healing power and grant them the peace that passes understanding.

And now, as a nation, we grieve for the 6 Canadian military personnel who died in the helicopter crash off the coast of Greece. Our hearts are broken again. We ask your comfort and care for the families of those who died in the crash, for the crew of the HMCS Fredrickton and the whole military family. We give thanks for the Chaplains who will accompany many in their heartaches today as they do every day. Bless them.

And we are thankful.

We are thankful for the myriad of people giving themselves fully to the causes of healing, wellness, justice and peace. For the people stocking grocery and drug store shelves, for shelter and food bank workers, and for those who are providing meals for people in need. We cheer them on and long for them to know how grateful we are to them. We owe our lives to them.

We long to know that you hear us as we pray and that you answer.

We ask you to help us unleash our resources and all the powers of good to find cures,

therapies and vaccines for devastating diseases.

We pray for comfort for those who are lonely and feeling lost.

We pray for the restoration of your world and all its creatures.

We pray that we would not go back to the way things were but that we will truly commit to

co-creating with you a better world especially for “the least” among us.

Hold open the gate of life for us and beckon us to walk through it with you. Prod us toward the right direction when we go astray and speak to us so often that we recognize your voice and walk toward it. Shepherd us.

Hear us as we pray as Jesus taught using the words of our Indigenous Australian neighbours.

Great Spirit, Creator of all,

from the stars to all the earth,

loved and respected be your name.

May it happen that all should live in your way

following your purpose for all creation.

Enable us to find what we need for today’s journey.

Forgive us when we go wrong

as we forgive those who wrong us.

Have compassion on us when we are being tested.

Do not abandon us to fear and evil.

Our hope is in your new community.

You are the one who can transform all creation,

making everything new,

now and for all eternity. Amen. Indigenous Prayer from Australia

Response: Ubi Caritas https://youtu.be/hHkmOi5Wzgo

Our Offering: In response to God’s great love for us we return to God a portion of what has been given to us. Take a moment now to offer the gifts of your time, your talent and your money for the work of ministry. Prepare to give the offering away. As you do, tap that part of yourself where gratitude resides. Give thanks and give back to God. No gift is too small, and all gifts are sincerely appreciated.

Choral Anthem for Reflection on the Offering: Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem: C. V. Stanford

https://youtu.be/CAs8dKCDdVs

Prayer of Dedication:

Great God, we give our offerings to you from the gifts you have given to us.

Thank you for your provision, for your presence, for your love.

May these offerings further your purposes through Shaughnessy Heights United Church and all those who serve you. Amen.

The COMMISSIONING

Hymn: Thy Hand, O God, Has Guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44RNKCp-hCY

Commissioning and Benediction:

Be witnesses in the world of God’s resurrection power by caring for the safety of others and doing so with all the confidence, joy and courage of an Easter people. Shout with all your might that the God of Life has had the last word, for Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen!

Postlude: Fugue in a minor (BWV 543) J. S. Bach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pxQZVBlnbA&t=301s

Several people stand between pews in a church during a service.

You are welcome

Shaughnessy Heights United Church is an affirming and welcoming community that offers a place for people of all walks of life and at all stages in their faith journey. Whether you’ve been going to church for years, haven’t been in ages, or have never set foot in a church before — from long time believers to the merely curious seekers — we have a place for you.

As an affirming congregation, we are honoured to provide a safe and holy space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

What We Do