Join us in person or live-streamed at 10AM or find our recorded service at your convenience. Details on our Worship page. Service words are below.
Prelude: Spinning Blue Planet
This is the moment, Creation’s first glance,
light plays with darkness, and chaos with Dance,
Spirit with matter forms heaven, forms earth
Creation continues God’s breath gives dust birth.
This is the calling, Creation’s first fire,
to journey in search of God’s deepest desire.
Smashing the idols of priv’ledge and wrong,
in exodus freedom our spirits belong.
This earthbound journey, Creation’s first song,
from Genesis gardens to sad Babylons.
Lost in the rhythms of power, or pride,
Seeking the music only mercy provides.
This is the Mystery: How life becomes whole!
Bread—broken body; Wine—poured out soul!
Come, seed your lives, grow like grapes; grow like grain
The Vine will connect you, Love’s rising again.
Acknowledgement
Opening Responses:
One: Come among us, God.
You who cast the planets into space and cradle the sparrow in her nest.
All: Come, God, and meet us here.
One: Come among us, God.
You who bless the poor and the broken and stand by the sad and the strong.
All: Come, God, and meet us here.
One: Come among us, God.
You who dance in the silence and shine in the darkness.
All: Come, God, and meet us here.
Collect: Almighty God, you have created the heavens and the earth, and ourselves in your image. Teach us to discern your hand in all your works and to serve you with reverence and thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Gathering Song: CP 416 All Things Bright and Beautiful
Refrain: All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.
Each radiant flower that opens,
each vibrant bird that sings,
God made their glowing colours,
God made their tiny wings. Refrain
The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruit in the garden,
God made them every one. Refrain
The rocky mountain splendour,
the loon’s wild, haunting call,
the great lakes and the prairies,
The forest in the fall. Refrain
God gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is the Creator,
who has made all things well. Refrain
The Proclamation of the Word
A reading from the prophet Jeremiah 8:18-9.1
My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" ("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?") "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored? O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!
Listen for the leading of the Spirit. Thanks be to God.
A reading from the first letter of Timothy 2:1-7
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all—this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Listen for the leading of the Spirit. Thanks be to God.
Gradual Hymn: 414 CP God of the Sparrow
God of the sparrow God of the whale God of the swirling stars How does the creature say Awe How does the creature say Praise God of the earthquake God of the storm God of the trumpet blast How does the creature cry Woe How does the creature cry Save God of the rainbow God of the cross God of the empty grave How does the creature say Grace How does the creature say Thanks God of the hungry God of the sick God of the prodigal How does the creature say Care How does the creature say Life God of the neighbour God of the foe God of the pruning hook How does the creature say Love How does the creature say Peace God of the ages God near at hand God of the loving heart How do your children say Joy How do your children say Home
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke 16: 1-13
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’
The Gospel of Christ. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
Affirmation of Faith:
We believe in God who is found in darkness,
who parted the waters with a dream,
who made from nothing - light, stars, moon, planets & earth;
who ran wild with joy, creating mountains, waves, snowflakes.
all different...
who spun a web of shimmering life where creatures grew & changed, flowered & put down roots,
swam, chirped & flew, ran, played & roared,
talked - in many different languages -
beings of astonishing variety, each needing all the others, held in delicate kinship.
We believe in God who is found in waiting,
who provides for each according to their need.
We believe in God who is found in stillness,
who walks in the world, awake &vulnerable, delighting & loving,
who grieves in the quiet beyond tears for scorched wilderness,
wounded forests, silenced voices, broken threads -
who names the truth & shoulders the weight of hoping.
We believe in God who calls us as church to love the earth,
to live humbly in the web of relationship,
to announce the new wilderness.
(adapted from Echoes of our Journey by Dorothy McRae-McMahon, p.133-134)
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
In trust let us pray to the one coming into our hearts to awaken holiness in our midst...
Let us offer thanksgiving for all the blessings of this life...
(Response - silently or aloud)
Let us pray for the world, especially where there is conflict, poverty, hunger.
(Response - silently or aloud)
Let us pray for those who suffer in mind or body, for prisoners, for those in despair, for those who mourn and for those who wait.
(Response)
Let us pray for the transformation of systems and bureaucracies, of gender relations, of race relations, of class divisions, of age and ability stereotypes.
(Response)
Let us pray for ourselves, opening ourselves to healing and risk, to the power to let go and the courage to take on.
(Response)
Together: Prayer for the environment and Climate Change
A Climate Justice Prayer
God of light and life, we see you in the rising sun, the wind blowing through the fields of maize, and the feel of a life-giving shower of rain. Help us to see your light reflected throughout creation. God of compassion, you are there with those people who are facing the effects of a changing climate, and are affected by floods, droughts and famine. Show us how to be there with them too. God of truth and justice, you hear those people around the world, who struggle to make their voices heard. Open our ears and the ears of those in power to hear the cries of those living in poverty. God of hope, we see you in people who refuse to give up, who will not lose faith and keep on fighting, for your earth and for your people. Lift us, so that we may never lose hope.
Amen
Sharing of the Peace
Offertory Hymn: 237 Now the Green Blade Rises
Now the green blade rises from the buried grain, Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain; Love lives again, that with the dead has been: Love is come again, like wheat arising green. In the grave they laid Him, Love by hatred slain, Thinking that He would never wake again, Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen: Love is come again, like wheat arising green. Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain, He that for three days in the grave had lain; raised from the dead, my living Lord is seen: Love is come again, like wheat arising green. When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, Your touch can call us back to life again; Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: Love is come again, like wheat arising green.
Prayer over the Gifts: God of power, the glory of your works fills us with wonder and awe. Accept our offering this day, and help us to live in peace and harmony with all your creation, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer 4
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right to give you thanks and praise,
O Lord, our God, sustainer of the universe,
you are worthy of glory and praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home; by your will they were created and have their being.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
From the primal elements you brought forth the human race,
and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill; you made us the stewards of creation.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
But we turn against you, and betray your trust;
and we turn against one another. Again and again you call us to return.
Through the prophets and sages you reveal your righteous law.
In the fullness of time you sent your Son, born of a woman, to be our Saviour. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. By his death he opened to us the way of freedom and peace.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Therefore we praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus,
with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with those in every generation
who have looked to you in hope,
to proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
God of power and might
Heaven and Earth of your glory are full
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest.
Blessed is one who comes in the name of the Lord
Blessed is one who comes in the name of the Lord
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
God of power and might
Heaven and Earth of your glory are full
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, for sending us Jesus, the Christ,
who on the night he was handed over to suffering and death,
took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, gave it to his friends,
and said, “Take this, and eat it: this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after supper, he took the cup of wine;
he gave you thanks, and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Gracious God,
we recall the death of your Son Jesus Christ,
we proclaim his resurrection and ascension,
and we look with expectation for his coming as Lord of all the nations.
We who have been redeemed by him,
and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring you these gifts.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon this offering of your Church,
that we who eat and drink at this holy table
may share the divine life of Christ our Lord.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
Pour out your Spirit upon the whole earth and make it your new creation.
Gather your Church together
from the ends of the earth into your kingdom,
where peace and justice are revealed, that we, with all your people,
of every language, race, and nation,
may share the banquet you have promised;
through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
all honour and glory are yours, creator of all.
Glory to you for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus' Prayer, (translated from the Aramaic)
O Thou, the Breath, the Light of All,
Let this Light create a heart-shrine within,
And your Counsel rule 'til Oneness guides all.
Your One Desire then acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need, each day, in bread and insight.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strands we hold of other's faults.
Don't let surface things delude us, but keep us from unripe acts.
To you belongs the ruling mind, the life that can act and do,
the song that beautifies all, from age to age it renews.
In faith, I will to be true. Amen
The Breaking of the Bread
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We, being many, are one body, for we all share in the one bread.
The Communion
The gifts of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
Music during Distribution: We Will Take What You Offer I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Prayer after Communion
All your works praise you, O Lord.
And your faithful servant bless you.
Gracious God
we thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ.
May w, who share his body, live his risen life;
we, who drink his cup, bring life to others;
we, whom the Spirit lights, give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,
so that we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
As we have been gathered, so must we be sown back into the world
to witness to the power of God's transforming love,
to support and challenge each other,
to bring healing and justice to the world around us.
And now may the God who shakes heaven and earth,
Whom death could not contain,
Who lives to disturb and heal us,
Bless us with the power to go forth
And proclaim the gospel. Amen.
Announcements
Closing Hymn: 575 CP Let Streams of Living Justice
Let streams of living justice flow down upon the earth; give freedom's light to captives, let all the poor have worth. The hungry's hands are pleading, the workers claim their rights, the mourners long for laughter, the blinded seek for sight. Make liberty a beacon, strike down the iron power; abolish ancient vengeance: proclaim your people's hour.
For healing of the nations, for peace that will not end, for love that makes us lovers, God grant us grace to mend. Weave our varied gifts together; knit our lives as they are spun; on your loom of time enroll us till our thread of life is run. O great Weaver of our fabric, bind church and world in one; dye our texture with your radiance, light our colors with your sun.
Your city's built to music; we are the stones you seek; your harmony is language; we are the words you speak. Our faith we find in service, our hope in others' dreams, our love in hand of neighbor; our homeland brightly gleams. Inscribe our hearts with justice; your way--the path untried; your truth—the heart of stranger; your life—the Crucified.
Dismissal Call
May we strive to see the face of Jesus in all whom we meet,
May we hear the voices of the Prophets calling us to Justice
May we shape our lives in a lively response to this calling
Response: Let us depart in peace to love and serve the Lord
Postlude: 589 CP Come, O God of All the Earth
Come, O God of all the earth;
come to us, O Righteous One. Come and bring our love to birth; in the glory of your Son. Chorus Sing out, earth and skies! Sing of the God who loves you. Raise your joyful cries, Dance to the life around you. Come, O God of wind and flame; fill the earth with righteousness. Teach us all to sing your name; may our lives your love confess. (Chorus) Come, O God of flashing light; twinkling star and burning sun. God of day and God of night; in your light we all are one. (Chorus) Come, O God of snow and rain; shower down upon the earth. Come, O God of joy and pain; God of sorrow, God of mirth. (Chorus) Come, O Justice, come, O Peace; come and shape our hearts anew. Come and make oppression cease; bring us all to life in you. (Chorus)