St. Columba's Anglican United Church

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St. Columba's Sunday Service

Robert Fyles

Sunday, January 3, 2021

Order of Service and Hymns

Playlist

We have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him. ~Matthew 2.2

The Community Gathers

Acknowledgment of Land

Call to Worship for Epiphany (inspired by Isaiah 60:1-3)
~ written by Joanna Harader

Hymn: VU 79 Arise Your Light Has Come

Arise, your light is come!
The Spirit's call obey;
show forth the glory of your God,
which shines on you today.

Arise, your light is come!
Fling wide the prison door;
proclaim the captive’s liberty,
good tidings to the poor.

Arise, your light is come!
All you in sorrow born;
bind up the broken-hearted ones
and comfort those who mourn

Arise, your light is come!
The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing;
God’s power will make us strong.

The Proclamation of the Word

Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 60: 1-6

Psalm 72: 1-7,10-14
1 Give the king your justice, O God, *
and your righteousness to the king’s son;
2 That he may rule your people righteously *
and the poor with justice;
3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *
and the little hills bring righteousness.
4 He shall defend the needy among the people; *
he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *
from one generation to another.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; *
there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *
and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.
11 All kings shall bow down before him, *
and all the nations do him service.
12 For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *
and the oppressed who has no helper.
13 He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *
he shall preserve the lives of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *
and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

One: The Holy Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ according to Matthew
All: Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The Gospel: Matthew 2: 1-12

One: The Gospel of Christ
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon

Affirmation of Faith
Let us confess the faith of our baptism as we say:
We believe in God, who has created all life and continues to create new life within and without us. We believe in Jesus, son of God, son of man, the Saviour of the world. By his life, his death and his resurrection from the grave, we can know the true depth of human possibility and experience the true joy of abundant life. We believe the Holy Spirit is present now and always calling us to faith, giving us gifts, and empowering us for service. We believe the church is the community of faith called to experience the fullness of life through God’s Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. Amen

Offertory Hymn: VU 82 A Light is Gleaming

A light is gleaming,
spreading its arms throughout the night,
living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
living in the light.

When light comes pouring into the darkest place,
it hurts our eyes to see the glow.
Sometimes a word of hope reminds us of our fears,
our memories and tears.

A light is gleaming,
spreading its arms throughout the night,
living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
living in the light.

When night is round us and every shadow grows,
a star is there to light our way.
It tells a story of Jesus who came near to say:
“God’s light will ever stay.”

A light is gleaming,
spreading its arms throughout the night,
living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
living in the light.

So let us live in the brightness God has giv’n,
and let us rise to see the dawn.
We trust that God is here a sparkle and a blaze,
warming all our days.

A light is gleaming,
spreading its arms throughout the night,
living in the light.
Come share its gladness,
God’s radiant love is burning bright,
living in the light.

VU 542 We give you but your own…

We give you but your own,
what e’er the gift may be;
all that we have is yours alone,
We give it gratefully.

Prayer over the Gifts

Intercessions & Thanksgiving
In our Shared Ministry Church Cycles of Prayer we pray for our Bishop-elect Anna and the congregation at South Cowichan and the Rev. John Steele …

Lord of all being and source of every blessing,
we thank you for all good things:
for life and love,
for health and food,
for work and home,
for nature’s beauty and comfort,
for human skills and laughter,
for memory and hope,
for everything which gives us
pleasure, nourishment, and strength. Amen

Collect

The Lord’s Prayer

With Jesus we pray together saying:
Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.

Hymn: VU 679 Let There Be Light

Let there be light,
let there be understanding,
let all the nations gather,
let them be face to face;

open our lips,
open our minds to ponder,
open the way to concord
opening into grace;

perish the sword,
perish the angry judgement,
perish the bombs and hunger,
perish the fight for gain;

hallow our love,
hallow the deaths of martyrs,
hallow their holy freedom,
hallowed be your name;

your kingdom come,
your spirit turn to language,
your people speak together,
your spirit never fade;

let there be light,
open our hearts to wonder,
perish the way of terror,
hallow the world God made.

Words: Frances Wheeler Davis, 1968, alt. Music: Robert J.B. Fleming, 1967. Words copyright © 1970 Frances Wheeler Davis. Music Robert Fleming (1921-1976) copyright © Margaret Fleming (d. 2018). All rights reserved.

Blessing
… We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.

Threefold Amen and Dismissal

Announcements:
Reprinted and podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359. All rights reserved.
• You can contact Elaine Julian by email at incumbent@stcolumbaporthardy.ca or phone her at the church office. If you leave a message, she will reply as soon as possible.
• Bible Study resumes this week, Tuesday 5pm on Zoom, contact Elaine for an invitation
• Celtic Prayer Thursday at 2:00 PM on Zoom. You can participate on Zoom, or just read the weekly prayers and readings at home. If you do not receive the weekly email invitation and wish to join us, please contact Rev. Elaine.
• A bag lunch will be available on Sunday morning just after 11 AM for those who need a meal. Gloria will be available at the church to give you the lunch.
• Annual Reports due by Jan 17
• Jan 21 Church Council at 6:30 PM on Zoom
• Annual General Meeting will be delayed until circumstances allow us to meet but annual reports will be produced and distributed by the end of January
• Please remember to bring in canned / dry goods for our community cupboard
• Mission Focus is J C Memorial Church on the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nation

Next Week’s Readings
Hebrew Scripture: Genesis 1: 1-5
Psalm 29
The Epistle: Acts 19:1-7
The Gospel Mark 1:4-11

Prayer for the New Year:
“ Dear Lord, at the beginning of this New Year help me to be open to you in this moment as I put aside the cares of this world. Fill my mind with your peace, Your Love. Amen and Amen

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