ST. COLUMBA
ANGLICAN-UNITED CHURCH
PO Box 1260, Port Hardy, BC V0N 2P0
Office Phone: 250-949-6247
E-mail: admin@stcolumbaporthardy.ca
Minister: Rev. Elaine Julian
E-mail: incumbent@stcolumbaporthardy.ca
Indigenous Ministries: Gloria Walkus
Organist: Roldan Yuipco
Music and Worship Leadership: Judy and Robert Fyles
Recording: Ammie Yuipco
www.stcolumbaporthardy.ca
Third Sunday of Easter
April 18, 2021
Home Church (online recording)
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EARTH DAY:
CHOOSING LIFE FOR ALL EARTH
Based on the Earth Day Service by Betty Lynn Schwab and Bruce Sanguin, c. 2012 United Church of Canada, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike License.
Mission Statement
As followers of Jesus Christ, our church is a community called to love, honour, worship, and serve God.
We invite others to share our Christian journey as we grow in faith and engage in ministry in our town and mission in our world.
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Lord Jesus, open to us the scriptures; make our hearts burn within us while you speak. (Luke 24:32)
The Community Gathers
Acknowledgment of Land
Call to Worship:
Gather, everyone, to hear the surprising story: it is a sad and joyful song from just beyond Christ’s tomb; all Earth has joined in.
From our private thirst for truth, we turn to the Stranger unexpectedly among us. We fear. We doubt. We can’t understand.
Peace be with you, he says. Why are you frightened? Why do doubts arise within you? Look and see, touch and taste!
We are witnesses: Christ is alive! Christ is with us! Hallelujah.
Response: VU #958, “Halle, halle, halle” (2x)
Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah
Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah
Halle, Halle, Halle-lujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Words: traditional liturgical text. Music: anonymous, arrangement John Bell, The Iona Community.
Lighting of the Paschal candle
Opening Prayer
Prayer of Confession
Dear friends in Christ, God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy. Let us confess our sins, confident in God’s forgiveness.
Living Christ, you were once dead, and buried in the Womb of Life.
We know about death.
We gather when someone mourns because of the pain death brings.
But now you are living.
That kind of living is hard for us to understand.
Like your disciples, We would be terrified to see your wounded hands and feet.
Terrified until you opened our minds and we received your Peace.
Earth joins our lament;
souls of lives now extinct, and of those soon-to-be extinct.
They call to us:
“Can you not hear what song we sing?”
“Do you not see what we are saying?”
We brought death, and we bring death in the name of our desires to all of Earth, O Christ.
We are witnesses to that.
Can life come again to creation as it once came again to you?
Words of Assurance
Story Time
HYMN: MV#30, “It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker”
It’s a song of praise to the Maker,
the thrush sings high in the tree.
It’s a song of praise to the Maker,
the gray whale sings in the sea,
And by the Spirit you and I
can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.
It’s a call of life to the Giver,
when waves and waterfalls roar.
It’s a call of life to the Giver,
when high tides break on the shore,
And by the Spirit you and I
can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.
It’s a hymn of love to the Lover;
the bumblebees hum along.
It’s a hymn of love to the Lover;
the summer breeze joins the song,
And by the Spirit you and I
can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.
It’s the chorus of all creation;
it’s sung by all living things.
It’s the chorus of all creation;
a song the universe sings,
And by the Spirit you and I
can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.
Words: Ruth Duck; Music: Ron Klusmeier
The Proclamation of the Word
Psalm 4 (Voices United p. 727)
Refrain: In the night I can take my rest. You alone keep my life secure.
Answer me, when I call, O God, defender of my cause, for you set me free when I was in
distress.
Be gracious to me now and hear my prayer.
R: In the night I can take my rest. You alone keep my life secure.
How long, you people, will you defame my honour?
How long will you love what is worthless and seek lies?
Know this, that God has chosen the faithful;
God hears me when I call.
Stand in awe, and cease from sin;
commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still.
Offer the sacrifices that are appointed,
and put your trust in God.
R: In the night I can take my rest. You alone keep my life secure.
There are many who say,
“O that we might see prosperity! Lift up the light of your face to us, O God.”
But you have put gladness in my heart more than those whose grain and wine are plentiful.
Safe and sound, I lie down and sleep, for you alone, God, make me dwell in safety.
R: In the night I can take my rest. You alone keep my life secure.
1 John 3:1-7
One: The Holy Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ according to Luke
All: Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
The Gospel: Luke 24:36-48
One: The Gospel of Christ
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Sermon: “Witnesses to Life”
Peace be with you. And also with you. Amen
Affirmation of Faith – Let us confess the faith of our baptism as we say:
[A New Creed, VU p. 918]
We are not alone, we live in God's world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God's presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
HYMN: VU #307: “Touch the Earth Lightly”
Touch the earth lightly, use the earth gently,
nourish the life of the world in our care:
gift of great wonder, ours to surrender,
trust for the children tomorrow will bear.
We who endanger, who create hunger,
agents of death for all creatures that live,
we who would foster clouds of disaster--
God of our planet, forestall and forgive!
Let there be greening, birth from the burning,
water that blesses and air that is sweet,
health in God's garden, hope in God's children,
regeneration that peace will complete.
God of all living, God of all loving,
God of the seedling, the snow and the sun,
teach us, deflect us, Christ reconnect us,
using us gently, and making us one.
Words: Shirley Erena Murray; Music: Colin Gibson
Offering Invitation:
Offertory Chorus: VU #227, verse 1, “For the Fruit of All Creation”
For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
For the gifts to every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth's safekeeping,
thanks be to God.
Words: Fred Pratt Green; Music: Welsh folk melody
Prayer over the Gifts:
Intercessions & Thanksgiving:
In our Shared Ministry Church Cycles of Prayer we pray for Bishop Anna and the congregation of St. Philip by-the-Sea, Lantzville and the Rev. David Chillman. We also pray for St. Paul’s United- Princeton St. Paul’s United - Sidney, St. Stephen’s United - Qualicum Beach, St. Stephen's United - Vancouver and Steveston United ...
Living and Loving Christ, you gave of yourself so that life might prevail. ...
Hear our concerns now, for our Earth and for the needs of our brothers and sisters as we speak them aloud or in the silence of our hearts….
(Concerns are named silently or aloud) Amen.
Collect:
The Lord’s Prayer (spoken in our mother tongue)
English:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 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 against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
HYMN: VU#264, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light in accessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small,
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
then wither and perish but naught changeth thee!
Thou reignest in glory, thou rulest in light;
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
‘tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!
Words: Walter Chalmers Smith; Music: Welsh folk song
Blessing and Commissioning:
Let us go forth walking more lightly upon Earth ...
Into our great and glorious cosmic inheritance.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
Threefold Amen
Gila’kasla. Go in Peace.
Announcements:
- “Coffee time” on Zoom on Sunday morning at 11:30 am
- Bible Study, Tuesday 5:00 pm
- Celtic Prayer, Thursday 4 PM by Zoom.
- Saturday April 24 9:30 AM Distanced work party to clean up church yard for spring. Come and join in
Mission focus this month is our Community Food Cupboard
Please remember to bring in canned / dry goods for our community cupboard. Especially useful are instant ramen noodles, Kraft dinner, and canned vegetable and mushroom soup.
Reprinted and podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 and CCLI License # 11033010. All rights reserved.
“Halle, halle, halle” Words: traditional liturgical text. Music: anonymous, arrangement John Bell, The Iona Community. Words and music © 1990, WGRG, The Iona Community (Scotland). All rights reserved. Used with permission of GIA Publications, Inc. Reprinted under OneLicense.net License #A-720359 (#02351).
“It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker” Words: Ruth Duck, 1992 Music: Ron Klusmeier, 1992 Words copyright © 1992 GIA Publications, Inc. Music copyright © 1992 Ron Klusmeier Musiklus. All rights reserved. Reprinted under CCLI License # 11033010 (Music 7045637) or OneLicense.net License #A-720359 music (#88477) and words (#30221).
“Touch the Earth Lightly” Words: Shirley Erena Murray 1991; Music: Colin Gibson 1991. Words and music: © 1992 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted under CCLI License # 11033010 (1211141) or OneLicense.net License #A-720359 words (#02310) and music (#02311).
“For the Fruit of All Creation” Words: Fred Pratt Green, 1970 Music: Welsh folk melody, ca. 1784. Words copyright © 1970 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted under CCLI License # 11033010 (5072547) and OneLicense.net License #A-720359 (#30684). Music: Public Domain.
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” Words: Walter Chalmers Smith, 1867; Music: Welsh folk song. Copyright: Public Domain.
