Home Church 13th Sunday after Pentecost August 30, 2020 Rev.Karen Hollis

Home Church 13th Sunday after Pentecost August 30, 2020

Rev. Karen Hollis

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Preparing the Space Around Us

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here! Welcome, if you are gathering on zoom or if you are worshipping at home with the bulletin. We are one community and all part of the body of Christ. I invite you to prepare the space around you

so that for the next hour you can be fully in this worship experience, not to keep out the realities of the world, rather to focus us in the midst of it all on God. If you need to go and get something or shift something around you, feel free.

Preparing the Space within Us

Let us prepare now the space within us for a time of worship. This week we are hearing the story of Moses and the burning bush . . . the story where God invites Moses to take off his shoes, for he is standing on holy ground. As we prepare ourselves for worship this morning, I invite you too to take off your shoes (if you are able) and be reminded that the ground upon which we gather is holy. I invite you to sit quietly, perhaps with bare feet on the floor, taking a couple of deep breaths and bring yourself into this moment. Open yourself to the presence of God who is with us and within us . . . as you intentionally open yourself to God, open yourself also to what you need from this time of worship.

Opening Words: Psalm 105:1-4

O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who

seek the LORD rejoice. Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.

Opening Prayer  Read the prayer slowly Gathering

Gracious One, we enter into your holy presence, giving thanks and praising you. We come seeking transformation and renewal. Without you, we are not whole; we lack completeness. Touch us in this time

of worship, O God, that we may become your new creation, rooted in Christ and open to the Spirit. Amen.

Hymn: As the Deer  VU #766

1As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you,

you alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you

REFRAIN

You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield; you alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!

2I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy,

you alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye. REFRAIN

3You’re my friend and you are my brother, even through you are a king, I love you more than any other, so much more than anything! REFRAIN

First Reading: Exodus 3:1-15   Harold Jenner

Listen for the word of God to you this morning . . .

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you':

       This is my name forever,

       and this my title for all generations.

One: The word of the Lord

All:   Thanks be to God

Reflection: On Holy Ground (see attached)

Silent Reflection

A New Creed: Let us affirm our faith . . .

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.

Prayers of the People   Susan Brockley (see attached)                   

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 for ever. Amen.

Offering Today is our annual meeting – a day where we traditionally have a look at who we have been over the past year, make some decisions as a congregation and put things in place to help shape the coming year, like leadership and a budget. Last year looked a lot different from this year and still we continue to be church together.

As we prepare to transition into that meeting, I invite you to join me in giving thanks for our community of faith.

Let us pray . . . God of grace and abundance, in the midst of the turmoil
of this year, you offer us more than enough to sustain us on the journey.
We are grateful and so blessed to be your people in community. We pray that you would continue to guide us toward a vision for the future that is faithful to your call for us. May your grace follow us through this year and help us to remember along the way that we can always turn to you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Video: “May Peace Become You”   The Work of the People

Blessing

If you are with another person, you’re invited to bless each other,

taking every other line.

One:      The Creator’s blessing be yours on your road,

              on your journey, guiding you, cherishing you.

Male:     The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water,

              bread and stories, feeding you, challenging you.

Female: The Spirit’s blessing be yours, wind and fire,

               joy and wisdom, comforting you, disturbing you.

All:        The Angel’s blessing be yours, on your house,

              on your living, guarding you, encouraging you.

              Let us walk together, a community on a journey,

               sustained in God’s blessing. Amen!

One:      Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.

All:        Thanks be to God! Alleluia!