Home Church 17th Sunday after Pentecost, September 19, 2021, Rev. Karen Hollis

Home Church 17th Sunday after Pentecost September 19, 2021, 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. I invite you to sit quietly, perhaps with 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. 

Greeting                                                         
One:  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, 

          and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All:    And also with you       

Opening Words       The Pattern of Our Days

One:  Come among us, Jesus; you whom the angels worship and           children welcome;

All:    Come among us, Jesus; you who hurled the stars into space  and shaped the spider’s weaving;

One:  Come among us, Jesus; you who walked the long road to           Jerusalem and lit a flame that dances forever;

All:    Come Jesus and meet us here.

Opening Prayer         Bruce Prewer, edited

God of enduring assurances and sublime surprises, with Jesus we gather in this space to delight in your love and to worship you. We come as those who have been gathered into the arms of grace and welcomed as your own children. We join with the choir of voices from across the centuries and around the world, in praising you as the source of life. Amen.

Hymn: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus      VU #357

1 Tell me the stories of Jesus

I love to hear;

things I would ask him to tell me

if he were here;

scenes by the wayside,

tales of the sea,

stories of Jesus,

tell them to me. 

2 First let me hear how the children

stood round his knee;

and I shall fancy his blessing

resting on me;

words full of kindness,

deeds full of grace,

all in the love-light

of Jesus' face.

3 Tell me, in accents of wonder,

how rolled the sea,

tossing the boat in a tempest

on Galilee;

and how the Master,

ready and kind,

chided the billows,

and hushed the wind.

Prayer of Confession            

Loving God, as we turn to this time of honesty and emptying, we remember how Jesus took a little child and put it among the disciples. We bring to mind the children of the world, their gifts, their needs, their hopes. We also consider the little children inside of each of us . . . perhaps a 3 year old or 7 year old self. It is challenging to remember these aspects of ourselves, to consider the needs of our inner community. We are good at ignoring, avoiding, pushing against the needs of our youngest selves. Help us, O God, to befriend ourselves, to place that little child where they can be observed and heard.

Silent Prayer of Confession

Assurance of Grace                                     

It is challenging to be human . . . our God sees and embraces our whole selves. God's love for us is not dependant on our goodness; we are loved because we are God's own. Thanks be to God!

Peace of Christ 

Please unmute your microphones and make this peace known to one another! 

            One: The Peace of Christ be with you!

            All:   And also with you!

First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-31 (NRSV)              Nancy Hetherington Peirce

A capable wife who can find?

   She is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,

   and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm,

   all the days of her life.

She seeks wool and flax,

   and works with willing hands.

She is like the ships of the merchant,

   she brings her food from far away.

She rises while it is still night

   and provides food for her household

   and tasks for her servant-girls.

She considers a field and buys it;

   with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength,

   and makes her arms strong.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

   Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

   and her hands hold the spindle.

She opens her hand to the poor,

   and reaches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid for her household when it snows,

   for all her household are clothed in crimson.

She makes herself coverings;

   her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the city gates,

   taking his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them;

   she supplies the merchant with sashes.

Strength and dignity are her clothing,

   and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

   and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household,

   and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her happy;

   her husband too, and he praises her:

‘Many women have done excellently,

   but you surpass them all.’

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

   but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,

   and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Psalm 1  (Voices United)                                               Nancy Hetherington Peirce

Blessed are those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, or linger in the way of sinners, or sit down among those who mock.

But their delight is in the law of God, and on that law they meditate day and night.

They are like trees planted beside streams of water, yielding their fruit in due season.

Their leaves do not wither, and whatever they produce shall prosper.

As for the wicked, it is not so with them,

       but they are like the chaff, driven away by the wind.

Therefore the wicked shall not be able to stand when judgement comes, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For God watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Gospel Reading                                                                        Betty Schultze

One:  God be with you.            

All:    And also with you.

One:  The Good News of Jesus Christ according to Mark;

All:    Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 9:30-37                                                                                      NRSV

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

One: This is the Gospel of Christ; 

All:   Praise be to Jesus Christ

Reflection                

Silent Reflection (see attached)

New Zealand Creed

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

You, O God, are supreme and holy.

You create our world and give us life.

Your purpose overarches everything we do.

You have always been with us.

You are God.

You, O God, are infinitely generous,

good beyond all measure.

You came to us before we came to you.

You have revealed and proved

your love for us in Jesus Christ,

who lived and died and rose again.

You are with us now.

You are God.

You, O God, are Holy Spirit.

You empower us to be your gospel in the world.

You reconcile and heal; you overcome death.

You are our God. We worship you.

Prayers of the People          Mona Smart (see attached)

One:  God of Wisdom and Love

All:    Hear Our Prayer

Lord’s Prayer                                                                   Ecumenical Version

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                                                           John Peirce – Building & Grounds

Offering Prayer 

We give thanks, O God, for our church building, for its beauty, for the history it knows and the memories it holds, for the container it provides for worship, gatherings and celebrations, and its potential service to our community. We give thanks for those who look at the building with trained eyes for noticing needed maintenance and repairs. We give thanks for those who organize and plan, meet contractors and apply paint, do projects large and small to keep things functioning well, and visit the building on a weekly basis during COVID, just to make sure everything is ok. We long to be in our building again and are grateful for the care it is receiving. Amen.

 

Hymn: O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee                                  VU #560

1 O Master, let me walk with thee

in lowly paths of service free;

tell me thy secret, help me bear

the strain of toil, the fret of care.

2 Help me the slow of heart to move

with some clear, winning word of love;

teach me the wayward feet to stay,

and guide them in the homeward way.

3 Teach me thy patience; still with thee ,

in closer, dearer company,

in work that keeps faith sure and strong,

in trust that triumphs over wrong.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessing                                                                                Iona Community

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!