Home Church, 26th Sunday after Pentecost, November 21, 2021, “Heart of Christ Sunday” Guest Presider:  Rev. Sally Bullas

Home Church, 26th Sunday after Pentecost, November 21, 2021, “Heart of Christ Sunday”

Guest Presider:  Rev. Sally Bullas

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

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Preparing the Space Around and Within Us

Whether you are gathering on zoom or worshipping at home with the bulletin...welcome! We are one community in Christ. Take a breath and relax. Be present in Spirit. Allow yourself to be fully in the moment…not to keep out the realities of the world, rather to invite a renewed focus…a welcome of the Holy with us and in us…in the midst of it all.

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

          and the peace of the Spirit be with you all.

All:    And also with you       

Call to Worship  -   (*From “A Song of Faith:  A Statement of Faith”)

One:  As the gathered community, may we find a way to follow the path  and approach to life as taught and modeled by Jesus.

All:    We walk in a new way.

One:  As a discerning community, may we reach beyond to discover a           renewed truth about what we believe.

All:    We speak in a new way.

One:  As a community that desires to practice compassion, may what we     do with what we believe put our faith and ethics into action.

All:    We become a new way.

One:  As a community steeped in tradition but living in the now, may we     recognize our historical context and yet live out the Sacred way.

All:    We embody the Holy in a new way.

One:  Empowering the diversity of our faithful voices in community:

All:    “We sing of a church seeking to continue the story of Jesus  by embodying Christ’s presence in the world.”*                                 

Opening Prayer         

One:  When first-century Christians professed the kingship of Christ, and the kingdom of God in their midst, they were defiantly declaring that Caesar and the Roman Empire was not the king and kingdom to which they held their ultimate allegiance.

All:    This counter-culture claim was a defiant way to overturn the dominant notions of power.

One:  Therefore, to profess that Christ is King or Lord, means that all other things in life are not!  In this type of kin-dom we witness to:
All:    the power of love in the face of hate, peace in the face of conflict, and justice in the face of oppression.

One:  What would it look like if we allowed Christ to ‘reign’ in our hearts and lives?  What difference would it make in church and society if  we gave our highest priority to living life in the way and manner revealed to us through the life and teachings of Jesus?”

All:    We pray that we may be emboldened to find out!  Amen.

Hymn: Come, Children, Join to Sing - VU #345

1 Come, children join to sing:  Hallelujah!

Praise to our Servant King:  Hallelujah!

Let all with heart and voice

saved by God’s gracious choice.

now in this place rejoice:  Hallelujah!

2 Come, lift your hearts on high:  Hallelujah!

Let praises fill the sky:  Hallelujah!

Christ calls his people friends.

The helpless he defends,

A love that never ends:  Hallelujah!

3 Praise you our Christ again:  Hallelujah!

Raise high the joyous strain:  Hallelujah!

The whole creation o’er

let all God’s love adore,

singing for evermore:  Hallelujah!

Prayer of Confession

One:  When we have followed a different path:

All:    may we find a different way;

        may we speak of Creative Truth;
        may we be inspired to be the Embodiment 
        of compassion and peace; 
        may we be granted the courage of Spirit 
        to become the way of Jesus, Justice, and Community.                                           

Silent Prayer

Words of Assurance            

Take heart and know peace! Be assured, for you know the way!  
The awakening love of Christ reigns in every heart! Amen.                          

Peace of Christ 

Please unmute your microphones so we can pass the peace to one another. 

            A-M: The Peace of Christ be with you!

            N-Z: And also with you!

First Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8 (from the Inclusive Bible)   Reader: Don Moser

From John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you, from the One who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits before the throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead, sovereign of the rulers of the earth.  

To Christ—who loves us, and who has freed us from our sins by the shedding of blood, and who has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God and Creator—to Jesus Christ be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.  

Look! Christ is coming on the clouds for every eye to see, even those who pierced Jesus, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn over Christ. So be it! Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says our God, “who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Second Reading: Christ Reigning by Bruce Sanguin - Reader: Don Moser

Christ, our Brother.

Christ, our Beginning.

Christ, our End.

            Known in Jesus,

            Word made flesh;

            known as Logos,

            Hidden Wholeness;

            Pattern within the Chaos;

            Wisdom, calling from city streets

            for justice and compassion.

Christ, beyond all names,

Deepest Mystery,

Depth of Our Own Being,

awaken us, enfold us, impel us

to realize the dream

that is ours to birth.

Gospel Reading  - Reader: Mona Smart 

One:  God be with you.            

All:    And also with you.

One:  The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John;

All:    Glory to you, Holy One of God.

John 18:33-38 (From The Inclusive Bible)

So Pilate re-entered the Praetorium and summoned Jesus.

“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.  

Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or have others told you about me?”  

Pilate replied, “Am I Jewish? It is your own people and the chief priests who hand you over to me. What have you done?  

Jesus answered, “My realm is not of this world; if it belonged to this world, my people would have fought to keep me out of the hands of the Temple authorities. No, my realm is not of this world.” 

Pilate said, “So you’re a King?”  

Jesus replied, “You say I’m a King. I was born and came into the world for one purpose—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who seeks the truth hears my voice.” 

 “Truth? What is truth?”  asked Pilate.

One: This is the Gospel of Christ; 

All:   Praise be to Jesus Christ

Reflection: - “When Christ Reigns in our Hearts”                

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 - Mona Smart 

One: Loving God,

All:    Hear Our Prayer.

The Prayer of Jesus  (adapted from a prayer written by Rev. Bret S. Myers)

     O God, may your peace and justice dwell among us.

     May your love and compassion live within and between us.

     Nourish us daily with the necessities of life;

     Sustenance for our bodies, and inspiration for our Spirits.

     And may the forgiveness we give be that which we receive;

     The kindness we show be that which we perceive.

     Lead us on virtuous paths, and distance us from evil.

     Gift us with hope that leads to renewal and reconciliation.

     For your world is our world,

     And your reign, our reign;

     Then, now, and always.  May it be so.                                  

Offering          

Video: Minute for Mission – “It is Up to Us”    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIMqkZAk4M&list=UUKYjQvHY5ndMCmrBjCu-N5A&index=115                                                       

Hymn: We Have This Ministry  - VU #510

1 We have this ministry

and we are not discouraged;

it is by God’s own power

that we may live and serve.

Openly we share God’s word,

speaking truth as we believe,

praying that the shadowed world

may healing light receive.

We have this ministry, O God, receive our living.

2 O Christ, the tree of life,

our end and our beginning,

we grow to fullest flower

when rooted in your love.

Brothers, sisters, clergy, lay,

called to service by your grace,

different cultures, different gifts,

the young and old a place.

We have this ministry, O God, receive our giving.

3 The yoke of Christ is ours,

the whole world is our parish;

we daily take the cross,

the burden and the joy.

Bearing hurts of those we serve,

wounded, bruised and bowed with pain,

Holy Spirit, bread and wine,

we die and rise again.

We have this ministry, O God, receive our loving.

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                                                                    

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.

A-M:  The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water, bread and stories,  feeding you, challenging you.

N-Z:   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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Some of the liturgy for today was inspired by an article written by Rev. Todd B. Freeman, “What to Make of King and Kingdom Language:  Christ the King Sunday”)