Home Church, 26th Sunday after Pentecost, November 7, 2021, Rev. Karen Hollis

Home Church, 26th Sunday after Pentecost, November 7, 2021, Rev. Karen Hollis

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 Us

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. Today we are observing Remembrance Day and remembering the life of St. Martin of Tours, for whom our founding Anglican church was named and whose feast day is November 11.

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.

Candle Lighting

Jesus said (Matthew 18:20), “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” We light this candle as a reminder that we are not alone.

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       

Call to Worship   - Micah 4:3

One: “[God] shall judge between many peoples,

          and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

All:    they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

          and their spears into pruning-hooks;

One:  nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

All:    neither shall they learn war any more.”

Opening Prayer  - United Church Worship, edited

Let us pray…God of our past, present, and future, we have come to this place as a people of hope. We pray for a future without war and a world that lives together in peace. In years past, and in the present day, members of our armed forces have put their lives at risk for this hope, with some paying the ultimate cost. May what we do here today strengthen our resolve to work together, following the way of Jesus, lived out in St. Martin, so that this prayer may be fulfilled. In Christ Jesus, Amen.

Hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past v. 1,2,4,5 -  VU #806

1 O God, our help in ages past,

our hope for years to come,

our shelter from the stormy blast,

and our eternal home:

2 under the shadow of thy throne

thy saints have dwelt secure;

sufficient is thine arm alone,

and our defence is sure

3 Before the hills in order stood,

or earth received its frame,

from everlasting thou art God,

to endless years the same.

4 A thousand ages, in thy sight,

are like an evening gone,

short as the watch that ends the night

before the rising sun.

5 Time like an ever-rolling stream

soon bears us all away;

we fly forgotten, as a dream

dies at the opening day.

Prayer of Confession   -  United Church Worship

Holy One, when our lives are comfortable and we live in relative safety, it can be all too easy to forget that what we enjoy today has come at a great cost. For some, the price was their last breath. For others, it was wounds to body, mind, or spirit. Our inability to resolve conflicts through peaceable means has caused harm beyond measure.Forgive us for using violence as a way to resolve our differences.     On days like this, we remember those who defend our freedoms and we say “Lest we forget.” 

Yet, too often we forget that the wounds to mind and spirit can last a lifetime. For all these things, and for those which we name before you now in the silence of our hearts, forgive us… 

Silent prayer of confession

Assurance of Grace 

Jesus said (John 3:17): “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Receive the Good News: in Christ, you are forgiven! Our loving God desires that all people, indeed the whole world, be restored to right relationship with God and one another, so that we might live together in peace.

Peace of Christ 

In this strange, virtual space, let us acknowledge together the peace Christ brings whenever we gather. Let us say together,

            N-Z:   The Peace of Christ be with you!

            A-M:  And also with you!

First Reading: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17  -  Reader: Betty Schultze

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing-floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing-floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.’ She said to her, ‘All that you tell me I will do.’ 

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Psalm 127   -  Reader: Tim Leadem

Unless the Lord builds the house,

   those who build it labour in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

   the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

   and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

   for he gives sleep to his beloved.

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

   the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

   are the sons of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has

   his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

   when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Gospel Reading   -    Reader: Tim Leadem

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 12: 38-44 

As he taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’

One:  This is the Gospel of Christ; 

All:    Praise be to Jesus Christ

Reflection: - Remembrance Day            

Silent Reflection

Iona Affirmation of Faith

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

We believe in God above us, Maker and Sustainer of all life, 

of sun and moon, of water and earth, of male and female. 

We believe in God beside us, Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, 

born of a woman, servant to the poor, tortured and nailed to a tree. 

A man of sorrows, he died forsaken. 

He descended into the earth to the place of death. 

On the third day he rose from the tomb. 

He ascended into heaven to be everywhere present, 

and His kingdom will come on earth. 

We believe in God within us, the Holy Spirit of Pentecostal fire, 

life-giving breath of the church, spirit of healing and forgiveness, 

source of resurrection and of eternal life. Amen

Prayers of the People   -     Mona Smart

One:  God of 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   - Brad Nixon

Offering Prayer 

Hymn: My Life Flows On  -  VU #716

1 My life flows on in endless song;

above earth’s lamentation,

I hear the sweet, though far off hymn

that hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife,

I hear the music ringing:

It finds an echo in my soul --

how can I keep from singing?

2 What though my joys and comforts die?

My Saviour still is living.

What though the shadowss gather round?

A new song Christ is giving.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

while to that Rock I'm clinging:

since Love commands both heaven and earth,

how can I keep from singing?

3 When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,

and hear their death knells ringing:

when friends rejoice both far and near,

how can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile

our thoughts to them are winging:

when friends by shame are undefiled,

how can I keep from singing?

4 I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

and day by day this pathway smooths,

since first I learned to love it.

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

a fountain ever springing:

all things are mine since I am Christ's --

how can I keep from singing?

In Flanders Fields -   (by LCol John McCrae)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Words of Remembrance

One:  They shall grow not old,

          as we that are left grow old.

All:    Age shall not weary them,

          nor the years condemn.

One:  At the going down of the sun and in the morning.

All:    We will remember them.

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.

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!