Hybrid Church August 20 , 2023 Rev. Sally Bullas + Wedding Vow Renewal

 Hybrid Church 

August 20 , 2023 

Rev. Sally Bullas 

Musician: Dorothy Dittrich 

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! 

Welcome & Announcements 

Whether you are gathering in person, on zoom or worshipping at home with the bulletin, welcome! We are one community, one in the body of Christ.  

Centering & Stillness                                         (Deena Metzger, adapted) 

“Blessed be the Divine Spirit.  Joy and Gladness.  Mirth and Exultation.  Pleasure and Delight.  Love and Friendship.  Peace and Community between all peoples.  Blessed be; may all live in the spirit and in the heart.                                               

(invitation to sit in silence) 

Introit: Come and Fill Our Hearts                                                     MV #16      

     Come and fill our hearts with your peace.                                

          You alone, O God, are holy. 

          Come and fill our hearts with your peace, alleluia!  x3 

Lighting of the Christ Candle   One: Christ is our Light. 

All: Thanks be to God! 

(the Christ Candle is lit) 

Greeting 

One:   The grace of Christ Jesus, the love of God,     and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

All:  And also with you 

Opening Words         (William Stephenson, worshipwords.co.uk, adapted)

One: Too often the best doesn’t happen to us because we don’t expect   it to happen. 

All: Too often we fasten our attention on the obstacles and not on        the possibilities. 

One: Too often our fear of failure robs us of the need to risk for what we        could do with the life we have been given. 

All: We shut the door to the Intimate One by our timid trust and    outdated beliefs. 

One: To celebrate the God of our lives means to throw open to door to         our heart and to stand in awe of the Amazing: 

All: That we are the children of God with incredible potential and      resources! 

One: That we are children of God with great promise. 

All: In this worship time, let us let go of all that holds us back   from God. 

One: Let us grab hold of the gifts God has given us!                          

  Hymn: The King of Love My Shepherd Is                                             CP #520 

1 The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never; I nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine forever. 

2 Where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul he leadeth, and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feedeth. 

3 Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me, and on his shoulder gently laid, and home rejoicing brought me. 

4 In death's dark vale I fear no ill with thee, dear Lord, beside me; thy rod and staff my comfort still, thy cross before to guide me. 

5 Thou spread’st a table in my sight; thy unction grace bestoweth; and O what transport of delight from thy pure chalice floweth! 

6 And so through all the length of days thy goodness faileth never; good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise within thy house forever! 

Opening Prayer        (David Long-Higgins, worshipwords.co.uk, adapted)

One: Loving God, centre us in your heart, pulsing with Christ-love. 

All:  Healing and holding; challenging and changing; everything in order, for your vision to rise. 

One: Take every weariness and form resurrections small and large in us, offering a strength beyond our own; 

All: binding us to you and to each other and your whole creation. One: By this, O Love, grow your grace in us, delighting in every gift often taken for granted. 

All: Draw us to each other that we may discover you, forming us ever anew. 

One: Yet also, O Love, call us beyond ourselves as agents of mending in a world gone mad with desperate divisions too numerous to name. 

All: By this life you give and form ever anew your creative covenant in us and through us. 

One: Blossoming a bouquet, beautiful and gracious, loving, just, and good. 

All: Not only for ourselves, but for the world you love. One: O Love, let your yes to us, made known in Christ Jesus, be answered again and again with our yes to you, granting grace and space for your good news to rise. 

All: Amen.                                                                                                    

Passing of the Peace 

One:  The peace of Christ be with you!  

All:   And also with you! 

You are invited to turn to those directly around you and share Christ’s peace. Those on zoom, please unmute and share with one another. 

Reader: By the gift of your Spirit, calm and quiet our souls that we may hear your Word today and be lifted up to walk with you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen 

First Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12                           Reader: Betty Schultze 

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. 

Psalm 67                                                                                 VU #786 

Refrain:   

“Let the people’s praise you, God, let the nations shout their joy.” 

Be gracious unto us, O God, and bless us;  and let the light of your face shine upon us, 

            that your ways may be known upon earth,              your saving power among all nations. 

Let the nations be glad, and sing for joy,   for you judge the peoples righteously    and guide the nations of the earth. The earth has yielded its harvest,  and you, our God, have blessed us. 

        Your blessing, O God, be upon us.  

        May all the ends of the earth revere you.   R                             

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13                                 Reader: Betty Schultze

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and 

            Reader: May the wisdom discerned from these words of Scripture   ing us closer to God.     

       All:      Praise be to God.     

Reflection: A Three-fold Cord is not Quickly Broken  Sally Bullas

Renewal of Vows – Sara and Sam Abraham 
 

Processional Hymn: Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones CP #320

Greeting and Statement of Purpose:   

May our Creator God, who celebrates life and love in all creation, be with us as we gather to celebrate the life and love Sara and Sam have created together and have shared with one another during the years of their marriage.  Thirty-six years ago, they made promises to each other, which have been lived out as they experienced all the joys and pitfalls of an intimate and evolving relationship.  God has blessed and sealed their covenant promise, and by grace, God has kept them faithful to it.  Sam and Sara, we who are gathered with you today, your children, family, friends, and this community of faith, are happy for you, and join with you in thanking God for all the blessings in the life you have shared to this moment and or the moments yet to come. Today is an invitation to renew your covenant vows. 

Prayer:   

Holy and Generous One, on this anniversary of the commitment Sara and Sam made to one another thirty-six years ago, we give you thanks for your past blessings, and for your continual gifts.  We thank you that, with every passing day, you have increased and deepened their love for each other.  We praise you for all the joys of home life, for the blessing of children, for families, and for all the friendships that have grown out of their being together.  Renew your blessings upon them now, as they renew their vows of love and commitment.  Amen 

Renewal of Vows:  

Sara, I give thanks that you are part of my life.  With joy I renew the commitment I made to you thirty-six years ago.  I promise to continue to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love and honour you all the days of my life. 

Sam, I give thanks that you are part of my life.  With joy I renew the commitment I made to you thirty-six years ago.  I promise to continue to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love and honour you all the days of my life. 

Promises and Blessings of Family and Friends:   

Do you, the children, families and friends of Sam and Sara promise to continue to give your love and blessing to them?  Will you honour them and promise that your love for them and care of them will continue unchanged and as strong as ever? 

If so respond:  We will. 

Prayer:   

Loving God, bless Sara and Sam.  We thank you for their covenant relationship which you have blessed, for the children they have nurtured and the grandchild newly arrived.  We especially thank you for the love, care, and goodness that all have witnessed in the lives they have shared together to this moment.  We remember, with love, those who were present on their wedding day and now no longer with us, but held forever in memory.  As you have blessed Sam and Sara’s relationship from the beginning, continue to bless their life going forward with gifts of peace and joy.  Help us in all our relationships, that, inspired by their witness to life and love, we may continue to build a world in which love can live and grow and deepen. Amen.                                                          

Blessings and Rededication of the Rings: 

These rings are a sign of your loving commitment to each other.  Bless, O God, these rings that they who wear them may live in your peace, and bear witness to your love all the days of their lives. Amen. 

Exchanging of  Rings:   

Sara, I give you this ring as a symbol of our commitment to the covenant we have made. 

Sam, I give you this ring as a symbol of our commitment to the covenant we have made. 

Kiss: 

Sam and Sara, you have renewed your vows and made promises to love and honour each other all the days of your lives.  You may seal your commitment to one another with a kiss. 

Blessing:        

Sara and Sam, may God, who is all goodness, deepen your commitment to one another and fill you both with every blessing.  Amen. 

A Gif of Music and Voice:  “If Music Be the Food of Love”          (Purcell)      Andrew Warren, Piano; James Warren, Vocals 

Offering 

Doxology      CP #669 

Praise God the Source of life and birth, Praise God the Word, who came to earth. Praise God the Spirit, holy flame. All Glory, honour to God’s name. 

Offering Prayer    (worshipwords.co.uk)  

One: Gracious God.  Bless our offering. 

All: Help us use it to share your love. 

One: Bless our lives. 

All: Use each of us to share your love.  Amen. 

Prayers of the People                                                          Susan Brockley        

One:  Loving God, 

All:  Hear Our Prayer. 

The Prayer of Jesus

Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name,  

  your Kin-dom come,                                                                            7 

 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 kin-dom, the power and the glory are yours,      

now and forever. 

 

Communion Hymn: Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ   VU #468  

1 Let us talents and tongues employ, reaching out with a shout of joy: 

bread is broken, the wine is poured, Christ is spoken and seen and heard. 

[Refrain:] 

Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again, pass the Word around: loaves abound! 

2 Christ is able to make us one, at the table he sets the tone, teaching people to live to bless, love in word and in deed express. [Refrain] 

3 Jesus calls us in, sends us out bearing fruit in a world of doubt, gives us love to tell, bread to share. 

God (Immanuel) everywhere! [Refrain] 

A Statement of Faith: “A New Creed”              VU #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. 

We Celebrate at the Table 

One: May God be with us. 

All: God is here among us. 

One: Let us open our hearts to God. 

All: We open them to God and to one another. 

One: Let us give thanks to God. 

All: It is right to give our thanks and praise. 

One: Blessed are you, gracious God, Creator of light, Giver of all life,  

          Source of love. 

All: Your song of wisdom rang out before the world began;     your ancient love still touches us and stirs within us. One: Even when we turn away from you, you keep faith with us. All: You send your messengers to prepare the way through the    wilderness of our living, to guide us in the path of wholeness. One: In the fulness of time you sent us Jesus, the Christ, who opened            to us the way of freedom and peace. 

All: Therefore, with all your people, we sing your praise: 

Sanctus                                                                                   MV #203  

O holy, holy holy God, O God of time and space. 

All earth and sea and sky above bear witness to your grace. 

Hosanna in the highest heav’n, creation sings your praise. 

And blessed is the One who comes and bears your name always. 

One: On the night before he died, Jesus took bread, and after giving               thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to those who sat with him,    saying: 

All: Take, eat; remember me.” 

One: In the same way he took the cup, saying: 

All: “Take, drink; remember me.”                                                 

 One: Eternal God, we unite in this covenant of faith, as we break bread and share the cup, giving thanks for your love in Jesus. Grant that in praise and thanksgiving, we may so offer  ourselves to you that our lives may proclaim the mystery of  faith: 

Memorial Acclamation                                                                                             MV #204

Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen, Christ will come again! Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen, Christ will come again! 

One: God of Love, send your Spirit upon us and what we do here, that, and these gifts, touched by your Spirit, may be signs of life and love to each other, and to all the world. 

One: The bread that we break (bread is broken) All      is our sharing in the life of Christ. 

One: The cup for which we give thanks (wine is poured) All: is our sharing in the life of Christ.  

One: The gifts of God for the people of God. 

(Communion is served) 

Post Communion Prayer 

One: Gracious God, may your gifts of love transform and enliven us    that we may live lives of thanksgiving. 

All: Strengthen our faith, increase our love for one another, and  end us forth into the world united in courage and peace.  Amen.  

Hymn: Now Thank We All Our God                                       VU #236  
1 Now thank we all our God, with heart, and hands, and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today. 

2 O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, with ever-joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us, and keep us strong in grace, and guide us when perplexed, and free us from all ills in this world and the next.                                                            

3 All praise and thanks to God for all that has been given, the Son, and Spirit blest who dwell in highest heaven, the one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore; 

for thus it was, is now, and shall be, evermore. 

Blessing                                                (Ana Gobledale, worshipwords.co.uk)  

One: God’s peace:  carry, keep and hold you. All: God’s love:  nourish, bless and enfold you. 

One: God’s spirit:  inspire, lift and mold you. 

All: May God, merciful and just,  

One: help you persevere on the path before you. 

 

(Pictures by Don Butt & Betty Schultze.

Cakes from 'New Dawn Artistry'.)