Hybrid Church Eighth Sunday After Pentecost July 23, 2023

Hybrid Church

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

July 23, 2023

Lay-led service

Today’s Team of Ministers: Alie, Betty, David, Gar, Pat, Shelagh, Susan

Musicians: Dorothy Dittrich, Pat Armstrong

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          (Psalm 46:10)

Be still and know that I am God. 

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be

(invitation to sit in silence)

Introit: Come Now, O God of Peace (x3)                                     VU #34

          Come now, O God of peace,

          we are your people,

          pour out your spirit

          that we be one body. 

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       

Hymn: Nearer, My God, to Thee                                                  VU #497

Opening Words                                                                 (Genesis 28:16-17)

One:  Surely the Lord is in this place. 

All:    How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.                      

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.          2

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

Genesis 28:10-19a (NRSV)                                                  Reader: David Soy

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Hymn: Jacob’s Ladder

We are climbing Jacob’s ladder (3x)

Children of the light

Every rung goes higher, higher (3x)

Children of the light (3x)

People, do you love your Jesus (3x)

Children of the light

We are loving, we are serving (3x)

Children of the light

We are climbing Jacob’s ladder (3x)

Children of the light

Rise, shine, give God Glory (3x)

Children of the light                                                                                    3

Psalm  139                                                                                     VU p.861

Gospel Reading:                                                        Reader: Shelagh Huston

As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel. 

Reader: God be with you.  
All:    And also with you

Reader: The Good News of Jesus the Christ according to Matthew

All:     Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” 

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

          Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.   

          All:         Praise be to Jesus Christ       

Reflections: Weeds and Wheat     (Alie Lee and Shelagh Huston - reflections attached)

Hymn: Come, You Thankful People, Come                               VU #516

Affirmation of Faith: A New Creed                                            VU p.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.

Invitation to Offering                                   (United Methodist Church, adapted) 

Holy God, as we bring our offerings to you, the temptation to focus on our own agenda is strong. Help us to give generously, without judging. Give us the faith to put our offerings into your hands, and the humility to know that only you can see clearly what is wheat and what is weed. We pray in the name of Christ who knows all hearts. 

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/the-path-of-the-disciple-imagining-a-new-reality/eighth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-a-lectionary-plan

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                                            (Celebrate God’s Presence, 0R004)

All:    Ever-present God,

          With this offering, we present also ourselves:

          All that we have been,

          All that we are,

          And all that we shall become,

          And our resolve to walk in your way.

          Accept us and our offering, we pray for Jesus’ sake. Amen.                                                                                       

Prayers of the People                                                            Betty Schultze                                                                           

One:  Loving God

All:    Hear our prayer.

The Prayer of Jesus                                                                      VU #959  

Hymn: Let There Be Light                                                            VU #679

Thank You

Blessing             (James Dillet Freeman, Unity Church Prayer of Protection, adapted)  

The light of God surrounds us,

The love of God enfolds us,

The power of God protects us,

The presence of God watches over us.

Wherever I am God is

And all is well.

(silence)

Dismissal

One:  Let us go forth to love and serve the Lord!

All:    Thanks be to God! Alleluia!