Hybrid Church October 1, 2023 “Season of Creation – Let Justice and Peace Flow”

Christ Church Gabriola

A Collaborative Anglican – United Church

Open to All

 

                    

                                                                                                                                                (photo by Janik, Unsplash)

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Hybrid Church

October 1, 2023

“Season of Creation – Let Justice and Peace Flow”

 

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                                                                                         (Thich Nhat Hanh)

“At this very moment, the Earth is above you, the Earth is below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. The water in our flesh, the rock in our bones, we all are part of the Earth. We are part of the Earth and we carry her within us.”

 

(invitation to sit in silence)

 

Introit: River vs 3                                                                                                                         MV #3

          Water, let me drink of your healing pow’r,
          Water, strength of life you give.
          Water, as I travel with each hour,
          Water, help my body live.  (x2)

 

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                                                                                                                                 
One:  Greetings in the name of our God who is good:

All:    whose love endures forever.

One:  Greetings to you, sun and moon, you stars of the northern sky: 

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise.

One:  Sunrise and sunset, night and day:

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise.

One:  Greetings to you, hills and valleys, rivers and ponds, sea and rain: 

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise.

One:  Greetings to you, oak and pine, hemlock and birch, tamarack and 

          maple: 

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise.

One:  Greetings to you, hawks and sparrows, cardinals and robins, bats 

          and blue jays, ravens and crows: 

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise.                                    2

One:  Greetings to you, people of all genders, elders and children, 

          indigenous and diverse cultures of this rainbow land:

All:    All who care, who love, and who pray,

One:  Who laugh and learn, who rest and who play: 

All:    give to our God your thanks and praise!

 

Hymn: This Is God’s Wondrous World                                                        VU #296

 

Opening Prayer                                                                                      (Fyodor Dostoevsky, adapted)
One:  Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it.

All:    Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light.

One:  Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. 

All:    If we love everything, we will perceive the divine mystery in 

          things. 

One:  Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every 

          day. 

All:    And we will come at last to love the whole world with an             all-embracing love.

One:  Amen.

Passing of the Peace

One:  In Christ we are becoming a new creation.

All:    We see God around us. 

          We see God within us. 

          We give thanks to our Creator.

One:  The peace of our Creator be with you in all things.

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

 

Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV)                                      Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of       3

Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

 

Psalm 78                                                                                                                                              VU #792

Refrain  

Come, bless God, O my soul, and never forget all God’s blessings.

 

Gospel Reading                                                                              Reader: Angela Nutter

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 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

 

‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

 

Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.   

All: Praise be to Jesus Christ                                                               4

Reflection:                                    “Water is Life”

 

Hymn: Like a Healing Stream                                                                               MV #144

 

A Litany of Commitment to Creation Care

One:  We join with the Earth and with each other:

All:    To bring new life to the land 

          To restore the waters

          To refresh the air.

One:  We join with the Earth and with each other:

All:    To renew the forests

          To care for the plants

          To protect the creatures.

One:  We join with the Earth and with each other:

All:    To celebrate the seas

          To rejoice in the sunlight

          To sing the song of the stars.

One:  We join with the Earth and with each other:

All:    To recreate the human community 

          To promote justice and peace

          To remember our children.

One:  We join with the Earth and with each other…

          We join together as many and diverse expressions of one                             loving mystery…

All:    for the healing of the Earth and the renewal of all life. 
          Amen.

 

Offering

 

Offertory: Grant Us, God, the Grace                                                              VU #540

          Grant us, God, the grace of giving,

          with a spirit large and free,

          that ourselves and all our living

          we may offer faithfully.

 

Offering Prayer                                    (Collect for the Stewardship of Creation)    

Creating God, your name is written on every leaf, every bird, every river, every stone, every living being. We praise and worship you for the magnificence of your creation. Make us attentive to the wounds of the earth and willing to work for the healing of the whole creation.  In Christ, we pray. Amen.

 

 

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Prayers of the People                                                                          Mona Smart                                                                                                    

One:  Loving God,

All:    Hear Our Prayers

 

The Prayer of Jesus                                                                                                               VU #959        Our Father in heaven, 
          hallowed be your name,

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

          now and forever.

 

Hymn: When Long Before Time                                                                           VU #248

 

Thank You

 

Blessing                                                                     

One:     Deep peace, pure white of the moon to you. 
Right: Deep peace, pure green of the grass to you. 
One:     Deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you. 
Left:     Deep peace, pure gray of the dew to you. 
One:     Deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you.
All:      Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The liturgy for today’s service is drawn from “Season of Creation:  A Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes (2023),” a resource of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network. Some has been adapted to reflect our Shared Ministry context.)