Hybrid Church Trinity Sunday June 4, 2023

Christ Church Gabriola

A Collaborative Anglican – United Church

Open to All

 

                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                (Artist Unknown)

Hybrid Church

Trinity Sunday

June 4, 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                       

“It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.”          (Mary Oliver)

                                                                                

(invitation to sit in silence)

 

Introit: Open Our Hearts                                                              MV #21 

Open our hearts, open our minds. 

Open our lives to you O loving God.

Open our hearts, open our minds.

Open our lives to you O loving God.

Open our hearts.

 

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: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty                                     VU #315

1Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

 

2Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee;
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which were, and art, and evermore shalt be.

 

3Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.                                                2

4Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

 

Opening Words                                       (John Schimminger, progressivechristianity.org)
One:  Blessed be God, the Source of all Being.
All:    Blessed be God, the Breath of the Universe, 

          the Wisdom behind Nature and the Scriptures.
One:  Blessed be God, the Way of Reconciliation and Healing.
                                                            

Opening Prayer                                       (John Schimminger, progressivechristianity.org)
One:  Creator God, you are the Spirit and Breath of the Universe. 
All:    You are the Center towards whom we journey and the Way                     leading to wholeness. 
One:  We see your world of abundance and blessing all around us. 
All:    We hear your call to be your eyes, your ears, your hands, 
One:  to experience this creation and care for it, expressing our wonder 

          in thankfulness and praise.
All:    We come together as a community of faith and compassion. 
One:  We open our hearts and minds to you. 
All:    Come, inspire us, dwell with us, and make us one in your                       Spirit.  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

 

Genesis 1:1-4a (NRSV)                                                          Reader: Pat Armstrong

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; 

 

 

 

 

 

3

Psalm 8                                                                                                                 VU #732

Refrain: “O God, our God, how glorious is your name in all the earth!”

 

O God, our God, how glorious is your name in all the earth!

From the lips of infants and children your praises reach up to the heavens.

          You have set up a stronghold against your foes,

          to quell the enemy and the avenger. R

 

When I look to the heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars you have set in their places,

          what are we mortals that you should be mindful of us,     

          mere human beings that you should care for us? R

 

You have made us little less than divine,

and crowned us with glory and honour.

          You have made us rulers over all your creation,

          and put all things under our feet,

all sheep and cattle, all creatures of the wild,

          the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,

          and all that make their way through the waters. R

 

Gospel Reading:                                                           Reader: Pat Armstrong

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 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

 

Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.   

All:         Praise be to Jesus Christ       

 

Reflection:                        Boldy Go - But to What End?

 

silent reflection

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Hymn: All Things Bright and Beautiful                                     CP #415

Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.

 

1Each radiant flower that opens,
each vibrant bird that sings,
God made their glowing colours,
God made their lively wings. R

 

2The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruit in the garden,
God made them every one. R

 

3The rocky mountain splendour,
the loon's wild, haunting call,
the great lakes and the prairies,
the forest in the fall. R

 

4God gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is the Creator,
who has made all things well. R

 

A Statement of Faith                                           (Daniel Sire, progressivechristianity.org)

I believe in God, the source of all life, wholeness, and love.

I believe that God is revealed in Jesus Christ.

I believe that in his life, Jesus reveals God in grace, mercy, forgiveness, and justice.

 

I believe that in his death, Jesus reveals God’s determined presence in the world even in the face of hatred, violence, and pain.

I believe that in his resurrection, Jesus reveals God calling us to abundant life both now and forever; life beyond our fearful and fragile imaginations.

 

I believe that God lives among us, within us, and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that God moves us to be together in communities of faith, hope, and love.

 

I believe these things not out of certainty but out of faith; as one who trusts in the reality of God revealed in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                       5 

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                                               (Carol Penner, Uniting Church of Australia)

One:  Giver of all good things, let your grace flow through us;
All:    a generous stream, unstoppable, refreshing, abundant.
One:  We release these gifts into your river of love, flowing out to                            all the world. 

All:    Amen.                               

 

Prayers of the People                                                              Tim Leadem                                                                                             

One:  We pray to the Lord,

All:    Hear Our Prayer.

 

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 v.1,2,3,6                               VU #248

1When long before time and the worlds were begun,

when there was no earth and no sky and no sun,

and all was deep silence and night reigned supreme,

and even our Maker had only a dream…

 

2 …the silence was broken when God sang the Song,

and light pierced the darkness and rhythm began,

and with its first birth-cries creation was born,

and creaturely voices sang praise to the morn.                               6

3The sounds of the creatures were one with their Lord’s,

their harmonies sweet and befitting the Word,

the Singer was pleased as the earth sang the Song,

the choir of the creatures re-echoed it long.

 

6To you, God the Singer, our voices we raise,

to you, Song Incarnate, we give all our praise,

to you, Holy Spirit, our life and our breath,

be glory for ever, through life and through death.

 

Thank You

 

Blessing                                            (Dawn Grace Peters, progressivechristianity.org)

One:  May God the World Maker bless you;
Right/ Let us delight in sunlight and starlight and                       

Zoom: surprises of the turning earth.
One:  May Jesus the Peace Maker bless you;
Left:  Let us celebrate Life as it is found in this community, in all its 

          struggles and joys.
One:  May Spirit the Journey Maker bless you;
All:    Let us walk with saints and angels in the wisdom  and 

          wildness of Love.  Amen.