Hybrid ChurchSeptember 3, 2023. Rev. Sally Bullas 

Hybrid Church 

September 3, 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                                                                              (Joanna Macy) 

“When you act on behalf of something greater than yourself, you begin to feel it act through you with a power that is greater than your own.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                              (invitation to sit in silence) 

Introit: Nothing Can Trouble                                                 VU #290  
Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.  

Those who seek God shall never go wanting. 

Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten. God alone fills us.  (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                                                    (Judy Cannato, adapted) 

One: Holy Heart of the Universe, help us to see ourselves in relation to all that is.  

All: Help us to recognize the ways that our energy touches all that is, the ways our habits and words affect all the wholes of which we are a part, and all the parts that make us whole. One: Empower us, that we may embrace the capacity for self-transcendence as we negotiate the tension between self-preservation and self-adaptation. 

All: Allow us to learn from experiences of self-dissolution, and enable us to grow in the capacity to live in freedom that we might be life-giving to all. 

Hymn: O Beautiful Gaia                                                           MV #41 
1O, beautiful Gaia 

O Gaia, calling us home 

O, beautiful Gaia 

Calling us on                                                                                  2 

2Soil yielding its harvest 

O Gaia, calling us home 

Soil yielding its harvest 

Calling us on 

3O, beautiful Gaia 

O Gaia, calling us home 

O, beautiful Gaia 

Calling us on 

4Waves crashing on granite 

O Gaia, calling us home 

Waves crashing on granite 

Calling us on                          

Opening Prayer                                                    (Judy Cannato, adapted) 

One: Holy One, evidence of your self-communication in love is all around, everywhere.  

All: In the inner depths of our hearts, in the world, in all creatures around us, you live and move and have your being.  One: We are not separate from you, and because of your wondrous love we are not separate from all creation.  

All: Help us to live with eyes wide open to your self-communication. 

One: Help us to be open to your lavish grace, to receive it without fear and with the conviction that you want nothing more than for us to receive it.   

All: In turn, may we be gracious to others, an instrument of your    lavish grace to all we meet.  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 

Exodus 3:1-15 (NRSV)                             Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce 

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 

Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He 

said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’ 

But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”: This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations. 

Psalm 105 (Parts One and Three)                                          VU #828 

Refrain: Bless God, my soul.  Hallelujah! 

Give thanks and call on God’s name. 

Make known to the nations what God has done.      

Sing, O sing the songs of praise;      

tell of all God’s wonderful deeds.

Exult in God’s holy name; 

let those who seek God be joyful in heart.

 R                                

Turn for help to the One who is your strength;

seek God’s presence continually. 

Remember the marvels the Most High has done,  

the wonders and judgements God has given, 

O children of Abraham and Sarah, God’s servants, 

O offspring of Israel, chosen of God.  

R 

You are the eternal God,

your justice reaches every corner of the earth.

You are ever mindful of your covenant,

the promise you gave to a thousand generations,

  the covenant you made with Sarah and Abraham, 

 the oath you gave to Isaac.

You confirmed it for Jacob as binding. 

To Israel your everlasting covenant you declared, 

‘To you I give the land of Canaan,  

 as your appointed inheritance.’

 R 

When Israel came to Egypt, 

 when Jacob settled in the land of Ham, 

there you make your people fruitful,

 stronger than their foes. 

But when you turned their hearts to hate your people,

to deceitful dealing with your servants, 

then you sent your servant Moses,  

and Aaron, who you had chosen.

 R 

Gospel Reading:                                    Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce 

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 16:21-28 

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to  save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’ 

Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.    

All: Praise be to Jesus Christ        

Reflection: “Who, me?” 

Hymn: I, The Lord of Sea and Sky         VU #509 
1I, the Lord of sea and sky,  I have heard my people cry.  All who dwell in deepest sin   my hand will save. 

 I who made the stars of night,  I will make their darkness bright. 

 Who will bear my light to them? 

 Whom shall I send?  

Refrain: 

Here I am Lord. 

Is it I Lord? 

I have heard you calling in the night.  

 I will go Lord, if you lead me. 

I will hold your people in my heart.  

2 I, the Lord of snow and rain,  I have borne my people’s pain.  

 I have wept for love of them, they turn away.   I will break their hearts of stone,   give them hearts for love alone.  

 I will speak my word to them.  

 Whom shall I send?  R 

3 I, the Lord of wind and flame,   I will tend the poor and lame.  

 I will set a feast for them; my hand will save.

  Finest bread I will provide,  till their hearts be satisfied.  

 I will give my life to them.  

 Whom shall I send?   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. 

Minute for Mission 

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                                                     (Judy Cannato, adapted) 

One: Incomprehensible Holy Mystery, in and through your grace we can hold the gift of this moment in time. 

All: Help us embrace each and every resurrection, every experience of self-transcendence and self-dissolution that invites us to enflesh compassion and love in the world. One: May we continue to grow in our capacity to witness so that we may form intentions that are life-giving for all.  Amen. 

Prayers of the People                                                         Paddy Waymark        

One:  Awakening Spirit, 

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: Holy Spirit, Truth Divine vs. 1-5                                 VU #368   
1Holy Spirit, truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine.

Voice of God and inward light, wake my Spirit, clear my sight. 

2Holy Spirit, love divine, glow within this heart of mine. Kindle every high desire, purify me with your fire. 

3Holy Spirit, power divine, fill and nerve this will of mine. Boldly may I always live, bravely serve, and gladly give. 

4Holy Spirit, law divine, reign within this soul of mine. Be my law, and I shall be firmly bound, for ever free. 

5Holy Spirit, peace divine, still this restless heart of mine. Speak to calm this tossing sea, grant me your tranquillity. 

Thank You 

Blessing                                                 (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, adapted) 

One: Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you shall be. 

All:  Give God the benefit of believing that God’s hand is leading you. 

One:  Accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense a incomplete.

All:   We are one, after all, you and I… 

One:    together we suffer, together exist and forever will recreate  each other. 

All: Alleluia and Amen!