Hybrid Worship, February 11, 2024, Transfiguration

Dear Friends, The Sunday of Transfiguration brings the circle of Epiphany to completion. We began our journey through Epiphany holding onto a star to help guide our steps onward. We saw how God’s light was revealed in the early work and ministry of Jesus. This coming Sunday we explore the wonder of Christ’s transfiguration and hold up God’s invitation to a transformative life. We see Jesus, bathed in beautiful light, shining into the prism of life, scattering beauty, colour and great diversity in the myriad fractals that catch a glimpse of Christ’s radiance. And then we begin Lent - one of my favourite times in our calendar! A glorious long period marking Jesus’ own journey through the wilderness to his eventual death and resurrection. On the Sundays in Lent, we will be offering worship that invites us on a journey through the Dark Wood, an ancient dark forest. It may be a place that is scary and treacherous sometimes, a place from which we long to escape. But we will see, through our journey, that there are gifts to be had there in the dark wood and the greatest realization to be had, is that we are in fact that we have been walking through a sacred forest. In a sense, there is no emerging from the other side, but rather a growing comfort that we are exactly where we should be and that we are bathed in light in this traverse through life here. And then I invite you to share in a study group, “A Different kind of Fast” which will be held on Zoom - please see the details below and sign up if you’d like to join in. Walk with us in this sacred and beautiful journey as we deepen our spiritual practice and draw closer to God and to our environment. Blessings to you, Suzanna (Rev. Suzanna Bates)

Hybrid Worship, February 11, 2024, Transfiguration

Rev. Suzanna Bates

Music Director: 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!

Words for Worship

Words in bold italics, please say together

Prelude: I Sing The Mighty Power                         F.J. Hayden (1732-1809)

Gathering

Hymn: Christ Whose Glory Fills The Skies                             VU #336

Acknowledgement of the Land

Lighting the Candles

We come to the mountaintop to be embraced in God’s presence.

We are comforted by holiness and light;

we are comforted by the hope of the mountain top,

where God is so close, so accessible,

where there is no doubt of God’s glory.

As we come to worship, God brings us to the mountain top so that we may be inspired to do God’s work in the valley below.

Come, let us worship God.

We are here. God is here.

This space is holy ground.

Opening Prayer

Hymn: Come Touch Our Hearts                                                 MV #12

Prayer Before the Reading of Scripture

We long to hear you, O God.

We long to hear your truth. 

We long to know your love. 

Open our hearts and minds. 

We are listening. Amen.

First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1–12 (NRSV)         Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce

Elijah is taken up into heaven.

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”    2 But he said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Gospel Reading                                                        Reader: Susan Brockley

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 Mark

All:      Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

Mark 9:2–8 (The Message)        

The transfiguration of Jesus

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus. Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing. Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him. ”The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus. Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t tell a soul what you saw”

This is the Gospel of Christ.

We give thanks for Good News today!                                          3

Word: “Transformation”

Hymn: Holy Spirit, Truth Divine                                                VU #368

Prayers of the People                                                         Paddy Waymark                                          

In the silence,

      Hear our Prayers.

Life and Work of the Church

Offering 

Offertory Response: Take, O Take Me As I Am                        MV #85

Prayer of Dedication

We make the offerings of our lives, 

with the hope and confidence

that all we do, all we offer, all we say,

all we think, and all we hope

will take root in this world

and be the source of new expressions

of God’s love, of God’s justice,

of God’s healing and of God’s beauty.

May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven - through us, alongside us, despite us, and for us. Amen.

Holy Communion               (With Kingsfold Communion Set MV #203, 204 & 205)

God be with you all. 

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts;

We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks to God!

It is right to give God our thanks and praise!

Though creation sometimes weeps,

we wait for you, O God.

For you created the heavens, earth, and all that is in them: you cast sunbeams, open flowers, and feed insects. You are beyond the galaxies, under the oceans and inside each grain of wheat. Thank you for the wonders of creation and for your great trust in us.

Though humanity sometimes weeps,

we wait for you, O God.

For you smiled on an outcasted Hagar, blessing her descendants, you guided your doubtful people, leading them to freedom, you spoke through the Judges and the Prophets, providing words of wisdom, you lived among us as a teacher, healer, and friend, giving us a sacred path to follow. Thank you for the worldwide fellowship of disciples, who faithfully work to share your love with all of creation.

Sing                                                                                             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 heaven,

Creation asings your praise.

And blessed is the One who comes

And bears your Name always!

In Jesus, love incarnate, you provide what we need each day: words comfort the weary; actions which challenge the contented; your touch heals the sick; Your presence feeds the deepest hunger in our souls.

In Jesus and in his feast you provide for us the sustenance we need to respond to the cries of creation.

The bread of life nourishes our tired bodies.

The cup of blessings revives our thirsty souls.

The gathered community strengthens our growing faith.

Sing                                                                                             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!

Though the world weeps,

we wait for you, O God.

For centuries Christians of different customs have gathered to commune with you and each other through the sharing of this feast.

In their partaking you have been with them, just as you are with us now.

And so we join with our voices with others by remembering that on the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and shared it with his disciples, saying: “Take eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” 

After supper Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: “This cup is the sign of the new covenant where my life is poured out for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.” 

God, we remember and we ask that you bless and pour your spirit on these simple things, bread and wine:

Make this broken bread whole in our taking.

Make this full cup overflow in our sharing. 

With this food nourish and sustain us, our way, our truth, our life; our Creator and Sustainer. Praise be to you, now, tomorrow, and forever.

Sing                                                                                             MV #205

Amen, amen, O Holy One!

Hosanna and amen!

Amen, amen, O Holy One!

Hosanna and amen!                                                                                     

Sharing the Bread and Cup

Thanksgiving after Communion

Holy One, may we, who have been fed at this table remember that we are the body of Christ in the world today. 

May our hearts be open, our words grace-filled

and our actions life-giving. 

May all that we do and all that we say reveal 

the presence of Christ, who has met us at this table. Amen. 

Hymn: Beyond The Beauty And The Awe                                 MV #80

Blessing

In the coming week, may you experience the presence of God with joy.
May the holy cloud comfort you. May the divine voice encourage you.
May the power of the Spirit transform you, transform us, transform our world. 

Amen. 

May God shine the light of glory into your hearts.

May Christ be with you and never leave you.

And may Spirit renew the image of God within you.

Amen. 

The peace of Christ be always with you.

And also with you.

Postlude: Grace                                                               Fitzpatrick (1960- )