Remembering Ted & Sandy Brydges, 12th Sunday after Pentecost, August 28, 2022

Remembering Ted & Sandy Brydges

12th Sunday after Pentecost

August 28, 2022

Rev. Karen Hollis

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!

Prelude: Amazing Grace                                                                                              VU #266

Welcome! 

If 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. 

Announcements

Centering & Stillness

Greeting
One:  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, 

          and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All:     And also with you

Call to Worship                                             

One:  Come, let us gather at the table of welcome.

All:    Let us feast on God’s hospitality and give thanks for the wealth of gifts offered here.

One:  We gather because we are invited and every seat is a place of honour.

All:    We gather to celebrate the wonder, the possibilities and the insights that come from the table of God.

Opening Prayer                                                         

Gracious and Loving God, gather us into this space of abundant gifts to worship you and to remember our friends, Ted and Sandy. We give thanks for their lives and celebrate the gifts they gave to our community and to this world. We give thanks for your love surrounding us as we bring our joy and gratitude, along with our sadness and grief to this time of worship. We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy v. 1,2,4                                                     VU #315

1 Holy, 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!

2 Holy, 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.

4 Holy, 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! 

Prayer of Confession                                                                       

Henri Nouwen said, “It is in the confession of our brokenness that the real strength of new and everlasting life can be affirmed and made visible.” Let us bring our brokenness before God.

We pray you would meet us today in our places of vulnerability, the places shut tight within us, the places we don’t dare show even to you, the life experience we wish we could do over. We pray for your mercy, O God… 

silent prayer of confession

Assurance of Grace

May you receive the healing that is offered to you today. May you find sustenance in the unfailing love of God. May God’s grace teach us how to love all parts of ourselves. Thanks be to God. 

Passing of the Peace

Those on zoom, I invite you to unmute, and those in person I invite you to stand as you are able and let us share with one another the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding.

One:    The peace of Christ be with you all! 

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.

Remembrances

Dan Brydges

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

First Reading: Proverbs 25:6-7 (The Message)               Reader: Tim Leadem

Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;

    don’t push your way into the place of prominence.

It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor

    than face humiliation by being demoted.

Psalm 112 (Voices United)                                                                          Reader: Tim Leadem

                   

Blessed are those who fear God,

  who greatly delight in God’s commandments.

Their descendants will be mighty in the land,

the generation of the upright will be blessed.

  Riches and plenty shall be in their house,

  the righteousness enduring forever.

They are a light in the darkness for the upright,

being gracious, compassionate and just.

  It goes well with those who lend generously,

  who conduct their affairs with justice.     R

For the righteous will never be shaken;

they will be kept in remembrance for ever.

  They will no live in fear of bad news;

  with resolute heart they trust in God.

Their heart is steady, they do not fear;

in the end they will see their enemies’ downfall.

  They distribute freely to the poor,

  their righteousness enduring forever,

  they will hold up their head in honour.    R

Gospel Reading                                                                                   Reader: Tim Leadem

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 Christ according to Luke

All:          Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 14:1, 7-14 (NRSV) On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Reader: This is the Gospel of Christ.   

All:          Praise be to Jesus Christ       

Reflection       (attached)

Silent Reflection

Hymn: How Great Thou Art v. 1,2,4                                                                VU #238

1 O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder

consider all the works thy hands hath made,

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed;

Refrain:

Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:

How great thou art! How great thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee:

How great thou art! How great thou art!

2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander,

and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; [Refrain]

4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

and there proclaim: "My God, how great thou art!" [Refrain]

Apostle’s Creed 

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

              creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,

              who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

              born of the Virgin Mary,

              suffered under Pontius Pilate,

              was crucified, died, and was buried;

              he descended to the dead.

              On the third day he rose again;

              he ascended into heaven,

              he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

              and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

              the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

              the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,

              and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers of the People  Susan Brockley  (attached)      

One:  Loving God

All:    Hear Our Prayers

Lord’s Prayer (sung)                                                                                                VU #959 Our Father in heaven, 

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom 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 kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,

now and for ever.

Offering

Doxology                                                                                                                                         CP #669

Praise God the Source of life and birth,

Praise God the Word, who cam to earth.

Praise God the Spirit, holy flame.

All Glory, honour to God’s name.

Offering Prayer

Giving God, we stand before you with plates overflowing with promises and possibilities. We present our resources so that ministry might be carried out boldly; and we offer you our lives, committing them to your way of justice, love, and compassion. Transform all that we give into Resurrection hope. Amen.                                                                          

Hymn: Blest Be The Tie That Binds                                                               VU #602

1 Blest be the tie that bind

our hearts in Christian love;

the unity of heart and mind

is like to that above.

2 Before our Maker’s throne

we pour our ardent prayers;

our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

our comforts and our cares.

3 We share each other's woes,

each other's burdens bear;

and often for each other flows

the sympathizing tear.

4 The glorious hope revives

our courage on the way;

that we shall live in perfect love

in God's eternal day.

Commendation

One:  We commend our loved ones, Ted and Sandy into God’s eternal care. Into the freedom of the wind and the sunshine,

All:    We let you go.

One:  Into the sadness and smiles of our memories,

All:    We commend you.

One:  Into the dance of the stars and planets,

All:    We release you.

One:  Into the cycle of living and dying and rising again,

All:    Sandy and Ted, may you take your place.

One:  Friends, you have been loved and continue to be loved.

All:    You will be missed.

One:  May you rest in peace,

All:    and run straight home into God’s embrace.

Blessing                                                                                                 BAS & Barbara Huston

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, evermore, Amen.

Thank You

Hymn: Jesu Joy of God’s Desiring                                                     VU #328

1 Jesu, joy of our desiring,

holy wisdom, love most bright;

drawn by you, our souls aspiring

soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,

with the fire of life impassioned,

striving still to truth unknown,

soaring, dying round your throne.

2 Through the way where hope is guiding,

hark, what peaceful music rings;

where the flock, in you confiding,

drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure;

theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.

You, forever, lead your own

in the love of joys unknown.

Postlude