November 7th, 2021 Remembrance Sunday
Watch this Service at: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live
Leading us today in worship:
Minister: Rev. Christine Smaller
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Scripture Reader: Marilyn Parkin
Soloist: Marilyn Parkin
Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung Words: bold italic font
Prelude:
Minuets (Selected) ~ J. S. Bach
Greeting:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Welcome
Call to Worship:
We gather together
in the name of the One who bids us come.
We gather together
to hear the words of the One who is Love.
We gather together
to sing praises of the One who teaches peace.
Come, let us worship!
Opening Prayer:
On this day of memory we gather to sing and to pray,
We remember the past and look to the future.
On this day when the guns once fell silent,
We come before you God, seeking Your peace.
On this day of hope in the face of terror,
We come before you God, praying with all our hearts:
God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.
Help us to find the path that leads to the Peaceable kingdom. Open our eyes and the eyes of the nations to find a different path through the disagreements of life in this world. In this time of story, song, and prayer,
may we be re-committed to being people of Peace, true peace. May we catch a vision of how the world could live together.
And so we echo the old prayers,
Make us channels of your peace.
Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with us! Amen
Opening Hymn: VU 524 O Canada
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Prayer for Illumination:
Holy One, we know that you constantly breathe new life into every word of scripture. Help us hear the Living Word you desire to share with us today.
Readings:
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
~ May 3, 1915
Last Post
Luke 6:20-31
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
“But I say to you that listen,
Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
If anyone strikes you on the cheek,
offer the other also;
and from anyone who takes away your coat
do not withhold even your shirt.
Give to everyone who begs from you;
and if anyone takes away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Response:
The Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Musical Interlude:
Improvisation on a Hymn ~ C. Burton
Sermon
Hymn: VU 684 Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
1. Make me a channel of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me bring your love;
where there is injury, your healing power,
and where there's doubt, true faith in you:
2. Make me a channel of your peace:
where there's despair in life, let me bring hope;
where there is darkness, only light;
and where there's sadness, ever joy.
O Spirit, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love with all my soul.
3. Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving to all that we receive,
and in dying that we're born to eternal life.
Prayers of the People
Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace:
for the service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
For those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
For all members of the armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
For civilian women, children and men
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
For peacemakers and peacekeepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace;
may God give peace.
God give peace.
O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world, and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm.
As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
As a child turns to a loving caregiver who watches over them, we turn in prayer to you O god, who are our heavenly parent, our mother,
Our Father who art in heaven…
Passing the Peace:
The Peace of Christ be with you all.
And also with you.
Everyone is invited to share the peace of Christ by offering a message in the chat box.
You may also wish to think of someone you would like to pass the peace to this week.
Music while we share the Peace of Christ:
Improvisation ~ G. Fauré
Invitation to the Offering:
Prayer of Dedication:
A single stone placed in the offering plate honours all our gifts.
Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “Give”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
Care, Prayer, Share
Announcements:
Closing Hymn: VU 586 We Shall Go Out with Hope of Resurrection
1. We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We'll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;
We'll dream our dreams of hurts that can be healed;
we'll weave a cloth of all the world united
within the vision of new life in Christ.
2. We'll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we'll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we'll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We'll share our joy with those who still are weeping;
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we'll leap and dance the resurrection story,
including all in circles of our love.
Commissioning and Benediction
Sung Blessing: Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, * within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.
* alternate words: watching from above
Postlude:
Intermezzo Opus 118 #2 ~ J. Brahms
*****
RESOURCES USED (all with permission):
Prayers and Liturgies:
- Call to Worship: prepared by Miriam Spies for a United Church of Canada Worship Service
- Opening Prayer: Gord Waldie, posted on Worship Offerings
- Prayer of Dedication: Revised Common Lectionary Prayers copyright © 2002
- Pastoral Prayer: from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000)
- “In Flanders Fields:” Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae May 3, 1906
Hymns and Sung Responses:
- “O Canada:” Words: Robert Stanley Weir 1908, rev. Music: melody Calixa Lavallée ca. 1880 Public Domain
- “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace:” Words: attr. to St. Francis 1220 Music: Sebastian Temple 1967, arr. Betty Pulkingham 1976 Music copyright ® 1968 Franciscan Communications Centre One License #608577
- “We Shall Go Out With Hope of Resurrection:” Words: June Boyce-Tillman 1993 Music: Traditional Irish melody, arr. John Barnard 1982 Words copyright © 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd. Used by permission of Hope Publishing Company Arrangement copyright © 1993 Hope Publishing Company One License #608577
- “Go Now in Peace.” Words by Don Besig and Nancy Price. © 1988 Harold Flammer Music, Inc. Alternate words used with permission. Reproduced with permission, One License, #608577.
Scripture Passage from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
Prelude: Minuets (Selected) J. S. Bach
Interlude: Improvisation on a Hymn C. Burton
Passing of the Peace: Improvisation G. Fauré
Postlude: Intermezzo Opus 118 #2 J. Brahms
All Public Domain
