Sunday Gathering

Gathering (see the end for Announcements)

Peace in the Name of Christ.
Welcome to Trinity United Church's Sunday Gathering: worship for a dispersed community.
Please do not expect this to be anything like our usual Sunday morning worship. We are formatting it and making it brief to accommodate folks reading the content to those who do not have internet access. It is so important that we all stay in touch during this time of uncertainty.

Call to Worship

[you may want to actually light a candle]

Take a deep breath and pause.
Be present to each other.
Take a deep breath and pause.
Imagine God's love, a warm light filling you and your prayer partner.
Take a deep breath and pause.
Send love and affection to the person with whom you are worshiping.
Express your appreciation to one another for this time and this contact at a distance.

Opening Prayer

Holy One,
thank you for gathering us together in this simple way.
Make us mindful of your presence as we read, reflect, and pray together.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Reading

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

 

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff—

they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.

 

Relfection (By Robert Nicolson)

We don’t usually see the Owl depicted in First Nation art. He is not a Totem Spirit of either the Coast Salish or the Haida peoples. However, the Tlingit people along our north coast do recognize Owl as a Spirit Guide. Owl’s nocturnal nature teaches how to harness the strength needed to open one’s eyes and look into the shadows. Owl symbolizes the ability to navigate any darkness in life. Owl could be an appropriate symbol for times like these.

The Common Lectionary for today includes the 23rd Psalm. Many of us would have memorized it at Sunday School years ago. It provides very strong words of comfort as we “walk through the valley” of illness and work toward healing.

Some of us will remember the damage done by the polio virus up until a vaccine was developed in 1952 by Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh, and announced to the world on 12 April 1955. Management of Tuberculosis is still a problem in much of the world, but as it is uncommon in most of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, we tend only to those people at high risk. We will get control of COVID-19 but until that happens we must continue to act responsibly. We are not alone in this fight.

I know many of us love to sing. So I end with a new hymn from John L. Bell & Graham Maule’s little book titled Known Unknowns. It can be sung to the tune of “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” VU 382.

THOUGH HOPE DESERT MY HEART

Though hope desert my heart,
though strangeness fill my soul,
though truth torment my troubled mind,
you have been here before.

Though confidence run dry,
though weary flesh be sore,
though conversation bear no fruit,
you have been here before.

There is no threatening place
no trial I could know
which has not known your presence first;
you have been here before.

In Christ who, on the cross,
felt all our hurt and more,
and cried in deep abandonment,
you have been here before.

I will not dread the dark,
the fate beyond control,
nor fear what reigns in frightening things;
you will be there before.

-Robert Nicolson

Prayers

Take a moment to be silent,
to let the reflection reside in you,
to shape you,
to hold you.

In this time of COVID-19, we pray:
When we aren't sure,
God, help us be calm;
when information comes
from all sides, correct and not,
help us to discern;
when fear makes it hard to breathe,
and anxiety seems to be the order of the day,
slow us down, God;
help us to reach out with our hearts,
when we can't touch with our hands;
help us to be socially connected,
when we have to be socially distant;
help us to love as perfectly as we can,
knowing that "perfect love casts out all fear."

For the doctors, we pray,
for the nurses, we pray,
for the technicians and the janitors and the
aides and the caregivers, we pray,
for the researchers and theorists,
for the epidemiologists and investigators,
for those who are sick
and those who are grieving, we pray,
for all who are affected,
all around the world...
we pray
for safety,
for health,
for wholeness.

May we feed the hungry,
give drink to the thristy,
clothe the naked and house those without homes;
may we walk with those who feel they are alone,
and may we do all that we can to heal
the sick -
in spite of the epidemic,
in spite of the fear.

Help us, O God,
that we might help each other.

In the love of the Creator,
in the name of the Healer,
in the life of the Holy Spirit that is in all and with all,
we pray.

May it be so.

-A prayer during times of COVID-19
by the Right Rev. Richard Bott,
originally posted on Facebook.
Moderator Bott encourages the sharing
of prayers he posts throughout his term.

The Disciples' Prayer

Our father...

Sending Forth

Express your appreciation to each other for this time of closeness and prayer.

Announcements

Giving

• if you are already on Pre-Authorized Remitance, thank you
• we do ask that you continue to offer your financial support even though we are not meeting face to face, our ministry together continues 
• at the very top of the screen you will see a "Donate Now" button. If you click on it, it will lead you to our donation page

Prayer Cycle (not to be confused with the prayer circle)

• Please think about, pray for, call, email, and write the following people
  • Gwen Ranger
  • Catherine Eden
  • Bart Remeyer
  • Chloe Rogers
• if you do not have a current directory, please contact the office by email and one can be sent to you
• if you would like your name to be included in the directory, please contact the office by email and you will be included
• if you would like your name removed from the directory, please contact the office and we will remove you from the directory