Trinity United Church
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Proper 12
Zoom Worship 
“Connection not Perfection”

CLICK HERE for the video of the livestream worship.
To see specific parts of the service, scroll down under the YouTube video and click the "show more" link, then click on the part of the service you'd like to watch!

WE GATHER

Welcome  Rev David: May the peace of Christ be with you. Welcome to Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam, BC. We are so grateful that you have chosen to spend some time with us, we are glad you are here. 

A gentle reminder that we are experimenting on a weekly basis with our social media and the technology, and some things will work better than others. So we ask for your patience and generosity of spirit as we forge a new way forward together. We do ask that if something technical goes wrong please let the leader and the hosts work it out. It is not helpful for people to turn on their own mics and start talking, it really only adds to the confusion.

This morning, David Rogers is at the piano, Eve Teubert is in the choir loft and leading the singing and we have a number of members of our Zoom Host team sitting in the sanctuary at a distance with their devices following the service and observing what’s happening at the front.

Acknowledgement of Territory
For tens of thousands of years, the lands on which we live, work and worship, have been occupied by indigenous peoples.Much of what we know as the North West Coast of North America was occupied by the Coast Salish Peoples. The territory where Trinity United Church of Port Coquitlam resides is the unceded territory of the Kwikwetlem First Nations. Our acknowledgement of unceded traditional territory is a first step in reconciliation between settler cultures and indigenous peoples and the decolonization of western systems that continue to oppress and exploit indigenous peoples and land. The work of reconciliation is daunting. The work of reconciliation will not be ours to complete, but neither is it ours to abandon.  

We remember these words from the Apostle Paul, “[The gift of a New Creation] is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting [our] trespasses against [us], and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” 

Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship. 

Prelude/ Lighting of the Christ Candle.   CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO.

Call to Worship
God strengthens our inner being.
     Christ dwells in our hearts.
God roots us and grounds us in love.
     The love of Christ surpasses all understanding.
May we be filled with all the fullness of God.
     Through us, God is able to accomplish abundantly more
     than we can ask or imagine.
Every family in heaven and on earth, takes its name from God!
     To God be glory to all generations for ever and ever!

Let us worship:

Prayer of Approach
May the God of all generations
speak to our hearts,
filling us with the fullness of God.
In the name of the one who gave all for all,
we pray. Amen.

Hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” VU 288 

Prayer of Reconciliation and Words of Assurance

WE HEAR THE WORD 

Retelling our Ancient Story

Psalm 14

Dear God, who loves all humankind
forgive our foolish ways.
The foolish have spoken in their heart,
and said “There is no God.”
     They are corrupt; they do abominable things;
     there is no one who does what is good.

God looks down from heaven upon us all,
to see if any are wise and seek after God.
     But all have gone astray; all alike are corrupted;
     there is no one who does good; no, not one.
Dear God, who loves all humankind,
forgive our foolish ways.

Have they no knowledge, all those who do evil?
     They devour my people like so much bread,
     and do not pray to God.
But see, they will tremble with fear,
for God is on the side of the righteous.
     Do not mock the hope of the poor, 
     for God is their refuge.

O that deliverance for God’s people would come forth from Zion!
     When God restores the fortunes of the people,
     Then shall Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.  

Dear God, who loves all humankind,
forgive our foolish ways.

Reading

Scripture: Ephesians 3: 14 - 21
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

This is the witness of the early church. Thanks be to God! 

Hymn: “Eternal Father Strong to Save” VU 659

Message  - We apologize that the Message was not able to be included this week due to office staff shortage.

Let us pray:
Holy One, according to the riches of your glory,
grant that we may be strengthened
in our inner being
with power through the holy Spirit,
that Christ may dwell in our hearts,
and that we may be rooted and grounded in love. 

May we have the power to comprehend
what is the breadth and length
and height and depth
of the love of Christ
that surpasses knowledge,
so that we may be filled
with all your fullness. 

To you, O God, who works within us,
able to accomplish abundantly far more
than all we can ask or imagine,
be glory to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.

Special Music 

WE RESPOND 

Offering
Your offering: your financial gifts, your gifts of time and skill are what make our ministry possible. If you are not already on Pre-Authorized Remittance, we invite you to participate in our ministry by making a financial gift, either by sending a cheque to the church office, or by going to our website and clicking on the donate now button.  

We have been blessed, not only by the generosity of our membership and adherents, but also by the courage of our leadership to learn and navigate in a very different world than the one we knew a year ago. Let us give thanks. 

Ground of All Being,
We present these offerings, and those made through Pre Authorized Remittance, that they may be used to extend your liberating presence.
With them, we offer our varied ministries, that each of us may be part of your answer to the cries of the world.  Amen. 

Prayers of Thanksgiving and intercession  

A Paraphrase of The Disciples’ Prayer  VU 916 
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver
Source of all that is and that shall be.
Father and Mother of us all, 
Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth!

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever.  Amen.

WE GO FORTH

Hymn: “Give to Us Laughter” VU 624 

Commissioning and Benediction:  

I invite you to turn on you videos, go to gallery view if you are able, and hold your hands out in a sign of blessing… 

Postlude