Sunday Gathering -January 30

Trinity United Church
Sunday, Jan 30, 2022
Third Sunday After Epiphany
Worship

“Connection not Perfection”

Scripture Reader: Jennifer Marshall
Lead Singer: Eve Teubert
Zoom Hosts: Josee and Brian Wheatley

WE GATHER

Gathering

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. 

If you are joining us on YouTube, please check out our website at ucpoco.ca. We would also appreciate if you would subscribe to our channel, and like and share our service. Those buttons are right below the video, and it does make a difference when you interact with our account.

Acknowledgement of Territory 
Much of what we know as the Northwest 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. 

Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

Prelude: David Rogers

Memorial Tree Slideshow

Lighting Christ Candle

Call to Worship:

Before we were formed in the womb,
    God knew us
Before we were born
    God consecrated us
When we object and say we are only mortals
    God asserts, “Do not be afraid, I will deliver you.”
When we insist and say we do not have the words
    God touches our mouths and says to us, “I have put my words in your mouth.”
In this time of worship, let us remember
God formed and shaped us in our mothers’ wombs
    God promises to deliver us
    God gives us what we need to serve.

Opening Prayer:

Holy, Holy, Holy God, 
you are our rock and our refuge, 
a strong fortress in times of trial.  
Incline your ear to us 
and help us to trust your abiding presence.
In the name of the one who calls us 
to recognize your presence in all people, 
we pray.  Amen.

Hymn: “Long before the Night” VU 282    

Reconciliation Meditation

Sometimes in our desire to know that we are special, we imagine that others are not;
We confuse being chosen by you, with being better than others;
We divide the world into good people and bad people in order to avoid examining the badness in our own hearts;
We imagine that if you, O God, are our refuge, that you are not large or great enough to be refuge for our perceived enemies as well;
We would rather join the crowd in Nazareth that threatens to throw Jesus from a cliff, than hear that our enemies are also recipients of the divine promise.
Heal our hearts, O God.  
Remind us that your love is so great that it knows no bounds.
In your love there is no “us” and “them,” no “good people” and “bad people,” no “sheltered” and “abandoned,” But only one creation, all people created in your image and likeness, and that your creation is good.
In the name of the one who calls us to recognize your presence in stranger and friend, ally and foe alike, we pray.  Amen.

The work of Jubilee is the work of reconciliation between us and God, between us and each other, and even between us and ourselves.  We are forgiven, we are transformed, we are made new.  Thanks be to God.

WE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD

Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

4 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
6Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ 7But the LORD said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the LORD.’
9Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

Psalm 71:1-6: (part 1) VU 789

The Story: based on Luke 4:21-30

This is a repeat after me song:
We’re going to Capernaum [pat lap in a walking rhythm]
To spread the love of God
Were going to Capernaum
With Jesus on the road:
Feed the hungry [mime handing out food]
Comfort the lonely [hold hands]
Heal the ailing [raise your hands above your head]
Love the sad [cross hands on chest]
Thank you Jesus [hold hands out palms up]
We’re glad you came along! [start patting lap again] 

Genneserat, 
Bethsaida, 

We’re going to Nazareth [pat lap in a walking rhythm]
To spread the love of God
Were going to Nazareth
With Jesus on the road:
Feed the hungry [mime handing out food]
Comfort the lonely [hold hands]
Heal the ailing [raise you hands above your head]
Love the sad [cross hands on chest]

Grumble, grumble, grumble [lean over to individuals as if whispering or spreading a rumour]
GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE
GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE
Isn’t this the son of Mary? [scratch head with one hand]
Isn’t this the son of Joseph? [scratch head with other hand]
WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?! [fists on hips]
Grab a leg, [mime grabbing and make a fist with one hand]
Grab an arm, [mime grabbing and make a fist with the other hand]
Throw him over the cliff, [sweep fists through the air like throwing something]
Whoops what’s that? [hands held up empty shrugging shoulders]
Where’d he go?
Jesus got away! [shake fist in victory]

Hear what the spirit is saying to the church. Thanks be to God!

Hymn: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” VU 262

Message: Rev David

Holy One,
you are our Fortress and refuge,
And yet you call us out into the world
where we are vulnerable and often lost.
Be with us now
as we reflect upon your word.
Help us to trust
in your eternal guidance and provision.
Amen.

The text from Jeremiah and Luke today, both illustrate when our expectations get in the way of our hearing and responding to God's call.

Jeremiah has a preconceived notion of what it is to be a prophet. So when God says, "I appointed you a prophet to the nations," Jeremiah's response is, "Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." Jeremiah imagines that a prophet is someone older than himself and who has an eloquent tongue, who can make speeches with ease. But God's response is pretty much, "You'll do what I tell you to do."

In Luke, the people of Nazareth know Mary and Joseph and their son Jesus, and they have a preconception of what the Messiah is, and the child of Mary and Joseph doesn't fill their expectations. So they try to throw him off a cliff when he comes around proclaiming the Good News.

One of the questions these texts should have us asking ourselves is, "How many times have we let our preconceptions and expectations prevent us from hearing God calling us?" "How often have we threatened to throw the Word of God off a cliff?" "Have we ever succeeded in throwing the Word of God off a cliff?"

As extreme as throwing Jesus off a cliff may seem, I don't think it's that uncommon for us to prefer throwing the Word of God off a cliff to actually hearing that the Word of God is telling us something we don't want to hear.

I believe the church, the Mainline Churches, the United Church of Canada, not just Trinity, but The Church is in steep decline these last 60 years because God is telling us things we don't want to hear, so we keep throwing Jesus off a cliff.

For decades, God has been telling us that residential schools were a mistake. The church didn't want to hear it. It took decades for us to dismantle the residential school system, and we replaced it with the Foster Care System which was just as bad. The church doesn't want to do that reconciliation work. The people who hear the call of God to do that work, leave the church and go to secular organizations that are doing the work for reconciliation. And now decades later, the church realizes, "Oh yeah, maybe we should do that work too..."

For decades, God has been telling us that LGBTQ people are people, that love is love, and we need to start loving each other better. But the church didn't want to hear it. So the people who hear the call to the church to be more affirming, go join secular groups, and the occasional church, who are affirming...

For decades, God has been telling us to work on racial justice in the church, but the church doesn't want to hear it. So the people who hear the call for the church to be more racially aware and just leave the church to join secular organizations or other small churches that have their racial justice act together... And the rest of us... there are fewer of us now, carry on doing things the way we have always done them.

Now, decades later, so many people have left the church, we can't do things the way we used to do them. We don't have the resources. We can't populate our committees. Our leadership is largely reluctant. That's true from the grass roots to the very top, the whole church has had to restructure.

The purpose of the church is to serve "The least of these." Whoever "The least of these" are in any context or generation. Indigenous people's forced off their traditional territories, LGBTQ people persecuted by church and government institutions, People of Colour oppressed by centuries of slave trade and white supremacy, are top of the list of "The Least of these" in our context, in addition to those with mental illness and addictions.

Trinity United Church for decades has served "The Least of These" in Port Coquitlam by raising money and giving it to other non-profit institutions who work directly with children living in poverty, First United Church, Mission and Service, and other organizations.

That has been purposeful and a great example of caring for our neighbours.

But over the years, more and more "fundraising" effort has been needed to meet Trinity's own rising costs. This year, in order to make it to Christmas, we are planning to fundraise a huge amount of money.

If we are to raise money now, primarily to pay our own bills, what has happened to serving others?

I know that we are currently still navigating the pandemic, but the issue was with us before Covid and it will continue to be with us after the pandemic.

If we aren't raising tens of thousands of dollars a year for other organizations who serve the wider community, then what is our purpose now?

How can we keep our focus to one of serving the wider community?

Friends, we cease to be the body of Christ, when we stop serving the most vulnerable, the most marginalized among us.

The promise is that if we keep our focus, if we indeed serve the most marginalized among us, everything else will fall in place.

The Good News is that the people of Nazareth, despite their efforts to the contrary, fail to throw Jesus off the cliff. God says to Jeremiah, "You're going to do what I told you to do, because I'm going to make it happen. You don't need to be afraid, because I will deliver you."

We may risk abandoning Jesus, but God doesn't abandon us. But we do need to start listening and we do need to keep our purpose focused on serving the least of these.

May we not fear,
may we trust that God is with us,
may we trust that God will deliver us.
Amen.

Special Music: David Rogers

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

Offering:

We are grateful for the many ways people choose to serve and give at Trinity United Church. Our ministry is only possible thanks to your gifts of money, time and service. If you would like to make a financial contribution, please send a check to the church office, or click on the “Donate Now” button on our website.

Holy one, 
we can trust in you.
You are our strength, 
our fortress, 
our rock and 
our refuge, 
not wealth, 
not stockpiles of weapons, 
not oppressive economic hegemonies, 
not the privileges and entitlements of our birth.

May our gifts of time, 
money and talent,  
be signs of our trust.
May we live more simply, 
that others my simply live.
In the name of the one who secures us, 
we pray.  Amen.

Prayers of the People:

Holy, holy, holy God, as we seek to receive your word and risk everything for the coming of your Kingdom, we turn to you in prayer. Help us to hear the pulling in our hearts, send us serenity to accept what we cannot change, but also courage to change what we can and must for the sake of your Kingdom:
•    •    We pray for Our provincial and federal leaders as we continue to navigate this pandemic;
•    We pray for those most vulnerable to Covid, those who are sick and those who are not yet vaccinated;
•    We pray for our hospitals and health care staff;
•    We pray for students and teachers returning to in-class studies as Omicron continues to spread;
•    We pray for early childhood educators and daycares;
•    We pray for all of us as we continue to monitor for symptoms and follow health orders;
•    We pray for all those whose surgeries have been postponed;
•    We pray for survivors of residential schools as more reports surface of unmarked graves on former sites;
•    We pray for communities still impacted by extreme weather and the climate crisis;
•    We pray for Afghan refugees arriving in Canada;
•    We pray for Eastern Ukraine;
•    We pray for the victims of recent shootings about Vancouver;
•    We pray for the victim of multiple stabbings around Vancouver’s Downtown;
•    We pray for those who live with addiction and mental illness; we pray for the drug crisis in Metro Vancouver that has claimed so many lives;
•    We pray for our neighbours who do not have adequate shelter or homes of their own.

Disciples’ Prayer: “Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother”    CLICK HERE

WE GO FORTH

Hymn: “If You Will Trust in God to Guide You” VU 286    CLICK HERE

Sending Forth

Postlude: David Rogers