Sunday Gathering - March 7

March 7, 2021 DRAFT
Third Sunday of Lent

Joint Service – St. Catherine’s Anglican & Trinity United
Zoom Host – Rev. David Cathcart
Officiants - Rev. Eric Mason, Rev. Patricia Ratcliffe
Music – David Rogers

Candles: “Tree of Life” and Tenebrae Candles    CLICK HERE for video.

Welcome

Acknowledgement
In this holy time of Lent,
we acknowledge that we gather on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples, the Kwikwetlem First Nations, and raise our hands to elders past and present as we seek reconciliation amongst all people who call Canada home.

Opening Hymn:“God Whose Almighty Word”  VU 313
CLICK HERE for video.

THE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY

Officiant
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all
People
And also with you.

Officiant
Let us pray.....
People
Amen.

CONFESSION

Officiant
Dear friends in Christ,
as we turn our hearts and minds
to worship almighty God,
let us confess our sins.

People
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Officiant
Merciful God,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
People
Amen.

THE PEACE

Officiant
We are the body of Christ;
in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.
Let us then pursue all that makes for peace
and builds up our common life.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People
And also with you.

Hymn:“Long before My Journey’s Start” MV 63
CLICK HERE for video.

COLLECT

All
Holy One, creator of the stars and seas,
your steadfast love is shown to every living thing:
your word calls forth countless worlds and souls;
your law revives and refreshes.
Forgive our misuse of your gifts,
that we may be transformed by your wisdom
to manifest for others
the mercy of our crucified and risen Lord. Amen.

 

FIRST LESSON:
Exodus 20:1-17 Reader: Chris Longley

Then God spoke all these words:
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a
jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the
fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the
thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD
will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any
work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock,
or the alien resident in your towns.

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land
that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.

Hymn:“Morning is Broken”  VU 409
CLICK HERE for video.

SECOND LESSON:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Reader: Peter Smith

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of
the discerning I will thwart."

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this
age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom,
God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who
believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who
are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God.

For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is
stronger than human strength.

THE HOLY GOSPEL
John 2:13-22 Reader: Rev. Pat Ratcliffe (Deacon)

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"
His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and will you raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking of the temple of his body.
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 

HOMILY Rev. Eric Mason     CLICK HERE for video.

 

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Steve Garnaas-Holmes, We Belong to God

Officiant
Let us confess our faith
as we say,

All
We belong to God, eternal and infinite,
Creator of all things and all that is to come.

We follow Christ, who comes to us from God,
and reveals God to us.
He heals people and transforms lives,
and calls us to join in his ministry.
He was crucified, died, and was raised again by God,
and reigns over all Creation;
and he bids us to die and rise with him
in the service of the healing of the world.

We are moved by the Holy Spirit,
together with the communion of saints,
as members of the Body of Christ, God’s holy universal church.

We are confident in the forgiveness of sin,
the power of resurrection and the reality of eternal life.
In all things it is our desire to follow Christ,
by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for God’s glory. Amen.

INTERCESSIONS AND THANKSGIVINGS
Reader: Annette Smith

Leader
Faithful God of love,
you blessed us with your servant Son
so that we might know how to serve your people
with justice and with mercy.
We gather the needs of ourselves and others,
and offer them to you in faith and love,
seeking to be strengthened to meet them.

Leader
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world,
we pray to you Lord
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For the mission of the Church, for all who proclaim the gospel,
and all who seek the truth,
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
We thank you Lord, for Trinity United Church, the congregation, and the welcome we received; the friends we have made together, the services we have shared, and the ministry we have done together. Guide them in your way and in your truth that they may continue to serve you in love.
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For peace in the world,
that a spirit of respect and reconciliation
may grow among nations and peoples,
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick ... (pause: people say the names)
and all who are burdened ... (pause: people say the names);
for refugees, prisoners and all in danger;
that they may be relieved and protected,
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For all whom we have injured or offended,
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For grace to amend our lives and to further your reign,
People
Lord, have mercy.

Leader
For those who have died in the peace of Christ, and for those whose faith is known to you alone, that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom.
People
Lord, have mercy.

All
Shape us and transform us by your grace,
that we may grow in wisdom and in confidence,
never faltering until we have done all that you desire
to bring your realm of shalom to fulfillment. Amen.

Hymn:“God of Grace and God of Glory” VU 686 
CLICK HERE for video. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER Rev. Eric Mason

All
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 forever. Amen.

DOXOLOGY Rev. Pat Ratcliffe (and the dismissal)

Officiant
Glory to God
All
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Officiant
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.