Sunday Gathering - September 26

Trinity United Church
September 26, 2021
Proper 21
First “In-Person” Worship
Orange Shirt Sunday

“Connection not Perfection”

Please view the recorded worship service on our YouTube channel, CLICK HERE. 

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, we would invite you to check out our website at ucpoco.ca. Please subscribe to our channel, and like and share our content, or interaction with our material does make a difference.

Acknowledgement of Territory 
Today, we are acknowledging Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day, September 30 has been made a national holiday to give Canadians an opportunity to learn and reflect on Canada’s history with indigenous peoples, particularly the history of the Residential School System.

Trinity United Church of Port Coquitlam is on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish People, the Kwikwetlem First Nations.

Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

Prelude/ Lighting of the Christ Candle
CLICK HERE for video.

Call to Worship 

If God were not with us,
    there would be no joy or beauty.
If God were not with us,
   dawn could not follow night, nor spring the winter.
If God were not with us,
    the heart would never heal, tears would never dry.
If God were not with us,
   tides would not turn, 
   winds would not change, 
   the sun, moon and stars would lose their mystery.
If God were not with us,
    laughter and music would be silenced, 
   wonder would not awe,
   the cosmos could not be whole.
But God is with us,
    So let us rejoice!

Prayer of Approach 

Holy one, in this time of worship 
may we be reminded 
that you are indeed with us: 
in the air we breathe, 
in the words we hear, 
in the wavering of our hearts, 
in the quiet peace and the boisterous Alleluias. 
Open our ears to hear you calling us to risk big.
Open our eyes to witness the sacrifice 
others have made for our well being.
Open our hearts to be willing to give 
as you and others have given.
Open our lives to trusting in you 
in all that we think, all that we do.  Amen.

Hymn: “Come Touch Our Hearts” MV 12    CLICK HERE for video.

Prayer of Reconciliation and Words of Assurance 

Holy One, we confess that we are comfortable.  
We have comfortable homes, 
comfortable means of transportation, 
comfortable occupations, 
a comfortable church 
and comfortable community.

We confess that we like our comfort.

When you call us, 
as you are inclined to do, 
to risk our comfort, 
we are inclined to ignore you.

We rationalize that you want us to be comfortable 
so it could not possibly be you calling.  
We evade with false modesty 
that you couldn’t possibly be asking 
great things of such small meek folk as us.  

We flat out deny your wondrous works in our lives, 
the abundance of our living 
that is dependent wholly on you.  

We pretend we have nothing worth risking for your glory.

Holy One, transform our hearts.
Remind us of the wonder of your presence.  
Instill in us a sense of our greatness and authority 
to make a difference.  
Give us courage to risk boldly in your name 
to make a better world, 
though it may risk our comfort.

In the name of the one 
who risked everything for us we pray.  Amen.

God does not call us to do anything 
that God has not prepared the way for us, 
that God has not prepared and provisioned us.  
Our God is great and worthy of our trust.  
Thanks be to God.

WE HEAR THE WORD

Story: “On Orange Shirt Day” by Phyllis Webstad
CLICK HERE for video.

Psalm 124 refrain 1 VU 848 

Reading 

James 5:13-20

13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

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

Hymn: “Let My Spirit Always Sing” VU 83 CLICK HERE for video.

Message 

I am going to share with you a video from orangeshirtday.org. In it, Justice Murray Sinclair describes the need for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-indigenous people in Canada. I will let the video speak for itself.

CLICK HERE for video.

 

Special Music 

WE RESPOND

Offering 

Traditionally, pre-Covid, this time of year we would be starting some kind of Congregational Giving Program. It’s a time to express our gratitude for the ministry and community of Trinity United church and to remind ourselves of the impact our ministry has on the world around us.

Last year this time, of course, we were in Covid, and we were just starting to experiment with ZOOM worship. So we didn’t do a Giving focus.

However, this year, we really need to remind folks that your financial gifts make our ministry happen. We have been fortunate to have received considerable support from government sources during the pandemic, however, those resources are expected to end soon. So, we would ask you to re-evaluate what you are able to give and to give responsibly.

We are so grateful for the generosity of our membership, for all the gifts of time, skill, prayer and money. Thank you.

If you are not already on Pre-Authorized Remittance, you can give by sending a cheque to the church office, or by clicking on the donate now button on our website.

Holy One, 
all that we give, you first gave to us.  
May we always respond to your grace 
with gratitude and wonder.
May we always remember 
that what we hold as our own     
we hold only in trust for your use.
May these gifts we bring today, 
be a sign of our deep trust in you O God, 
that you bind us in your love 
and hold us fast 
from everlasting to everlasting.  
Amen.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and intercession 

Defender of the oppressed and the orphan, we pray for all children in our nation and our world who suffer from poverty, injustice and fear.
We pray for children who are runaways, homeless, in institutions or jails,
We pray for children who do not have enough to eat.
We pray for babies born at risk, for children who are sick and for those who lack proper health care, especially pregnant teenagers,
We pray for children who are victims of race or class discrimination, poor education, drug or alcohol abuse, and hopelessness.
We pray for children who daily experience the fear and pain of war and civil strife.
We pray for the survivors of residential schools and the children who did not return home.
We pray for indigenous communities across Canada who still do not have safe drinking water.

We pray for members of our own community:
Catherine, Gladys, Olga, Bart, Bob, Dawn, Ria, Lynne, Rosalind, Ken, Pat, Fred, Avis… 

We pray for the federal election, and for the nearly half a million BC residents who can’t vote

We pray for Haiti, the people of Lytton, BC, and other survivors of climate disasters.

We pray for those in BC who are not yet vaccinated for Covid-19 and for those people in the world for whom vaccines are not yet available.

Holy One, help us to find wisdom and gratitude and to follow Jesus, through death and to resurrection.

And now we turn to you as a child turns to her mother seeking affirmation and comfort, singing the words Jesus taught us…

The Disciples’ Prayer “Our Father” VU 960    CLICK HERE for video.

WE GO FORTH

Hymn: “Sing Praise to God, Who Reigns Above” VU 216

Commissioning and Benediction 

I invite you to turn on your videos and hold your hands out in a sign of blessing…

Postlude