Worship for Sunday, March 21

Hello everyone.

Below is a modified version of the liturgy we used on Sunday morning, our last Sunday in the Lenten season.

I’ll be honest: It’s a bit pointed. But, let’s also be honest about the context: It was a pretty brutal week in some places, and we need to confront that.

May God open our eyes to see: see where we are falling down, see where we might make a difference, and (especially) see where Jesus is coming in our messed up world.

“We wish to see Jesus.”

Peace to you all.

Rick+

Click to access 2021-03-mar-21-electronic.pdf
Click on the link to see the service.

Worship for March 7, 2021

Hello everyone!

Attached below is a (non-Eucharistic) copy of the service we used on Sunday in the Lunenburg Lutheran Parish.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of this Covid Pandemic, we remember that we are called to be a community which cares about each other, and we celebrate those moments when we have seen that in action, and have been able to take part.

Peace be with you all!

Click to access 2021-03-mar-07-electronic.pdf

Worship for February 28, 2021

Hello everyone!

Here is a non-Communion version of the service from Sunday which was prayed at the Lunenburg Lutheran Parish.

We conclude Black History Month with a call to “take up our cross.” This does not mean going out and looking to suffer so we can prove our faith. It means trusting God to lead us to the pain-filled parts of life, knowing that we are not sent there alone.

God’s peace be with you all!

Click to access 2021-02-feb-28-electronic.pdf

Worship for February 14, 2021

Below is the liturgy used by the Lunenburg Lutheran Parish on Sunday, February 14th.

This year this date is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany, which brings to a close the time of “enlightening” (which is what “epiphany” means), and we prepare to enter the season of Lent (more on that later!).

We thanks Bishop Michael Pryse for providing the sermon for this service, and we ask that God bless you all with an increased awareness of presence as you continue to live through this pandemic.

God’s peace be with you all!

February 14th service

Violence in a Peaceful Church

Hello friends.

This has been a rough week, for a great many people.

The headlines of media outlets have been shouting about what happened on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington DC. on Wednesday.

Rightly so.

But there was more, much more, to what happened in Washington that day. And much of it did not make the headlines.

And it should have.

Below is a video from Lutheran Bishop Leila Ortiz, from the Metro DC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

She was taking part in a prayer service for peace, when the church was invaded by Trump supporters.

I will let her tell her story.

But I will say this. Give the insurrectionists credit – They recognized that what was happening in that church was indeed a threat to what they were trying to do.

Praying for peace, and letting love set the agenda for our actions, is completely countercultural in a society which prizes power above everything.

So we join our siblings in the Metro DC Synod, their Bishop, Leila Ortiz, and all other people of good will around the world:

+ in remembering our dependence, not our independence;

+ in praying for peace, not for power,

+ in serving our neighbour, not ourselves.

The Call of the Gospel necessitates our movement toward the struggle for peace, justice and abundant life for all of God’s people, for all of God’s creatures.

It is not an easy road.

But we do not travel alone.

God goes with us. Bishop Leila Ortiz goes with us.

And, today, for this moment, we go with her.

Peace be with you all.