Worship for Sept. 19

Here is the liturgy we used on Sunday, September 19.

It’s interesting how the readings from the Bible, which we think are all warm and fuzzy, are actually pretty challenging. As long as are paying attention….

Peace be with you all.

Worship for September 19, 2021

The Service for July 11, 2021

Hello everyone.

Yes, we are back “in church,” and holding “in person services” again. Do note that we are still required to wear masks at all time while inside, we are required to remain physically distant, and we cannot yet sing during worship.

That being said, we can gather, and it’s amazing how, if we are open to it, that simple fact can make a huge difference.

Moving on!

Here is the liturgy we used on Sunday morning at Zion (and also at Grace Lutheran Church in First South).

Enjoy! And feel free to share.

Peace to you all.

Worship for July 11

Prayers for Canada Day, 2021

This year is different.

The town of Lunenburg, along with many other communities, has cancelled its plans for Canada Day this year, out of respect for our Indigenous neighbours, and the trauma of confirming the stories of their children who were “disappeared.”

Join us as we pray for our country, as we pray for our leaders, as we pray for the victims of racism, and as we seek healing for all people.

You may also read the letter that our National Bishop Susan Johnson has written for this occasion. See it here.

Peace be with you all.

Worship for June 27, 2021

Hello everyone! Welcome to worship.

A quick announcement. We might be able to gather this coming Sunday (July 4, 2021) for in-person worship at Grace and Zion churches, but this decision has not yet been made. It depends on the decision of the Provincial government on whether to move to “Phase Three” of the re-opening plan.

The councils of both congregations will be in touch with the membership as soon as possible, to inform you all of our next steps.

Thanks for your patience!

Here is the video for our Sunday service. Peace be with you all!

Worship for June 20, 2021

Hello everyone! Welcome to worship.

Yes, we are still worshipping on-line, for now. No date has been set for when we will be gathering for in-person services (we have decided to wait until the Province goes to “Stage 3”), but we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

In the mean time, we hear the story of Jesus calming the storm. But there’s a twist in this version of the story.

And we pray that we would be open to the twists that Jesus brings, even if they make us a bit uncomfortable….

Peace be with you all!

Worship for June 6, 2021

Welcome to worship.

This has been a difficult week. We are still overwhelmed by the news from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (known by Settlers as Kamloops, British Columbia).

What should also overwhelm us is the fact that much of this damage was done by the church. In the name of Jesus.

That’s how we justified it, anyway.

Well, no more. No more justifications, no more excuses, no more pretending. It’s time to own up.

We did this.

So today’s service is about confession.

But it’s also about today. Changing direction today. Realigning ourselves with God’s will today. Living into the gospel today.

We can’t go back to our comfortable life, our comfortable past, our comfortable oblivion.

The call of God won’t let us.

It will be hard. It will be painful.

But not as painful as discovering 215 children in a mass grave.

May we be aware of God’s presence as we travel this difficult road together.

Prayers for the Children

We are horrified. Two hundred and fifteen children, buried in a mass grave, with no marker, no recognition, and most with no notice to family.

This is wrong on so many levels that the mind reels.

I am under no illusion that these prayers will somehow make this better. Or give us understanding of what happened. Or bring healing and reconciliation.

We are not there yet, and won’t be for a long time.

But this is a necessary first step.

In the church, it’s called confession. It is admitting that we are not what we ought to be. We are not even what we want to be.

We start here. With that hard truth about ourselves.

And we embrace the fact that this will be a long journey, one which we dare not refuse.

We have, in the past, attempted to refuse this journey.

But we can clearly see the result of this refusal, friends: a mass grave with two hundred and fifteen children.

Let’s take this step together. Pray. Confess. Weep.

And let’s commit to taking the next step together, too.

As Pope Francis says, “That’s how prayer works.”

Peace.