Posts

Message: Cry, Well, Promise

Genesis 21 begins with the birth of Isaac. The name Isaac means “laughter.” After Abraham welcomed the strangers, Sarah received the promise that she would bear a child. At the time, she laughed at the promise because it seemed impossible. She believed she was too old to have a child. But now she laughs with joy. As she experiences God's faithfulness, her laughter of doubt is transformed into laughter of gratitude and delight. However, Isaac’s birth does not lead to a simple happy ending. Abraham already has a firstborn son, Ishmael, the son of Hagar. When Sarah thought she would never be able to have a child, she gave her Egyptian slave woman, Hagar, to Abraham so that he might have a child through her. What Sarah once saw as a solution now becomes a source of conflict and tension.  When Isaac is weaned, Abraham holds a great feast. In the ancient world, it was never certain that a child would survive the early years of life. So, reaching this stage brought deep joy to the whole h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Order of Service / Pentecost 4 / June 21, 2026

  # Gathering Hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You (#232VU | vs. 1,2,3) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: Come, people of God. God meets us in the wilderness and in the sanctuary.    All: We come to worship the God who sees us. One: God hears the cries of the forgotten and opens a way where hope seems hidden. All: We come to worship the God who hears us. One: The Spirit calls us to notice, to listen, and to love. All: Let us worship God with open hearts. Amen. Opening Prayer *Opening Hymn We praise you, O God (#218VU) Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison) Loving God, you hear the cries we often miss. You see the people we sometimes overlook. Forgive us when we choose comfort over compassion, silence over courage, and distance over love. Open our eyes to the people you see. Open our ears to the voices you hear. Renew us by your Spirit, and lead us in the way of Jesus. In silence, we bring to you our own confessions and ou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Message: The Divine in Hospitality / Genesis 18:1-15

Today's first reading from Genesis is a story about hospitality. It reminds us that hospitality can become a place where we encounter God's presence. By contrast, the next chapter tells a story of hostility in Sodom. Together, these stories reveal the true purpose of the blessing God intended to bring to the world through Abraham. Genesis 18 begins in an interesting way. It says that “the Lord appeared to Abraham.” This draws the reader’s attention. In the Hebrew Bible, seeing God’s face directly is often described as something human beings cannot bear, sometimes even to the point of death. So, this opening line raises a question: how will God appear to Abraham? Then, right away, three strangers appear. As soon as Abraham sees them, he invites them into his tent to rest and share a meal. Through welcoming these strangers, Abraham discovers that God is present in ways he did not expect. In Abraham’s time, strangers could be a real threat. Abraham had left his homeland and was li...
Post a Comment
Read more

Order of Service / Pentecost 3 / June 14, 2026

  # Gathering Hymn Bring Many Names (#268 VU | vs. 1,2,3,6) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: Time calls us to this place    All: to find comfort, to find caring, to love one another. One: Time is a gift we are given each morning we rise. All: It is our responsibility to use it wisely. One: It is also our responsibility to use it gently. All: To be, rather than always “to do.” One: We are human creatures All: and we come to this place to honour our Creator. One: Come, sit, listen, and most importantly, BE in this place.    All: We have come answering God’s call. *Éric Hébert-Daly. Gathering Pentecost 1 2026. Page 38. Opening Prayer *Opening Hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (#333 VU) Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison) Gracious God, there are times we feel weak, when we feel that we have not lived as godly people, times when we feel we deserve your anger, times when we know we betray and hurt others....
Post a Comment
Read more

Message: Called to be a Rainbow / Matthew 9:9-13

 About a week ago, I was driving home from the Regional Council Annual Meeting in Smiths Falls. The rain had stopped, but the clouds were still hanging in the sky. Then, suddenly, a rainbow appeared. Its bright colours arched across the sky like a beautiful bridge.  It had been a long time since I had seen a rainbow so clearly. For a moment, my tiredness seemed to fade away, and the drive home no longer felt long or boring. The rainbow changed not only the landscape before me, but also the landscape within my heart. As I looked at it, I remembered a poem by the English poet William Wordsworth:     My heart leaps up when I behold     A rainbow in the sky:     So was it when my life began;     So is it now I am a man;     So be it when I shall grow old,     Or let me die!     The Child is father of the Man;     And I could wish my days to be     Bound each to each by natural piety. For Word...
Post a Comment
Read more

Order of Service / Union Sunday / June 7, 2026

  # Gathering Hymn Come In come In and Sit Down (#395 VU | vs. 1,2,4) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: We believe that our relationships with the Creator, the land, the people, the plants, and the animals are sacred. Let us honour these sacred relationships as we gather together to worship God.   All: This service is one we share with churches across our denomination this day. We are one in the Spirit. One: From deep soil comes bold and daring growth. From the seeds of our past will come fresh new growth. All: We come today to marvel at what has been harvested and prepare for what will come. We come to celebrate where we are and where we have been. One: We come rejoicing with our ancestors and partners in faith across generations: The Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians, The Evangelical United Brethren, and Local Union Churches, The Indigenous Church, The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, The Uni...
Post a Comment
Read more

Message: Grace, Love, Communion

Today is Trinity Sunday. We confess the Holy Mystery beyond our understanding as one yet triune: God, Christ, and Holy Spirit. This reminds us that Christian faith is not rooted in an abstract idea. Our faith in the Triune God is grounded in our experience of God's work in the world. Throughout the history of the church, Christians have encountered God as Creator, Saviour, and Sustainer. Therefore, the Trinity is not a mathematical problem that we need to solve. It is the language of faith through which we confess how God comes to us. Today’s first reading shows that the Apostle Paul also used trinitarian language in his letter to the congregation in Corinth. In fact, the Corinthian church was not a peaceful community. There were conflicts and tensions. Paul had a difficult relationship with the community. Some people publicly criticized him and questioned his authority as an apostle. They said that he appeared weak and his speaking was unimpressive. However, Paul did not end his l...
Post a Comment
Read more