South Stormont Pastoral Charge

*Gathering Hymn Morning Has Broken (#409 VU) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: Praise God this new day.   All: In worship, let the hearts of those who seek God rejoice. One: In worship, seek the grace and strength of God.   All: Beyond worship, seek God’s presence continually, One: Remember God’s wonderful works.    All: Praise God this new day. *Elaine Bidgood Sveet. Gathering Pentecost 1 2024. Page 42. Opening Prayer (Unison) Holy One, we thank you for the gifts you have given. For life, both new and old. For Love of friend and stranger. For Christ alive in our hearts. We ask that you bless our gathering, that our words, our actions, and our love – our lives themselves – might be living reflections of your love. In Christ’s name, we ask these things. Amen. *Richard Bott. Gathering Pentecost 1 2024. Page 43.  *Opening Hymn Spirit of the Living God (#376 VU) Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison) Forgiving Go...

Today is Trinity Sunday, a day we celebrate a core belief of Christianity called the Trinity. Christians believe that there is one God in three Persons: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This concept is difficult to understand, and no one can fully explain the triune nature of God. If so, how can we grasp the mystery of the Trinity? In today's Gospel reading, Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, visits Jesus at night. He has seen the signs Jesus performed and knows that Jesus is a teacher sent by God. To Nicodemus, who wants to learn the truth, Jesus says, "No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus doesn’t understand this because it doesn’t make sense for someone to be born again. Jesus continues to emphasize the idea of "new birth" and talks about being born from above and being born of water and the Holy Spirit, which reminds us of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spiri...

  *Gathering Hymn Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty (vs. 1&4 |#315 VU) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: As sunlight dazzles on lakes and sunsets blaze through the sky,   All: let the brilliance of our Creator God’s love guide us to see God’s way for us. One: With the cry of a loon rising up into the dusk, or the shouts of children playing in a field,   All: let the melody of God’s love sung through Jesus help us to receive God’s word for us. One: Like granite running jagged through the hills, or creeks flowing from source to sea,   All: let the presence of God’s Sprit ground us so we may know God’s strength within us. *Gill Le Fevre. Gathering Pentecost 1 2024 . Page 38. Opening Prayer (Unison) On this Trinity Sunday, we come before you, Holy God, to offer our praise and adoration. You are God, the Creator, giving us richly all things to enjoy. You are Christ, the Saviour of the world, Wo...

In 2021, Michelle Zauner, who is Korean-American with a white father and a Korean mother, wrote a memoir about her mother called "Crying in H Mart." It became famous and even made it to the New York Times bestseller list. The book starts with her saying, "Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart." H Mart is a big supermarket chain in North America that sells Korean and Asian food. In the book, Zauner shows how she feels emotional when she sees Korean mothers and grandmothers in the H Mart food court feeding their children because it reminds her of her mom. As a matter of fact, when Zauner was a kid, she was rebellious toward her mother because her mom raised her differently from the white moms she knew. Her mom wasn't like a "Mommy-Mom" like her friends' moms. She describes a Mommy-Mom as someone gentle with their kids, showing love when they mess up or get hurt. But her mom raised her tough and strong. She says, "But every time I got hurt, my ...

*Gathering Hymn God Who Gives to Life Its Goodness (#260 VU) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: Creator, parent of the human family,   All: we gather to worship you. One: In baptism, we are called beloved children of God, as such,   All: we gather to worship you. One: Friends, neighbours, siblings in faith,   All: we gather to worship in song, in prayer, in readings from your story and our story, in thoughts and reflections. Let us worship God. *The United Church of Canada.   Kin to One Another: Worship Resources for Christian Family Sunday. (2018). Opening Prayer (Unison) God, creator of us all, we gather to worship you. We come as individuals, we come in family units, we come as neighbours and friends. We come here where we are known by name, welcomed with all our fragilities and strengths. We gather with kindred spirits who long to live faithful to your calling. Guide us, inspire us, challeng...

One of the most significant historical periods in the development of the Old Testament is known as the Babylonian captivity. It began about 600 years before Jesus was born when the Babylonian Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and many Jewish people were taken as captives to Babylon. When the temple, where the Jews believed God resided, was destroyed, they felt devastated. But this tough situation couldn't break their faith. They tried to find their hope, not in a building, but in God’s Word. To better understand God’s will, they gathered, studied, and edited the scattered parts of the Bible. Throughout the process, they saw how much God loved those who were oppressed and God never abandoned them. About 50 years after the temple was destroyed, the king of Persia, the new empire ruling the ancient Near East, allowed the Jews in Babylon to go back to Jerusalem. Not only that, he also gave them financial help to rebuild the temple. They were really excited about it. When they f...

*Gathering Hymn God Who Gives to Life Its Goodness (#260 VU) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: We gather together to worship our God.   All: God gathers us as God’s chosen people. We abide in God’s love. One: We enter worship with glad hearts, eager to love and serve God.   All: Christ has loved us completely and fully. We abide in Christ’s love. One: We praise the maker of heaven and earth, whose love spreads to all of creation.   All: Creation is a gift to all, and we are entrusted to care for the good earth. Creation abides in our love. One: We honour the light, the dark, and the hues between. God makes all beautiful.   All: Life in its fullness holds great joy and great pain. We are witnesses to the depth of love that fills our days. We abide in the joy of love. * Seasons of the Spirit LE 2021. Page 168. Opening Prayer (Unison) God of many blessings, we give thanks for this day. We give ...