South Stormont Pastoral Charge

There are times in our lives when we feel like there's a huge wall in front of us. It's so high and long that we can't see the end of it. It's so strong that we can't break through it. We can't find a way to get over it. Standing alone before the wall, we feel our limitations. The German psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) called this a 'limit situation.' He believed that every single person must face limits like a huge wall: people must die and can’t live without suffering, conflict, and guilt. Unlike 'ordinary situations,' limit situations are things we can't change. What matters is that limit situations help us experience transcendence, the God beyond the God defined by language. These situations allow us to realize human existence with its uncertainty and finitude, leading us to break free from illusions that create a false self in us. When we understand what it means to exist within time and space, we open ourselves to ...

*Gathering Hymn This is the Day (#412 VU | vs. 1-3) Welcome& Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: In Jesus’ day, people came to see him. They came to be inspired and uplifted.   All: People of Canada need to be inspired and uplifted. We come to hear a message of hope. One: In Jesus’ day, people came to be healed and strengthened. All: People of Ontario need to know that their needs will be recognized. We come to find the energy to face each new day. One: In Jesus’ day, people came to be affirmed and encouraged. All: People of South Stormont need to be reminded of the ways that Jesus showed tolerance and understanding. We seek to reach out with love and compassion in all that we do. One: As people here within Ingleside-Newington United Church, we are open to the Spirit that blows among us and remains within us, this hour and always,   All: As people of this country, Canada, and as people of faith, we give thanks to God,...

It was evening when Jesus finished teaching about the kingdom of God by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to go to another village. Although it was getting dark, the disciples weren't worried because some of them were experienced fishermen from the Galilee region. They were experts at handling boats and knew the area well.  As they were sailing on the lake, a big windstorm arose all of a sudden. The boat was rocked by large waves, and water began to flood in. The disciples tried to steady it, but they couldn't. Their boat was so small compared to the Sea of Galilee. They started to feel afraid. They had been sure about their sailing abilities, but now they were scared. The windstorm was making them feel weak. Before their boat could break, their spirits were in danger of breaking first. In the midst of all this chaos, Jesus was sleeping peacefully, like a baby in his mother's arms. At first, the disciples didn't wake him. Because he was origina...

*Gathering Hymn Morning Has Broken (#409 VU) Welcome& Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One:How lovely is God’s dwelling place.   All: Our souls long to connect with our God. One: All of earth and heaven tell us of God’s goodness. All: God’s presence can be experienced from sunrise to sunrise. One: God’s call can be written on our hearts.   All: Let us seek God’s will and listen for God’s call to us. *Beth W. Johnston. Gathering Pentecost 1 2024 . P. 42. Opening Prayer (Unison) Our God, as a gentle rain soaks the earth, may your peace and love fall upon us, bringing growth and life. Soak into our innermost being. Quiet all that makes us anxious. Help us to linger in your presence and send us out refreshed to carry your peace to others. *CamilliaLaRouche. Gathering Summer-Autumn 1998. *Opening Hymn  There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (#271 VU) Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison) Merciful God, you whis...

 As our first Scripture reading, we read 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-19. Here, Paul emphasized his confidence in his faith and ministry twice (5:6, 8), using the Greek word θαρρέω (tharreo), meaning 'to be confident' or 'to be courageous.' This word appears five times in this letter, the only one of Paul's writings where it is used.  In fact, Paul often faced challenges that discouraged him. In this letter, he describes some of the hardships he went through as follows: "Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often w...

*Gathering Hymn  Morning Has Broken (#409 VU) Welcome& Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: This is the God we worship: not some thundering mountain god daunting us with fearful face;   All: not some cosmic sin-accountant marking every goof and grace, nor Big Brother in the sky fixing us with pitiless eye. One: This is the God we worship: deliberate, unstoppable, All: lighter of creation’s fire; One: resourceful determined,   All: healer of the human heart; One: subtle, adventurous,   All: shaper of lives of light. One: This is the God we know in Jesus.   All: With daring and joy, we name this God our Lord, and worship. *Rod Sykes. Gathering Summer-Autumn 2007 . Opening Prayer (Unison) God of grace, compassionate beyond your knowing, patient beyond our imagining, persistent beyond our comprehending: you invite us to imitate your love, to reflect in small measure your forbearance, to act, however...