Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Father’s Day Sunday
National Indigenous Day of Prayer
HopeUnited.ca
June 20, 2021 – 11:00am
Congregation of Hope United Church
2550 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Christopher Slusar – Student Minister
Sandy Thorburn – Music Director
Rev. Brian Stevens
Welcome everyone to our Sunday on-line Service of Worship from Hope on the Danforth in Toronto, Canada. Today we celebrate father’s day and those who have offered themselves in the role of father in their families, work and community. My name is Rev. Brian Stevens and we are so pleased to have you with us today. You can type greetings and comments at any time in the chat.
The order of service will appear on your screen and is also available on our Facebook page and at HopeUnited.ca. Our service today will include a service of communion, so if you have not done so already please gather a wafer or small piece of bread and a juice for our communal blessing. Our musicians this morning are Janice, Marion, Sandy, Suzanne and myself.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LAND (Gavin)
Daphne Odjig
From the Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario
With respect, we acknowledge the world views, spirituality, history and stewardship of the Mississauga of Scugog, the Hiawatha and the Alderville First Nations, on whose traditional lands our church resides.
We thank and honour the other indigenous peoples who share this land. As followers of the Jesus Way, we affirm our commitment as a people empowered to work in restoring broken relationships.
We begin our celebration with:
Voices United # 567
“Will You Come and Follow Me”
(Marion- Suzanne- Rev. Brian)
Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?
Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll Move And Live And Grow
In You And You In Me.
(Rebekah and Mahroo)
(from United Methodist)
Our relationships with our fathers can be complicated.
For some of us, our father's love is like God's love -- too deep, too long, too wide, too strong to measure.
Some of our dads are here; some were never here.
For some of us, God's love fills in the empty spaces our fathers left behind.
All of us are shaped by the relationship or lack of relationship with our fathers.
On this day when we remember what it means to have a father or be a father, we recognize the importance of fathers in our communities.
We pledge as a congregation to love and nurture the fathers among us so that they will manifest the love of God in all that they do.
INTROIT CHANT
(Janice)
More Voices #77
“Be Still and Know “
Be still and know that I am God…
Be still and know that I am God!
OPENING PRAYER
From Mennonite Brethren
(Sheldon)
We praise you that, despite all our weakness and disobedience,
you view us not as subjects,
or as servants,
but as children.
And we rejoice that you want us to see you
not as some deity remote in splendour,
nor as a jealous God demanding our homage,
but as a father, watching over us
with infinite care and tenderness.
For the wonder of your love,
we praise you.
LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE (Gavin)
We light this candle
as a symbol of love and light…
Christ’s light in the world.
Christ’s light within us all. Amen.
“Touch us with Your Light” (Sandy)
Light from this candle burning bright…
Light our way through dark of night.
Help us find our way to you…
Guide us, touch us
With your Light,
O Lord.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Beth Merrill Neel
(Mahroo)
Sometimes, O God, we forget people, or we toss them aside – the difficult ones, the needy ones, the ones that are hard to spend time with, the ones who confront us. And sometimes when we do things like that, it’s not really about the other people, but about us.
We are uncomfortable, or we feel guilty, or we follow brighter, shinier people, or we worry about what will make us look good. We are in such desperate need of your forgiveness. We need to be forgiven for our sin, for our mistakes, for mistaking what the world values with what you value.
Help us to be better, and to see more clearly, and to care more thoroughly. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Grace and Forgiveness
(Rev. Brian)
Friends, hear this Good News: the love of God is beyond measure, and you are included in that love.
Know that you are forgiven and thus freed to love and serve.
Alleluia! Amen.
Voices United # 37 (Sandy)
Gloria, Gloria…
In excelsis Deo!
Gloria, Gloria
Alleluia, alleluia!
THE PEACE OF CHRIST
(Rev. Brian)
May the Peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
(Please unmute and greet one another!)
PRAYER FOR SPIRIT’S WISDOM (Suzanne)
Jesuit Resource
God of silence and God of all sound….
Help me to listen.
Help me to do the deep listening to the sounds of my soul, waiting to hear your soft voice calling me deeper into you.
Give me attentive ears that begin to separate the noise from the sounds that are you; you who have been speaking to me and through me my whole life,
for so long that you can seem like background noise.
Today help me hear you anew.
FIRST READING 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4–11, 19–23), 32–49
(Bruce)
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[ He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.
His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”
Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.
David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 9
Voices United # 732
(Marion- Suzanne- Rev. Brian)
Refrain: Among the peoples everywhere
God’s deeds we will declare.
I will give thanks to you, God, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your marvellous deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Refrain: Among the peoples everywhere
God’s deeds we will declare.
For my enemies are driven back,
They stumble and perish before you.
You have upheld the justice of my cause;
Seated on your throne,
you have given righteous judgment.
You have rebuked the nations
and destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their names for ever.
Enemies have perished
You have made their cities a desolation;
The very memory of them has vanished.
You have ruled from eternity,
You have established your throne for judgement.
You will judge the world with righteousness
And deliver true justice to the peoples.
You are a stronghold for the oppressed,
A tower of strength in a time of trouble.
Those who cherish your name will put their trust in you, for you, O God,
Have never failed those who seek you.
Sing praises to the One who dwells in Zion,
Proclaim to the peoples the deeds God has done.
For the One who avenges blood has remembered,
and has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
Refrain: Among the peoples everywhere
God’s deeds we will declare.
Have pity on me, God
Consider the trouble I suffer from those who hate me
You are the One who lifts me up from the gates of death
So that I may recount all your praises within the gates of the city,
And rejoice in your saving help.
The nations have fallen into a pit of their own making
In the net they laid in secret,
their own feet are entangled.
You have made yourself known O God, and given judgement;
The wicked are trapped in the work of their own hands.
The wicked go down to the Dead,
All the nations that are heedless of God
The needy shall not always be forgotten;
The hope of the poor shall not forever be vain.
Rise up, O God, do not let mere mortals prevail,Call the nations to account before you
Put them in fear, O God,
Let the nations know that they are but human.
Refrain: Among the peoples everywhere
God’s deeds we will declare.
GOSPEL READING Mark 4.35-41 (Rebekah)
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Hear the Good News of Christ!
Praise to you, O Christ.
VU 372 “Though I May Speak”
Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain,
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.
Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship, and are freed.
Sermon: “When storms touch our shores…”
Rev. Brian Stevens
“Put Your Hand
in the Hand”
by Gene MacLellan
Vocal…Janice Peters- Gibson
Piano…Rev. Brian Stevens
MORNING OFFERING
David S. Bell
( Sandra Cox)
Abundant One…
we offer you these gifts in gratitude for your steadfast guidance in our lives. We pray that these resources will provide ministries to the suffering, food to the hungry, hope to the poor, a spiritual presence to the needy. In the name of the one who suffered for our sake, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen
Our doxology is
More Voices # 191…
“What Can I Do?”
(Marion, Suzanne, Rev. Brian)
What can I do? What can I bring?
What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy. I’ll say a prayer,
I’ll bring my love. I’ll do my share.
.
A TIME OF PRAYER
adapted from a prayer written by Read Sherman (Trinity United Church in Montreal).
(Rev. Brian)
O God, we come together on this National Indigenous Day of Prayer, blessed to be alive, blessed to be on this land, blessed to have neighbours as diverse as your creation. You surround us with the air we breathe, the water we drink, all manner of living plants and animals that delight us and sustain us.
(Suzanne)
Thank you, Creator, for all you provide: for the blessings you give us―of family, friends, and places to call home, and on this Father’s Day we give thanks for all men who parent, coach, teach, mentor or otherwise help us through life’s journey.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Bruce)
O God, we thank you for the witness of Indigenous peoples and the strength, care and love they show. Encourage us to listen more, speak less. We welcome opportunities that will bring us together because in Christ, we know we are all kin, relatives, with you and with each other and with all living and non-living things.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Gavin)
We pray for all those who are worn down by systemic racism, and that those with power will change their thinking so justice will come. We pray for survivors of residential schools, and their families that continue to live with that legacy, that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Marion)
We pray for people living on reserves with shortages of funds for decent housing, water, schools, and other community infrastructure, that justice will come.
We pray for Indigenous people living in urban areas, facing the challenges of prejudice and discrimination that justice will come.
We offer particular prayers for the Cree of Kashechewan…especially their teens and children as they face a severe covid 19 outbreak in their community…an outbreak easily attended to, had they had proper housing and sufficient medical support in the days and months prior.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Janice)
We pray for Indigenous women and girls, facing both racism and sexism, that their lives and bodies will be respected as sacred, that justice will come. We pray for Indigenous women and girls who are murdered and missing, for them and their families, that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
( Rebekah)
We pray for the air, that every breath will be clean and easy. We pray for the waters―marshlands, lakes, rivers, streams – for the great seas and oceans, that they will be protected and sustained for the benefit of all, and that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Sandra Cox)
We pray for the lands, forests, grass, and farmlands – for the prairies, foothills, and mountains – for their beauty, for the life that teems within, upon, and over them. We pray for the health of ecosystems, that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Mahroo)
We pray for the animals, birds, fish, and life of all kinds whose viability is threatened by unsustainable human activity, that their lives will begin to count, and that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Sandy)
O God, we thank you for the Indigenous people of this land. Yet we lament that historic and contemporary racism continues to impair our relations. We lament the church’s role in a system that benefited settlers. We are committed to this painful journey of truth and reconciliation, and that we will walk this path with humility, that justice will come.
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Rev. Brian)
For those we name aloud or hold in the quiet of our hearts…
For all those names, for intentions offered aloud or in silence…
We pray to the Lord…
Lord, hear our prayer.
(Sheldon)
All this, O God, we lift up to you. We celebrate our kinship with you and with all our relations. Bless us with compassion that our friendships may grow. We pray in the name of Creator, who is Mother and Father of us all. Amen.
We conclude our time of prayer with the words our Saviour taught us…
“The Lord’s Prayer” (Sheldon)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen
Voices United # 469
“We Gather Here “
( Janice and Rev. Brian)
We gather here in Jesus' name,
His love is burning in our hearts like living flame;
For through the loving son God fashions us as one:
Come take the bread, come drink the wine,
Come, share the Lord.
No one is a stranger here, - everyone belongs;
Finding our forgiveness here,
we in turn forgive all wrongs.
He joins us here, he breaks the bread,
The One who pours the cup is risen from the dead;
The One we love the most is now our gracious host:
Come take the bread, come drink the wine,
Come, share the Lord.
We are now a family of which Christ is the head;
Though unseen he meets us here
the breaking of the bread.
We'll gather soon where angels sing;
We'll see the glory of our Lord and coming King;
Now we anticipate the feast for which we wait:
Come take the bread, come drink the wine,
Come, share the Lord.
SERVICE OF COMMUNION
( Marion & Rev. Brian)
God be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift our hearts in prayer
Let us give thanks to God
It is good to give God thanks and praise
(Marion)
Loving God, source of all, we thank you and praise you with our lips and with our lives, that, having created us and all things through your word, you welcome our prayer and praise. For the goodness of creation and the glory of redemption we praise you. For your risen presence on this day we thank you as we are grateful for the law and prophets who came before you.
Therefore, with all that is seen and unseen, and with all the faithful of every time and place, we join in this hymn of praise and thanksgiving….
MV # 203 Holy, Holy, Holy ( Sandy)
O holy, holy, holy God,
O God of time and space.
All earth and sea and sky above
bear witness to your grace.
Hosanna in the highest heav’n,
creation sings your praise,
And blessed is the One who comes
and bears your name always!
(Rev. Brian)
Loving God, Holy one, we offer our praise and thanksgiving over this bread and cup, because in Jesus Christ you have joined yourself forever with us, uniting heaven and earth. Now, therefore, we gratefully remember:
Jesus’ birth into our humanity,
Baptism for our sin,
Compassion for our suffering,
Intimacy with our fragility,
Rebuke of our pride,
Bearing the cross with its death,
And rising from the tomb by the power of God.
(Rev. Brian)
On the night before he died, Jesus took a loaf of bread, gave you thanks, broke it and said Take, eat, this is my body broken for you. Each time you do this, remember me.
Then Jesus took a cup, and having given thanks, he passed it to his friends saying: Drink. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this in remembrance of me. Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
MV # 204 Memorial Acclamation(Sandy)
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come a-gain!
Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen,
Christ will come a-gain!
Loving God, come to us and bless these gifts of bread and wine that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ; the sign and seal of our forgiveness in him and our adoption as the children of God... As we eat and drink together, on this happy day, make us one with Christ and one in Christ, a sign of his eternal reign in the world.
This sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving we offer you, loving God, though Jesus Christ our Saviour, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
Fraction and Pouring
Sharing the bread and cup
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
(Marion)
Life-giving God may we who share in Christ’s body
live his risen life;
We, who drink this cup, bring new life to others;
We, whom the Spirit lights, give light to the world.
MV # 205 Great Amen (Sandy)
Amen, amen O Holy One!
Hosanna and Amen!
Amen, amen O Holy One!
Hosanna and Amen!
Yoga! - Yoga Classes (on-line) continue with a new class each week. The links are available on our website and our Facebook page.
Donations to support the ongoing mission work of our congregation may be made on-line at the CanadaHelps.org website. The link is also on our website Hope United.ca Cheques can also be mailed to Hope United Church, 2550 Danforth Ave. Toronto, ON M4C 1L2
Our July New Horizons event will be a barbecue style meal on Saturday July 24th from 1:00-2:00pm. We anticipate it will still need to be a take-a-way. The menu will be beef or barbecue chicken on a bun, with potato salad, pasta salad, watermelon…maybe even a strawberry shortcake if the berries are still good!
Our ninth “Tuesday Tea at Two” will take place this Tuesday at 2:00pm. Same link and dial in as our Sunday worship. It is a time to chat, connect, share stories and a little bit of music. The program is led by Ali Chappell. Hope you can join us!
Rev. Brian will be on vacation he first three weeks of July. During this time Christopher Slusar, our student minister will lead service and be available for pastoral care as required.
CLOSING PRAYER
www.lords-prayer-words.com/times/fathers_
(Sandy)
Lord, thank you that you are with us as we father, for you know us, love us and care for us. May we learn to rest in your care, and to lean on you as we give out to our children. May we know your peace in the chaos, Your truth in the challenge, And your hope in the hardship. Amen.
Voices United # 481
“Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”
( Marion- Suzanne-Janice-Rev. Brian)
Sent forth by God’s blessing, our true faith confessing,
The people of God from this dwelling take leave.
The supper is ended, O now be extended
The fruits of this service in all who believe.
The seed of Christ’s teaching,
receptive souls reaching,
Shall blossom in action for God and for all.
God’s grace did invite us,
God’s love shall unite us
to work for the kingdom and answer its call.
With praise and thanksgiving to God ever living,
The tasks of our everyday life we will face.
Our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring,
Embracing God’s children of each tribe and race.
With your feast you feed us,
with your light now lead us;
Unite us as one in this life that we share.
Then may all the living
with praise and thanksgiving
Give honour to Christ and the name that we bear.
BLESSING AND BENEDICTION
(a traditional Irish blessing)
(Rev. Brian)
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
CHORAL BLESSING
“Walk in Love” (Janice)
Composed by Rev. Brian Stevens
Walk in love as you
Go into the world,
Walk in peace with
Everyone you meet,
May God’s grace touch your…
Heart, mind, and soul.
This day and evermore, Amen.
Amen, Alleluia & Amen!
Postlude – Sandy
Hope United.ca