The word "liturgy" often refers to the elements of worship: prayers, litanies, songs, etc. but its true definition is "the work of the people". In this light, I've been working to invite and involve as much input into the creation of what happens during Sunday worship.
To help support the Sunday School in its planning and coordination with the congregations' worship experience, a working document has been posted here for you to see what the next few weeks have in store. I think everyone can view the document, but special permissions need to be "granted" to add comments and suggestions so send an email and that will get set up for you.
A permanent link has been placed in the "Worship Plans" section of this blog's sidebar, and I'll do my best to keep it updated and current. I look forward to your feedback and participation in this webventure!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Your Input
Monday, October 27, 2008
for Nov. 2 – Joshua 3: 7-17
The Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.” ’
Joshua then said to the Israelites, ‘Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.’ Joshua said, ‘By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.’
When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
sermon: "List of Thanks" (Luke 17: 11-19)
Thanksgiving is supposed to be an easy sermon. You count your blessings, 100 of them daily, remember God is at work in our lives and that Christ offers healing and hope for our spirits. Amen. Off to turkey and stuffing.
And if I actually thought that I could get away with this, we’d be done. But as with Jesus himself, nothing is every as straightforward and certain as it appears at first glance. When Jesus heals the lepers, he is upsetting the social dynamic, disrupting countless lives and generally kicking over the apple cart of society’s rules.
In the days of the Middle East 2000 years ago, having leprosy was a sentence to exile. Anyone exhibiting any skin irregularity was fearfully shunned and labeled ritually unclean. These people, whether they had Hansen’s disease or a rash, were forced to live in colonies apart from the uninfected population.
In this particular story of scripture, ten people were condemned to this banishment with little of hope of reintegrating into society. So their family, friends and neighbours would have grieved and mourned, but also would have moved on, adjusting to their new life without the leper.
So for the newly-healed, returning lepers to their old lives, there would be awkwardness and suspicion and stigma as everyone had to reshuffle their lives to accommodate these ten miracles. In the aftermath of what happens, we don’t know if anyone involved would have wished that they hadn’t been healed.
Even so, the lesson is pretty clearcut: you can’t go wrong by saying thank you. So we give thanks for many things, sometimes for contradictory things. We can’t list 100 items without some of them infringing on others. Here’s a quick list:
Give thanks for Samaritans. For those outsiders or foreigners that remind us of our common humanity despite the differences that arise from geography, slightly different religion.
Give thanks for listening and obeying. For the 9 lepers that heeded Jesus instructions and presented themselves to the priest, no questions asked. They followed through on what Christ asked them to do.
Give thanks for spontaneity and bending the rules. For the 1 leper that decided it was more important to say thank you and to praise God by returning to Christ. For trusting that the healing spirit is greater than any rule or regulation.
Give thanks for gratitude. For the expression of appreciation, for remembering that we need the work and support of others to get through life and that we value such connections.
Give thanks for ingratitude. For the reminder that we do not do good for the sake of reward or thanks. We do good because it is the right thing to do. That Christ taught us to love and serve out a desire to help one another, not for glory or attention.
Give thanks for leprosy. For how often is it that we take our health for granted until we are faced with disease or death? And we give thanks that medical progress has increased our knowledge and developed antibiotic therapies to cure leprosy.
Give thanks for community and common causes. That even in the most dire of situations, on the fringes and margins of society, we can find common cause with one another, that our common experience will bond us together. And we hope that it wouldn’t take leprosy to bring our church into genuine community.
Give thanks for faith. For the trust in something greater and beyond. Faith that makes us well. Faith that compels us to get up and go.
For these, and so many other things, we give thanks.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A Fall Letter from the Church Office
Fall Blessings to you:
It has been a number of months since the last letter of this kind. I am not entirely sure where the past year has flown to; only that since September, there have been a number of special services and events as well as renewed focus directed towards the Sunday School children’s ministry.
To that end, we have been reconfiguring the “flow” and style of worship, trying to make it more interactive and kid-friendly. More time is devoted to educating our children (and ourselves) about faith and belief; although we are still seeking that fine balance between being too boring or too juvenile. Such is the gift and challenge of public worship and community gathering!
The ongoing mission of our churches has become a venture of “connecting to one another and to God” as we realize that maybe we don’t know each other as well as we thought, especially when it comes to the generational gap that all communities struggle to resolve.
This winter, the churches will be publishing a photo directory and there is no cost to have a portrait session and receive a copy of the directory. Of course, you can purchase a portrait package, if you wish, but there is no obligation to do so. Sign up for your appointment (Fri., Oct. 17, 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sat., Oct. 18, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) during coffee time after church or by contacting the church office who will, in turn, forward the information.
As we face the busy times ahead of harvest, winter preparation and settling into school routines, we continue to hope and imagine the many possibilities that our Creator has in mind for our lives and our church. In this time of election and decision-making, we also face choices about how we will be a faithful expression of God’s love in this changing world.
Despite all that is uncertain about our future, we remain steadfast and assured of God’s love made real in the ministry of Christ’s teachings and the attentive presence of the Holy Spirit. Let this be our thanksgiving as we consider all our blessings!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
for Oct. 12 - Luke 17: 11-19
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men with leprosy came toward him. They stood at a distance and shouted, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" Jesus looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." On their way they were healed. When one of them discovered that he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was from the country of Samaria.
Jesus asked, "Weren't ten men healed? Where are the other nine? Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God?" Then Jesus told the man, "You may get up and go. Your faith has made you well."
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.
Away from the Office Today
Just a quick note that today Janet will be late into the office because she's driving for a school field trip and I'm home with Kai who has a fever (and that type of thing isn't welcome at daycare). You can still leave a message on the office voicemail or call my cellphone.
Blessings,
Kenji
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Worldwide Presence at Worldwide Communion
Hearkening back to this January when we hosted a group of South Korean students, the United Church mission personnel that led the trip are leading worship on Sunday.
David and HyeRan Kim-Cragg have completed their term in South Korea and are back in Ontario sharing news of their work overseas. On the occasion of Worldwide Communion, we thought it would be appropriate and exciting to have them share in worship with us.
They will preach and co-preside over communion with me; the music will be international, lively and a key component of the message they bring.
We look forward to sharing this experience with you!