Knox Presbyterian Church, Bayfield Rev Dolson May 31 2020
Greetings to my church family and friends. May the grace of God be with you. Although we are unable to gather as a group it is good to reach out to you with the printed word. Yet the printed word, whether on a computer screen or on paper, requires action on your part. The following material is broken out into two sections. The first section will include announcements; the second section will include scripture, the worship message, offering, prayers, and benediction; and, the third section includes hymns.
Section 1
Announcements
Walk and pray with the Moderator! You are invited to join the Rev. Amanda Currie, Moderator of the General Assembly, this summer as she walks 1 km for each ministry of our denomination and ecumenical partner in the Canadian Council of Churches. That’s about 10–11 km per day. She will be praying as she walks, and you can follow along using the prayer schedule. Talk with the Moderator! Presbyterians in a variety of ministries will join the Moderator by video conference over the coming weeks. They will discuss the challenges and successes in these difficult times. The videos will be posted as they become available. https://presbyterian.ca/gao/moderator/
Did you know that a small group gathered again this week on Monday morning and Friday afternoon for Coffee & Prayer? “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 I appreciate the courage of those who have taken the leap into virtual connections. We will continue to explore prayer with the ancient art of Lectio Divina. Drop in and discover. Have you received your invitation to the gathering? If not, contact me 519-572-8529 and we can check your email information. Also let me know if you would prefer to be removed from the invitation list.
Have you heard that a new initiative is underway? Your help is needed to create a Knox Bayfield Cookbook. Look through your favourite recipes and share your top choices with Deb Cosford. She is asking for ten recipes from each of you. Send your recipes by email: deb.cosford13@gmail.com or Canada Post: PO Box 1594, Clinton ON N0M 1L0. A church cookbook offers years of experience and great cooking.
Do you have food to share? The FoodBank continues to accept food donations during the COVID crisis. Take your food donations to the bin outside at Trinity St James Church, on the south side verandah of the parish hall (opposite side of church from parking lot). Cheques can be sent to Bayfield Area Food Bank, 10 Keith Cres, Bayfield N0M 1G0 Donations [cash & cheques] accepted in drop boxes at the Bayfield Garage & Esso Station and the Bayfield Convenience store (next to Renegades Restaurant). On-line donations at www.canadahelps.org
Keep calling! Many people have shared how their day is brightened by a phone call or email from within our church community. Would you like to receive a call? Contact Brenda and she will help! Remember to reach out during this challenging time.
Stay home & keep moving! It is important that we keep moving about as much as we are able during this time of social isolation.
Jim Knox has volunteered to ‘safely’ pick up your offering envelopes. If you would like Jim to come to your house in the Bayfield area, call him to make arrangements. His home number 519-565-4214. The envelopes can also be dropped off at his home mailbox at 12 MacTavish St, Bayfield. Brenda will do bank deposits about once a month during the COVID 19 restrictions.
Are you dealing with food insecurity? Reach out to the Bayfield Area Food Bank if you are struggling to put food on your table. Make a confidential call to: 519 955-7444 (area manager) or 519 565-2790 (alternate contact). Leave a message with your information. All messages answered by a designated person to ensure privacy. Food will be delivered to your home on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Help is available!
Kintail Camp Executive Directors announced the disappointing news that 2020 Kintail Camps have been cancelled. The Knox Bayfield 2020 KOTR daycamp has also been cancelled, along with the spring plant sale and the yard sale/BBQ. Although we will miss the opportunity to work together at these events, plans are in the works for other ways to reach out to the community (once the restrictions are lifted). Watch for more information in the near future.
Rev Amanda Bisson began her maternity leave last week when she and Mike welcomed Amelia into their family. I have taken on the role of Interim Moderator at Knox Goderich during her one-year leave. During this time that we are unable to gather in person, I will be sharing my weekly Knox Bayfield message with the congregation at Knox Goderich. Regular pulpit supply will be in place for Knox Goderich when we are allowed to gather together for worship.
Do you know who your elder is? Our Session has 3 elders. Your elder will be Brenda McLean, Jan Sloane, or Deb Cosford. Brenda, our Clerk of Session, has the district master list, so contact her if you are unsure. Call her at (519) 524-8645 or email brmclean@hurontel.on.ca to ask, “Who is my elder?” Your elder would love to hear from you.
We are here for you! Are you aware of the new ways in which we are reaching out to you? Perhaps you have read the weekly sermons and other current information in your email inbox or on our website pccweb.ca/knoxbayfieldpc Would you prefer to receive a paper copy? The printed sermons are also being delivered each week. My route takes me from Kitchener through Huron Perth including Stratford.
Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback about the weekly message! Your comments & reflections about the weekly service are always helpful but are especially important to me during this unusual time. Just call or send a quick note (email or paper) to say share your reflections on the service. You would be doing me a great service by sharing your comments.
Section 2
Call To Worship
Assurance of Pardon
God’s forgiveness shines into the world and the darkness scatters.
Jesus knows our every strength and our every weakness, and loves us still.
We are called to the promise of God’s amazing grace
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer For Illumination (Acts 2:11)
Creator God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, speak to us in the language of our hearts, that we may hear your Word with understanding and answer your call with confidence. Amen.
Reading: Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
Amazed and astonished, they [the crowd] asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another [some of the crowd], “What does this mean?”
But others sneered and said [others in the crowd], “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'”
May God bless our understanding of this, God’s holy Word
Message Pentecost
Our reading today begins with, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Oh, it would be wonderful to deliver this sermon in the sanctuary with all of you gathered together in the pews. But we cannot be in one place, although in some ways we are in a similar place. We are in the midst of this time when we must keep our distance and stay apart from group gatherings. It is in the midst of this time that the Spirit may be calling to us, nudging us to reflect on our place relative to the events of our world.
Pentecost is from the Greek number fifty. It points to the fifty days (seven weeks) after Passover. This is the traditional Jewish Shavuot. The word Shavuot (or Shavuos) means “weeks.” It celebrates the completion of the seven-week period between Passover and Shavuot. The Torah was given by God to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,000 years ago. During this holiday of Shavuot the Jewish people celebrate their acceptance of God’s gift. So, it was during the Jewish celebration of Shavuot that the disciples gathered. Indeed, many people had travelled from great distances to gather together for the holiday. The disciples decided to gather early that morning to worship and to support each other. They worshiped in a home as they were living out a faith that was not accepted by the majority of people in Israel.
The book of Acts shares the beginning of the early church from the ascension of Jesus through to the time of Paul arriving as a prisoner in Rome. The first part of this book tells of the disciples’ witness in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Today we enter into the time after the ascension of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples with tongues of fire and with great rushing winds. We have read, in earlier passages, that Jesus told the disciples that God would provide an Advocate to be with them forever. They would be empowered by the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to be “my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Here, in this passage, the Spirit is evident in many ways.
The Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak in other languages. The tongues of fire signal the presence of the Divine, of God’s revelation. We look to scripture to find other signs of fire with the burning bush, the descent of God on Sinai, and the fiery chariot in the book of Daniel. John the Baptist prophesied of the one who would come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
In our reading today, the rushing winds drew the crowds, residents and visitors, to the house where the disciples had gathered. When they arrived, they discovered that the disciples could speak different languages. There was no rational explanation. The disciples were speaking the diverse foreign languages of visitors from Asia Minor, Egypt, Libya, Rome, and other places.
The Spirit empowers the disciples to preach the Word and to be understood in every language. The Spirit creates awe-inspiring wonders and miracles of healing and sharing. The Holy Spirit was poured out by God to empower the church to share Christ’s mission to the ends of the earth.
The beginning of Genesis describes the Spirit over the void as the life-giving breath of God. The Spirit appears in times of darkness and distress. The prophet Isaiah promised the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of knowledge and the fear of God. Is it through Spirit-led initiatives that people are able to question existing religious and cultural beliefs and practices?
This passage brings so much out in our imaginations. The images seem to jump off the page. The tongues of fire, a rushing wind, and the gathered crowds. It can also lead us to realize that the story of Pentecost is about much more than the beginning of the church. It is about the transforming Spirit of God. It is about the ways in which people have been transformed into much more than they ever knew possible. It is about the ways in which the divine disrupts and disorients our ways of seeing life so that we can see in radical new ways.
During this time of COVID, many people are beginning to see things differently. There is a growing awareness of the distinct chasm between those with privilege and those without, those who are wealthy and those who are poor. The vulnerable have been particularly hard hit. Systemic problems have become more obvious. The systemic issues become evident when we see the impact of insufficient protection for the vulnerable, the elderly, and the caregivers. There is a growing realization of systemic issues that have received little attention in the past, despite the ongoing plea for help. There is a growing realization of ongoing racism, intolerance for religious diversity, and many other issues. How do we respond to our increased awareness of these issues? Do we turn away or do we turn toward the problems?
Jesus spoke of the love in which God calls us to be neighbors. This is a love that we are to accept from God, to share with God, and to nurture with one another. This need to connect in love necessitates an understanding of one another. This love expands to embrace knowing, comforting, nurturing, giving, discovering, praising, and taking action. We are called to extend our understanding to include those we do not know, those who do not hold the same opinions, the same religion, or the same cultural context. We are called to love our neighbours around the world. How can we do this if we do not understand their hopes and their fears? How can we live in the way of Christ if we are not actively pursuing this relational love of our neighbours.
Are we able to do this when we live in a time of increased awareness of risk? The risk of infection is heightened, which has heightened the understanding for the necessity of everyday essentials, like running water and soap. We have developed a heightened awareness of the high risk of infection for people living in communal settings. The risk of wards in long term care facilities, migrant worker living quarters, and homeless shelters. Similarly, we have a heightened awareness of the need for adequate housing and sufficient employment. Many are at high risk, life-threatening risk, when they do not have access to decent housing, food, and sufficient employment. In part, perhaps as the world has slowed and the focus of the news reports have been on the pandemic, we are becoming more aware of these issues.
Perhaps, as part of a faith community, you were already aware of some of these risks. It may be that you are sensing a shift in how you understand the impact of risk factors. Your reflections and prayers may be helping you to see things more clearly. How are you sensing the Spirit at work within you? Do you sense the Spirit leading you to take action? This process of reflection has increased importance as our communities and our churches are scattered due to social restrictions. These questions arise as you may have more time and the desire to reflect and pray.
Perhaps the account of the early church challenges our present day church to listen for the Spirit. How will you respond with your voices, gifts, and skills? Praise be to God.
The Offering Of Our Life And Labour To The Lord
Quote: Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), French abbott
God is so good to us. We offer to God our thanks for such goodness by returning a portion of our blessings, in time, talent, and treasure.
Donations can be made to the church in several ways during the COVID restrictions:
- The traditional method of Canada Post mail, just be sure to include the post office box: Knox Church, Box 565, Bayfield, ON N0M 1G0
- This is a good time to consider the consistency of postdated cheques or PAR. Both are easy to set up and easy to change.
- All cheques can be sent to the church by Canada Post. We would greatly appreciate monthly cheques, if possible.
- Jim Knox is willing to ‘safely’ pick up your offering envelopes. If you would like Jim to come to your house and do a pick up, his home number is 519-565-4214. The envelopes can also be dropped off at his home mailbox at 12 MacTavish St, Bayfield.
- Bank deposits will be done less regularly, likely about once a month
- PAR, the Pre-Authorized Remittance, is an automatic monthly withdrawal from your bank.
- Contact Brenda McLean (519) 524-8645 or email brmclean@hurontel.on.ca She is an expert at setting up PAR
- Adjustments to postdated cheques and PAR can be easily made by contacting Brenda. All financial information is confidential.
With thanksgiving for God’s gifts to us, we offer ourselves and the fruits of our labor for God’s work in the world. During the worship service, we sing the doxology, a song of praise. You may actually hear an echo of the tune that Jean and Betty Lou play each week.
We give thee but thine own, whate’er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O lord, from thee.
Blessing Of Gifts *
Take a moment to pray for blessings on the gifts of time, talent, and financial offerings received by the church. Your generosity does much good within the local community and the larger world.
God of our salvation, receive the gifts we offer and bless them for the work of your creation. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers Of The People
You are encouraged to share your concerns and celebrations with the congregation. Your requests will be shared in the prayers of the people and kept in my daily prayers and the prayers of our congregation. Let us pray for all people and all of God’s creation.
Loving God, your light reveals the need of this world and your salvation offers hope to the lost. We lift up our prayers for all of creation. We pray for your holy church, that all may live in harmony. May you guide pastors and teachers to be wise and gracious ministers of the gospel.
We lift up the leaders of the nations and of communities. May they be just and faithful in their duty and serve the good of all. May leaders overcome the babble of misunderstanding. May your unifying message of love be heard in their language and recognized in each culture.
Holy and reconciling God, we pray for an acceptance of all people. We are broken hearted as we mourn the loss of those who have suffered and died because of racism. We lift up the families and communities of all people at increased risk. We mourn the senseless and cruel death of another black man. Oh God, we see the hatred around us and wonder what to do with the infection of hatred shared from one generation to another. Help us to recognize the wrongs against your children. Help us to stand up and speak against those who spread racism and hatred. May your Spirit guide us to protect all of your people.
May your Spirit guide our efforts to renew the earth. We pray that we will grow as good stewards of the resources your provide. We struggle to understand the hardship and adversity that is engulfing this world. We pray for the farming community. We lift up farmers, their families, and the farm workers during this challenging time. May they find hope and support in their struggle to cope with the issues facing them during COVID. We pray you will move those who are without work to shift their focus to working in the agricultural communities. We pray the Canadian people will recognize the adversity within the farming communities and the importance of their work. May we all seek ways to better support their efforts.
We lift up those who experience insecurity with food and housing. May they find support for the necessities of life. May those with abundance feel moved to share with those in need.
We pray for those in need of healing. Send your healing Spirit upon those who are sick in body, mind, or spirit. Loving God, your heart overflows with compassion for your whole creation. Pour out your Spirit on all people living with illness. Help them to know that you claim them as your own. We pray you will deliver them from pain and fear.
O God, teach us to be good neighbors, to live in peace with one another, and in friendship share the joys and burdens of daily life. We pray for your Spirit to linger with those who are struggling with the restrictions imposed by COVID. Be with those who are alone and those who struggle to live with others. We seek your guidance with our efforts to reach out to our sisters and brothers.
Almighty God, we are grateful for your everlasting and faithful presence. We pray for all people of this earth. May they turn toward you and find peace. Loving God, we lift up our people who are in need of your special care at this time. We lift up those who are un-named. May they find healing and compassion with you. May they reach out to their brothers and sisters for assistance in their time of need. We lift up Ron, Sandy and their family. Be with him and his family as he continues on his journey of healing. We lift up Brenda, Mark and family as they mourn the deaths of Evelyn and George. Be with them as they mourn in isolation, with family near yet so far out of reach. We lift up Jan Meyer’s sister, Peggy, as she slowly heals from extensive heart surgery. Be with Peggy, Jan, and family. We lift up Ron Sangster, family, and friends as they mourn the death of Jean. We lift up Betty Lou’s daughter, Bonnie, as she continues treatment for breast cancer. We lift up Susanne and family as they mourn the death of Susan. Be with them as the family mourns in New Zealand and Canada. We lift up Gayle’s granddaughter Courtney and great granddaughter Kyla. Be with them as they heal and grow together. We lift up Rob, son of Jane and Jim. Be with him as he lives with the impact and consequences of a brain tumor. We lift up Lisa, daughter of Grace, in her duties as nurse & caregiver. We lift up Marlene, daughter of Jessie, as she heals from her injuries. We lift up Bonnie Heath as she heals from a recent fall. Be with Bonnie and her family. We lift up those who struggle with the impact of isolation. We lift up families struggling with the impact of health concerns, aging parents, disharmony, and distrust. May your spirit linger with them. Strengthen us with your presence of love.
Oh holy God, be with your people as they suffer and seek your peace. We pray for those who live in situations of violence. May they find protection. We pray for residents and care givers in retirement homes and long term care facilities. We pray for those who are in hospital and hospice. We pray for all who are suffering financial hardship and uncertainty at this time.
O Holy One, although we are apart and cannot lift our voices together, we speak the words aloud that Christ taught his disciples, Our Father who art in heaven, hallow’ed 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. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Where hope has grown tired and thin, Gracious God, lift our sights, so that we may see hope beyond hope, life beyond death, and you, lifted up before us. We pray all this through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty God, forever and ever Amen.
Benediction
Sisters and brothers, live with compassion, simplicity, and peace in the Creator’s world. May the grace of God, Father and Mother, bless you with peace. May the love of Christ sustain you in joy. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with courage, this day and forevermore. Amen.
Closing Chorus
May the Lord, mighty God bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, faith in every endeavor Lift your eyes and see His face, and His grace forever, May the Lord, mighty God bless and keep you forever.
Questions for Reflection
In what ways do you struggle with conflict between your way of life and the prophetic word God? How are the acts of God manifest (obvious) in your life? How is the Spirit nudging you to action?
Brother, sister, let me serve you[1] #635
Lyrics/Music: Richard Gillard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qblqtb4jzL8
Brother, Sister, let me serve you. Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace to, let you be my servant, too
We are pilgrims on a journey and companions on the road
We are here to help each other, walk the miles and bear the load
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the nighttime of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear
I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I’ll laugh with you
I will share your joys and sorrows till we’ve seen this journey through
When we sing to God in Heaven we shall find such harmony
Born of all we’ve known together of Christ’s love and agony
Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant, too.
Spirit, spirit of gentleness[2] #399 Words/Music: James K Manley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR1Z8JI5Wio
Refrain:
Spirit, spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free,
Spirit, spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.
You moved on the waters, you called to the deep
then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep
and over the eons you called to each thing
wake from your slumbers and rise on your wings
[Refrain]
You swept through the desert, you stung with the sand
and you goaded your people with a law and a land
and when they were blinded with idols and lies
then you spoke through your prophets to open their eyes
[Refrain]
You sang in a stable, you cried from a hill
then you whispered in silence when the whole world was still
and down in the city you called once again
when you blew through your people on the rush of the wind
[Refrain]
You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes
From the bondage of sorrow all the captives dream dreams
our women see visions, our men clear their eyes
With bold new decisions your people arise
[Refrain]
I am the church! You are the church![3] #475
Words/Music: Richard Avery, Donald Marsh
Refrain: I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together
All who follow Jesus, all around the world, Yes, we are the church together
The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple
The church is not a resting place, the church is a people
[Refrain]
With many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces
All colours and all ages, too, from all times and places
[Refrain]
Sometimes the church is marching; sometimes it’s bravely burning
Sometimes it’s riding, sometimes hiding, always it’s learning
[Refrain]
And when the people gather, there’s singing and there’s praying
There’s laughing and there’s crying sometimes, all of it saying
[Refrain]
At Pentecost some people received the Holy Spirit
And told the Good News through the world to all who would hear it
[Refrain]
[1] Words / Music: Richard Gillard
[2] Words/Music: James K Manley
[3] Words/Music: Richard Avery, Donald Marsh