Knox Presbyterian Church, Bayfield Rev Dolson May 24 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 and the second section will include scripture, the worship message, offering, prayers, and benediction.
Section 1
Announcements
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 a limit of ten recipes each. Send your recipes by email: deb.cosford13@gmail.com or snail mail: PO Box 1594, Clinton ON N0M 1L0. A church cookbook offers years of experience and great cooking.
Did you know that a small group gathered 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. 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.
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). Monetary donations can be made in several ways. Cheques can be sent to Bayfield Area Food Bank, 10 Keith Cres, Bayfield N0M 1G0 Cash donations & cheques are accepted in drop boxes at the Bayfield Garage & Esso Station and the Bayfield Convenience store (next to Renegades Restaurant). On-line donations accepted at website 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. 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 Kintail on the Road program [KOTR] 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.
It saddens me to share that Evelyn McLean died this week. Mark, Brenda and family mourn their loss in this difficult time of social restrictions. Funeral arrangements will be shared in the future. We will keep them in prayer as they mourn.
We send our congratulations to Rev Amanda Bisson and her husband Mike as they welcome Amelia Ellie into their family. She arrived weighing in at 7 lbs 2oz on March 20th. I have taken on the role of Interim Moderator at Knox Goderich during her one-year leave. You may recall Rev Amanda from her time as a student at Knox Bayfield. 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? Your elder will be Brenda McLean, Jan Sloan, 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
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.
Did you know that your feedback is important? 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 (Psalm 68)
Sing to God, all peoples of the world.
Sing praises to God most high.
From the sanctuary of heaven,
God gives life and renews the face of the earth.
Assurance of Pardon (1st Peter 4-5)
Sisters and brothers, the Spirit of God is resting on you,
to restore, support, and strengthen you.
Therefore, be at peace in the One who forgives and loves you;
rise up and give God thanks.
Prayer For Illumination (Ephesians 1:15–23 and Luke 24:44–53)
Come Holy Spirit, open our minds to see the power of Scripture to give life. Enlighten our hearts that we might see Christ in all we meet. In the name of the one, holy, and living God, to whom we give all glory. Amen.
Reading: John 17:1-11
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
Message
On this last Sunday of the Easter season, we reflect on the prayer offered by Jesus. Next week, we will celebrate the birth of the new church with Pentecost. Today, we pause to reflect on the prayer offered by Christ near the end of his time with the disciples. We discover that he asked God to protect the disciples, that they may be one, and that they will know and give glory to God.
Scholars refer to this passage of John as the high-priestly prayer. In many ways, we see Christ as the high priest, acting as the intermediary to God on behalf of humanity. Jesus offered to take our concerns to God when he left his human form. He declared his work complete and made his request to return to his place with God. Jesus describes his work with diverse images. All of his efforts are intended to give honour and glory to God. He created the opportunity for people to know the glory of God through him in his human form. I find this word, glory, to be intriguing. The word glory in Greek δόξα, doxa, is a noun. The Greek δόξα indicates an opinion, reputation, or appearance. In the New Testament, the meaning ranges from brightness[1] to greatness[2] to honor.[3] The diversity of this term cannot be simplified into a single definition.
In John’s gospel the reader discovers the importance of being in relationship with God and with one another. In his prayer, Jesus asks God and the Spirit to guard those who remain on earth. It is when this connection with the divine is established in relationship that eternal life becomes possible. It begins in our faith as we grow in our relationship with God. It is in relationship that God is revealed to us.
In this prayer, we discover some of the concern Jesus holds for the disciples. He is asking God to protect them in their efforts. A certain phrase caught my attention. What does Jesus mean when he says, “so that they may be one, as we are one “? As we wonder about the meaning of this phrase, we can look back to the beginning words of the gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The complexity of the relationship between God and Jesus set the context for John’s account. In this prayer Jesus extends the relationship to include humanity. Just as we seek to understand the relationship between God and Jesus, we also seek to understand the relationship between the divine and humanity. Our efforts to follow in the way of Christ connect us to one another. We seek a connection with the higher power of the Trinity. We seek the presence of God in our lives. In this seeking, we become aware of our limitations and try to see more clearly. We congregate with others, seeking to build relationships within our churches and in the larger community.
Perhaps in this phrase, “so that they may be on, as we are one” Jesus also prays for his followers to find unity with one another. Unity does not refer to being the same or identical or homogenous. Indeed, if we try to become like one another, we risk creating the conditions for group think, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis. Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment. People affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups. We are particularly vulnerable to groupthink when people are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.
We are created as unique individuals with diverse gifts. Our unity is enriched by the diversity of opinions and gifts brought into the discussion. Jesus prayed that “they may be one, as we are one”. How is God, the Spirit, and Jesus one? It has been described as a swirling. Jürgen Moltmann, theologian and Professor of Systematic Theology describes it as perichoresis, as a dance. Perichoresis describes the divine dance of the three Persons of the Trinity. God, Son, and Holy Spirit make room for each other, move in and through one another, dance with one another, in such a way that they create a mutual indwelling while still maintaining space for each individual. A beautiful image that describes the relationship more effectively than words alone. Perhaps we can understand this prayer for unity in terms of such joyful interplay and dancing.
I wonder how this concept might affect our interactions with one another. This dance of perichoresis may be particularly helpful when our interactions escalate into disagreements. It is relatively easy when we share viewpoints and truly agree with each other. Decision making is quick and easy. It is when we are in disagreement that disharmony can occur. At such times, it is helpful to step back and consider whether our actions will give glory to God. Perhaps unity in faith recognizes that we are made in many parts, a dance with many dancers. I imagine it more clearly with the image of congregational singing. When we sing, our voices lift up with a variety of sounds to make a joyful noise to the Lord.
You may recall that, beginning in 2019, we intentionally began to add new hymns to our music repertoire. We discovered that it takes time to learn a new song, to find our voices in the music, to have confidence in singing with others. Yet, when our voices join together in the sanctuary a sweet sound is lifted in praise. The baritones, tenors, and sopranos fit together. But what of the voices that don’t fit into a specific category? What of the voices that are a little off key? They cannot be silenced because they play an integral part of our congregation. When we join together we experience the joy of our voices telling a story in song. We join together in unity to experience the story through music, to give glory to God. In this action, we discover another way of knowing God.
It is in our interactions that we are drawn into the reality of God’s vision of love and justice. Our relationship with God becomes evident when we reach out with love to one another. We join together in our support of missions. We join together in our efforts to provide clothing, food, and undies for people in need. We join together with Presbyterians across Canada in our efforts to support Presbyterians Sharing and Presbyterian World Service Development – PWS&D. All this is done for the glory of God. It is through our relationship with God that we are able to find eternal life.
John’s Gospel provides the distinction between the divine vision for eternal life for humanity and the claims of authority made within the Roman Empire. Jesus proclaimed a different authority. It is God who gave Jesus the authority to provide eternal life. This is a stark difference from the claims of Romans. The empire claim of supremacy named the emperor as Lord, the one who would have eternal life. God declares a very different vision of what is true and worthy, of those who will have eternal life. Everyone is called into relationship with the divine.
Jesus, God, and the Paraclete enjoy an interdependence that allows for their unique differences. Perhaps our understanding of the Trinity allows us to imagine our oneness in Christ. Perhaps our glimmer of knowledge into the complexity of the Trinity expands our perspectives so that we might see how we can be in unity with others. We do not need to seek sameness when we seek unity. In the love of Christ, we grow in our ability to communicate, to be seen, and to be heard by one another. We grow in these abilities within our communities and in our interactions throughout the world. Our oneness in Christ expands to recognize the value of interacting with respect and love with all peoples. 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
This Sunday brings the season of Easter to a close. Yet we will continue to receive the blessings God pours out for us. 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.
All that we have is a gift from God. In faith and gratitude, we return a portion of what we have so abundantly received. 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.
Gracious God, we dedicate these gifts with deep gratitude. We are thankful for your call on our lives, for your guidance, and for blessing us that we may be a blessing to others. We pray you will multiply what we offer for your own good purposes. In Christ we pray. 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.
Redeeming God, we offer our prayers this day on behalf of your church and the world. We praise you as protector of orphans and widows, you give the desolate a home and lead prisoners into freedom. We seek your wisdom to support the health of all people and the welfare of your world. We pray you will help us to grow in strength and courage as we live in witness to hope in Christ.
Life-giving God, help us to find sustainable solutions as we seek to honor and care for your creation. We pray you will guide our efforts to offer your healing and compassion to others in the mercy of your Christ.
Resurrecting God, you draw near to those who are sick and dying, and you call them home to you. May we know the joy of life eternal shared with you.
Holy One, We pray for the mission of your church, that we may proclaim the good news as we put our trust in you. We live in a time when much is unknown and we struggle to find our balance in this uncertainty. The most vulnerable among us are the most at risk. Help us to see new ways of reaching out to people in need. Help us to continue our generosity of sharing our abundance with those who have little. We are thankful for the gifts you provide to those who care for your people. We pray that you will continue to bless the work of PWS&D, Presbyterian Sharing, and all others who devote their efforts to walking alongside those in need.
Almighty God, we are grateful for your everlasting and faithful presence. We pray for all the families and all the nations of the 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 Ron, Sandy and their family as they continue to deal with the impact of Ron’s treatment. 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 waits for 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’s extended family in New Zealand as they heal. 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 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 in their time of need. Strengthen them 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 and peace. 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, God loves and cares for each of us. Your anxiety can be set aside. Remain steadfast in your faith with Christ, who supports and strengthens us in all things. God’s Spirit is poured out upon us to make our hearts strong with love and bold with praise.
May the abundance of God bless you, the strength of Christ keep you, and the Spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, shine upon you forever.
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
How does my relationship with the triune God bring forgiveness, blessing, and love to others? Where have you experienced God’s welcome in your life? Where have you experienced God’s welcome in your church?
[1] Acts 22:11
[2] Mathew 6:29
[3] 1 Thessalonians 2:20