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JUNE 2
Welcome:
A very warm
welcome is extended to all guests this morning! We especially welcome our
neighbours from Zion Lutheran Church as we celebrate sharing in ministry within
our beautiful town of Lunenburg.
Reflection:
Thursday was the
Feast of the Ascension, celebrating Jesus' return to the Father from whence he
had come. In Acts (1.1-11), the apostles witness the ascension, and remain
awestruck staring at the (now empty) sky.
...This is where God shakes things up, as two unnamed and unknown men
appear and ask "why do you stand
looking up toward heaven?" before reminding them that Jesus was doing what
Jesus had told them he would do.
While the apostles were understandable amazed by all this, their ministry
was not to focus on the past, but to take their experience of Jesus and his
teachings and carry out the Good News of God to the world.
No matter how
perfect and inspiring our experience with God is, we are not meant to stay
still and focus on what was. Rather, the ascension of Jesus and the coming of
the Spirit serve to invite us into action, into living fully in the present
moment, supported by the gifts of the past and focused on the possibilities of
the future.
May our prayers
this day be that God will wake us up to the exciting potential of serving one
another in the name of the Risen and Ascended Christ!
Prayers:
As we calm our
minds and still our souls, we offer our prayers to Almighty God, responding to
the petition "Lord in your mercy" with "hear our
prayer."
Loving God, as we
gather in your name, we pray for the whole church. We ask you to open our
hearts to all of your children; especially as we are reminded today of our
brothers and sisters here in this community. May we listen to your call to live
in peace and unity.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for all
those in leadership: for the Queen and our elected governments; for our church
leadership nationally and locally. For our Bishops and Archbishops: Fred,
Susan, Michael, and Ron. May they lead by example your truth and grace.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those
in our world who struggle to cope with the necessities of life: those with
limited political stability, those who are denied economic well-being, those
whose lives are devastated by the climate crisis, those who are victims of
human trafficking, those who feel helpless and hopeless. In a world where fear
seems dominant, we ask you to empower us to work for justice and peace.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for our
communities; for those who live here and those who visit; for those who are
easy to love and for those we struggle to love; for those whose employment is
dependent on the mercies of the sea and good weather; for those who are
unemployed and underemployed. May we be inspired to advocate for a more just
society.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those
in any need of mind, body, or spirit. For those who received good medical news
this week, and those who bear new challenges; for the diseases and infirmities
that are known and those that are invisible. As we ask your presence to comfort
those in weakness, fear, and pain; we also ask for your blessing on all who
work in health care and research.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those
who grieve the loss of a loved one. We pray for all who have suffered loss, for
all who dwell in fear, for all who have closed their hearts to your grace and
love.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious God, we
also bring you our thanksgivings, for the blessings of this life that we
celebrate and those that we take for granted. Help us to enter this week as
ambassadors for your Kingdom; bearing a spirit of gratitude, delighting in your
generous gifts, and embracing the abundant opportunity for us to live in
Christian love.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer.
We bring you
these prayers, O Lord, knowing that you hear our words and the whispers of our
hearts, and ask you to grant us our petitions as may be best for us. May we
ever seek your knowledge and truth in this world, and trust in your promise of
the ever-near Kingdom.
Lord in your
mercy,
Hear our prayer. Amen.
Reflection:
Lost In
Translation?
In today's
passage from the Acts of the Apostles, The Holy Spirit arrives bringing...
confusion! So many languages are spoken, as the Spirit gave them all ability -
but why? Shouldn't the Spirit bring comfort and solace, not confusion and
division?
Alas, that is
exactly what the Spirit does. In bringing all these languages to the people
that are gathered, the Good News of God is being communicated to all who would
hear it in exactly their language, and ways in which they would understand.
Nothing is lost in translation or misunderstood; it's exactly and precisely conveyed
to all who need comfort that they will be comforted; that all who need advocacy
will have an advocate, and that all who would learn about God would know that
divine love and grace. The many languages were a great gift!
What is confusing
to some is clarity to others; and God offers us all clarity of the Good News in
our lives - if only we will listen.
PRAYER FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF LUNENBURG AND ST.
JOHN'S
As we celebrate
the 266th anniversary of our town of Lunenburg and of our parish church, we
offer our prayers of thanksgivings to Almighty God. For the history that molds
and makes us, and for the abundant gifts and work of generations that have gone
before us. As we continue to make new history here, we give thanks for life and
health, for laughter and fun, for all our powers of mind and body, for our
homes and the love of dear ones, for everything that is beautiful, good, and
true. We give thanks for the privilege of hearing anew God's Holy and eternal
Word, for receiving the sacraments that nourish us, and for the structure which
houses our prayers and praises, inviting us into ministry for your sake. We
thank you, Holy Father, for all the gifts of creation, for Jesus our saviour
and friend, for the Holy Spirit our advocate and comforter. May we always find
our true happiness in serving others and helping them to know and love you, for
Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
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Reflection
Imagine if our closest friend said
"I'm going away forever, but it's a good thing!" I expect we'd feel
hurt and confused. Which is exactly how the apostles, in their
pre-telecommunications world felt. Pained; grieving in advance.
Yet the good news comes then, when
Jesus says "I still
have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." This is not
to dismiss their emotions, or brush off the importance of the Good News, but
rather to offer comfort. Jesus is saying "Friends, you've already been
through so much. There's more you need to know, but I don't want to overwhelm
you right now."
And
so, the Holy Spirit - the advocate, the comforter, the speaker of truth - is
promised! And given credibility! And the apostles are assured that they will
continue to hear the Good News of God through this Spirit - words that will
come from this inexplicable and astonishing Holy Trinity.
It
truly is more complex than the apostles could bear, but they had the faith to
trust: to believe in the God who creates, redeems, and sustains, and to trust
that God would continue to reveal truths of love and grace and blessing.
It is
more than we can bear too; human minds simply cannot define the Trinity - it's
why we call it a mystery - but we can
believe in the fullness of God, and live our lives in faith. Yet God always has
more to tell us: more good
news, more grace, more love: more than we could hear yesterday, and not as much
as we'll be able to bear tomorrow. This is the beauty of our Triune God: we are
never left alone, and we are never without more to learn. May we embrace the
three-in-one, the Divine Trinity, the presence of God who is always welcoming
us into the truth of the Good News of God.
Prayers
(We respond to the petition "Let us pray to the
Lord" with “Lord, hear our prayer.”)
We pray for the church: our spiritual home of St
John's, for the faithful who helped us to know and love God, and the
opportunities to welcome and support others as we journey in faith together.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for the peace of the world; may the Lord grant
that we may live together in justice and in faith; and inspire us to advocate
for those who are newly experiencing violence, and those who have never known
peace.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for this country, this community, and all
communities from which our guests and visitors come. We pray for all in
authority: Queen Elizabeth, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and all
in authority: the Lord help them to serve this people according to God's holy
will.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for children and young people as they come to
the excitement of summer holidays: asking the Lord guide their growth and development.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are sick in mind, body, or
spirit; those whose names we carry in our hearts and those whose names are
known to God alone: may the Lord deliver them and keep them in love.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for all who suffer for the sake of justice and
truth: those who are exiled, ridiculed, assaulted, or in any way denied
dignity; may the Lord support them and keep them steadfast.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
We remember the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all
who have borne witness to the gospel: we hold in prayer those who have died in
the peace of Christ; may God direct our lives in the same spirit of service and
sacrifice.
Let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.
JUNE 23
Reflection:
The scriptures regularly remind us to pause form the busy-ness and noisy-ness of life, and to sit in stillness in the presence of God. Our first reading (1Kgs 19.1-15a), for example, shows Elijah ready to give in having been so overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle, when God’s messenger invites rest and nourishment. ‘Take a nap and have a snack; otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’
While this pause does not make things perfect in Elijah’s journey, it provides him what he needs to continue through the challenges that he faces. He recognises that God is not the driving force in the chaos of wind, and earthquake, and fire; yet that God is present in the stillness that follows. And while the question that he asked of God is the same in the chaos and the stillness, it is when Elijah has an inner peace that he can truly hear the response of God.
As our summer is a time of busy-ness, with guests and tourists and vacations and all sorts of noise, I invite you to rest: to fill yourselves with the calmness and nourishment that your bodies need, so that your souls might be open to listening to the still, small voice of God.
Prayers:
Quieting our minds and opening our hearts, we respond to the
petition "Hear us Lord" with "Lord, mercifully hear us.":
We pray for God's church:
For those
without the freedom to worship,
for those who
mourn their faith,
for those who
celebrate their faith,
for those who
take faith for granted,
for those who
reject the beauty of worship.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We pray for those given earthly authority:
For those who
seek it,
for those who
bear the responsibility,
for those whose
hearts have been corrupted,
for those who
strive for good governance.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We pray for God's world:
For those who
exploit the creation,
for those who
delight in creation,
for those who
are ignorant of the glorious interconnection of all species,
for those who
strive to realise their niche in creation.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We
pray for our communities:
For the
buildings which shelter us,
for the land
which nurtures us,
for the
neighbours we are called to love,
for the people
holding us in prayer this day,
for the
ever-present opportunity to share the love of God in our midst.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We pray for the day and it's tasks:
For the work in
which we engage,
for the
invitation to exercise our many ministries,
for the
blessings we take for granted,
for the
abundance of grace waiting to be found in the mundane.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We pray for those who are in need:
For those who
are ailing in body,
for those whose
spirits know no peace,
for those whose
minds cause them grief,
for those who
we hold in our hearts.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
We pray for those whom we love but see no more:
May they rest
in peace and rise in glory,
may we embrace
and continue the good example they have shown us.
Hear us, Lord;
Lord mercifully hear us.
Holy and loving God, we come to you with all we have and all we
are. We ask you to hear the whispers of our hearts and minds, and to stir up in
us the desire to bring all things to you in prayer; may we remain ever grateful
for your promise to hear us.
Amen.
JUNE 30
Reflection:
There are times when we
all want to finger-point, to highlight how wrong someone else is, and by
extension how right we are. Though James and John in today's gospel try to do
just that to the Samaritans, Jesus encourages a more compassionate and loving
response. He encourages the disciples not to focus on what is wrong with
others, but on what might be preventing full communion with Christ in our own
lives. Faith isn't a competition, but a journey of ongoing spiritual
self-reflection and growth.
As we consider our own
spiritual journeys today, I invite us to reflect on how we can move on, move
forward, in loving service to God. How can we live our own baptismal vows? How
can we support our brothers and sisters in God's family? How can we embrace the
full life of joy that is being offered? How can we share the light of Christ
that has been so freely shared with us?
God's blessings on your
journey!
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