Hymns for Sunday, April 3rd

Response - Jesus Christ is Waiting - 117, v 1 - 4

Open My Eyes that I May See - 371
Jesus Bids Us Shine - 585
When Jesus the Healer - 358
Will Your Anchor Hold - 675

Psalm - 23, # 747 (sung to tune - Amazing Grace)
Doxology - 543

“A boy who gave a helping hand.”

This has been a most difficult week for me. A young 15 year old boy was killed on Monday (March 21, 2011) riding his dirt bike on the street. His bike exploded when he was hit by a car. Burnt beyond recognition, his family had no way of seeing his body one last time. The heart of a family and a community is broken. The thin line that separates life and death is crossed. The clock cannot be turned back. A life, a gift of God so full of potential has been cut short.

As a community of faith we gathered this week to provide comfort and support to one another. We turned to God and prayed that God would draw near and lift us up out of the miry pit in which we find ourselves.

It fell to me to plan the funeral service for this young boy. Planning a funeral service for anyone is never an easy task. Somehow it is more difficult when it is a young person.

A funeral, for young or old, provides an opportunity give thanks for the miracle of life. In this respect it is like the sacrament of infant baptism. Life is a gift. It is treasured, both the joy and the sorrow.

When death occurs, we mourn our loss. We give expression to our feelings of grief. Our emotional response to death may run the range from anger, denial, guilt, lament, rage, resignation, and thanksgiving. The purpose of a wake and a funeral is to provide a safe space where we can give expression to our feelings.

In a funeral service we gather to worship God. For the Christian, the funeral service is a celebration of God's love, a love which is revealed in the life that has been given and lived. “We believe that for everything there is a season…and that… God has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3)

Worshiping as the body of Christ, we experience the moving presence of the living God in our midst. The future is open before us. The best of the past is treasured. The worst is forgiven. As we worship God, we are given a new identity as a child of God. In spite of the chaos and confusion that engulfs us when a death takes place we find we are given new roots and raised to new life as we worship together. Worship gives new meaning to our lives. In worship we discover what is genuinely important. The materialistic glitz and glitter, the gimmicks and gadgets, are revealed for what they are.

What is genuinely important takes on sharper focus. Life’s puzzles and predicaments are seen in a new light. We may not always understand them at first. But through time we see more clearly the direction of our lives. We develop a sense of purpose. We come to realize our life counts for something. Worship gives new hope to our life. We begin to see beyond the tragic and the terrible, the sadness and the sickness, as we discover anew the resurrection of Christ and new life in his way. When we enter into regular worship of God, we are no longer held prisoner by memory or sadness. We are reborn into a new life in Christ. We become and Easter people. We become the people of hope.

In John’s gospel there is a wonderful story of a young boy who gives Jesus a helping hand when he shares his lunch to feed five thousand people. This week as we celebrated the life of Kyler Thomas Russell Williams we experienced how God touches us in a life however briefly lived. We experienced in worship how God can raise us up, give us comfort, strength and hope to live life anew. To be sure many tears will be shed in the days ahead. The empty space at the table will be heart breaking. However “in the bulb there is a flower; …there’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me. …unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” (from 703 Voices United)

ST. DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 25th

Deadline for information for the bulletin is 12 noon on Thursday.

St. David’s U.C.W. will be distributing Lenten Cards to the congregation again this year. We ask that you help us meet our Mission & Service commitment by adding a coin to the card each day during Lent and returning it on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday.

The Sunday School children are invited to participate in the Sock It To M & S which was explained by Rev. Lockhart and by Karen Wagar in Mission Moment. If you have any questions about Sock It To M & S please contact Lisa Rhynold or Susan Mac Kinnon

April 10th – St. David’s Official Board Meeting following Worship Service.

Saint David's Board of Stewards yard and bake sale Saturday May 28.2011. If you have items for the yard sale please contact any
steward. We also need baking for the sale if you can help please let us know.

Hall Cleaners for March: Maxine Smith, Diane Mac Kinnon
Hall Cleaners for April: Heather Graham, Helen Ryan

ST. MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 25th

Deadline for information for the bulletin is twelve noon on Thursday. No exceptions.

The Youth Group the first Sunday of every month from 7-8 pm in the St. Mark’s Church Hall. Please Contact Heather Hart 625-0031 for more information

April 16th – Dreams &Visions for St. Mark’s.

April 19th – Congregational Board Meeting

April 22nd – Good Friday Service at St. Mark’s

The World Vision 30 hour famine is being held at St. Mark’s Church Hall on April 8th and 9th. If you are a student, age 12 or older, and would like to participate please contact Kathy Barss at 234-2707 to arrange to get your registration package.

Hymns for Sunday, March 27th

Response - Jesus Christ is Waiting - 117, v.1,2,3.

Come In, Come In and Sit Down - 395
Jesus Bids Us Shine - 585
Jesus, You Have Come to the Lakeshore - 563
Joyful, Joyful We Adore You - 232

Psalm - 95, # 814
Doxology - 541

Alex MacGregor

Thanks to Alex MacGregor for driving all the way down to the Strait Area
from Sydney early every Sunday morning in March to provide pulpit supply to
St. Mark's & St. David's congregations while we are going through this period of transition.

ST. DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 20th

Deadline for information for the bulletin is 12 noon on Thursday.

Observer subscriptions are March 20th. Cost $20.00. Payment can be placed in a plain envelope marked Observer with your name and address. (Cost will rise next year to $25.00)

St. David’s U.C.W. will be distributing Lenten Cards to the congregation again this year. We ask that you help us meet our Mission & Service commitment by adding a coin to the card each day during Lent and returning it on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday.

The Sunday School children are invited to participate in the Sock It To M & S which was explained by Rev. Lockhart and by Karen Wagar in Mission Moment. If you have any questions about Sock It To M & S please contact Lisa Rhynold or Susan Mac Kinnon

April 10th – St. David’s Official Board Meeting following Worship Service.

Saint David's Board of Stewards yard and bake sale Saturday May 28.2011. If you have items for the yard sale please contact any steward. We also need baking for the sale if you \can help please let us know.

Hall Cleaners for March: Maxine Smith, Diane Mac Kinnon

ST. MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 20th

Deadline for information for the bulletin is twelve noon on Thursday. No exceptions.

The World Vision 30 Hour Famine is being held at St. Marks Church Hall on April 8th and 9th. If you are a student, age 12 or older, and would like to participate please contact Kathy Barss at 234-2707 to arrange to get your registration package.

April 16th – Dreams & Visions for St. Mark’s.

Sock it to M & S
Fill your “sock” for the M & S Party on Palm Sunday, April 17

April 22nd – Good Friday Service at St. Mark’s

The Youth Group the first Sunday of every month from 7-8 pm in the St. Mark’s Church Hall. Please Contact Heather Hart 625-0031 for more information

Applications for Youth Forum are available online at the Maritime Conference website http://www.youthforum.ca/apply.html This forum is for youth ages 16-19

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all those who are Irish or wish they were in this day, March 17th, 2011.

As we continue the Lenten journey, I suggest we take time this week to meditate on the following prayer that has been ascribed to St Patrick, the apostle of Ireland.

O Christ, Son of the Living God,
May your holy angels guard our sleep.
May they watch over us as we rest
And hover around our beds.

Let them reveal to us in our dreams
Visions of your glorious truth,
O High Prince of the Universe,
O High Priest of the mysteries.

May no dream disturb our rest
And no nightmares darken our dreams.
May no fear or worry delay
Our willing, prompt repose.

May the virtues of our daily work
Hallow our nightly prayers.
May our sleep be deep and soft,
So our work be fresh and hard.


Over the years, I have collected numerous books of prayers. The above prayer is taken form “The Harper Collins Book of Prayers- A Treasury of Prayers Through the Ages” complied by Robert Van De Weyer, Castle Books, 1997. I find the prayers of other people help to enrich my prayer life. They remind me that before God we are part of a world wide community.

This week, I would invite you to hold our Japanese brothers and sister in your thoughts and prayers. I pray that God’s holy angels will hover over them as they struggle to deal with the aftermath of an earthquake, a tsunami and nuclear disaster. I pray that the many who have lost their homes and are forced to live in shelters will be granted a night of rest that is deep and soft. I also pray that the people of the earth will help to shoulder the burden the people of Japan are facing. May Christ hollow all our prayers and strengthen us to pick up the cross which is now ours.

“Lord of my heart,
give me vision to inspire me,
that, working or resting,
I may always think of you.

Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me,
that, at home or abroad,
I may always walk in your way.”

(from the Celtic Prayer: “Lord of My Heart”).

St. David's Yard & Bake Sale May 28th

St. David's Board of Stewards Yard & Bake Sale will take place on Saturday, May 28th. If you have items for the yard sale, please contact any member of the Board of Stewards. We also need baking for the sale , so if you can help, please let us know.

ST. MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 20th

The Special Events Group will meet in the Church Parlour following Church Service.

Sock it to M & S
Fill your “sock” for the M & S Party on Palm Sunday, April 17
Deadline for information for the bulletin is twelve noon on Thursday. No exceptions.

The Youth Group the first Sunday of every month from 7-8 pm in the St. Mark’s Church Hall. Please Contact Heather Hart 625-0031 for more information

Applications for Youth Forum are available online at the Maritime Conference website http://www.youthforum.ca/apply.html This forum is for youth ages 16-19

The World Vision 30 hour famine is being held at St. Marks Church Hall on April 8th and 9th. If you are a student, age 12 or older, and would like to participate please contact Kathy Barss at 234-2707 to arrange to get your registration package.

Hymns for Sunday, March 20th

Response - Jesus Christ is Waiting # 117, V. 1 @ 2

Lift High the Cross - 151
Jesus' Hands Were Kind Hands - 570
To Abraham and Sarah - 634
Faith Of Our Fathers - 580
Psalm - 121, # 844
Doxology - 542

Wayne Yorke

We regret to announce the sudden and untimely death of Wayne Yorke who ministered to the Pastoral Charge of West Bay/Black River. He will be sorely missed by all of Inverness-Guysborough Presbytery. Our sincere sympathy goes out to his wife and girls.

Visitation will be on Tuesday evening at Haverstock's Funeral Home in Port Hawkesbury. The funeral will be held in West Bay on Wednesday, at 2:00 p.m.

A second visitation and funeral will be held in Five Islands later in the week, but the times for this have not been confirmed.

Presbytery members will be sitting together at the funeral. Perhaps one person per pastoral charge could do the counting and respond for the charge. A limited number of seats available, so accurate counting will be important.

St. Mark's Congregational Board
will meet Tuesday, March 15th

Executive: 6:30 p.m.
Committees: 7:00 p.m.
Combined Board: 8:00 p.m.

An Ash Wednesday Experience

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. (March 9, 2011). It marks the first day of Lent. For the next 40 days, 46 if you include Sundays, we are invited as the followers of Jesus to do four things:

• to turn toward God in prayer
• to repent or turn away those habits and patterns (sin) which stand in the way of us enjoying a relationship with God
• to reach out and help those who are in need
• to practice the discipline of self denial

Last evening, it was my pleasure to be able to meet with the teens (14) who are part of the youth group in the O’Leary -West Cape Pastoral Charge. Rachel Ellsworth who leads the group asked if I would talk about Lent and lead them in an Ash Wednesday Worship experience.

After a delightful time talking about Lent we moved into a quiet time. When I say “quiet time” keep in mind I am talking about teens.

Gathering in a circle around small table in the parlor and we lit a candle, symbolizing the presence of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world.

Then we slowly read the following from Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
Create in me a clean heart O God,
And put a new and right spirit within me
Do not cast me away from your presence
And do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
And sustain in me a willing spirit.

Next each person was invited in private to write down on a small piece of paper one change they would like to make in their life over the next forty days.

As a sign of seeking God’s help to make this change, one at a time each person came forward, touched their piece of paper to the Christ candle so that it would catch fire and dropped it into a bowl to burn.

In order to keep the flames down, I sprinkled the flames with a small amount of water creating a bit smoke as a sign of our prayers were being carried up to God.

Once everyone had an opportunity to bring their piece of paper forward, we repeated together the ancient prayer:

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Grant us you peace.

As the last bits of paper were burning, I poured water into the bowl.
These ashes remind us that we often make mistakes and need God’s help.
This water reminds us, that God loves us and is prepared to help us with every struggle we may face. Marked with the sign of the cross, we remember Jesus always walks with us. He is our friend.

Each person then came forward again to be marked with the sign of the cross using the water which was mixed with the ash from the burning paper.

As each person was marked with the sign of the cross, they were told:
You are God’s Temple. God loves you. Go from this place as one of God’s servants.

We dismissed each other by saying together the Hebrew blessing:
May God bless and keep you,
May the face of God shine on you,
And be gracious to you,
May the presence of God be with you and give you peace.

The teens thought it was a neat experience! And of course the Committee that met in the room following our time of worship complained to me about the smoke that lingered in the room, the danger of setting the place on fire and maybe it was something better done in the hall rather than the parlor.

As a church we say we want young people to participate but I wonder? Are we prepared to as the followers of Jesus to do three things?

• Are we prepared to turn toward God in prayer and do so in ways which connect with young people?
• Are we prepared to create and enter into worship experiences which will capture the imagination and appeal to the senses?
• Are we willing to practice the discipline of self-denial and allow space to be used in new ways?

The forty days of Lent reflect the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil and the forty years the children of Israel spent wandering after their escape from Egypt.

The Season of Lent invites us as individuals and as a church to walk with Jesus to the cross, to die, to trust God is at work raising us to new life. I thank God for teens who ask us hard questions. May God bless and keep you this week.

Bob

Hymns for Sunday, March 13th

Response - Lenten wreath
Jesus Christ is Walking - # 117, V. 1

This Is God's Wondrous World - 296
Jesus, Friend of Little Children - 340
Amazing Grace - 266
Because He Lives - printed
Psalm - 32, # 759
Doxology - 544

Gospel acclamation response - "Glory and Praise to You,O lord, Jesus Christ.

Transfiguration Sunday

Transfiguration Sunday

This coming Sunday (March 6, 2011) is known as Transfiguration Sunday.

Each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew (17:1-9) Mark 9:2-8) and Luke (9:28-36) tell the story of Jesus leading Peter, James and John up a high mountain.

While they are there, Jesus is transfigured. His face shines like the sun. His clothes become dazzling white. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appear. Peter, never one to hold his tongue or be still immediately offers to build a dwelling place for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

Suddenly a bright cloud appears and from the cloud a voice cuts Peter off and says: “This is my Son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased; Listen to him!” “Give it a rest, Peter. Listen!

Overcome with fear, the disciples fall to the ground. Jesus touches each of them and tells them: “Get up and do not be afraid”

Martin Luther recommended that we bring four questions to any biblical text:


1. What is the teaching/meaning in the text?
2. What prayer of thanksgiving does the text prompt?

3. What confession or lament does the text evoke?

4. What prayer petition does the text prompt?

As we read through the text, particular words or phrases will stand out for each of us. The text speaks to each one of us in a unique way. So do not let what I say cut off any insights you may have. As I read through the passage, using Luther’s four questions the following occurred to me.

What does this story mean or have to teach us?

This story invites me to allow my “imagination” to come to the fore; to step outside comfort zone of time and space; to see the world in a new way; to see Moses and Elijah in conversation with Jesus; to Jesus face and cloths transfigured.

Standing on the top of a mountain, on the top of a ski hill, the world comes alive in a new way for me. Words never seem to adequately describe what I see or what feel. I can say the same things about being present for the birth of a child or the death of a loved one. The glory of God’s artistry is beyond the capacity of human being to describe, much less comprehend at times.

So this story invites us into to treasure those “thin” places; those “moments where the veil is lifted between the world we can see and touch and the world which we cannot see and touch.

Quite a number of years ago, I remember standing with my Aunt Etta at the funeral her brother my Uncle Bill. As the final prayers were being said over the Uncle Bill’s casket, she leaned over to me and said: “They are all here you know. I can see Moody, Robert, Bill, Laura, (her brothers and sister who had died), Dad and Mom”.

Now some of those who over heard her comment, thought she was loosing it! I tend to believe that it was the rest of us who were so lost in the moment, lost in our grief that we were unable to see the “assembled communion of saints” who were gathered with us as we commitment Uncle Bill into God’s care and keeping.

What moments of transfiguration have your experienced?

What prayer of thanksgiving does this passage prompt?

This passage prompts me to give thanks for those special unplanned moment which come in life. A few weeks ago, it was the pleasure of being with our grandson Luke during one of his father’s hockey game at the Civic Centre in Port Hawkesbury. As I walked with Luke, I remembered my grandfather holding my hand and walking with me. I give thanks for moments where past and present merge, where the “veil of life” is lifted so that what is ordinary, everyday takes on “extraordinary” meaning.

What prayer of thanksgiving does this story prompt in you?

What prayer of confession does this passage prompt?
I confess that like Peter, I get so caught up in doing things, rushing from one project to the next, I do not take the time to stop and “listen”.

As a church, we need to confess we do take the time to stop and listen to the teachings of Jesus; to see them in the context of the teachings of Moses who delivered a slave people from bondage or the Prophets who called the people of Israel to do justice, love kindly and walk humbly with God. I fear that too often our eyes are blind to God’s presence and too often we are deaf to God’s call reaching out to us in the people who inhabit our community and world.

What prayer of confession or lament does this story prompt in you?
What prayer of petition does this passage prompt?
In all three gospels the story of transfiguration immediately follows Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection and the need for those who would be his disciples to be willing to pick up their cross and follow him.

I pray that we will not be overcome by fear as we move to pick up the cross that is ours and follow Jesus. I pray that we will learn to trust that death is not the end but holds the possibility of resurrection. I pray that Jesus will reach out and touch us and raise his church to new life and help us be a healing presence in our world.

What prayer of petition does this passage prompt for you?

ST. DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENTS March 6th

Deadline for information for the bulletin is 12 noon on Thursday.

Observer subscriptions are due. Cost $20.00. Deadline March 20th.
Payment can be placed in a plain envelope marked Observer with your name and address. (Cost will rise next year to $25.00)

St. David’s U.C.W. will be distributing Lenten Cards to the congregation again this year. We ask that you help us meet our Mission & Service commitment by adding a coin to the card each day during Lent and returning it on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday. The Sunday School children are invited to participate in the Sock It To M & S which was explained by Rev. Lockhart and by Karen Wagar in Mission Moment. If you have any questions about Sock It To M & S please contact Lisa Rhynold or Susan Mac Kinnon

March 8th – 4:30-6:00 p.m. – Pancake Supper at St. David’s. Free-will offering. Money goes to M & S Fund.

St. David's Board of Stewards yard and bake sale will be held Saturday May 28th. If you have items for the yard sale please contact any steward. We also need baking for the sale if you can help please let us know.

Pancake Supper at St.David's

Pancake Supper at St. David’s March 8th
The Free-will offering raised money for the M & S Fund.

Hymns for Sunday, March 6th

Morning Has Broken......409
Jesus Bids Us Shine.......585
Holy Ground...............Printed
How Great Thou Art......238 (insert)
Psalm 119..................839 part 3 refrain 3
Doxology....................542