Friday, 26 June 2015

ORDER OF SERVICE JUNE 28, 2015 – 5TH AFTER PENTECOST

The Congregations of St. Mark’s and St. David’s

United Church of Canada

Port Hawkesbury/Port Hastings, NS

Office: 625-2229, Fax 625-3597,

e-mail: stmarks1@eastlink.ca

Blog: http://ourcontactonline.blogspot.com/

Presbytery Website: inverguyunited.ca

Ministers: The Whole People of God

Nan Corrigan D. M.

Minister of Music: Al Fougere

Guest Worship Leader: Lana B. MacLean, M.Div.

June 28, 2015: 5th after Pentecost

Announcements The Work of Church and Community

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Greeting

One: The peace of Christ be with you. All: And with your spirit.

*Introit Let Us Praise the God of Truth v.1,2 VU 237

Call to Worship

One: I wait for the Lord,

ALL: my soul waits, and in God’s word I hope.

One: My soul waits for the Lord more than those who

watch for the morning.

ALL: more than those who watch for the morning.

One: In faith, let us turn to our God, whose love is sure.

Opening Prayer (unison):

Almighty God, in Jesus Christ you show us the breadth of your power and the depth of your love. You listen to our cries of pain and hear our laments. You see the fear in our eyes and know the secrets of our hearts. You do not turn from our distress, but stretch out your hand to heal, to comfort, and to save. All thanks and praise be to you, O God; your steadfast love endures forever. Amen.

Hymn Praise the Lord with the sound of trumpets VU 245

Prayer of Confession:

One: Because of such great mercy, God is ready to forgive all the ways we fail to live in faithfulness. Relying on that mercy, let us confess our sin before God and one another.

ALL: Trusting you does not always come easy when each day we are faced with the difficulties of the world. We struggle to believe that love conquers fear. We are not convinced that power comes through weakness. We cannot conceive how you could heal us. Forgive our lack of faith, O God, and renew our trust in you, for we want to be disciples of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Words of Affirmation

One: With God there is forgiveness; Christ gives us peace.

ALL: Thanks be to God! Amen!

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

2 Samuel 1: 1, 17-27 David’s lament for Saul and Jonathon.

This is the witness of the Hebrew people. All: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 130 Out of the depths, I cry to God Sung VU 852-853

Time with young people --Prayer

*Hymn I Sing with Joy VU 575

The Gospel Acclamation

Mark 5:21–43 Young girl raised/ hemorrhaging woman healed.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon: Jesus’ Healing Touch

WE RESPOND IN FAITH

* Hymn Precious Lord, take my hand VU 670

Minute for Mission

Offering Our Gifts to God

*Offering Song/Doxology VU 540

*Offertory Prayer (unison)

Most holy God, who hears our prayers and answers them and gives us more than we can ask or imagine, accept these offerings and use them to your glory, that even now we might imitate your coming reign of justice, peace, and love, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

The Lord’s Prayer

WE GO TO SERVE GOD

* Hymn Pass me not O Gentle Saviour VU 665

* Commissioning

* Benediction

*Choral Amen

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

TATAMAGOUCHE CENTRE NEEDS OUR HELP!

An urgent call for support from

Tatamagouche Centre

Tatamagouche Centre is experiencing challenging times and is in a serious financial situation. Last year the Centre incurred the biggest deficit in its history. And while deficits are not uncommon, the Centre’s trend toward growing deficits is cause for concern.

Many of you may not know, but the Centre does not receive any core funding other than an operating grant from the United Church and Maritime Conference. Together these contributions represent 16 per cent of the Centre’s budget. Sometimes people think that we are an education centre and therefore we must receive ongoing funding from government, but we do not. Tatamagouche Centre must generate the rest of the revenue that it requires to operate; it does so through the fees it charges for programs and services, through project-specific grants, and through donations.

What steps have been taken to address this? A number of months ago, the Board recognized that the Centre was in a period of dynamic transition and initiated a process of re-viewing and re-thinking how the Centre can continue to fulfill its mission and mandate of personal and social transformation.

Last year, staff at the Centre initiated a project to grow hosting revenue and strengthen the Centre’s financial position. A new business plan has just been approved by the Board and is in the initial stages of implementation.
We have embarked on a project to transform Stewart Hall into a model of energy efficiency – this could have a significant impact on the operating costs and could increase interest from groups looking for sustainable accommodations and event venues.
Most recently, we have initiated a review of the Centre’s model of program delivery, and will be implementing changes to the way we staff, fund and offer programs at the centre beginning in 2016.
Earlier this year the Board initiated a Financial Sustainability Task Group to begin exploring ways in which the Centre can make better use of its existing assets to generate revenue in ways that support and enhance the mission. These ideas will be the focus of our AGM on June 20. We will be looking for input and guidance from our community on specific ways we should move forward.

We wish to be clear. In our view, the Centre as we know it will not continue to exist. Radical transformation is unfolding. We are attempting to be an active agent in the process by generating long term plans to ensure our ecological, social, and financial sustainability into the future, and we are inviting our community and long term partners to actively participate in this process. This will be the core of the discussion at our AGM, and why we are appealing to our community to participate at this critical juncture.

While we believe that the seeds of new thinking are at hand, we acknowledge that future seems uncertain given our current financial reality. If you love the Centre, if the Centre holds a special place in your heart, if you believe the Centre needs to be around for at least another 60 years, we need you now. Please lend your voice and be a part of the Centre’s re-birth.

Give 6

We’re celebrating 6 decades of living our mission -
inviting and challenging people from diverse backgrounds to personal wholeness, right relationships, respect for creation, and justice in the world.

It takes a community!
And we are calling on our community to Give 6.

How? Make a $6 donation to the Centre this year.

That’s it. It’s that easy.

If you’re coming for a program, add $6 to your program fees.

If you’re buying items in our gift shop, add $6 to your purchase,

or drop $6 into our donation box.
First time donors: send $6 or sign up online to give $6 a month for 12 months.
Regular donors: increase your donation by $6 or other denomination that honours 6—eg., turn $50 into a $60 donation (or $66!).

If everyone chips in a little, it will go a long way!

Give 6 online now

Saturday, 20 June 2015

ORDER OF SERVICE SUNDAY JUNE 21ST 2015-4TH AFTER PENTECOST

The Congregations of St. Mark’s and St. David’s

United Church of Canada

Port Hawkesbury/Port Hastings, NS

Office: 625-2229, Fax 625-3597, e-mail: stmarks1@eastlink.ca

Blog: http://ourcontactonline.blogspot.ca/

Presbytery Website: inverguyunited.ca

Ministers: The Whole People of God

Minister: Nan Corrigan D. M.

Minister of Music: Al Fougere

June 21st, 2015: 4th after Pentecost

There are situations in our world when people face cruel and powerful “giants” – a child facing a schoolyard bully, environmentalists working to save a vulnerable forest, refugees caught in political “football.”

Which of the world’s giants are uppermost in your mind today?

Where and in what ways might your “showing up” make a difference?

Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Pentecost 1 2015

Announcements The Work of Church and Community

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Greeting

One: The peace of Christ be with you. All: And with your spirit.

* Introit Let Us Praise the God of Truth v.1, 2 VU 237

Call to Worship

Opening Prayer

Spirit of love and courage, as we begin this time of worship,

grant us pause to be filled anew

with the trust and peace of Jesus the Christ.

May Jesus’ full embrace of life, with all of its unknowns,

be our strength and inspiration.

This we ask in Christ’s enduring name. Amen.

* Hymn O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing VU 326

Prayer for Wholeness

One: Hear then our cry for healing and wholeness;

All: hear in our hearts our longing for calming peace.

Words of Affirmation

All: “Peace! Be still!” In and through Christ, love has overcome. Love is victorious. We arise as with the dawning of a new day. Praise be to God. Amen!

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4–11, 19–23), 32–49 David and Goliath.

This is the witness of the Hebrew people. All: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 9:9–20 I will tell of God’s marvellous deeds VU 732

*Hymn Be Still, My Soul VU 652

Opening the Word

The Gospel Acclamation

Mark 4:35–41 Jesus stills a storm

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Opening the Word 2

WE RESPOND IN FAITH

* Hymn Come and Find the Quiet Centre VU 374

Minute for Mission & Offering Our Gifts to God

*Offering Song/Doxology

Prayers of Intercession

One: ...God of all time and space, give us faith

that we may be sustained when we are afraid;

fill our lives with the spirit of reconciliation

and help us to trust in you always,

that we may be filled with confidence

and hope during all the “storms” of our life. Amen.

WE GO TO SERVE GOD

* Hymn Now Thank We All Our God VU 236

* Commissioning and Benediction One: Let us go now

All: in the peace of God which passes all understanding,

daring to care, daring to share, and daring to love.

One: And may the grace of Christ, the love of God and the friendship of the Holy Spirit go with you, now and always.

*Choral Amen

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

PRAYER PILGRIMAGE STARTING JUNE 30TH

Moderator Invites Church to Pray for the 42nd General Council

In his most recent blog post, Moderator Gary Paterson invites the church into a 40 day pilgrimage of prayer beginning June 30th and running through until the opening of the 42^nd General Council on Saturday, August 8.

“In this time of pilgrimage, as we live with our questions, and face the task of discernment and decision-making, feeling worried and hopeful, apprehensive, and excited, I will continue to pray for the United Church. And I hope that you, too, will be part of the pilgrimage,” writes the Moderator.

Pilgrimage prayers will be found at:

www.gc42.ca/prayer-pilgrimage

Monday, 15 June 2015

ST. MARK'S 49TH ANNIVERSARY-JUNE 14TH 2015

Saturday, 13 June 2015

ORDER OF SERVICE 49TH ANNIVERSARY ST. MARK'S-SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION

The Congregations of St. Mark’s and St. David’s

United Church of Canada

Port Hawkesbury/Port Hastings, NS

Office: 625-2229, Fax 625-3597, e-mail: stmarks1@eastlink.ca

Blog: http://ourcontactonline.blogspot.com/

Presbytery Website: inverguyunited.ca

Ministers: The Whole People of God

Minister: Nan Corrigan D. M.

Minister of Music: Al Fougere

June 14^th, 2015: Sacrament of Communion

49^th Anniversary of St. Mark's United Church

As people of faith, we are often called upon to trust in things that

are beyond ordinary means of seeing. While this often means

trusting in a God who moves in invisible and mysterious ways, we

are also invited to look beyond appearances and see the potential

that God sees in all of us. What are some things God has helped

you see in your life?

Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Pentecost 1 2015

Announcements The Work of Church and Community

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Greeting

One: The peace of Christ be with you. All: And with your spirit.

* Introit Let Us Praise the God of Truth v.1, VU 237

Call to Worship

People of God, come to worship this day,

R: willing to look through the heart,

L: grateful for the Spirit’s movement in our past,

R: ready to encounter God in new ways,

L: available to new revelations of faith,

R: prepared to set aside preconceptions,

L: open to mystery and wonder.

Opening Prayer

Come Spirit, abide with us today; be our guide and wise

counsel, be our advocate and our companion, be our

reassurance. You lead us along new pathways and into new

places. You reveal your nature and the nature of God to us.

Save us from our preconceptions and prejudices and hold us in

your care. Amen.

* Hymn The Church’s One Foundation VU 332

Prayer for Wholeness

Words of Affirmation

God does not look at outward appearances, God looks into the

heart. In Christ there is no limit to grace, we are offered

renewal and restitution in Christ’s name. Amen.

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

2 Corinthians 5:1–10, 14–17 Walk by faith, not by sight.

This is the witness of the early church. All: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 20 Trust not in horses or chariots, but in God. VU 742

Choir Offering Take Now My Voice

Opening the Word

The Gospel Acclamation

Mark 4:26–34 Parables of the growing seed and the mustard seed.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Opening the Word

WE RESPOND IN FAITH

* Hymn Just a Closer Walk with Thee Printed

Minute for Mission & Offering Our Gifts to God

*Offering Song/Doxology Printed

Come and be thankful for what God has done.

Give from life’s abundance, share with everyone.

In this world of chaos, God’s light shines bright

when we seek together Christ’s abiding light.

Come and be thankful for what God can do

through these tithes and offerings from both me and you.

*Hymn Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ VU 468

Sacrament of Communion Insert, cover of Voices United

Distribution Hymn Jesus, the Bread of Life Printed

*An Affirmation of Faith An Excerpt from The Song of Faith

We sing of a church

seeking to continue the story of Jesus

by embodying Christ’s presence in the world.

We are called together by Christ

as a community of broken but hopeful believers,

loving what he loved,

living what he taught,

striving to be faithful servants of God

in our time and place.

Our ancestors in faith

bequeath to us experiences of their faithful living;

upon their lives our lives are built.

Our living of the gospel makes us a part of this communion of saints,

experiencing the fulfillment of God’s reign

even as we actively anticipate

a new heaven and a new earth.

The church has not always lived up to its vision.

It requires the Spirit to reorient it,

helping it to live an emerging faith while honouring tradition,

challenging it to live by grace rather than entitlement,

for we are called to be a blessing to the earth.

We sing of God’s good news lived out,

a church with purpose:

faith nurtured and hearts comforted,

gifts shared for the good of all,

resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize,

fierce love in the face of violence,

human dignity defended,

members of a community held and inspired by God,

corrected and comforted,

instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ,

creation’s mending.

We sing of God’s mission.

WE GO TO SERVE GOD

* Hymn How Great Thou Art Back Cover of VU

* Commissioning/Sending Out

May the love of God motivate us,

and the example of Jesus show us the way.

May the Holy Spirit empower our small acts of caring

to grow and expand to transform our world.

*Choral Amen

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

JUNE 10TH 2015 SENIORS LUNCHEON ST. MARK'S

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA-RINGING BELL AT ST. DAVID'S

JUNE 10TH 2015

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA

RINGING ST. DAVID'S BELL