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St Andrews United Church, Chalk River
Welcome Sunday January 12, 2020 - Message from
Doug Tennant Church
service at St. Andrews United Church in Chalk River is cancelled for
this morning due to the weather/road conditions.
A
prayer for Australia written by Moderator Right Rev. Richard Bott
and some components of the service are below.
Prayer
We pray for gentle rains,
and no wind;
we pray for cooling skies,
and water in abundance;
we pray for the burning land,
we pray for the four legged,
and the winged,
for the koala and the kangaroo,
and all of their neighbours;
we pray for the people who are trapped,
for the people who have lost their homes,
for the firefighters and the first
responders,
for the exhausted and the tapped out,
we pray for Australia,
from east, to south, to west, to north,
and all the places in between.
In this world of changed and changing
climate, God,
we ask that you would help us
to help those who are in immediate
danger;
may we use what we have to help and to heal -
then call us to repent of all the ways
we continue to make this world
a place of death, rather than life.
Help us, O God... because we
don't seem to be able
to do it on our own.
In Christ's name,
on the wings of the Holy Spirit,
we pray.
Amen.
—A prayer in response to the Australia
wildfires by the Right Rev. Richard Bott.
Call to Worship and Opening Prayer
God of grace
and majesty, we exalt you for your wisdom, compassion, strength, and
love. We pray that we would always be aware of your presence among
us. Grant us ears to hear and eyes to see, through faith, the Christ
in all who call upon your name. Almighty God, we give thanks for the
strength, courage, and conviction to do justice, to speak loudly for
those who need water, who need the refreshment that comes only from
you and from those whom you have sent. We extend our gratitude for
being able to come before you this day to offer our worship, to seek
your presence, and to be restored to do great things among your
people. For this and every day of life, we give you thanks and
praise. In the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen
(United
Church of Christ- our partner denomination in the United States)
Prayer of Hope
God of heaven
and earth, you see all things.
You know the depths of our hearts better
than we can know ourselves. You know the great heights to which we
aspire
and
the depth of our failures when we fall short of doing what we know
is right. We ask for your mercy and forgiveness for our selfishness
and fears. Help us to walk full of hope as the faithful
representatives you call us to be. Create in us the grace of Christ
toward those with whom we disagree, just as he extended it to those
who conspired against him. Amen.
(Adapted from
the UCC)
Words
of Assurance
God truly
shows no partiality. In every nation, anyone who reverences God and
does what is right is acceptable to God.
Just as the prophets testified in the
scriptures, everyone who believes in God receives forgiveness of
sins through God’s name.
(From the UCC)
Draw
the Circle Wide
Draw the
circle wide, draw it wider still.
Let this be our song: no one stands
alone.
Standing side by side, draw the circle, draw the circle wide...
God the still-point of the circle
Round you all creation turns
Nothing lost but held forever
in God's gracious arms
Refrain
Let our hearts touch far horizons
So encompass great and small
Let our loving know no borders
Faithful to God's call
Refrain
Let the dreams we dream be larger
Than we've ever dreamed before
Let the dream of Christ be in us
Open every door!
Refrain
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