Bulletin for Sunday June 13, 2021
For previous bulletins go here.
This service will be livestreamed at 10 AM Sunday morning,
on the St Paul’s YouTube channel
Through Faith, we walk on the path Jesus set for us.
The People of St. Paul’s Belong … Believe … Love … Listen … Lead
PRELUDE
WELCOME
LIFE & WORK OF THE CONGREGATION
CALL TO WORSHIP
May the Peace of Christ be with you!
And also with you!
God, who gives us growth, calls us together
And so we gather In God’s name to worship, to be fed, to be refreshed.
Let us open ourselves to God’s presence…
LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE
We light this candle as a sign of God’s Spirit at work in the world,
may its light brighten our spirits, may the light of God shining through us brighten the world.
Let us centre ourselves for worship….
OPENING PRAYER
A sower went out to sow…
are we the soil, waiting to catch the seed?
A sower went out to sow…
are we the seed, bursting with potential?
A sower went out to sow…
are we the sowers, called to spread God’s gifts?
God of soil, of seed, of sowers, in this time of singing, praying, and listening
open our hearts and minds to the possibilities in our stories, in our experiences, in our lives.
Help us to find our place in the stories of life.
And then to live our part with our whole being.
We pray in the name of the Storyteller, Jesus of Nazareth, who taught his friends to pray saying…
LORD’S PRAYER
Gathering Hymn MV 174 Soil of God, You and I (1L)
WE SHARE AS GOD’S CHILDREN THE BIBLE’S STORY IN WORD AND IN SONG:
A TIME FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART
PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Seed-sower, you spread your word of hope widely.
Trusting that when conditions are right, growth will occur.
Teacher, you share your word of hope in ways that confuse and confound us.
Trusting that we will have ears to hear and hearts to understand.
Light of the World, you shine for all to see.
Challenging us to pass on the light.
But the reality sometimes falls short of the hope.
Our ears are tin and we do not hear, we fail to pass on the light.
You challenge us to spread the seed and trust that you will give the growth.
And we want to be prudent and effective and only do what gets guaranteed results.
God of Grace, open our ears and hearts to understand your confounding wisdom, move us to trust and share.
God of Grace, whose grace moves in us with each heartbeat, help us live as people of grace. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Mark 4:1-8, 26-34
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION
~ trusting that God is at work in our midst we allow the words we have heard to settle and stir in our souls
SERMON Growing, Growing, Growing
Hymn VU 503 When Seed Falls on Good Soil (1L)
WE EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO GOD AND PREPARE FOR MINISTRY IN THE WORLD
THE OFFERING
Mission Minute Good Grief: Helping People Grieve Well
(https://united-church.ca/stories/good-grief-helping-people-grieve-well)
The Invitation:
Sharing of Celebrations and Concerns
Prayers of the People
Hymn VU 307 Touch the Earth Lightly (1L)
COMMISSIONING:
A sower went out to sow…
and we are the soil, ready to provide whatever nourishment we can to enable the seed to grow.
A sower went out to sow…
and we are the seed, sent out to places both likely and unlikely to bear fruit as best we can
A sower went out to sow…
and we are the sower, given a bagful of Good News, called to spread it prodigiously wherever it may fall.
A sower went out to sow…
and wherever we find ourselves in the story we go out to help God’s Word of life grow and spread, so that the harvest of Love will be plentiful. Amen.
SUNG BENEDICTION: Let Our Earth Be Peaceful (1L)
POSTLUDE
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Previous Bulletins (you will need Adobe Reader to read the bulletins!)
May
Bulletin for May 2, 2021 Easter 5
Bulletin for May 9th 2021 – Easter 6 – Mother’s Day
Bulletin for May 16th, 2021 – Easter 7
Bulletin for May 23rd, 2021 – Pentecost
Bulletin for May 30th, 2021 – Trinity Sunday
June
Bulletin for June 6, 2021
Bulletin for June 13, 2021
