Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Pentecost
May 19 2024
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: [email protected]
Music Director Joan Simpson
Prelude
Call to Worship
One: Try to catch God.
All: But how can you hold the wind?
One: Try to copyright God’s name
All: But how can you lay claim to the Word that holds everything?
One try to describe God’s being
All But how can you know what the Holy one will do next
One This is our time to stand still to let go, to await
All This is our time to come together as a community of faith, to learn, to renew, to experience once more God among us.
One: This is our time to come together as a community of faith, to learn, to renew, to experience once more God among us.
All: This is our time to come together, as a community of faith to celebrate that faith journey.
One: May the Lord be with you this day
All: And also with you
One: Let your hearts be open
All: Our Hearts are open to the lively play of the Spirit.
One: Let us give thanks to the lord our God.
All: We will give thanks and praise to God, for God walks with us on the Road that we are called to travel.
One: How does the Journey of Faith Begin?
All: It begins with a promise.
One: What is that Promise.
All: We are not alone,
we live in God's world.
We believe in god:
Who has created and is creating
who has come in Jesus,
the word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and the others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
One Because we believe this promise our journey continues with a commitment to live and to grow in the faith. A commitment made in baptism, a commitment fulfilled in Confirmation, a commitment expressed as members of a faith community, A commitment celebrated in Communion the fulfilment of the promise. May God come to us in this time so that we may hear and know his presence once more in all that we do.
Let us pray
Prayer Of Approach
All: What a miracle it is that we hear you when you speak: Sometimes you sound like the voice of tradition, some old song in a familiar setting. Sometimes you sound like the slap of challenge, delivered raw and roughly upon our comforts. Sometimes you sound like love: passion in a fiery heart, or warmth wrapped as blankets around friends. . Sometimes you sound like valour, inspiring courage and sometimes like sobbing, calling up compassion Sometimes you sound like nothing we have ever heard, the stunned silence of a world staring straight into the face of Resurrection. No wonder we interpret this as tongues of fire dancing about our heads, or as springs of meaning uncoiling in our souls. No matter what it is, and we can never comprehend it all, We hear you in our own language, and so touch the miracle of prayer and work made one Send of God your Spirit once more upon us.
One: Send of God once more your Spirit upon us, and upon these symbols of faith so that they may once more remind us of our Journey with you and each other as we walk this road of Faith.
Amen
One: The journey begins with promise and a commitment. The Spirit of God leads us, empowers us, gifts us with many gifts and talents. Our journey is one of learning of praise and prayer. How do we live out our commitment
All We are called to by the Church:
To celebrate God's presence,
To live with respect is creation
to love and serve others,
To seek justice and resist evil,
To proclaim Jesus, Crucified and risen
our judge and our hope.
One We celebrate God’s presence in Song, in word, in prayer and gifts.
One: Here the Good news as given to us by John. John 15:26-27,16:4b-15
One Let us listen to the word of God our lesson is Acts 2:1-21
One: The Word of God for the People of God
All Thanks be to God
When I am at my best I am a spiritual person who primarily looks to Christianity as my spiritual center, knowing that God or the great divine has manifested themselves in many ways. Beyond that well I am many things, depending on how the spirit moves me, Historian, artist, musician, collector and likely a couple I have not thought of. There are at times a lot of “what next moments” waiting to see where the Spirit will inspire me to do. As I have grown older my passion for history has grown it could be that I see more history behind me then future in front of me. From my “what next” I was led to the question just how old is the church. Excellent question. Most Biblical Scholars would say that Jesus was born sometime between 6 to for BCE (before Christian Era) with there being a stronger case of the year being 3 BCE. The tricky thing is one must count up to from 3BCE to 1 CE (Christian Era) from there we know that it would have been 29 CE when Jesus started his work as Christ which means that he would have been crucified in 32CE and the Pentecost event happened in the same year SO it is my conclusion that that if we assume that Christian Church was founded on the day of Pentecost then the Church is 1992 years old. Give or take. I did see one source that said that May 24 33CE was the founding date.
Well that was somewhat interesting does it mean we get cake.
No, no cake. Well at least I don’t think there is cake.
This is the birth of Christianity, the very beginning of the Church and it begins with something that defies description. It begins with a mystery
Someone once asked me why do you collect stuff. I said it makes me happy. Then the question is how does it make you happy. That took some thought. Part of it is in the collecting, part of it is story behind where it was found. Then the question, then it is not the collection that brings you joy but the searching? No both and more part of the joy part of the happiness really defies explanation. This Sunday is the epilogue to our story. Jesus has ascended to heaven, the disciples have done what they were told to do and Jesus in the Father fulfils the promise he made. The Spirit, Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, teach and mystery fills the room where the disciples had gathered. Describe the event. Well there was a rush like a might wind. So it was a wind. No it was like a wind. So not a wind. Yes and know. There were tongues as of fire above the disciples heads. So like candles. No but there was a flame. A flame without a source. Yes, but the source was the Spirit. What is the Spirit.
You can see that the question leads to questions with answers that are answers but not answers. It is like asking a teenager what they where doing last night with their friends.
What is the Holy Spirit? It is the action of God, it is the wisdom of God. It is healing, inspiration an idea a caution. What is the Holy Spirit? It is that tickle on the back of your neck. It is that gut feeling. It is that knowing deep in the soul. The Holy Spirit is the right words at the right time. What is the Holy Spirit? All the above and more. It is describable and yet indescribable. Known and yet Mystery. It is….it is the Spirit of God, the councillor God with us. The Spirit is faith known and manifested in our everyday.
As we move now into this time of learning the faith in scripture, common time may we search out those moments to quiet the soul and allow the Spirit to come to us. To calm inspire and direct us.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit the promised councillor marks the Pentecost Journey. It marks the beginning of our journey with the Holy Spirit
Its about the Spirit moving us. Opening our eyes to world around us. Moving us forward. Moving us towards wholeness Moving us closer to God
Closer to fulfilling our calling Closer to understanding God’s Love
Understanding that it is love of God that saves us. Saves us from ourselves at times Understanding that it is God’s love that sustains us on the journey.
Because part of understanding God’s love is understanding that we do not stand still with God but we journey with God. In the action of the Spirit.
Pentecost is about the Journey. The journey is about discovery
Finding our place our role our gift to share. The journey is about joy, sorrow. Its about getting it right but also accepting that at times we get it wrong.
Its about offering forgiveness but also accepting it. Its about weighing our expectations against what is real. Its about accepting our fellow travelers for what they offer rather judging them.
It about being present. Its about understanding. Its about celebration. Its about passages.
Its about patience. For the Spirit is Patient with us. Nudging us nurturing us knocking on our door. Waiting for us. Always encouraging us to continue the journey
Sometimes we are committed to the journey Sometimes we are not Sometimes we are even resentful And Sometimes we can only stand in awe and say thank you.
Sometimes the spirit speaks quietly in our ear and says trust in me together we will get through this. Sometimes the Spirit screams your name from across the room and you have to stop and look around you and suddenly you see where you are on the journey.
Sometimes it is the Spirit that gives you all the right words.
Pentecost is about the journey. What have you discovered on the journey. What have you learned what wisdom have you gained. Where do you need to grow. What have you to offer, what to you need to know. Do you even know the question Do you want to know the question. Are you prepared to hear the question.
You see the journey is full of questions and doubt. At times anger and frustration. Yet in time we find answers and assurances. In time we find reconciliation and resolution
Well here in this moment. In this time in Journey. In this time when we are reminded that the promised Great comforter and guide. The Holy Spirit of God. Here on this day of Pentecost
May the lively dancing of the spirit take you by the hand and spin you around the floor.
May the comfort of the spirit lift you up so that you may smile at the sun once more May the wisdom of the spirit gift you with discernment. May the spirit whisper in your ear the right words to say at the right time to the right person May the spirit challenge your growing edges May the spirit tickle your laughter so that you can laugh at what life at times offer.
May the Spirit grant you courage to go where you don’t know.
But most of all may the Spirit embrace you in love like a warm blanket Love that will protect the soul Love that will never leave you even beyond the time when your days are no more May you find strength in knowing that in the spirit we are not alone. Thanks be to God.
Prayers of the people
Slow me Down Slow me Down
Still my restless mind Still my restless mind
Quell my fears Quell my Fears
Quench my Thirsty soul Quench my thirsty Soul
Fill me with your love Fill me with your love
God of Truth God of Truth
God of love God of love
Today rather than a written prayer, we invite you to find that spirit place where you feel grounded. Feel your breath. Feel the rhythm of your heart. Take some deep breaths from the belly and let them flow from you. Open yourself to the presence of the spirit and the words you need to offer to God will come. Know that our prayers on the sanctuary will be with you. For through the Spirit we are not alone.
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
Prayer : Loving God May your work in Christ be accomplished through these gifts and through our faithful attention to the tasks you call us to. May the programs and outreach of this church be worthy of your support, and may each of us be faithful bearers of your good news. Amen.
One The Journey of faith begins with a promise, our journey continues with a commitment to live and to grow in the faith. A commitment made in baptism. A commitment fulfilled in Confirmation, A commitment celebrated in Communion the fulfilment of the promise.
All A Journey together, with God. A journey of faith that reminds us that In life, in death, in death in life beyond death,
god is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God
Commissioning and Blessing
Commissioning and Blessing
Sending Forth and Blessing.
One: Breath of Spirit…
All you give us life.
One : flames of the Spirit
All you fuel our lives
One Love of the Spirit
All You lead us on
One Help us we pray
All give our steps direction.
One help us we pray.
All give our mission passion
One help us we pray
All give our passion purpose
One In God name
All in Jesus’ name
One With the power of Spirit
All Amen
One: Now may the blessing of God travel with you, May the teachings of Christ Illuminate you path and may the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit lead you forward. All Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever shall be world without end, Amen.
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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