Sunday Worship Service 10:00am

 Christ Church Gabriola

A Collaborative Anglican – United Church

Open to All

Hybrid Worship

15 September, 2024

Rev. Suzanna Bates

Music Director: Dorothy Dittrich

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Words For Worship

Words in bold italics, please say together

Prelude: Aurora Borealis                                                            (N. Faber)

Gathering                                                             (words from Job 12, Luke 21)

Just ask the animals, 

and they will teach you... 

birds in the sky, 

and they will tell you; 

speak to the Earth, 

they will instruct you, 

let the fish in the sea inform you,

and look to all the trees, 

which of all these does not know 

that to God belong wisdom and power.

Hymn: Praise With Joy the World’s Creator                            VU #312

Opening Prayer

The world around us is full of beauty:

We praise you Creator God!

For the gift of life on earth:

We praise you, Life-giving God!

Open our eyes to see your artistry,

Your image in all that you have made.

Where our praise is short or silent:

All creation sings out with joy.

Here we join creation’s song:

We praise you, Generous God!

God, our Creator, we come together to celebrate your creation:

the bright beauty about us,

the abundance of your providing;

accept this offering of praise as we worship you, 

the Maker of all.

Amen

Acknowledgement of the Land

Lighting of the Peace Candle

We are here.

God is here.

This place is sacred ground.

Prayer For Reconciliation

Let us confess our wrongs against God, our neighbours, and all Creation.

Creator God, you have given us eyes,

but we have not always looked at creation’s beauty.

You have given us ears,

but we have not always listened to nature’s speaking.

You have given us tongues,

but we have not always joined earth’s song of praise.

You have given us hands,

but we have not always been makers and menders.

You have given us feet,

but we have not always shared in the dance of life.

You have given us minds,

but we have not always thought beyond ourselves.

You have given us wills.

but we have not always chosen the good.

You have given us hearts,

but we have not always loved without reserve.

You have made us in your image

forgive us that we do not always display your likeness.

O God, you remind us of who we are. We are your beloved children, 

called to love you and our neighbours, all our earthly neighbours. 

Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Hymn: Touch The Earth Lightly                                               VU # 307

Proverbs 1:20-33 (NRSV)                  Reader: Paddy Waymark

The Call of Wisdom

Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. 

At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O foolish ones, will you love being foolish? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the foolish, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease without dread of disaster.”

This is the Word of God

We give thanks for this word today.

Gospel Reading                                                       Reader: Paddy Waymark

As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel. 

God be with you. 

And also with you 

The Good News of Jesus the Christ according to Mark. 

Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

Mark 8:27-38 (NRSV)

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”  

And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”  And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

This is the Gospel of Christ.

We give thanks for Good News today!                                          4

Word: The Call of Wisdom

Hymn of Response: Oh, The Life of The World    Church Hymnary #41 

Oh the life of the world is a joy and a treasure,
unfolding in beauty the green-growing tree,
the changing of seasons in mountain and valley
the stars and the bright restless sea.

Oh the life of the world is a fountain of goodness
overflowing in labour and passion and pain,
in the sound of the city and the silence of wisdom,
in the birth of a child once again.

Oh the life of the world is the source of our healing.
It rises in laughter and wells up in song;
it springs from the care of the poor and the broken
and refreshes where justice is strong.

So give thanks for the life and give love to the Maker
and rejoice in the gift of the bright risen Son.
And walk in the peace and power of the Spirit
till the days of our living are done.

Life & Work of the Church

Offering

Offertory Hymn: All Praise to You (vs 3)                                 VU #297

To tend the earth is our entrusted duty,

for earth is ours to use and not abuse.

O gracious God, true source of all resources,

forgive our greed that wields destruction’s sword.

Then let us serve as wise and faithful stewards

while earth gives glory to creation’s God.

Prayer of Dedication 

Gracious God, we give you thanks for the gifts of life. 

We offer these gifts in return as a sign of our faithfulness, 

as a symbol of our hope in your transforming power. 

We dedicate these gifts for the life and healing of your creation

May we be good stewards of these riches 

that you have entrusted to us. Amen.

Prayers of the People                                                           

Loving God,

            Hear our Prayers.                                                                            5

The Prayer of Jesus                                                                (VU #916)

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is Heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your Heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom 

sustain our hope and come on Earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, 

now and for ever.

Amen.

Hymn: Make Me a channel of Your Peace                               VU #684

Blessing & Sending

May we always walk gently upon the Earth,

in right relationship, nurtured by God’s love,

open to the wind of the Spirit,

taking only what we need, always open to the needs of others,

making choices that bring wellbeing,

living with generosity, striving for justice,

honouring all with reverence, reconciling and peacemaking,

mindful of those who will come after,

recognizing our proper place as part of God’s creation.

And the blessing of Creator, Christ and Breath of Life 

be with us today and every day

Amen.

May the peace, beloved, of the ever-loving, 

Risen One be upon you.

Peace be with you.

Peace be with you.

Postlude: Air