United Church News | Maynooth & Madawaska Communities of Faith

In the Company of The Divine Shepherd – worship resource for March 22, 2020

by Marilyn Zehr | Mar 21, 2020 | United Church News

Prepared by The Rev. Marilyn Zehr

Welcome: We are so fortunate to be able to connect with each other in ways that were unheard of even a generation ago. I’m grateful that technology makes it possible to create and share resources that connect us, and ground us in the Sacred Love that surrounds us all.

As you prepare: Find a comfortable place on your own or with a few others (and have a candle and some matches and a journal or a piece of paper and something to write or draw with)

Opening I invite you to take a moment now and centre yourself deeply in the Love of the Sacred.

(Some people like to plant their feet firmly on the ground; others like to open their hands. Find the position that is best for you.)

Breathe into your core the life-giving Sprit of our Eternal Source;

Breathe in goodness, compassion and truth;

Breathe out fearfulness and worry.

(Repeat these breaths a few more times – breathing in goodness and letting go of your worries)

(Pause)

Allow yourself to open up to the Wisdom that is here for you.

Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom listen here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBYOaKRB35Y

Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom she who danced when earth was new. Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true. Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do. Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do.

Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do. Listen to the voice of Wisdom, crying in the marketplace. Hear the Word made flesh among us, full of glory, truth, and grace. When the word takes root and ripens, peace and righteousness embrace.

Sister Wisdom, come, assist us; nurture all who seek rebirth. Spirit-guide and close companion, bring to light our sacred worth. Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.

Lighting a Christ Candle

Why do we light a Christ Candle?

We light this candle to represent Christ Jesus’ light among us. We light this candle to remind us that even in times of challenge and trial there is a light that lights the way.

OPENING PRAYER (now speak or breathe a prayer for what you desire from this time in worship/silence/contemplation)

INVITATION TO CONFESSION

We continue this Sunday with Lent in the Christian church. At the beginning of Lent this year we asked ourselves if we have ever experienced scarcity real or imagined. Pause for a moment to write down (or draw if you’d rather) any fear you may have about scarcity during this time of social distancing.

Now fold your paper in half and on the other side write any longing for abundance that might address that fear.

We placed our acknowledgements of a sense of scarcity and our longings for abundance in the shape of a cross on the bare branches of a Lent tree. I invite you to place your writing/drawing next to your candle (or later on a bare branch too if you wish).

ASSURANCE

Hear these words of assurance:

Know that Jesus told his followers that he came to offer all people life and offer it abundantly. That life and love and peace is available to us all.

LISTENING FOR A WORD OF WISDOM

Read the following passage two or three or four times. Listen with the ear of your heart or inner wisdom.

Did anything stand out for you in this reading? A word or phrase? Say that word or phrase over and over again to yourself.
Now read again and let any thoughts or feelings or reflections arise in you and make note of them.
As you read a third time, speak your thoughts and feelings in prayer.
Now rest in God’s presence. Just be.
If there is someone with you as you have been reading this, share with each other anything that occurred to you about this passage.

The Shepherdess
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
*in the public domain*

Reflection (from Marilyn)

I offer here something to hold alongside your own reflections.

Have any of you felt a bit weary this week?

Has anxiety about unknowns crept into your hearts?

I admit, that I have experienced both weariness and anxiety this week. And I know I’m not alone. Unknowns commonly create anxiety for most people. And there are a lot of unknowns right now. Like how long will the pandemic last? How long will our lives be altered in the ways that they are? Are my loved ones going to be okay? How will I manage if this new way to live stretches into weeks or longer? These kinds of worries and anxieties are both common and unfortunately contagious.

The contagion of worry can be seen most clearly in herd animals. One member of the herd, say a sheep, senses danger, signals that danger to the others and the whole flock begins to run away from the danger – even if they don’t all know what the danger is. We humans may be a bit more evolved than sheep, but we are not immune to picking up on the anxiety vibes that are circulating around us.

Like those sheep from time to time we need a shepherd or shepherds to mitigate the dangers and the anxiety they create for us.

That’s why Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and well-loved Psalms. The Good Shepherd/The Divine Shepherd, leads the sheep to places where they can rest, where they can drink from calm waters and along good paths. Even in the darkest valley, there is protection from danger. Whenever I read this psalm when I am anxious, my heart rate eases, I remember I am not alone no matter what comes along and that at this table, I am nurtured with a cup that overflows. I am nurtured with a cup of abundance and that here I am loved and I am at home. It’s profoundly comforting.

When I am thus comforted then I do not need to remain like a sheep, I can then step into the role of shepherd as well. In fact, we can all be shepherds. Years ago, I joked with the congregation that I was leading, that it was like pastoring a flock of shepherds instead of sheep. And this was a good joke. Then, as now, I was pastoring a group of leaders who had strong ideas and capacities for taking care of each other. We needed to be able to be shepherds to one another. We need that now too.

But we need both. We need a place with our Divine Shepherd where our anxieties can be calmed, our needs met, our divine belovedness assured. Then we will have the capacity to reach out with our calm and good humour and compassion to others who need that calm as well.

At the risk of mixing metaphors, it’s like putting on your own oxygen mask first so that you can then be effective for others.

Take the time you need to hang out with the Good Shepherd. Rest, refresh, be protected, be nurtured, be at home. Know deeply the restoration of your soul that the Holy One provides. Then stand up from that table and allow the calm and the quiet and renewed strength of your own heart infect the world with goodness and mercy. Amen

Our Response

PRAYER. Words from a song

Grant us God, the Grace of Giving, with a spirit large and free, that ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.

Pause and think for a moment of how you can respond concretely.

For example: Do you need to give someone a call or text or email? Can you help a neighbour? Or, if you have your offering for the church, or money for a charity that you support – consider setting that aside now – to give as you are able, online or by mail)

Continue to pray

for our world and for our world’s leaders

for those who are ill and those who care for them

for our community and neighbours

for ourselves and our loved ones

and as you wish pray to the one who as a loving parent is like

CLOSING HYMN VU #642 Be Thou My Wisdom to the tune of Be Thou my Vision with words by Jann Aldredge-Clanton

The Images in the following YouTube video are international, beautiful and deeply moving – for such a time as this.

Come now, O Wisdom, we need your clear voice. Speak and awaken our hearts to rejoice Gracious Creator of more than we know, in your own image may we ever grow.

Come now, O Wisdom, abide in our souls. Stir in us visions of life free and whole. Stir in us visions of life free and whole. Wisdom, our pathway to justice and peace, with you our dreams find their fullest release.

Wisdom, more precious than rubies or gold, with you our graces forever unfold. No fame or fortune with you can compare; Pour out your blessings so rich and so rare.

Wisdom, your grace joins all heaven and earth, with you we labour new life to give birth. with you we labour new life to give birth. Come now, O Wisdom our midwife and friend, Open our hearts to your world without end.

Prayer and Sending

Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.

And may your cup overflow with the goodness and mercy of God;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on right paths and make your joy complete.

We go in peace to love and serve God,
……..In the name of Christ. Amen.

Public Worship – cancelled for March 15 and 22 – however certain resources available – read on…

by Marilyn Zehr | Mar 14, 2020 | United Church News

Worship on your own or with your family or with one or two others with the following resource prepared by Rev. Marilyn Zehr

Find a comfortable place on your own or with a few others (and have a candle and some matches)

I invite you to take a moment now

And centre yourself deeply in the love of the Sacred.

(Some people like to plant their feet firmly on the ground; others like to open their hands. Find the position that is best for you.)

Breathe into your core the life-giving Sprit of our Eternal Source;

Breathe in goodness and truth;

Breathe out fearfulness and worry.

(Pause)

Allow your being to open up to the Wisdom that is here for you.

Lighting a Christ Candle

Why do we light a Christ Candle?

We light this candle to represent Christ Jesus’ light among us. We light this candle to remind us that even in times of challenge and trial there is a light that lights the way.

OPENING PRAYER (now speak or breathe a prayer for what you desire from this time in worship/silence/contemplation)

INVITATION TO CONFESSION

Is there anything that hasn’t felt right to you about

how you spoke this week?

how you behaved?

Your attitudes?

Consider these words from this song MV # 76 If I Have Been the Source of Pain

If I have been the source of pain, O God;

if to the weak I have refused my strength;

if, in rebellion, I have strayed away, forgive me God.

If I have spoken words of cruelty;

if I have left some suffering unrelieved;

condemn not my insensitivity; forgive me God.

If I’ve insisted on a peaceful life,

far from the struggles that the gospel brings,

when you prefer to guide me to the strife, forgive me, God.

Receive O God, this ardent word of prayer,

and free me from temptations subtle snare,

with tender patience, lead me to your care. Amen Amen

ASSURANCE

Hear these words of assurance: Know that God loves us more

than we can imagine – and in that love, we find peace.

LISTENING FOR A WORD OF WISDOM

Read the following passage two or three or four times.

Listen with the ear of your heart or inner wisdom.

In between each reading you might consider these questions.

Did anything stand out for you in this reading? A word or phrase? Say that word or phrase over and over again to yourself.
Now read again and let any thoughts or feelings or reflections arise in you and make note of them.
As you read a third time, speak your thoughts and feelings in prayer.
Now rest in God’s presence. Just be.
If there is someone with you as you have been reading this, share with each other anything that occurred to you about this passage.

SACRED READING

Exodus 17:1-7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

17 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” ³But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” ⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” ⁵The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷He called the place Massah^[a] and Meribah,^[b] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Reflection (from Marilyn)

I offer here something to hold alongside your own reflections.

Is God among us or not?

Like the “congregation of Israelites” who just left slavery in Egypt and are wandering in the wilderness, unsure of where they are going, how they are going to get there, and most pressing at the moment, whether they will have enough water to drink – this sure feels a bit like where we are now in the face of society’s attempts to contain the Covid 19 virus.

We have left the security of an “economy” that for its health requires that we spend/spend/spend and move/move/move.

What happens when we stay home, don’t spend and don’t move around as much?

Many ask legitimate questions like – how’s this all going to unfold? What wilderness are we in now anyway?

Am I going to have enough money to pay the rent/mortgage or buy groceries? Apparently, there’s some unusual concern about toilet paper??? Joking aside, there are deeply legitimate questions about ‘survival’ in the way we have come to know it.

And alongside the basic question of survival is a deeper existential one. Is God alongside us or not?

Not everyone believes in God anymore. The God question floats in and out of our consciousness with varying answers.

Some say, I know that God exists, because I have experienced the peace and love and beauty and security of God in my life over and over again. Every time, I’ve been in need, God is there and God guides my actions towards others.

Others say, “I believe, help my unbelief” – because they hold their belief about God and doubts about God side by side.

And others say, I don’t believe in God, I believe in people.

And when we can’t believe in people anymore…hmmm.

Is God alongside us or not?

There are many names for God and understandings of how God is present in the world and how God acts in the world.

I see and experience God (or Eternal source of life)

in people who look after each other.

in people who check in on each other.

especially in people who love people who don’t necessarily love them back.

And I see God active in this global crisis when we can’t rely on things being the way they were, things that we might have been slaves to without really knowing it. This crisis shakes everything up and, in our uncertainties, asking, “Is God alongside us or not?” is a really legitimate question.

In this story God provides for a people who thirst – for water and the security of knowing that God is there with them and for them in their wilderness.

I suspect that God will provide for us too during this wilderness of uncertainty. Let’s look for and document all the places water flows from rock (where the impossible becomes possible) in the days ahead as people reach out and care for each other in ways we haven’t really had to for a long time. The God I believe in will be in those places.

OUR RESPONSE

PRAYER

Words from a song

Grant us God, the Grace of Giving, with a spirit large and free,

That ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.

Continue to pray

for our world

for those who are ill and those who care for them

for our world’s leaders

for our community and neighbours

for ourselves and our loved ones

and as you wish pray to the one who as a loving parent is like

Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed, be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass

Against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver

Us from evil

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory amen

OR A prayer by Miriam Therese Winter

Our Mother who is within us;

we celebrate your many names

Your wisdom come,

Your will be done,

unfolding from the depths within us.

Each day you give us all that we need

You remind us of our limits and we let go

You support us in our power and we act with courage

For you are the

dwelling place within us

the empower around us

and the celebration among us

now and forever amen.

CLOSING Prayer and Sending

Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.

And may God quench your thirst with love and consolation;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on and make your joy complete.

We go in peace to love and serve God,
……..In the name of Christ. Amen.