Service Sunday April 14, 2024

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All are Welcome!

Watch a video recording of the whole service using YouTube below.

The Gathering

Welcome and Announcements.
Focusing Moment.

Acknowledgement of Land

Before we begin our worship with language that is ancient and music that comes from intentional community, it is important to acknowledge other ancient and intentional communities. Ancient and modern people have inhabited and continue to inhabit this land on which we worship. This is the traditional land of the Anishinaabe peoples, and we are deeply grateful to be here and to ground ourselves in the land which has been a place where people have lived for thousands of years.

Written by Peter Chynoweth, Cochrane, Alta.

Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2023, p.29. Used with permission.

Call to Worship:

One: Come celebrate the Good News!

ALL: The Lord lives!

One: God rises with every sunrise in the heavens.

ALL: And God rises with every moon.

One: The light of Christ shines through all the universe,

ALL: on every day and through every night.

One: Come. Let us praise this glorious gift we have been given.

ALL: Come. Let us worship our God.

Written by Rosemary Godin, First U.C., Trenton, N.S.

Gathering, Lent-Easter 2024, p.41. Used with permission.

HYMN: “Because You Live, O Christ” VU #178

1 Because you live, O Christ,

the garden of the world has come to flower,

the darkness of the tomb

is flooded with your resurrection power.

Refrain The stone has rolled away

and death cannot imprison.

O sing this Easter Day,

for Jesus Christ has risen,

has risen, has risen, has risen!

2 Because you live, O Christ,

the spirit bird of hope is freed for flying,

our cages of despair

no longer keep us closed and life-denying. Refrain

3 Because you live, O Christ,

the rainbow of your peace will span creation,

the colours of your love

will draw all humankind to adoration. Refrain

OPENING PRAYER: Spoken in Unison

All that our senses experience in a life-giving season awakens our frozen hearts, O God. With hearts so warmed, we gather to sing praises and glorify your holy name. With songs of thankfulness and prayers of longing, we meet you here, our Christ. Let our joyful, thankful expressions be heard in heaven. Amen.

Written by Kate Gregory, Trenton U.C., Trenton, Ont.

Gathering, Lent-Easter 2024, p.43. Used with permission.

MINISTRY OF MUSIC TIME FOR THE YOUTHFUL

HYMN: “Spirit, Open My Heart” MV #79

Refrain

Spirit, open my heart to the joy and pain of living.

As you love may I love, in receiving and in giving,

Spirit, open my heart.

1. God, replace my stony heart

with a heart that’s kind and tender.

All my coldness and fear

to your grace I now surrender. Refrain

2. Write your love upon my heart

as my law, my goal, my story.

In each thought, word, and deed,

may my living bring you glory. Refrain

3. May I weep with those who weep,

share the joy of sister, brother.

In the welcome of Christ,

may we welcome one another. Refrain

THE WORD

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

MESSAGE

“The Benevolent Fund: One Source of Love”

Listen to an audio recording of the message below or read it at the bottom of this page.

**OUR RESPONSE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER: sung VU #960**

HYMN: “I Am a Child of God” MV #157

1. I am a child of God,

I am a glimpse of God’s new creation.

I am a child of God,

I am a child of God.

2. I am an endless prayer,

I am a yearning for contemplation,

I am an endless prayer,

I am an endless prayer.

3. I am an angry voice,

I am compassion and consternation,

I am an angry voice,

I am an angry voice.

4. I am a cry for peace,

I am commitment and dedication,

I am a cry for peace,

I am a cry for peace.

5. I am a song of joy,

I am the moment of jubilation,

I am a song of joy,

I am a song of joy.

PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS

Offertory Prayer (In Unison)

Generous and Loving God, you gave us this world and all that we have. Jesus, you gave us all of you, even to the point of laying down your life for us. Now we give what we have decided in our hearts to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, but cheerfully as an act of worship. For you, God, love a cheerful giver. Receive and bless our tithes and offering. Amen.

Written by Lynn McCaw, Wall Street U.C., Brockville, Ont.

Gathering, Lent-Easter 2024, p.48. Used with permission.

SUNG BLESSING: VU# 703 vs 3

3 In our end is our beginning;

in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing;

in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection;

at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season,

something God alone can see. ©

Sending Forth:

One: Go out from here, and as you go about your daily lives, remember to place it all before God. Embrace the goodness that God has placed around you and share that blessing with others in our community. Let God work in you and bring out the best in you. Go now to love and serve the Lord with love, laughter, and kindness to all.

ALL: Amen

Written by Sally Tuffin, St. Paul’s U.C., Prescott, Ont.

Gathering, Lent-Easter 2024, p.49. Used with permission.

A Time of Fellowship

Sermon 2024 04 14

“The Benevolent Fund: One Source of Love”

1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

Gracious God, be with us today in this place, in the Scriptures and in our words.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts praise your Holy name. Amen.

It was a very long and boring sermon.

As one parishioner left the church, he said: “Reverend, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God.”

The Reverend was thrilled: “Really? Tell me why.”

“Because it endured forever.”

[forwarded by Gretchen Patti]

Today, we are going to talk about our benevolent fund.

What is the benevolent fund?

It is a resource for our local churches to use to help people in need.

It is administered by the minister and the treasurer.

Why do we need a benevolent fund?

Life happens in this world and it happens right here in our community too.

Mostly, life is manageable for people.

Sometimes, life happens and people need some support.

Occasionally, people in need approach the church for assistance.

It is our mission in the church to help others.

There are many ways to help people in need.

There are many ways to love people in need.

One way is through the benevolent fund.

Love is what Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is all about.

Traditionally read at weddings, this text has many valuable messages.

The message that we will be focusing on today begins…

If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere.

That part jumped out at me when thinking about the benevolent fund.

If we preach all about the love of Jesus and even support other causes like the M&S fund, the Minden Community Food Centre, the benevolent fund, etc. but do not have love, it is all for nothing.

That seems pretty harsh.

But remember, there is more.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.

And the best of the three is love.

That is what we try to be all about.

We DO have love.

Or in the familiar words of the New Revised Standard Version, it is our love that compels us to be patient, to be kind.

It is the love for others that we want to share that is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.

As a church, we offer our love trusting that it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

Through our loving concern, our love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Of the many ways that we express our love, the benevolent fund is but one way.

How many of you have ever heard of the concept of, “Pay It Forward”.

The basic philosophy of “Pay It Forward” is that in our world and in life, if you are given a favour then you pay it back.

Or, it is logical to help someone knowing that the favour will be returned.

An alternative philosophy that “Pay It Forward” offers is that once you receive a favour, you pay someone else back.

The giver offers the favour expecting nothing in return except the betterment of the recipient’s life.

The paying it forward part is the obligation of the recipient to offer a favour to someone else in the future in their own way and expecting nothing back.

And so the payment is passed forward instead of back.

Our benevolent fund is like that.

We are sharing our love and resources and expecting nothing in return.

I often talk about the paying it forward idea to the recipient of benevolent funds when it seems appropriate.

One woman in our community that asked for assistance with an overwhelming hydro bill had heard of Pay it Forward.

She latter sent a thank you note back to the church for the assistance and said that she will strive to pay it forward to someone else when she can.

Another man in our community needed a special elevating seat for his wheelchair.

The seat cost $1,500, yet it would help him stay mobile by helping him around the house and to be able to get into his car.

Living with Muscular Distrophy, he lives on a disability pension.

He could not afford the cost and asked the community for help through the Haliburton/Kawartha Lakes Access Centre.

He managed to pledge $100 of the cost.

The Haliburton Lions club contributed $500, the Haliburton Rotary Club gave $100 and Our Benevolent fund gave $100 totaling only $800 altogether.

Another $700 was still needed.

When the manager of the store that sold the seat heard of the community support, the price was lowered to the basic cost, selling it for only $800.

The man sent us a thank you note.

Another story is of a woman that needed a new Hot Water heater.

She had been using the kettle and pots on the stove to heat her water and bathing mainly in cold water!

I heard of her through, A Place Called Home, who also works in the community to help people.

Together, we were able to have a new water heater installed.

Finally, a story that shows how versatile the Benevolent Fund can be.

A young father called me recently due to needing food.

I asked him if he had been to the Minden Community Food Centre.

He had but the food wasn’t for him.

The food requested was actually baby formula for his infant daughter.

As you may or may not know, once a baby starts on one type of formula, you pretty much need to stick with that kind or brand.

Over twenty years ago when Lily was a newborn, she wasn’t able to breast feed like Emily and Thomas were readily able to do.

For Lily, it was 6 six weeks of mother’s milk through the milking machine and then onto formula.

Unfortunately, formula is expensive.

Anyway, this young man had the same trouble with his daughter.

The Minden Community Food Centre did offer formula but unfortunately, it wasn’t the right brand so wasn’t helpful in the short term.

Down to the last can and desperate with funds running low before Christmas the Ask was made of me for help.

Our Benevolent Fund was able to help by offering a food card for $50 on short notice.

The card was picked up later that day with thanks.

Finally, one more example is the one mentioned in the announcements.

The SIRCH program for expecting and young mothers and their children is an outreach in our community.

The church is working together with SIRCH, the Minden Community Food Centre and the Masons of Arcadia Lodge to offer a home for and help make this outreach happen.

This program will be operating next door in the Community Kitchen of the Minden Community Food Centre.

The Unified Board has agreed to offer 5 - $50 Food Gift Cards to help get the program going in the first year.

Every person helped by the benevolent fund has a unique situation.

Some people need help with unexpected travel costs when family is in crisis.

Some people need shelter for the night and a warm bath because they are on a long journey by foot; rain or shine.

Some need help with rent, some with utilities, some with food.

Sometimes, the church helps people by helping them find the services that they need.

We partner with the Minden Community Food Centre, the YWCA-HERS women’s shelter and an agency called, A Place Called Home.

These other agencies often support the person in need without having to use benevolent funds.

A small book of services has been developed to assist in this work.

The book works like a directory of all the groups and agencies in our area that can be contacted to offer support.

Our church is listed too.

There is so much more that could be said and this is only a snapshot.

So for right now, until we really understand what this life is all about, we have three things to do to lead us toward that understanding:

Trust steadily in God,

hope unswervingly,

love extravagantly.