Service Sunday March 9, 2025

Services

Mar 4

Written By Highland Hills

First Sunday of Lent, Communion

& National Affirming PIE Day

Worship Leaders: The Affirming Working Group

Music Director: Melissa Stephens

(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)

All are Welcome!

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

The Gathering

Welcome and Announcements.

(A note from the founders of National Affirming/PIE Day:

“So often we as trans, non-binary, queer, Two Spirit, lesbian, bisexual, gay, asexual, intersex people, and many more, are made invisible in worship. We become part of generic welcome to everyone, or are cast as being welcome “regardless” or “despite” our diversity, not because of it. This is especially true for many racialized and Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+people, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people with disabilities.)

Please note that the majority of today’s service was written by Rev. Bob Fillier to be shared with congregations to use for a PIE Day service.

Focusing On The Light of Christ.

There is much the world insists must be used to create otherness.

Religion, language, place,

Orientation, expression, identity,

Language, education, finances,

Race, ability, shape and size.

Each of these is important.

Each speaks to how we reflect a glimmer of the Divine.

They are parts of what makes us who we are.

Yet as the world seeks to use each of these

As a wedge to divide, segregate, and alienate

We who follow in the way of Jesus know something else.

We have more in common than in difference.

This light reminds us of our unity in Christ.

It is a call to reconciliation and healing.

A rainbow beacon of a different way of being in the world.

One that unifies rather than divides; respects differences and embraces grace.

May this light remind us that we are called to embody the full queerness of the Holy in the world.

Acknowledgement of Land

As we gather, we do so acknowledging the lands we are privileged to gather on and that they are the territory of Indigenous Peoples. We acknowledge all the Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit of Turtle Island and their ancestors all the way back to time immemorial and express our desire to walk a different path, one rooted in deep respect, reconciliation, and healing.

THE APPROACH

CALL TO WORSHIP:

One: This is a space where we worship the revealed full spectrum of Creator.

ALL: A space where we remember and celebrate the non-binary nature of our faith. A space where the Two Spirit person sits at the feet of the Christ;

One: Where those who identify as lesbian, or gay, or bi, or straight, or somewhere in between, or not at all are welcomed at the table;

Where the race to the tomb is won by a drag queen and the love of Christ is proclaimed by a cis-person.

ALL: We worship The One who holds all our identities, expressions, and orientations in the palm of their hand proclaiming that each one is part of the wonderful image of God

HYMN: “Draw the Circle Wide” MV #145

Refrain: Draw the circle wide. Draw it wider still.

Let this be our song, no one stands alone,

standing side by side, draw the circle wide.

1. God the still-point of the circle,

‘round whom all creation turns;

nothing lost, but held forever,

in God’s gracious arms.

2. Let our hearts touch far horizons,

so encompass great and small;

let our loving know no borders,

faithful to God’s call.

3. Let the dreams we dream be larger,

than we’ve ever dreamed before;

let the dream of Christ be in us,

open every door.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION and WORDS OF ASSURANCE:

One: The church hasn’t been a safe place, let alone a safer place, for 2SLGBTQAI+ peoples. Our sacred story has been weaponized and used to limit participation, deny identity, justify misplaced legislation, vilify, criminalize, and traumatize. It’s a truth we must embrace. A history we must own for it is what happens when we vacate the public square but there is another way. A deeper way. An intersectional way.

One: Can you hear it?

ALL: (whisper) Love

One: Can you see it?

ALL: (louder) Love

One: Can you taste it, feel it, touch it?

ALL: (loudest) Love!

One: Love is the boundless potential of God in human form. It creates safer spaces. It embraces diversity. It affirms everyone. It publicly proclaims the humanity of each person. It explicitly states that you, yes, you are exactly as God wants you to be created in their image.

ALL: Thanks be to God!

NEW HYMN: “Christ has Broken Down the Wall”

1 Christ has broken down the wall,

Christ has broken down the wall.

Let us join our hearts as one,

Christ has broken down the wall!

2 We’re accepted as we are,

We’re accepted as we are.

Through God’s love all is reconciled,

We’re accepted as we are.

3 Cast aside your doubts and fears,

Cast aside your doubts and fears.

Peace and love, freely offered here;

Cast aside your doubts and fears.

4 We will tear down the walls!

We will tear down every wall!

God has called us, one and all;

Christ has broken down the wall!

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:1-3, 16-17

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

ALL: Thanks be to God.

MESSAGE:

“Everyone Needs to Shine”

There is no audio recording this morning. Read the message at the bottom of this page.

COMMUNION HYMN: “Come Touch Our Hearts” MV #12

1. Come touch our hearts that we may know compassion,

from failing embers build a blazing fire;

love strong enough to overturn injustice,

to seek a world more gracious, come touch and bless our hearts.

2. Come touch our souls that we may know and love you,

your quiet presence all our fears dispel;

create a space for spirit to grow in us,

let life and beauty fill us, come touch and bless our souls.

3. Come touch our minds and teach us how to reason,

set free our thoughts to wonder and to dream;

help us to open doors of understanding,

to welcome truth and wisdom, come touch and bless our minds.

4. Come touch us in the moments we are fragile,

and in our weakness your great strength reveal;

that we may rise to follow and to serve,

steady now our nerve, come touch and bless our wills.

5. Come touch us now, this people who are gathered,

to break the bread and share the cup of peace;

that we may love you with our heart, our soul,

our mind, our strength, our all, come touch us with your grace.

Invitation:

One: Friends, in The United Church of Canada we celebrate what is known as an open table. This phrase means that what we’re about to do doesn’t belong to our denomination, this congregation, or its leaders. It belongs to God. The same God whom we profess created each of us in their likeness. Here your identity, orientation, expression, education, language, race, size, shape, and ability aren’t barriers. They’re an affirmation that you reflect the image of God.

Celebration of Communion:

One: The Holy is in you.

ALL: And also in you.

One: Open your hearts and minds to the Affirming love of God.

ALL: We open them to the radically inclusive nature of Creator.

One: Let us give thanks to the source of all our being.

ALL: For the courage to engage God’s love in ways that are Publicly, Intentionally, and Explicitly active in the world, we give thanks.

One: Since the very moment of creation, you have confounded us. From nothing you created. Investing in everything the creative energy of your breath. You side with those on the margins. You value the ignored. You tell your people to care for the widow, the stranger, the orphaned, the imprisoned. You bring life out of death. You show up as a redemptive force through a baby whose family becomes persecuted, marginalized, and oppressed. You show love through servant leadership. You embodied inclusion at the side of a well. You turn death into life.

ALL: Time and time again, just when we think we have it all figured out, you confound us and call us into something more, something deeper, something transformative.

One: That breath you invested in creation is still present today.

ALL: It’s present in Two-Spirit people watching settlers appropriate their identity.

One: It’s present in the demonstrations demanding the place of SOGI programs in our school systems.

ALL: It’s present in families with same-gender parents.

One: It’s present when people transition from an identity assigned at birth to one that reflects who you made them to be.

ALL: It’s present in the lives of people who have no place to call home because their families of birth or community labelled them as sinful, or unlovable, or deviant, or abnormal.

One: You confound us, O God, because you don’t fit into an easy binary box. You confront us with our misconceptions and misunderstandings, especially when we think ours must be the only way. You expand our hearts and minds through the most unlikely people, in the oddest ways, at the most inopportune times tearing apart our biases, replacing our fears, emboldening our witness, and challenging us to live more fully into your reality.

And that’s hard for us. We like simplicity. We like predictability. Our brains crave familiar patterns. We fear the unknown or what we can’t understand in the moment we experience it. Many of us don’t like changing language, continuums of expression, or endless learning. So, we say, “Enough already”, “There are limits”, “That doesn’t belong in school”, “There’s only one definition”, “it’s all part of a conspiracy”, and “Why can’t we just let that be private?”

Here’s the thing though, you’ve never been quiet, subtle, reserved, or closeted. Instead, you’ve been Public, Intentional, and Explicit in your love for us. Still, your love persists. Still, you invest yourself in humanity. Still, you call us to recognize your presence in the faces of people we meet, over, and over, and over again, time after time, giving us as many opportunities as it takes until we too love without barriers, preconditions, or biases.

That’s what it means to say “Do this in remembrance of me.” To

remember that Jesus took some bread and juice and changed it from a

food staple into a metaphor for love. Grain, seed, bread– it all gets

broken. That’s how transformation happens. Grape, berry, juice– if it

stays contained it becomes dried up and dead. Bread– Body. Juice Life.

It’s what can happen when we accept your sacred invitation to be part of

An expansive table.

As we remember the radically inclusive love contained in the life,

ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus we affirm a cornerstone of our

faith:

ALL: God’s love is Public. God’s love is Intentional. God’s love is Explicit.

One: Breathe your spirit once again, O God, upon these symbols of everyday life that for us they might re-member us to one another, the world, and to you. May they become for us a reminder of what can happen when we align ourselves with the power of your love and create communities of expansive awareness and inclusion where we publicly, intentionally, and explicitly affirm all your people. Amen

Prayer: Unison

May what we have done here empower us to live out your love in public,

intentional, and explicit ways in our lives. May we find ways of overcoming

systems and ideologies that continue to limit and deny the humanity of all your people. May this moment rejuvenate and empower us to work for justice, rectify harm, and alleviate the world’s pain one act of gospel love at a time. Amen.

MINISTRY OF MUSIC:

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and

THE LORD’S PRAYER: (sung VU #960)

PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY PRAYER:

Holy One, Holy Three, you who created us in their image, we give you thanks for the rainbow expression of gifts embodied in your beloved ones. Bless these gifts that have been given yesterday, today, and will be given tomorrow. Take our time, our talents, our passion, and our resources and use them to create a world where the public square is made for everyone and a world where hate, bigotry, and the phobias of othering are

only something read about in history books so that we might be your rainbow people.

Amen.

Sending Forth:

One: Go into the world

As The Holy’s beloved rainbow people.

Go knowing that who you are

Is an expression of the divine

And it need not be hidden under a jar or in a closet.

Go to be the church with a radical love

That builds up the body of Christ

And affirms our belovedness in public, intentional, and explicit ways.

SUNG BLESSING: VU #108 vs 1

1 Throughout these Lenten days and nights

we turn to walk the inward way,

where, meeting Christ, our guide and light,

we live in hope till Easter Day. ©

A Time of Fellowship

MESSAGE: "EVERYONE NEEDS TO SHINE' ( LUKE 8:1-3, 16-17)

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.

This lrtile light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.

Let it shine, let tt shtne, let it shine.

Chances are that you learned this song in Sunday School or sufltmer camp many

years ago. It's such a great little tune, with a very simple message --- not to hide

ourselves away,but instead to shine in our little corner of the world, in the best

way we know or can. It's the sarne message in today's scripture lesson, where

Jesus tells us not to light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed. He

was telling us then and now to shine with the divine spark which is the essence of

our very being.

But somewhere along the way, others discover that someone else's light shines just

a bit differently than the rest of us. They're told to not shine so brightly, to blend in

with the crowd, so you're not seen for whom you are.

In biblical times, people listening to the words of Jesus were intentional about

blending in with the rest of the crowd. They didn't want to risk standing out in a

crowd, because their light was too bright. They didn't want to draw attention to

themselves, for the Roman authorities were known to treat anyone who stood out

with suspicion and violence. In their own local communities, those who shone

differently were often shunned by their neighbours and faith communities for not

frtting into the nonns of society.

For others, they simply didn't get the chance to shine, because they were on the

lowest rungs of society -- like the woman who washed Jesus' feet. She was an

outcast, but Jesus saw the light in her by the love and radical hospitality she gave

him. Today we see people barely making ends meet, living in encampments, lining

up at the food bank or soup kitchen, while others look down on them. Many

believe that those people aren't worthy/deserving of a "hand up." They just need to

get a job...to pull up their bootstraps, but bootstraps need boots!

The margtnalizedin our society are often excluded as the "other." I wonder how

often they question how God's love and compassion could possibly shine on them,

if they themselves weren't able to shine as their authentic selves.

I know a young man who went to the same rural high school as my daughter. In a

community where everyone looked and acted the same, he was one of the only

"ouf' students in high school. Surprisingly, the bullies and the allies gave him

exactly the same advice: Don't shine too bright! Don't runfor student council,

don't go to prom, don\ sing like a girl, don't holdyour boyfrtend's hand in the

hallway, don't put yourself out there. His supporters claimed that if he were just

meek and mild, just hide in the corner/blend in, he would get out of there in one

piece!

Fortunately for this young man, he grew up in a home with strong family values,

and he was an active member of a communrty of faith that embraced him for who

he was. He came to know that he was truly a child of God, was wohdrously made

by God, and that he was just as worthy and capable of shining God's love out into

the world. And shine he did, becoming a United Church minister, who is loved by

his Affirming pastoral charge.

No lamp is meant to be hidden under a basket or under a bed, is another way of

saying ..closeted." I wonder what happens to someone when they choose to

deny who and whose they are? And I wonder what the dangers are for

oursetves and our communities of taking the divine spark that lives in each of

us and hiding it awaY?

The Belonging Project at Stanford University says that being in fellowship with

others who identifu as part of the same group boosts morale and gives people a

sense of belonging. We know that we all need a place to come together, to

experience hospitaliry and to feel loved and accepted. We hunger for honest,

healthy places to belong --- to find a place where it's safe to explore faith on our

own terms, and to be part of a community where we can make a difference through

service and generoslty.We are relational beings. A11 of us are seeking safety and

sanctuary. Everyone of us knows that having spent more than a year of social

isolation, physical distancing, ffid in lockdowns, We know how precious beloved

community is.

And so it was that last summer, an$4-yearold resident at Extendicare in

Haliburton, o'came out." As far as he knew, he was the only gay person in the LIC

faciliry and he was genuinely surprised that the majority of the staffand residents

were accepting of him. Imagine what it would be like to live a lifetime hiding

your light from others, finally coming to terms with your sexuality, and

needing to know that you are accepted, safe, and valued. Fortunately, this man

has found other members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies in his small town.

With assistance, he is able to attend the Aging Together in Community meetings,

where his elder wisdom, from his lived experience, is valued. He has found

beloved community where no one is abandoned on the margins. His little light is

shining in all its glory.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Highland Hills