Service for Sunday March 5th - 1st of Lent:

CLERGY: REV. SHAWN ANKENMANN
MINISTER EMERITUS: ELGIN HALL
ORGANIST: ELEANOR TAYLOR
CHOIR DIRECTOR: KENDRA FALLIS
MINISTRY: THE PEOPLE OF GOD GATHERED HERE
March 5th, 2006

GREETINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS MINUTE FOR MISSION

HYMN #266 Amazing Grace

CALL TO WORSHIP
One: With Jesus, we journey into the wilderness.
ALL: WE FEEL THE NEED TO GET AWAY
A PLACE AND TIME TO REFLECT AND TO PRAY
One: With Jesus, we stay in the wilderness
ALL: WE FEEL CALLED BY THE TEMPTATION
TO THE EASY SELF-SERVING WAYS.
One: With Jesus, we endure the wilderness.
ALL: WE FIND A FAITHFUL WAY
WE ARE GUIDED TO A COMPASSIONATE PATH
One: With Jesus, we return from the wilderness
ALL: WE ARE RENEWED IN BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT
WE ARE READY TO DO GOD’S WORK.

PRAYER OF APPROACH:

One: Renewing God, we seek the presence of your Spirit.
ALL: AS WE FOLLOW JESUS INTO THE UNKNOWN
Women: Be our Guide and Companion.
Men: May we cognognize temptation when it comes.
One: God of the desert, God of the wilderness
ALL: CALL US INTO YOUR WORLD TO SERVE
GUIDE US IN OUR FAITH TO WORSHIP YOU
INSPIRE US TO SHAKE OFF THE DUST OF COMPLACENCY
One: Be with us Creator God on this Lenten journey
ALL: AMEN.

HYMN: #703 In the Bulb There Is a Flower

PRAYER FOR WHOLENESS:
One: Lord Jesus,
You refused to turn stones into bread
ALL: SAVE US FROM USING OUR POWER
TO SATIFY THE DEMANDS OF SELFISHNESS
One: Lord Jesus, you refused to leap from the temple top.
ALL: SAVE US FROM USING OUR SKILLS
TO SEEK POPULARITY AND FAME
One: Lord Jesus, you refused to bend the knee to a false god
ALL: SAVE US FROM OFFERING OUR DEVOTION
TO CHEAP AND EASY RELIGION
(pause)
One: Guide us O Holy One,
ALL: GRANT US WISDOM,
TO DISCERN TEMPTATION
AND TO CHOOSE THE WAY OF OUR GOD. AMEN.

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25 (pg 752 Voices United)

CHOIR ANTHEM:

THE STORY STOOL:

HYMN #444 Child of Blessing, Child of Promise

DEDICATION OF FONT:

SERVICE OF BAPTISM

Today We Celebrate the Baptism of
Owen Matthew Miller
Son of Patrick and Nancy (Kartanson)

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
One: The sacrament of baptism
proclaims and celebrates the grace of God.
By water and the Spirit,
we are called, claimed, and commissioned:
we are called God’s own,
welcomed as children of God;
we are claimed by Christ,
united with Christ,

PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATE:
One: On behalf of the congregation of Minnedosa United Church,
I present Owen Matthew Miller
for initiation into the body of Christ through baptism:

QUESTIONS TO THE FAMILY:
One: Do you believe in one God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Family: I do, by the grace of God.
One: Trusting the gracious mercy of God,
will you turn from the forces of evil,
and renounce their power?
Family: I will, God being my helper.
One: Will you proclaim Jesus; crucified and risen,
In words and action
As you share in the life, work and ministry
Of Christ Jesus?
Family: I WILL, GOD BEING MY HELPER.

COMMITMENT OF FAMILY AND GODPARENTS:
One: Grandparents play a special role in the life of a child.
They offer wisdom gleaned of life experience.
They have a patience borne of struggles with growing generations.
And they bring a perspective widened by the passage of tiem,
To the Grandparents of Owen and his sister Tyra,
Will you as Godparents to Owen and mentor-friend to Tyra,
Guide and encourage them by word and action,
Suppporting them in prayer and love
To follow the path of faith?
GRANDPARENTS: I WILL, GOD BEING MY HELPER.

CONGREGATIONAL COMMITMENT:
One: Let us pledge to these persons our support and care.
ALL: AS A BAPTIZED AND BAPTIZING PEOPLE,
WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO SUPPORT AND UPHOLD YOU
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH.
One: May God grant us all
the grace to live out our baptism.
ALL: AMEN.

POURING OF THE WATER:
One: God be with you.
ALL: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
One: Lift up your hearts.
ALL: WE LIFT THEM TO GOD.
One: Let us give our thanks to God.
ALL: IT IS GOOD TO GIVE GOD THANKS AND PRAISE.
One: As the water is poured, we recall
Isaiah’s promise:
“waters shall break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert”;
Ezekiel’s declaration:
“I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean”;
the Psalmist’s testimony:
“Beside the still waters, God leads me”;
and Jesus’ words:
“whoever gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones—
truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
May God’s Spirit be upon us
and these waters of daily use,
ALL: WHICH WE NOW USE TO BAPTIZE AND TO WELCOME.

ACT OF BAPTISM:
One: Owen Matthew Miller, I baptize you,
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
ALL: AMEN.
One: May the blessing of the God of Sarah and Hagar,
as of Abraham,
the blessing of the Son, born of the woman Mary,
and the blessing of the Spirit, who broods over us
as a mother her children,
be with you today and always.
ALL: AMEN.

PRESENTATION OF THE CANDLE:
One: Owen, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good works,
and give glory to God.
ALL: AMEN.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY:
One: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism:
ALL: BY ONE SPIRIT, WE ARE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY.
WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE ONE GOD,
MOTHER AND FATHER OF US ALL.
WE WELCOME YOU INTO THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH.

HYMN #644 I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry

SCRIPTURE READING: Mark 1:9-15

SERMON: “Onward to the rainbow’s end”

This last week I was cleaning out some of the books in my office for the upcoming Rotary Book sale, when I came across the book by Max Lucado entitled "In the Eye of the Storm". I was going to pitch it into the cull box, when I realized that it had been a gift from one of my student charges back in Ontario. I put it aside, and this week found a reference to it in one of the commentaries - so I sat down with it at home to read and a letter fell out that was written to me in 1993. The letter read:
"people are searching for the Gospel message. They are searching for a faith that's solid, one that will not disappoint us when the parth gets really rough. Material wealth is just that - material wealth, but spiritual wealth is the essential ingredient for happiness."

As I read the note, I thought the words were somewhat prophetic to what we're experiencing here ... then I opened the book and began by reading the story of a parakeet and his misadventures:

Chirpie the parakeet never saw it coming … one second he was peacefully perched in his cage and the next … well, when I found this story I thought – “Gee, this is a tale that most of us here can relate to right now …” We’re only four weeks from the fire that claimed our sanctuary. Four weeks of busy activity and reflection. Four weeks of every emotion imaginable. Four weeks of wanting answers to bitter questions that lie on our tongue. Four weeks of riding in the heart of a storm, not unlike that of Noah’s which tosses us about …
So, about Chirpie the parakeet … The problems for the little bird began when his owner decided to clean Chirpie’s cage. Instead of reaching in and cleaning it by hand, she decided the vacuum cleaner would be a good idea … We all have those – “seemed like a good idea at the time moments …”
She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage … as she did the phone rang … she turned and picked it up. She had barely said “Hello” when “sssoppp!!!!” Chirpie got sucked in the vacuum …
She gasped and dropped the phone, turned off the vacuum and opened the bag … fearing the worst, she was relieved to find Chirpie alive but stunned …
Since the little bird was covered in dust and soot from the fireplace she had cleaned earlier in the day, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom where she turned on the tap and held Chirpie under the running water … then realizing that Chirpie was soaked, shivering and gasping for breath she did what any compassionate bird owner would do for a cold wet bird … she reached for the hair dryer and blasted her little friend with hot air to dry him off …
Poor Chirpie never knew what hit him …
A few days later, after his traumatic events, a reporter who had initially written about the events, contacted the owner and asked how the little bird was recovering …
Chirpie’s owner said – “Oh … well, I don’t know. Chirpie doesn’t sing much any more … he just sits on his perch and stares.”

Can you blame him? Getting sucked into a vacuum, being washed up and blown over … it’s enough to steal the song fro the stoutest of hearts … and it is something that we as a community of faith can relate to … Over the last four weeks we’ve been through a journey like Chirpies, and we could just sit on our perch and stare, overwhelmed by all of it …
However, as we sit in the midst of the storms that have broken upon us – the storms that came with an arsonists’ fire, we can not waste our time or our energy sitting on our perches and simply staring … We have to have the courage to live our faith and to put one foot in front of the other and keeping moving – keep living – keeping moving forward.
It is not an easy task. We are, as a people, as a community, as a family of faith, experiencing the SAME process that we would experience if we lost a loved one. But as those emotions wash over us, we think – “BUT IT WAS ONLY A BUILDING !!” and we try to dismiss the sadness, the anger, the frustration and the deep sorrow that wells up within us …
It was only a building – but what a building it was … I realized this week when I began to get emails with a variety of pictures of our building, how much I miss it … yesterday sitting in the sanctuary of Hamiota United Church with its wooden pews and beautiful stained glass windows, I realized how much we’ve lost and how much I miss the building we called home …
So, here we stand in the wilderness … like our reading from the life of Jesus, we’ve journeyed to this place, by the waters of baptism we’ve reaffirmed the value and the importance of children in our lives and in the lives of their families and in the eyes of God, and now, we move into the wilderness of knowing that we are temporarily homeless …
We are living the transition of ministry that Jesus himself lived when he rose from the waters of the Jordan, heard the divine proclamation and then headed out into the wilderness to encounter what we’ve called the temptation …
Our temptation is to sit in our anger and outrage – but we simply can not afford to waste our time and our energy on this … our temptation is to sit in our sadness and weep – but we can not afford to waste our time and our energy on such things … our temptations may try to lead us to place and feelings that are simply NOT helpful – but we, as individuals and as people, must resist that because there is too much work to do, and we can not afford to waste our time and our energy on such useless endeavours …
As I read the story of Chirpie, I thought of a wonderful native elder I met in Bella Coola. Uma was one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. She smiled all the time, she loved a good joke, she offered countless hugs. She was a woman who glowed, even in the face of adversity … When she prayed at Church or at community functions in Nuxalkmc, the native tongue, you were struck with a sense of peacefulness and holiness that she called upon on behalf of her community.
I should add that Uma and her husband Willie had a large family. They had 17 children, dozens of grandchildren, dozens and dozens of great and great-great grandchildren – watching basket ball games at the hall with her was fun, because she had family on both teams – so, she didn’t cheer for any side to win, but for both teams to do their best – and cheer she did.
But one day we were talking over tea about our approach to life, and how we live our faith. Uma, a woman who knew real and deep tragedy in her life said – “You know, you can do four things in life when things go bad … you can get mad and yell at everyone … you can get sad and cry and cry and cry … you can go and get drunk … or you can say “oh well, I’m still alive and it’s still a good day, and just be happy …”
Uma’s words were grounded in a harsh and hard reality … she had lost a daughter and a grand daughter to a housefire where another son was badly burned trying to save his family, she had lost several siblings and her parents early in life to tragedies and was raised by her grandmother, she lost a son to drowning, a son who disappeared on day at a logging camp, she had watched her extended family experience violence and suffering that is unimaginable to any of us – she lost her husband Willie suddenly when he died after learning one of his son in laws had been viciously abusing many members of the family … Uma knew tragedy on a scale that simply staggers the mind – yet she lived her words.
She got up every day, offered her prayers of thanksgiving and went into the day happy … her reason was simple. She said that day that if you get mad people don’t want to be anywhere near you … if you sit and cry all the time people don’t want to have anything to do with you … if you get drunk you just cause more and more problems for yourself and others … but if you have the courage to live life as a gift and “BE HAPPY” – not a superficial paste a smile on happy – but a deep heartfelt – it’s good to be alive, happiness – you will be surrounded by people who want to know your secret and who want to share it …
And so today – we’ve gathered in a borrowed place … we’ve shared over the waters of baptism our certainty that not only is Owen a cherished child of God, we ALL are … and we are getting ready to head back into the wilderness of homelessness … Our problems on a global scale are pretty minor – we still have homes to return to, we are inconvenienced by this and it hurts, but we still have much to be thankful for. So, our challenge is to take stock, not of what we’ve lost – but what we still have …
Look around you today – take stock of your neighbours and what the fire will never take from us – OUR MEMORIES. And together let us continue to journey forward from the storms and the wilderness of our life today knowing that in time we will make a safe shore and over our heads will be a broad and beautiful Rainbow that affirms the covenant of God that says simply – “I love you, and I have never abandoned you …”
It’s easy to be sad or angry. It’s easy to be like Chirpie, and to sit and stare into space.

My friends – today we simply can not afford to waste our energy on sadness or anger or sitting and staring into space … We have much to do, and it begins with the waters of baptism where we say together – “we are beloved children of our God …” and we head into the world to live the message that says – “the Kingdom of God is in our midst …” we don’t need a building to be the Church – to be the Kingdom … the Church is all around us – how can we not be happy when we realize that we are simply a pilgrim people lacking a building right now … The Church endures …
May it be so, thanks be to God – let us pray …

OFFERING:

OFFERTORY:

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE THE LORD’S PRAYER

HYMN #556 Would You Bless Our Homes and Families

COMMISSIONING/BENEDICTION

SUNG RESPONSE (HYMN #427) To Show by Touch and Word
The worship has ended…
…the work of God’s people has just begun
Go in peace

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bible Study: Fridays 10 am in the meeting room of the Minnedosa Library – all are welcome.

Choir Practice – Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at the Covenant Church.

Rolling River Festival of the Arts: Senior Choir – Tuesday, March 7th, 7 p.m. @ the Covenant Church.
Bell Choir – Wednesday, March 8th, 7 p.m. @ the Covenant Church.

More Than Music – Friday, March 10th, 7:30 p.m., Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. Tickets $25.00, for sale at the Church office. Proceeds of sales in Minnedosa to Minnedosa United Church.

Pot Luck Supper – Sunday, March 12th at 5 p.m., the 5 parishes of the Anglican Church are holding a supper at St. Mark’s in support of US!! All are welcome to bring a food item to share and a donation in support of our re-building.

UCW St Patrick’s Day Tea and Bazaar – Saturday, March 18th at the Ukranian Hall. Donations to the Bake table will be greatly appreciated.

AOTS Pancake Supper – Friday, March 24th from 5-7 p.m., at the Ukranian Hall.

Spring Supper/Smorg – Sunday, March 26 @ MCCC. Sign-up sheets are in mail-out at back of church.

Congregational Rebuilding Survey –included in mail-out at back of church.

New members – Don and Dorothy Jones, who have transferred from Trinity United Church in Brandon. Welcome to our family!

Rotary Club Book Sale – March 17,18 and 24,25th, 9 Main St. N (formerly Sharona’s Restaurant)

Attention: People using the envelope numbers 171 and 28, please call Peg at the Church office.

With the relocation of our worship services, we’ve realized that some may be in need of a ride to our services here at St Alphonsus … If you are able to provide rides for those needing them, please let the office know … OR, if you are in need of a ride, please let us know and we’ll help make arrangements. What better way to get to know one another??