{"id":857,"date":"2020-10-24T22:30:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T22:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/?p=857"},"modified":"2020-10-24T22:30:58","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T22:30:58","slug":"anniversary-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/24\/anniversary-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Anniversary Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-863\"\/><figcaption>Church picnic, May 24, 1922<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. We encourage you to pray over the words that follow, and follow the links within the liturgy. Prayers in this service are adapted from Celebrate God\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Jenny, Cor, and Heather!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRELUDE: \u201cJesus Has Time\u201d (Roebuck\/Fettke)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/jesushastime.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>OPENING PRAYER<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Greetings to our brothers and sisters in the faith. <br \/> We come to celebrate God\u2019s presence,<br \/> and God\u2019s love expressed through Jesus Christ.<br \/> We come remembering Christ\u2019s life and ministry,<br \/> and the life we are called to live.<br \/> We come as a pilgrim people <br \/> searching for ways to live out our faith.<br \/> We come seeking the strength to carry on our journey.<br \/> Let us rejoice in God\u2019s gift to us! Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN OF PRAISE: \u201cSing praises to God!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/singpraises.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Sing praises to God! Sing praise in the height;<br \/> rejoice in God&#8217;s word, blest angels of light;<br \/> high heavens, recalling by whom you were made,<br \/> come, offer your worship in brightness arrayed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Sing praises to God! Sing praise upon earth,<br \/> in tuneful accord, you saints of new birth;<br \/> praise God, who has brought you rich grace from above,<br \/> and showered your life with abundance of love.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Sing praises to God, all things that give sound;<br \/> each jubilant chord re-echo around;<br \/> loud organs, your glory tell out in deep tone,<br \/> and trumpets, the story of what God has done.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Sing praises to God! Thanksgiving and song<br \/> be ever outpoured, all ages along:<br \/> for love in creation, for hope spread abroad,<br \/> for grace of salvation, sing praises to God.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRAYER OF CONFESSION<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Almighty God, <br \/>\nto whom all hearts are open,<br \/>\nall desires, known,<br \/>\nand from whom no secrets are hid:<br \/>\ncleanse the thoughts of our hearts<br \/>\nby the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,<br \/>\nthat we may perfectly love you,<br \/>\nand worthily magnify your holy name;<br \/>\nthrough Christ our Lord.  Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>ASSURANCE OF PARDON<\/p>\n\n\n<p>God will give us what we need:<br \/>\nstrength for today,<br \/>\nhope for tomorrow,<br \/>\nand forgiveness<br \/>\nfor all that is past.<br \/>\nAmen.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-866\"\/><figcaption>Six Nations visit, 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>SPECIAL MUSIC: \u201cRetell what Christ&#8217;s great love has done\u201d (Rowthorn\/Holmes)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/recallwhatx-jenny.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>FIRST READING: Psalm 90<\/p>\n\n\n<p>God, you have been our refuge in every generation.<br \/> Before the mountains were brought forth,<br \/> before earth and world were formed,<br \/>     <strong>from age to age everlasting, you are God.<\/strong><br \/> You turn frail humans back to dust, saying:<br \/>         &#8216;Return, you mortals.&#8217;<br \/>     <strong>For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday,<br \/>     a day that is past, a watch in the night.<\/strong><br \/> You sweep them away like a dream,<br \/> like grass that is fresh in the morning,<br \/>     <strong>like grass which in the morning is green,<br \/>     but in the evening is dried up and withered.<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>Turn back, O God!  How long?<br \/> Have compassion on your servants.<br \/>     <strong>Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,<br \/>     that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.<\/strong><br \/> Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,<br \/> as many years as we have suffered adversity.<br \/>    <strong> Show your servants your work,<br \/>     and let their children see your glory.<\/strong><br \/> Let the favour of our God be upon us,<br \/> and prosper the work of our hands.<br \/>     <strong>Prosper the work of our hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p>SECOND READING: Deuteronomy 34.1-12<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land\u2014from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, \u201cThis is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, \u2018I will give it to your descendants.\u2019 I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>5 And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. 6 He buried him[a] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit[b] of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt\u2014to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cO God, our help in ages past\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ogodourhelp.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>O God, our help in ages past,<br \/> our hope for years to come,<br \/> our shelter from the stormy blast,<br \/> and our eternal home:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>under the shadow of thy throne<br \/> thy saints have dwelt secure,<br \/> sufficient is thine arm alone,<br \/> and our defence is sure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Before the hills in order stood,<br \/> or earth received its frame,<br \/> from everlasting thou art God,<br \/> to endless years the same.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>A thousand ages in thy sight<br \/> are like an evening gone,<br \/> short as the watch that ends the night<br \/> before the rising sun.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Time like an ever-rolling stream<br \/> soon bears us all away;<br \/> we fly forgotten, as a dream<br \/> dies at the opening day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>O God, our help in ages past,<br \/> our hope for years to come,<br \/> be thou our guard while troubles last,<br \/> and our eternal home.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>REFLECTION<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/oct25sermon.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s the internet pioneer you\u2019ve likely never heard of.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>His name is Jacques Gaillot, and his route from rural south-eastern France, to the Algerian desert, and the early days of the World Wide Web begins with a sermon.  But that\u2019s the middle of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The story begins as young Jacques completes compulsory military service, enters the seminary, becomes a professor and a priest, and later a bishop.  At this point, his story reads like so many of the countless bishops within the Roman Catholic Church.  But everything changes with his first Easter service as Bishop of \u00c9vreux, when he shares these words: \u201cChrist died outside the walls as he was born outside the walls. If we are to see the light, the sun, of Easter, we ourselves must go outside the walls\u2026Does a bishop remain in his cathedral or does he go into the street?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>His activism was boundless.  From the \u201cstreet\u201d in \u00c9vreux he spoke out on disarmament, apartheid, gay rights, French nuclear testing, contraception, clerical celibacy\u2014to name a few. A dozen years after Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop, he removed him, or rather, he relocated him to the Diocese of Parthenia\u2014many times larger than \u00c9vreux, but almost completely covered in sand.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>You see, Parthenia is a titular see, meaning it was once a thriving part of the church, but no longer exists (except on paper).  Within the Catholic Church these former regions are retained as placeholders, or honorifics, or in the case of Jacques Gaillot, as punishment.  Along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa there were nearly fifty dioceses with nearly fifty bishops, all of which were gone by the early middle ages.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>Having been given a diocese buried under metres of sand, the good bishop moved online, creating the first \u201cvirtual\u201d diocese and reaching a worldwide audience.  What began as punishment became an opportunity and an early example of the power of the internet to inform and mobilize.  25 years later his work continues.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>I share this unlikely story with you because I love stories of people who managed to \u201cmake a silk purse out of a sow\u2019s ear,\u201d but also because of the story of Parthenia.  We celebrate 199 years of Central today, but we also celebrate all the history that led to this moment.  We mark this place, but we also remember  the parts of the church that led to the creation of this place: from the recent and well-loved places like Mount Dennis, Westminster, and Elverston-Trethewey\u2014to the places that led to their creation.  In the same way that each church was formed by people coming from other churches, each person was (and is) formed by others, all of them with a unique background in the faith.  This web of believers, existing over time and space, makes us who we are today, as we mark this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>It also reminds us that we exist in the middle of the story\u2014always the middle of the story\u2014and what follows is always unknown.  We recall the history of this place, and we celebrate the present of this place, and we anticipate with hope the future.  Yet, it remains unwritten.  We don\u2019t get to see the promised land, the future church that is the fulfillment of all our hopes, because we belong to the middle of the story.  And we\u2019re in good company, of course, with no less a figure than Moses himself.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>The remarkable passage from Deuteronomy 34 describes the end of Moses\u2019 life, the middle of the story where God shows him the vastness of the promised land\u2014a land he cannot enter.  It is the culmination of the most important story in the Old Testament\u2014along with creation itself.  From the baby in the basket, to the Incident at Meribah, to this view of the promised land, the story of Moses is foundational to our understanding of the God Who Saves.  And as I share this claim, and as you call to mind the arc of the Exodus, I hope you (like me) wonder at the Incident at Meribah. <\/p>\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hinted at in our passage: God says to Moses \u201cThis is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, \u2018I will give it to your descendants.\u2019 I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.\u201d  Walter Bruegemann argues that by the time God reminds Moses, it\u2019s all ancient history\u2014the Incident at Meribah\u2014but our passage turns on this story nonetheless.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>It happens like this: The people are complaining once more. Despite the water and the manna and the awkward quail, the people are complaining once more.  And in their thirst and frustration they begin to complain to Moses and Aaron and it all sounds rather familiar: \u2018Why did you bring us this evil place?  At least in Egypt we had places to grow our grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and here, there isn\u2019t even water to drink.\u2019  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>So Moses and Aaron retreat to the tent of meeting and seek God\u2019s help.  God says (in essence) \u2018do what you did before.  Take the staff, tell the rock to bring forth water, give to the people.\u2019  So they gather the people once more, and Moses speaks.  He forgets his homily about the God Who Saves and the gifts God has given them to sustain them so far. And instead he says \u201cLook you idiots, you want me to get some water from this rock?\u201d (look it up\u2014Numbers 20.10)  He struck the rock (twice) and everyone drank.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>But God was angry.  \u2018You didn\u2019t speak to the rock, you struck the rock.  You didn\u2019t uphold me by saying \u2018look at what God is giving you\u2019\u2014you said \u2018look at what I\u2019m giving you\u2019 instead.  For this reason, you will get to see the promised land, but you cannot enter it.  Again, this may be ancient history for Moses, tired after leading these unruly people for forty years, but it defines his end.  Stuck in the middle of the story, never entering the promised land, he must settle for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>It seems to me that the lesson of forever dwelling in the middle of the story has even wider application.  Almost exactly four years ago I shared an article about St. Augustine, the North African saint that some were calling the \u201cpatron saint of the 2016 election.\u201d  It turns out it was a little too prescient.  The author of the article argues that even as the barbarian hordes were overtaking the city, Augustine never lost hope.  Even as the Western Roman empire was crumbling, and with it the certitude of the church in this period, Augustine was working for the well-being of the city, and the people he was trusted to lead. \u201cChristians are not of the world, but we\u2019re most definitely in it,\u201d the Archbishop of Philadelphia said. \u201cAugustine would say that our home is the City of God, but we get there by passing through the City of Man\u2026and while we\u2019re on the road, we have a duty to leave the world better than we found it.\u201d*<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Again, the middle of the story.  And just because we need hope more than ever, I want to quote President Obama, who shared these words on Wednesday, more-or-less saying what all these others are saying:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>And the fact that we don&#8217;t get 100% of what we want right away is not a good reason not to vote. It means we&#8217;ve got to vote and then get some change and then vote some more and then get some more change, and then keep on voting until we get it right.*<\/p>\n\n\n<p>The past might be a mystery to us, or even covered in sand, and the present might look like one crisis after another, but we still have hope.  The past might not feel like the past to us, and the present might seem like it never lives up to the past, but we still have hope.  The past might seem like a trial in the desert, and the present merely a glimpse of the promised land, but we still have hope.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>Our task is to keep wandering, keep moving, keep supporting one another, and keep the faith alive.  Our task is to find Christ &#8220;outside the walls&#8221; of the church, and in the streets, the streets where God lives. And our task is to remember that God will save us from every kind of trial, and that God will always lead us home.  Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">*http:\/\/religionnews.com\/2016\/11\/03\/is-augustine-the-patron-saint-of-the-2016-election\/<br \/>\n**https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/22\/politics\/obama-speech-transcript\/index.html<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-864\"\/><figcaption>Central&#8217;s Trail Rangers, 1930s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE<\/p>\n\n\n<p>O God,<br \/>\nwhere the gift of life is given,<br \/>\nremind us to give thanks;<br \/>\nwhere your blessings rest upon us,<br \/>\nremind us to share them with others;<br \/>\nwhere the turning leaves leave us breathless,<br \/>\nremind us they reflect your glory;<br \/>\nwhere our needs are met each day,<br \/>\nremind us that you are the source;<br \/>\nwhere the gift of an anniversary is celebrated,<br \/>\nremind us to give thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>O God, <br \/>\nwhere hearts are fearful and confined,<br \/>\ngrant freedom and daring;<br \/>\nwhere anxiety is infectious and widening,<br \/>\ngrant peace and reassurance;<br \/>\nwhere impossibilities close every door and window,<br \/>\ngrant imagination and resistance;<br \/>\nwhere distrust reshapes every understanding,<br \/>\ngrant healing and transformation;<br \/>\nwhere spirits are daunted and dimmed,<br \/>\ngrant soaring wings and strengthened dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>O God,<br \/>\nwhere nations descent in chaos,<br \/>\ngrant understanding between people;<br \/>\nwhere communities are divided by station or race,<br \/>\ngrant a sense of the sacredness of every life;<br \/>\nwhere leaders are unable or unwilling to lead,<br \/>\ngrant wisdom and courage;<br \/>\nwhere systems conspire to keep people down,<br \/>\ngrant vision and insight;<br \/>\nwhere people cry out for freedom,<br \/>\ngrant them that which we all deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>O God,<br \/>\nwhere the pandemic rages,<br \/>\ngrant healing and a common purpose;<br \/>\nwhere families grieve the loss of a loved one,<br \/>\ngrant comfort in the face of loss.<br \/>\nwhere hopelessness appears, these months on,<br \/>\ngrant us hope for the future;<br \/>\nwhere frontline workers feel overwhelmed,<br \/>\ngrant us the means to help;<br \/>\nwhere the vulnerable suffer the most,<br \/>\ngrant us a voice to speak for them.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>In Christ, we pray.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>THE LORD\u2019S PRAYER<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Our Father who art in heaven,<br \/>\nhallowed be thy name.<br \/>\nThy kingdom come,<br \/>\nThy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<br \/>\nGive us this day our daily bread;<br \/>\nand forgive us our trespasses<br \/>\nas we forgive those who trespass against us;<br \/>\nand lead us not into temptation<br \/>\nbut deliver us from evil.<br \/>\nFor thine is the kingdom,<br \/>\nand the power, and the glory,<br \/>\nfor ever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cGod of life, in Christ you lead us\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/godoflife.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>God of life, in Christ you lead us,<br \/> guiding us along the way.<br \/> In our past, through joys and sorrows,<br \/> you have been our strength and stay.<br \/>     Keep us faithful, true disciples,<br \/>     in our learning and our praise,<br \/> celebrating past and present, consecrating future days.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>God of words and Word Incarnate,<br \/> words that challenge and embrace,<br \/> grant us boldness in our speaking,<br \/> while we know your loving grace.<br \/>     Give us words both clear and winsome,<br \/>     loving hearts and listening ears,<br \/> celebrating past and present, consecrating future years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>God of music, psalms and anthems,<br \/> help us sing your faith anew:<br \/> melodies expanding worship,<br \/> harmonies enriching too.<br \/>     May our lives be hymns in action,<br \/>     tuned to Christ in note and rhyme,<br \/> celebrating past and present, consecrating future time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>God of days and years and eons,<br \/> still you call as in the past.<br \/> Work undone demands our labour;<br \/> justice yearns for peace at last.<br \/>     Yours the vision and the challenge;<br \/>     ours the mission and the praise,<br \/> celebrating past and present, consecrating future days.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>BLESSING<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way,<br \/> and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless<br \/> until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.<br \/> \u20141 Thessalonians 5:23<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/meetagainredux.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>God be with you till we meet again;<br \/> loving counsels guide, uphold you,<br \/> with a shepherd\u2019s care enfold you;<br \/> God be with you till we meet again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-868\"\/><figcaption>Church picnic, 1994<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. We encourage you to pray over the words that follow, and follow the links within the liturgy. Prayers in this service are adapted from Celebrate God\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Jenny, Cor, and Heather! PRELUDE: \u201cJesus Has Time\u201d (Roebuck\/Fettke) OPENING &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/24\/anniversary-sunday\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Anniversary Sunday<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}