Open-Sourcing Sundays

Please join us tonight at 6pm as we make our first attempt at creating a truely ‘voiced by the church’ Sunday morning gathering. In doing this we hope to create a liturgy that is the work of all the people in this church family, not just those who are "on staff." My (David’s) role on staff at Rawdon is not to be the one who creates our worship. Rather than being our paid worship producer, my job is to be more a curator. I hope that tonight I can fulfill some of that responsibility as we listen to each other and incorporate more than just my heart for worship when we meet each week. I know that many of you would say a whole-hearted "Amen" to that, and I join you!

I can’t wait to see what this becomes. See you tonight!

Lenten Prayer

Next Sunday our service will begin with a call to worship that was adapted from a prayer written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is a beautiful reminder to us that we are never alone as we walk the path that our life brings us along. I would love for you to take some time to reflect on this prayer during the week ahead.

I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.

Help me to pray

And to concentrate my thoughts on you;

I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,

But with you there is light;

I am lonely, but you do not leave me;

I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;

I am restless, but with you there is peace.

In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,

But you know the way for me….

Restore me to liberty,

And enable me to live now

That I may answer before you and before men.

Lord whatever this day may bring,

Your name be praised.

Amen

Weather Cancellation

My apologies to anyone who showed up at the church this evening. I decided to cancel our Service Planning Session on very short notice due to the weather. Unfortunately it meant that I wasn’t able to contact everyone directly.

Advent Week One – Sunday Sermon

Isaiah 63:15-64:12

15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal and your might?
Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.

16 But you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge us;
you, LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.

17 Why, LORD, do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your inheritance.

18 For a little while your people possessed your holy place,
but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.

19 We are yours from of old;
but you have not ruled over them,
they have not been called by your name.

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to [d] our sins.

8 Yet you, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, LORD;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.

10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.

12 After all this, LORD, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

Hymn and Carol Sing Tonight

Be sure to join us at 7pm for an evening of hymns and carols as we prepare ourselves as a family for the Advent and Christmas season. The choir will be singing tonight as well.

Daily Readings During Advent

The following resources come from the blog of Christine Sine from Mustard Seed House in Seattle, Washington. My hope is that we as a church family will be enriched by the wealth and breadth of our great Christian traditions. If this is your first time considering using lectionary readings as times of prayer I ask that you approach with an open heart. It is a tremendous experience to read and pray in chorus with others following the lectionary all over the globe. These readings are intended to prepare us for the coming of Christ.

Many of the following are available as email subscriptions that will appear in your inbox daily. There are a great variety of readings presented here, but remember that this is but a small taste of what is available. If you know of any other helpful prayer and devotional resources for Advent please post them in the comments.

Readings from the Book of Common Prayer

Readings from United Church of Christ based on revised Common Lectionary

Presbyterian USA daily readings

Readings from the New Zealand Prayer book

Northumbria Community Daily Offices

Daily Prayer with the Irish Jesuits

Daily Prayer from the Catholic Church in Australia

Give Presence

Advent Sunday is this weekend. Consider this location to be Advent Central during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The Advent messages that Pastor Shawn gives will be presented here in some form and I will interject many, many a thought, video, etc. along the way as well. If you have any thoughts, comments, prayers, or whatever please feel free to post them in the comments.

Here is a short presentation by the wonderful folks from the Advent Conspiracy on how we can give better this Christmas. Please prayerfully consider the message from the film.

Preparing for Advent

Advent Sunday is historically the beginning of the church’s worshipping year. I hope this short video will inspire you to slow down and take the time to live the patience of Israel as we prepare to enter this incredible season. Prepare yourselves for the coming of our Messiah Christ – the Liberating King. Jesus.

Baptism on Sunday

It looks like everything is set for this Sunday’s baptismal service. We will be meeting at the Best Western on Holiday Inn Drive after our morning service.

We encourage everyone to come out and be a part of this very special day as we witness three of our brothers and sisters making a public proclamation of their decisions to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

SUNDAY UPDATE:
This morning was especially awesome. Thanks to everyone who came out to the baptism after the service. It was an incredible turnout and I know that your presence really meant a lot.

If anyone has photos they would like to share please email me here.

-David

Week One Was Great!

Big thanks to everyone who helped out with the Children’s Program last night. Our many days of planning and organization really paid off. The children had a great time (the volume level during game time was intense!) and I know that if I was 8 years old I would come back next week for sure!

The kids (and leaders) learned some new songs, listened and participated in a fun and unique telling of the Israelites journey out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, played some fun and challenging games, and constructed some great shields during craft time. We had a wide range of ages and all were able to participate and enjoy themselves throughout the night.

With the possibility of even more kids attending in the coming weeks we could use even more volunteers to help out. If you are interested in being a part of this meaningful church ministry please speak to Pastor Shawn.

Most importantly, please continue to pray for the kids and leaders as we follow the Holy Spirit in doing all we can to make a meaningful impact on our neighbourhood from week to week.

-David