This is the fourth week of Advent, and on Sunday the light of the Candle of Love joins the lights of Hope, Peace, and Joy. We hope that you will join us as we light the candles on Sunday morning at 10.
This Sunday, December 20 there is a brief Advent Candle Lighting and Worship at 10:00 followed by conversation and visiting. Here is the ZOOM link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219
If you prefer to join us by being on a ‘Party-line’/’Conference Call’ style of phone call, the number to dial is: 204-272-7920
You will be asked if you want to ‘join a meeting’, (say yes), and then enter the meeting ID number: 753 844 9219
We look forward to seeing you!
In Advent, as we did in summer, we have some additional music to share. Today’s gift to you is from Cheryl Jackson who sings and plays “Before the Marvel of This Night”
We continue to be so grateful for those who continue to financially support the ministry of TMUC, through your donations on PAR, through www.canadahelps.org and in cheques mailed to the church. You are making a difference. Thank you.
Even though we cannot be together in one place, let’s continue to be a community at prayer together. If you cannot join in the ZOOM, perhaps you would like to join us in lighting a candle and remembering that this is the Advent Sunday of Joy.
Then, let’s think about the gifts we have in our lives, and needs of our world, and then let’s all pray the Lord’s prayer (you can pray silently, or out loud).
And, sometime, when you want to have a longer worship time, we are including some words and videos for your use.
For those who receive the Prayer List, we continue to pray for those we know in our community who are working in Health Care and Education. If you want to receive the Prayer List, or add a name (with their permission), please be in touch.
We are gathered for worship and work in Treaty One territory, which is the traditional land of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dené peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples walked this land and knew it to be the centre of their lives and their spirituality. We respect the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past, and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
Worship for Sunday, December 20, 2020
The Fourth Sunday of Advent – The Sunday of Love
We come to worship with the fourth verse of ‘Hope is a Star’
We wait, remembering when love was born,
For love, a gift to the world still torn.
We wait with visions of stars above.
We wait still held in God’s pure love.
Our opening hymn is “O Come All Ye Faithful”
Esther and Emmett talk about the Nativity:
Printable Version:
Esther and Emmett and the Nativity
Matthew 2:11-12
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Carol and Jeff offer a reflection:
Printable Version:
Reflection_Dec 20
Park Manor Care is in the midst of a COVID outbreak, we hold the residents, families and staff in our prayers.
Let us pray:
God, we draw nearer to the Bethlehem birth;
we draw nearer to that holy night;
we draw nearer to the Christ child who reveals to us that every night is a holy night, every day is a holy day, every moment of every life is a holy moment.
We draw nearer, God, in wonder, in awe, in a posture of gratitude that cannot be contained in words.
We draw nearer to this expression of Your amazing grace, Your profound faithfulness, Your humbling presence, Your vulnerable, wrapped-in-swaddling-cloths love.
We draw nearer to You, God, becoming aware that You have always been near to us, always been around us, amongst us and within us.
God, this Christmas, many of us cannot physically draw nearer to family and friends. This Christmas one of the gifts we offer is the gift of health offered by staying physically distanced from one another.
This Christmas, God, may the birth of Jesus bless all of us with a renewed faith in Your nearness, in the gospel that we are live in Your love.
We pray, God, for hope, peace, joy and love to be born anew in this world.
We pray for all those healthcare workers living their calling to care, to heal, to support and to accompany those with health challenges.
We pray for all who offer friendship, companionship, support and compassion to others in this world where so many are separated from loved ones, where many are lonely and anxious.
We pray for a spirit of compassion throughout the world and actions of friendship and affirmation and respect.
We pray, God, for peace in the world.
We pray for those who are hungry, may food be distributed and shared so that all have enough.
We pray for those who are suffer from others’ abuse, bullying, prejudice, fear and hatred. We pray for safety, for supportive communities and for the well-being of all people.
We pray for those whose lives have been shaken by floods, storms, fires and other disasters.
We pray for all who grieve; for all who feel the pain of loss, of absence, of unobtained expectations.
We pray for this world, Your creation – for its healing, its wholeness, its wellness.
We pray that we may draw nearer to Your love in Jesus. We pray that the story of the Bethlehem birth rekindles our imaginative awareness of the sacredness and holiness of all life.
We pray that the Christ spirit be born in our world and in our hearts, this day and always.
We pray in the name of Christ. AMEN
Our closing hymn is “Gentle Mary Laid Her Child”
May God bless you and keep you.
May God’s face shine upon you.
May God grant you peace and joy.
Be in the peace of Christ, this day and always. Amen
We keep you in our prayers,
Carol and Jeff