Happy New Year!
For all the complexities of life in a pandemic, it is still a gift for us to reach out to one another. Thank you for all you are doing in sharing love with one another and in the community. Your share of Christ’s ministry and service is deeply appreciated.
And, speaking of ministry and service, if you receive the Transcona Views, you will have seen the article about Bill Blaikie’s appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. If you do not receive the Views, the article can be found online at:
https://www.bondprinting.net/sites/default/files/views/January Views 2021.pdf
Congratulations again Bill!
We are delighted that people are having fun with the gifts that we have received from Illustrated Ministry. This week it is a colouring page, a scripture reflection and a discussion guide for this Sunday. Part of the resource is an invitation to take a Joy Break. Here is the suggestion:
Using paper and pens/pencil/crayons, write and/or draw the following things:
• Five things that made you smile this week
• Four fun things you did this week
• Three people who were kind to you this week
• Two times you felt loved this week
• One wish you have for the next week
Feel free to both write and draw if you would like. Do whatever feels right for you. When you finish, take some time to pray for everything you wrote/drew and thank God for the joy you have in your life.
Here is the link for their full gift to us:
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. 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.
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, January 3, 2021
Introit: Prepare the Way of the Lord, sung by Cheryl and Crystal:
We come to worship to hear Good News,
We come to worship to know God’s love,
We are united in heart and in community,
And everywhere we are God’s people.
Our opening hymn is “A Light is Gleaming’
Esther and Emmett talk about Epiphany:
Printable Version:
Esther and Emmett and Epiphany
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Carol offers a reflection:
Printable Version:
Reflection_Jan 3
Let us pray:
God,
our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our holiness in this new year beginning…
open our hearts to wonder,
open our hearts to compassion,
open our hearts to the heartbeat of creation.
We are thankful, God, that Your spirit dances throughout all creation; that Your spirit lives amongst us and within us.
We are thankful, God, for all who work for a world of just relations and equitable sharing of the blessings of Your creation.
We are thankful for nurses, doctors and all health care workers.
We are thankful for everyone who offers healing and comfort to others.
We pray for healing and comfort for all who live with challenges and suffering.
We pray for people who have contracted Covid, for those living with cancer, MS, dementia… we pray for courage, for loving and supportive communities of family, friends and care-givers.
We pray for all whose ‘homes’ are streets and underpasses, for all who nightly seek shelter from the prairie winter cold. We pray for their safety.
We pray for refugees. We pray for those whose lives and environments are shaped by war, by violence or by conflict. We pray for peace.
We pray for all who are unemployed or under-employed and know the challenge of feeding their families. We pray for all people to have access to equitable incomes.
We pray for all who are entrusted with making decisions to better the lives of others. We pray for wisdom and compassion.
We pray that the year 2021 be a year of compassionate humanity, of money being spent on healthcare, education, and housing rather than on weapons of war.
We pray that the year 2021 be a year when all lives truly matter and are affirmed and valued, when humans befriend the rest of creation, and when peace and love are humankind’s uniting values.
God, our help in ages past and our hope for years to come, give us imaginations and faith to perceive the sacredness and holiness of all creation, to allow Your Love to guide our living, and to share the peace of Christ with all people.
In the spirit of Christ we pray. AMEN
Our closing hymn is “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”
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