We could all use a good laugh!
April is National Humour month!
So here’s a few ‘groaners’ to celebrate the month;
What is Beethoven’s favourite fruit?
Bana-na-naaa!
Where do power cords go shopping?
At the outlet mall.
I dig, you dig, he digs, she digs, we dig, they dig!
It’s not a long poem, but it’s deep!
Laughter is good medicine.
On April 5, 2019, Mayo Clinic staff, in their Healthy Lifestyle newsletter, wrote that laughter stimulates our hearts, lungs and muscles; stimulates blood circulation and muscle relaxation; improves our immune system and relieves pain.
The Christian faith recognizes humour as a gift from God. Some congregations celebrate the Sunday after Easter as Holy Humour Sunday.
Holy Humour Sunday is a centuries-old tradition of faith communities celebrating ‘God’s Joke’ or ‘the Easter Laugh’ as God surprises everyone with a resurrected Jesus.
The restrictions we have lived under during COVID have been stressful for most of us. Laughter continues to be good medicine during these days of lockdowns and physical distancing.
Cheryl, Crystal and Steve from TMUC’s Music Team joined with Loomis Basin United Church of Christ’s choir in a COVID adjusted ‘How Can I Keep From Singing’ for the Loomis Basin Holy Humour Service.
Perhaps you would like to make an ‘April Resolution’ to laugh more and thank God for our senses of humour!
April can also be a month when we think of brightening up our world with flowers and the good things that grow in our gardens. This is the last week for placing gardening orders through TMUC’s Glenlea Greenhouse fundraiser. The deadline for orders is next Thursday, April 15. Orders will be Delivered to TMUC May 14. You can place your orders at: https://www.glenleagreenhouses.com/collections/fundraiser-2021-home-page
If you have any questions, please email our project coordinators, Cathy and Breanna, at tmucflowers@gmail.com
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. On Sunday at 10, please think about the gifts we have in our lives, and needs of our world, and then 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.
The Prayer List is distributed separately and allows us to remember specific people with our prayers. If you want to receive the Prayer List, or add a name (with their permission), please be in touch.
Again and again we are called to listen to words of reconciliation:
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, April 11, 2021
Introit: “And On This Path”
You call us, O God, to be your people.
Again and again you invite us to journey with Jesus.
Again and again we declare
Christ is Risen,
Christ is Risen indeed!
We come to worship knowing the tomb is empty,
Jesus has been raised from the dead,
Christ is alive!
Hallelujah!
Our opening hymn is “This is the Day That God Has Made”
Esther and Emmett see what’s in an ‘empty’ glass!
Printable Version:
Esther and Emmett_April 11
John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through believing you may have life in his name.
Carol offers a reflection:
Printable Version:
Carol Reflection_April 11
Let us pray:
God, this is Your Easter world!
Thank You!
Thank You for giving us hope in the times when we are discouraged
Thank You for giving us moments of peace when life seems chaotic
Thank You for the friendly voice that disrupts our loneliness
Thank You for the tip of plant stem peeking through the soil
Thank You for the familiar tunes that unexpectedly connect with our souls
Thank You for the life of Jesus, this life that assures us that there is more height and breadth and width and depth to life than we can ever comprehend
And that Your Life dances throughout this life, that at the heart of all Creation of the heart of our loving Creator.
We pray, God, that Your love shape us as loving people
In a spirit of love we pray for healing throughout the world. We pray for all who suffer and all who have lost their spirit of love….
We pray for humanity to be healed of our desire for control and domination; for us to embrace the human diversity that enriches our one human race.
We pray for this global human race as we cope with the Covid pandemic. We pray for a efficient global distribution of vaccinations, and for all people to live wisely and safely.
We pray for a world without war!
We pray for all who live in places of war and conflict. We pray for the people of Myanmar, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
We pray for journalists throughout the world who are threatened and imprisoned for seeking to share truth with the world.
We pray for all whose lives have been impacted by floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other devastating forces. Especially today we pray for the people of St. Vincent in their evacuation efforts.
We pray for so many people whose lives are bound by demons of addiction. We pray for people to seek healing and know supportive communities of family, friends and healers.
We pray for all who are unemployed or underemployed. We pray for all whose lives are bound by poverty. We pray for societies that care for the well-being of all people.
We pray for all who struggle with anxiety, depression and feelings of despair. We pray for healing and for all people to know the peace of Your faithful love in their lives.
God, bless us with faith to believe even when we do not see, and bless us with a faith that sees the Christ in each of us, and to see Your spirit alive throughout all creation.
In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN
Our closing hymn is “He Came Singing Love”
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