Perhaps angels …
Perhaps angels sometimes use wings to move from place to place.
Perhaps they sometimes use a snow grader – at least, they do in Winnipeg.
Those of us living in Winnipeg know that it snowed A LOT in the city during January.
A lot of snow meant that the city periodically sent snow graders to clear the streets.
Clearing the streets of snow is accomplished by pushing the snow to the sides of streets and onto the edge of the grass areas bordering the cures. Here the snow creates increasingly higher snowbanks.
In front of TMUC’s building, this resulted not only in snowbanks along the street, but deep snowbanks across the two paved entry ways leading to the building (one in front the sanctuary entrance and one in front of the entrance to the Community Extension section of the building).
Which brings us to our angel!
A member of the Building and Property Team shared this message with the other team members (Note: as you read this, remember that the word ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good News!):
“Good news, with this last major snow fall I was by the church today and wondered how we were going to have the snow removed from the front of the CE Bldg. and the front entrance of the sanctuary. I was sitting looking at the snow and along came a grader from the city who was clearing the fire hydrants. She stopped and said that her boss gave her instructions to clear both entrances as well and would that be ok.”
Yes, sometimes angels drive snow graders!
Sometime this week, say a word of thanks for the angels who have shown up in your life!
For some of the younger angels in our lives, there is ZOOM Sunday School with Brenda this Sunday at 9:30 a.m.! Here’s the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219
We are thankful for the grace and blessing of everyone engaging with us on this COVID-19 journey. We are grateful to share ministry with you and really appreciate your efforts to stay in touch and to continue to care about TMUC with your prayers and your financial support.
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.
Donations on PAR (note: the PAR program now accepts monthly credit card donations as well as automatic monthly bank withdrawals), Canada Helps, e-transfers to the church’s email address: tmuc@shaw.ca, and cheques mailed to the church 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.
As we share this week’s TMUC worship service, we are called again to listen to our faith community’s 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, February 6, 2022
Introit: “Joy is now in Every Place”:
Come, Holy Spirit!
Come to awaken our faith,
to inspire our hope
to embolden our love
and to let Christ live in us!
Come, Holy Spirit!
Today’s opening hymn is ‘Live Into Hope’:
Esther and Emmett talk about ‘Fishing With Jesus’
Printable Version:
Esther and Emmett – Feb 6
Scripture readings:
1 Corinthians 15:1-10
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand ,through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you–unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them–though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who are partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Carol offers a reflection:
Printable Version:
Carol reflection – Feb 6
Hymn: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You:
Let us pray:
God, give us faith and give us courage
whenever it is that we experience the invitation
to be Jesus’ companions.
Give us faith and give us courage,
because we know how Jesus invited those
first companions, those first disciples.
Jesus invited them to lower their nets,
to lower their defensiveness,
to lower their fear, their certainty, their doubt…
to lower their hopes into the depths,
into the deep places
into the places that we cannot see,
cannot control, cannot predict.
God, give us faith and courage to
let go of our familiar and trust
that in the depths of life,
in the deep, unseen places,
there is life,
there is creation,
there is more than experience alone anticipates.
Give us faith and courage
to respond to the invitations to be with Christ
in our lives and during this time in history.
We pray for this world during this time in history.
We pray for peace.
We pray for an end to conflicts and violence.
We pray for the people of the Ukraine, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the people of Myanmar.
We pray for peace in Ottawa. We pray for those who wish to protest to do so in non-violent ways. We pray that citizens of Ottawa feel safe and be kept safe.
We pray for everyone experiencing severe weather. We pray for communities in South Australia who have experienced flooding.
We continue to pray for COVID vaccines to be available globally. We pray that soon we can again gather safely in-person and in-community. We pray for the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of everyone as we continue to cope with this pandemic.
We pray for everyone participating in the Winter Olympics.
We pray for Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee as monarch of the Commonwealth.
God, give us faith and courage to share Your love and to proclaim the hope and healing embodied in Jesus.
We pray in the name and spirit of Jesus, the Christ. AMEN
Our closing hymn is “Lord Jesus, You Shall be my Song”
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,
Jeff and Carol