Our Lenten journey has begun…
The season of Lent began on Wednesday, traditionally known as Ash Wednesday in the Church.
Ash Wednesday comes 46 days prior to Easter. The numbers are a little confusing, since Lent consists of 40 days – because we don’t count the Sundays during Lent as being part of the ‘season’ of Lent.
The 40-day period reminds us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness discerning the life God was calling him to live.
Lent leads us into Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday!
During Holy Week, we encounter stories of Jesus and his disciples entering Jerusalem with a symbolic procession of hope, then experiencing a growing sense of threat as leaders in the city begin to plot against Jesus. We find ourselves sharing bread and cup with Jesus in an Upper room, followed by the shock of Jesus being arrested. He is questioned, tortured and then executed!
Hope has given way to grief…but then comes Easter – and hope is resurrected!
This world needs a resurrection of hope – as the Russian invasion of Ukraine raises global fears and repercussions, as we begin to emerge into whatever a Post-Covid restricted world may look like, as we seek new lifestyles to restrict the our human impact on climate change.
There is a Choral Prayer for Ukraine sung by Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus. As we #Stand With Ukraine, we share this prayer with you:
As we begin this year’s Lenten journey into hope and into our re-visioned world, we invite you to journey with the question: ‘aRE you REady?’
aRE you REady…
Each Sunday during Lent, we will link a theme word to the scripture reading for that Sunday. Each theme world will begin with the letters “RE’.
aRE you REady for Lent 1 and our theme word – REsist?
Before we get to our worship resources for this week, we engage in the honoured church tradition of ‘Announcements!’:
CHURCH GATHERINGS and NEWS
TMUC’S Annual meeting will be online this Sunday, March 6 at 10:30 p.m. Prior to the meeting, you are invited to an online worship service at 10 a.m. This will be a communion service, so please have bread/crackers and water/juice etc. for the service.
You can join the worship and Annual meeting by using TMUC’s ZOOM link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219
Or you can join by phone. The number to dial is:
204-272-7920
meeting ID number:
753 844 9219
The Annual Report and TMUC’s proposed Environmental Policy can be viewed on our website at www.tmuc.ca. On the homepage, click on ‘News’ and that will take you to the report.
In-person worship will resume at TMUC on Sunday, March 27 at 10 a.m. The TMUC policy on vaccination and masks remains.
We welcome Laura Sechman to the TMUC Staff Team! Laura is our Office Administrator and will be available in the Church Office Tuesday-Friday, 9-12:30 and 1-3.
TMUC’s Glenlea Greenhouse plant sale fundraiser is available for online shopping until April 15, 2022. Get growing with us by supporting the online plant sale by clicking on the link and selecting Transcona Memorial United Church in the drop-down menu at check out.
There are bedding plants, hanging baskets, hanging bags, vegetables, and herbs for sale with 20-25% of profits being returned to TMUC. The more we sell, the more we get back. Please see the link for more information.
https://www.glenleagreenhouses.com/collections/fundraiser-2022-home-page
The plants will be delivered to TMUC on Friday May 13 and pick up usually starts around 4pm. If you require delivery, please contact tmucflowers@gmail.com and we can make arrangements with you.
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(https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/14890), 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, March 6, 2022
Introit: “Holy Sacred Spirit”:
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 ‘On Eagles’ Wings’:
Esther and Emmett talk about ‘The Season of Lent’
Printable Version:
Lent begins for Esther and Emmett
Scripture reading:
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Our second hymn is “Jesus Tempted in the Desert”:
Jeff offers a reflection:
Printable Version:
REsisting in the Wilderness
Let us pray:
God, we begin this season of Lent in a world in pain.
We begin this season of Lent in continuous prayer.
We pray for Ukraine. We pray for the people of Ukraine. We pray for the political leaders of Ukraine. We pray for volunteers going to Ukraine to aid in their defence. We pray for people fleeing Ukraine.
We pray for countries welcoming Ukrainian refugees. We pray for countries imposing sanctions on Russia. We pray for countries offering aid and support to Ukraine.
We pray for the Ukrainian Church congregations of our Transcona community. We pray for the people of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish and the people of All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church. May we all stand and pray together.
We pray…
We pray for an end to the war, to the invasion.
We pray for the safety of Ukrainians.
We pray for the safety of Ukraine.
We pray for peace and for the restoration of Ukraine’s freedom.
We pray…we pray….
We pray that humans learn the ways of peace.
We pray for nations to disarm of nuclear weapons, of weapons of mass destruction, of all weapons of war!
We pray also for this world that is Your creation, God.
We pray as the effects of climate change are felt throughout the globe. We confess that humans have not cared for this world, but have abused and exploited this world.
Now we pray for wisdom and courage and commitment to change our lifestyles, or practices, our patterns of consumption and pollution in order to contribute to the healing of this planet.
We pray, God, for indigenous people throughout Canada as more graves are discovered at the sites of residential schools. We pray with grief, with anger, with regret. We pray that You guide us in the difficult paths of truth-telling, of reconciliation, of healing, and of creating just and compassionate community.
We pray that You give us hearts that are caring, hearts that are just, hearts that seek peace and global friendship.
We pray for all who are hurting in this world.
We pray for the students and staff of Westview school and Prairie Nature Children’s Centre which were damaged by two fires this week and who must relocate. We pray for the students and staff of Radisson School who will share space with Westview. We pray that Prairie Nature Children’s Centre will find a place available for their use.
We pray for all who are ill, whose lives are shaped by diseases of body, mind and emotions.
We pray for all who are victims of discrimination, violence, bullying, abuse and lies.
We pray for all struggle with addictions.
We pray for all who are hungry; for all who are poor; for all who have no home; for all who don’t have access to medical care, or to opportunities for education or employment.
We pray for faith communities to be sources of hope and healing in this world.
We pray…we pray…
God, hear our prayers, and touch us with Your mercy, Your love and Your life of resurrection.
In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN
Our closing hymn is “To the Desert, Jesus Came”:
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