November 24, 2002 - Mission & Outreach Service
Tonight @ 6:30 p.m., Spirit Connection, broadcasting on Vision TV, presents a feature program on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic which has already claimed 20 million lives. Despite the grim statistics, there are hopeful stories about grassroots efforts in other parts of the world that are making a difference. Suzanne Matale of the Christian Council of Zambia will be a featured guest.
If you would like to stay seated for any or all of the “standing” parts of the service, please feel free to do so.
Prelude
A time of silent preparation—Lighting the Christ Candle
Call to Worship – Junior Choir – “Hippity Hop”
One: Let us unite our hearts in prayer.
All: Gentle God, some of us gather to prayer from grieving moods or hurting bodies, from fear of loss or pain. Others of us gather to prayer from joy, excitement and hope. We bring you harmony of lives, a rainbow of feelings, a community of mutual support and profound worship. Amen.
Time with the Young & the young at heart
The Sunday School & Youth leave for their classes.
We Remain in God’s Presence Through Confession
Caring God, we bow before you in thankfulness. Your presence is revealed in many ways. The care and concern of other people, the ever-changing seasons, and the community gathered in this sanctuary, all point to you. Yet we acknowledge that there are times when we may have ignored the needs of your people. Instead of reaching out with love and concern, sometimes we withdrew. Rather than bringing comfort, we may have ignored the deep needs. Forgive us, and help us to share your love…(Silent Confession)
Assurance of Pardon (One)
In this world there is not always fairness, but there is always grace. God’s grace is given freely and abundantly to everyone. Accept this gift and with it God’s forgiveness, healing, and new life.
The resources for this service are taken in part from: Gathering, The United Church of Canada web site, and the Observer.
Get ready for takeoff…
Pilot 1 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Global Village Tours. I’m your pilot, Captain -----, here with your copilot Captain -----. We’re glad that you are able to fly with us today. Preparations are under way for our departure. We will be contacting the tower shortly for clearance. Our flying altitude will be 30,000 feet with no major weather disturbances to report. Our tour today will have us stopping over at Montreal, Korea, Republic of China, & Harare, Zimbabwe, before arriving back here in Medicine Hat, Alberta at Westminster United Church. Thank you for flying Global Village Tours.
Pilots CHECK! Westminster tower, this is Global Village Tours Flight 1901, ready for take-off. Roger, Tower. Taxiing to Runway 10r. Ladies and gentlemen, for your musical entertainment, I invite you to tune in to our in-flight radio station “Voices United” channel #595. You’ll find your head sets in the pouch of the seat in front of you.
Hymn #595 “We are Pilgrims”
Montreal…
Pilot 1 Ladies and gentlemen. We will be landing shortly in the majestic city of Montreal for a brief stopover.
Pilot 2 I just love Montreal. It has so much history in the buildings and the landscape.
Pilot 1 I know what you mean. The last time I was here, I was inspired by a story that I heard about a little girl and her family who have made Montreal their new home after years of oppression in their homeland. I was glad to see the people of Montreal opening their doors to refugees from around the world.
From Lynn
My name is Lynn, I am 13 ½ years old. I live in Montreal with my family, my mother and brothers. My church is a place of worship and prayer to Jesus Christ. I believe that it is important to go to church in order to better learn how to follow God’s teachings.
My school is a learning place where we acquire knowledge and learn how to live in society.
When I was walking along the street during my trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo with my mother, we heard shots from firearms and we ran. When we came back, we saw soldiers who had caught a rebel and they were tying him up. I am afraid of darkness and of boats. (Lynn and her family arrived in Canada as refugees from Congo.)
What I hope for in life is to obtain my college diploma, to serve God my singing, and to become a great and powerful servant of Christ.
Pilot 1 Ladies and Gentlemen, our next destination is Seoul, Korea. I understand that some of you might be having trouble finding a suitable station to listen to on the in-flight radio. Let me save you from wandering all over the dial and direct you to channel #299
Hymn #299 “Teach Me, God, To Wonder”
Seoul, South Korea…
“Conversation between pilots”
Pilot 1 See that package over there?
Pilot 2 Yes, what is it?
Pilot 1 It’s full of presents for the children of the Wildflowers Blooming Community Group Home. It comes from caring people from churches all around the world. It’s to help young people who lead difficult lives growing up without parents.
Pilot 2 The Wildflowers Blooming Community Group Home. Didn’t I read something about that in the papers?
Pilot 1 Yes, it’s a project supported by the Korean Presbyterian Church in partnership with The Korea The Wild Flowers Blooming Community is a program that includes 10 family group homes and an alternate school for children who cannot cope with the regular school system. It is supported by the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, a global partner of the United Church of Canada. Currently there are 47 young people living in the Wild Flowers Blooming Community.
One is Pum-Suk (not his real name). My name is Pum-Suk Cho. I am eight years old. I live near Seoul, Korea. When I was six, my mother went away and I was very sad. My mother’s friend said that is was because my grandmother died. After this, there was no one to make food for me or to clean my clothes.
My dad was away most of the time. He liked to drink and had many girlfriends, but sometimes he laughed and gave me treats and told funny stories. One day my dad did not come home at all. I waited and waited and was very hungry. I stopped going to school and wandered everywhere on the city streets of Seoul.
Now I live in the Wild Flowers Blooming Community. There are other children here and adults who look after us, just like parents. I still miss my father though. I am waiting for him to come and take me home. Her is the letter I wrote to him.
Dear Father;
Hello, Father. Are you well? It’s me, Pum-Suk Cho. I want to see you father. Daddy, please come soon. I love you. Even if things are difficult Daddy, please cheer up. And Daddy, please keep healthy. Daddy, even if you don’t wash the dishes, it’s OK. I will come home and do that for you. You don’t need to wash my clothes or my indoor shoes. I will do my own chores and I will wash my own things.
Your son, Pum-Suk Cho.
Pilot 1 It seems to me that the people of Wildflower Blooming Community are continuing to pass on the Word of God’s goodness that we find in the Bible.
(Read from the New Revised Standard Version)
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separates people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by God, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink” And when was it that we saw you a stranger welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
One: This is the Good News of Jesus Christ
Pilot 2 Once again we will tune into our music station so please turn to channel #567.
Hymn #567 “Will You Come and Follow Me”
Pilot 1 Ladies and Gentlemen, we have clearance to land at Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of China. We will be hearing from one of our United Church missionaries, Gary MacDonald who is living there.
Dear Friends,
Outside my door a small girl from a neighbouring family is singing. Her voice, clear and melodious, echoes through the cement walls of the corridor. In the darkness of that space her voice becomes especially poignant in this evening hour. It is an old folk song that she sings. The story of a young child leading a water buffalo in search of greener pasture. She sings in the local dialect yet the song contains a theme that anyone can understand. It is a song of hope.
I sit at a table correcting compositions from my writing class. The assigned topic is hope.
I read of one student's hope that he can soon graduate, find a job and so ease the financial burden of his family. Then maybe -- just maybe -- his younger brother can return to school. Many families can only afford to educate one. And in doing so may run into heavy financial debt.
A young woman writes of her hope that one day her father will realize that it was the right choice to send a female to college. And her family will know that the money was not just wasted "on a girl".
Someone else writes of her hope that someday there will be no more war and that the children of Afghanistan will be able to go to school. People here know well what it means not to be able to go to school. Not to be able to do.
Christmas is coming. Already the students are asking me if I can tell them about "The Merry Christmas" they have read about in a book. And indeed I will. What greater gift have I ever received than the privilege of telling the wondrous story of the Nativity. To tell it to those who have never heard it before. And we will sing together. Silent Night, Holy Night.
And then here too it will be Christmas. And here too there will be hope. On Christmas Eve I will gather with Christians here in the nearby church. An old building built years ago by those early missionaries who came with their hope. And there in the soft light of candles we will sing.
Pilot 1 Lets’ tune in our music channels again to #600.
Hymn #600 “When I Needed a Neighbour”
Harare, Zimbabwe…
Pilot 1 Ladies and Gentlemen, air traffic control from Zimbabwe has given us the all-clear for landing.
Pilot 2 You know, I’ve heard that this is one of the parts of the world where HIV and AIDS is huge. I know that the United Church is launching a million dollar campaign to help address the growing HIV-AIDS pandemic that is gripping the world. To do this work they need additional financial support to supplement the money they already receive from the Mission and Service Fund. I read in the last Observer a story about a women named Marion. Part of this article said:
From Harare, Zimbabwe.
Marion died when she was 28. She lived in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. She was slim, attractive, cheerful and competent. One day at tea she said that she wanted to have a baby, that an African woman’s life was incomplete without children. So she got pregnant quite deliberately. And just as inexorably she got the virus we cal HIV.
Almost immediately, Marion started getting thin, having terrible headaches, sinus problems, and a host of “minor ailments”. He slim figure became stick-like except for the increasingly visible tummy of her first baby. Then she began missing work, too exhausted to get up. Finally she could go to the office no more.
The last time Marion was seen she was in a print shop: noisy, dirty and hot.
Marion was very sick and she needed to bring her sister from Cape Town but had no money. She was given money by a worker who was happy to help. She left that meeting slowly holding onto a friend’s arm, looking twice her age, to cash the cheque. It was Friday. The baby was born on Sunday and Marion died. The baby survived and lives today with one of Marion’s sisters.
HOME…
Pilot 1 Ladies and Gentlemen, as we now make our way back to Medicine Hat, Alberta on the final leg of our journey, we would like to thank you for flying with Global Village Tours. It has been our pleasure to have you aboard.
Pilot 2 You know I like to visit different parts of the world, but I always love that first view of Canadian soil on the return trip. Whether it’s the East Coast or the West Coast it doesn’t matter. I just like the feeling of being home. It’s the best country in the world to live in.
Pilot 2 I know what you mean. There’s nothing like coming home. It seems
we take so much for granted. Sometimes it takes looking at the world through someone else’s eyes to realise what we have right here at home.
What the United Church is doing for AIDS.
Our stories from around the world are part of world outreach and aide from the United Church or from one of our global partners.
The last story we heard about Marion was an excerpt from last months Observer the United Church Magazine. Here in Canada the United church has launched “The Beads of Hope Campaign”. This is a fundraising, awareness raising, and advocacy campaign to respond to the HIV/AIDS global pandemic. Over the next two years (Dec. 2002 – Dec. 2004), it is hoped that: One million dollars will be raised to support global partner responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis; the church at all levels will increase its awareness of and engagement in HIV/AIDS related issues; we will, together, take action to improve policies which impact the lives of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS has reached pandemic proportions in Africa, where the virus is the leading killer in the region claiming 2.3 million lives so far, with 3.4 million people being infected in 2001 alone.
The United Church of Canada is in partnership with councils of churches, denominations, and non-governmental agencies in more than 40 countries around the world. Partners have developed programs, expertise, and become prominent national actors in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. As partners, they receive ongoing support through the Mission and Service Fund (M & S), but the need is beyond the support that is possible through (M & S).
Congregational involvement in “The Beads of Hope Campaign” is vital to reaching these goals. All congregations are invited, in whatever way they can, to become involved in this campaign.
Because this is the beginning of AIDS Awareness week and our Mission and Outreach service we thought it would be a good day to introduce this campaign. The insert in your bulletin this morning will give more detail as to what this all about and where the money goes and to get your money there. At least 80% of the funds to be disbursed to global partners will support United Church partners in Africa and up to 20% of the funds to be disbursed will support global partner work in the area of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia.
We have envelopes this morning if you wish to send money now. We will continue to have envelopes for you over the next two years for a time when you wish to send money for this cause. This offering is over and above what we send to the Mission and Service Fund.
Affirmation of Faith
As God’s people from all points of the world, we come together as one people to celebrate our faith. I invite you to stand and join in re-affirming our faith with A New Creed that is printed in the bulletin. We live in God’s world.
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
We Respond In Giving And Gratitude
Offertory
God, you have changed our lives and called us to come from the mountain into the streets with Jesus. We make this offering to serve Christ’s mission of bringing the good news of your enduring love and forgiveness.
Hymn #424 “May the God of Hope Go with Us”
Commissioning
Go our into the world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak, and help the suffering; honour all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Choral Amen
#298 “When You Walk From Here”
When you walk from here, when you walk from here.
Walk with justice, walk with mercy, and with God’s humble care.
Postlude
The Life And Work Of The Congregation
Salvation Army Supper Soup Swap - Thurs. Nov 28th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in the Thrift Store Parking Lot. For more information, see the Memorial Hall bulletin board.
“Buy Nothing Day” – Nov. 29th, unofficial “opening day” of the Christmas frenzy. Over consumption is the mother of all environmental problems. Will you add your voice? Go on a consumer fast. (For further information, please contact Marg Smith - Unisphere)
Dec. 1 - Men Singers will meet in the Sanctuary following worship.
Sun. Dec. 1st will be Food Bank Sunday – items that are suggested for donation are: canned tomatoes, tuna, crackers, cereal, macaroni & cheese and personal hygiene items. All donations gratefully accepted.
The next communion service will be Sun.,Dec.1, “Advent I”.
World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil – Sun Dec. 1st @ 7:00 p.m. at the Pavilion at Echo Dale Park. Anyone needing a ride, please call the AID’s office at 527-7099.
Camp Okonoki Meeting – Sun. Dec. 1 @ 2:00 p.m. in the Lounge.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joyce & Keith Scott following the passing of Joyce’s sister, Edna Bryden.
Flowers are placed in the Sanctuary this morning
in loving memory of
Jay Smith
from
Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Grandparents
Next Week’s Readings from: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
Thought For Today
Personally I’m always ready to learn.
Although I do not always like being taught.
by Winston Churchill