The Life And Work Of The Congregation
January 19, 2003 - Membership Sunday
Special Guests - TarTones
Through each reading this week, the theme resounds: hope comes from unexpected places. Not matter who we are, God calls us to see and know in unusual ways. Where are the places that God’s word is rare? Where is the lamp just barely burning? Things that may be hidden to us are not hidden to God, or to those who have eyes to see.
If you would like to stay seated for any or all of the “standing” parts of the service, please feel free to do so.
Hymn Sing
A time of silent preparation—Lighting the Christ Candle
Call to Worship (Responsive)
One: God, you are here for us.
All: you give us security in an uncertain world.
One: You encourage us to sing new songs;
All: you joyfully set our worship free.
One: You challenge us as we go on the journey of life;
All: it is your gracious way that leads to fulfillment.
One: There is no end to the love you lavish on us;
All: we know your love is there for us, in time and beyond time.
One: Our happiness comes through trusting God;
All: God enables us to put life’s lessons into practice.
One: Our peacefulness comes through trusting God;
All: God gives us calm in the midst of life’s storms.
One: Our courage comes through trusting God;
All: with faith in God, we know a confidence that cannot fail.
One: Our community grows through trusting God;
All: God is present in every welcome and is known as friendship grows and deepens. Amen.
Hymn #820 “Make a Joyful Noise”
Time with the Young & the young at heart
The Sunday School & Youth leave for their classes.
We Remain in God’s Presence Through Confession
One: The call that comes to us to serve God is sometimes in an unexpected form..
All: Have we been alert to the ways and people through which God’s call to serve has come?
One: The call to serve comes sometimes at an inconvenient time.
All: Have we missed God’s call because we have been busy with other activities?
One: The call to serve God we hear clearly, but there are times when we fail to understand the message.
All: Have we checked out God’s call with a trusted friend or family member?
One: The call to serve God is often a call to venture into new territory.
All: Have we the courage to break free from our self-imposed boundaries in order to serve the local and wider faith community? Have we the courage to bring a Christian approach to our workplace and social groups…(time of reflection)
Assurance of Pardon (Responsive)
One: The Word of God continues to be heard.
All: In the sharpening of our listening skills, with fresh insight into your call, in a determination to serve faithfully, you define our discipleship.
One: Pardon and peace are yours. Know it; believe it!
All: Thanks be to God! Amen.
Reception of New Members By Transfer
& Reaffirmation of Faith
Alice Brehmer, Chair of Visitation & Membership: We now welcome into this congregation persons who have already been members of the United Church of Canada and have served within other congregations or who are making a renewed commitment this day.
I, therefore, present to you: Doris Kornelson, Ed Kornelson and Margaret Shirkie so that they may be received into this congregation.
James: I ask you, therefore, before God and these people, do you profess anew your faith in God who has created you, in Jesus Christ the Word made flesh, and in the Holy Spirit, your Teacher and Guide?
Answer: I do.
James: Do you declare your intention to join with the people of Westminster United Church as we seek the presence of God among us through study and prayer; and do you now express your hope to enter into the life and work of this church as you support it with your gifts and share in its mission to all people?
Answer: I do, God being my helper.
James: Let us rise to receive these new members. (Congregation stands)
Cong: In the name of Jesus Christ we welcome you to the privileges and responsibilities of membership in this congregation. Be among us as eager participants in worship, join with us as seekers after truth and walk with us as co-workers in the struggle for the kingdom of God.
All: As God has called us, we pledge to you our friendship,
our help and our prayers.
One: God who makes all things new, affirming your promises and renewing our hopes, we give thanks for Doris Kornelson, Ed Kornelson and Margaret Shirkie who have been moved this day to declare again the faith that stirs within them. Give us all a renewed vision of your purposes and use our strengths and our weaknesses as our gift to you. For the promise of the gift of peace that we meet in your presence we give you thanks and praise through Christ who makes us one. Amen.
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.
Biblical Notes
The Lord appears to Samuel
Jesus calls Philip and Nathaniel (Read from the New Revised Standard Version)
One: This is the Good News of Jesus Christ
Hymn #380 “She Comes Sailing on the Wind”
Bring on the cake! Bring on the celebrations! This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Mission and Service Fund. This means that the M&S Fund is one of Canada’s longest existing charitable funds.
It began in 1928 and was called the Missionary and Maintenance Fund. Today, as the Mission and Service Fund, or M&S, it funds an enormous amount of varied work, supported totally by voluntary gifts from the people of the United Church.
Gifts to the Mission and Service Fund since 1928 have exceeded $973,000,000. This money is spent in hundreds of different ways – schooling for orphan girls in Africa, emergency assistance in global crises, ongoing work for women’s rights in Guatemala, soup kitchens in Regina, a Deaf School in St. John’s, emergency shelters in Toronto, small, struggling congregations in the north of Alberta, ministry training, hospital chaplains, and operating the national office to enable all this work. This later includes developing policies around housing, gambling, energy concerns, and refugees, joining worldwide coalitions to demand human rights and justice, and joining the fight to clean up the environment. All of it is paid for with gifts to Mission and Service. The Mission and Service Fund is about all the work of the church.
Here is a quote from Manitou Conference’s Mission and Service Fund video: “The Mission and Service Fund – it’s who we are and what we do. Without it the United Church would not be. It’s as simple as that!”
So, Happy Anniversary Mission and Service Find. And thank you for continuing to make it happen!
We Respond In Giving And Gratitude
Offertory: TarTones
Bless us as we work out our faith in community: in our gathering together, in our praising, in our learning, in our supporting, in our speaking out, in our keeping silent, in our serving, and in our giving. Bless these offerings, which enliven this community of faith and faith communities far from here.
Hymn #375 “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness”
Commissioning
Go forth, for the love of God is yours to share, the peace of Christ is yours to extend, the power of the Holy Spirit is yours to offer.
Choral Amen
#884 “You Shall Go Out With Joy”
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
the mountains and the hills will break forth before you;
there'll be shouts of joy, and all the trees of the field
will clap, will clap their hands!
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands, (clap, clap)
the trees of the field will clap their hands, (clap, clap)
the trees of the field will clap their hands (clap, clap)
while you go out with joy.
Postlude: the TarTones will share two pieces as postlude
The Life And Work Of The Congregation
This Week at Westminster (Jan. 19 - 25)
Sun. Trustees 9:00 a.m. Shalom sign rm
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
Membership Sunday
Special guests - TarTones
Dinner Theatre meeting in Sanctuary following worship
Tues. M & O 1:30 p.m. Lounge
Wed. Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Shalom sign rm
Thurs. No Senior choir practise
Sat. Clelland/Stokke wedding
Next Week at Westminster (Jan. 26 – Feb. 2)
Sun. Christian Development 9:00 a.m. Shalom sign rm
Potluck lunch followed by Annual General Meeting
Tues. Ministry & Personnel 4:30 p.m. Lounge
Wed. Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Shalom sign rm
Visitation & Membership 1:30 p.m. Lounge
Thurs. No Senior choir practise
Friendship Rosters: Please sign the Friendship Roster this morning. It is a helpful record of your worship presence and a way to share special concerns (ie. prayer requests, name tag requests, etc.).
Name Tags – if you have requested a name tag please check the alphabetized trays under the large stained glass window and if one is not there, make a note on the friendship roster.
If you know of anyone in hospital or in need of a visit, please indicate on the friendship roster or call the office 526-5247.
DINNER THEATRE, ANYONE?? We've all had so much fun in the past with our Dinner Theatres, we think it's time we do it again!! ALL people who are interested in helping in any way (plan, act, direct, prompt, backstage, makeup, costumes, decorate, meal plan & preparation etc) are invited to a planning meeting today in the sanctuary after worship.
The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held next Sunday, Jan. 26, beginning with a potluck lunch immediately following worship. This is the time that we take to review the past years work, show our appreciation to those who contributed to that work and make plans for the coming year. Your contribution is most important, please plan on attending. Bring your copy of the Annual Report to this meeting. (Reports are available at the back of the Sanctuary or on the ramp-one per family please.)
Food contributions for the pot luck lunch will be as follows:
Ross Glen & Southridge – desserts
Crestwood, Hill, Flats and
Crescent Heights – sandwiches (1/2 a loaf)
Others – pickles or any of the above.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – @ 9:30 a.m. We use “Seasons of the Spirit” as a guide. All are welcome, very informal.
Youth Confirmation - Interested youth (grades 9 and up) call Jane at 526-5247.
Linnea Good in Concert – Tues. Jan. 28 @ 7:30 p.m. at Brooks United Church. For ticket information call 403-362-3637.
Westminster United Church Stationery - 25 sheets/pkg (1 pkg: $2.00; 3 pkgs: $5.00) available from the office during the week.
2002 Tax Receipts will be available for pickup in Memorial Hall following the service. Please pick them up from the person at the desk.
Year 2003 Offering Envelopes. Your offering envelopes for the year 2003 are available in the Narthex. When you pick them up please check the number on your label with the envelope number to be sure they are the same.
Borderline 4-H Club collects used computer ink cartridges with proceeds going to the Canadian Diabetes Association (this includes both inkjet and laser). These may be dropped off in the designated box on the ramp leading from the Sanctuary.
Share ministry as Greeters, Ushers and Coffee Hosts - if you are interested in participating, please call Grace Lemon 528-3662, or contact the office.
Pictorial Directories – If you had your photo taken, your directory is available from the office during the week. If you would like to purchase a directory, they are available during the week for $5.00.
Share ministry through our Nursery – Our church family is in need of volunteers to look after the Nursery on Sunday mornings. This is a good outreach that allows our young mothers to have one hour to sit in church and worship. If you feel you don’t want to do this alone, please find a “buddy” to work with you. There is a sign-up sheet in the nursery, or contact Linda Nikoleychuk @ 527-9028 or the church office 526-5247.
People interested in receiving the Observer, please submit your subscription fee or request prior to January 29. There is an envelope included with your regular envelopes, or found at the back of the Sanctuary.
Healing Pathway Phase 1 training - Feb. 7-9 @ Midlands United Church (Calgary) cost $100.00. For further information, contact June at the church office 526-5247.
Flowers are placed in the Sanctuary this morning
in loving memory of
son, David
&
parents, Ralph & Lydia Hamm
by
Doreen Lyon
and in loving memory of
Herb Zollner
by
the family
South Alberta Presbytery
Your prayers this week are requested for Rev. George Edmonds and Brooks Pastoral Charge.
Sunday School Co-ordinator..................................... Marg Taylor
Greeters............. BJ Maddaford, Sharon Clay, Eleanor Townsend
Ushers................................................. Pat Connell, Marg Taylor,
.................................................... Sandra Oancia, Maureen Oster
Nursery Attendant................................................. Joyce Shannon
Coffee Hosts.......................................... Yvonne Hole, June Reid,
.......................................................Weta Rachinsky, Sharon Clay
Scripture Reader...................................................... Dave Luyten
Cantor................................................................ Weta Rachinsky
Elder-in-Charge..................................................... Alice Brehmer
Next Week’s Readings from: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:5-12;
1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20, W
Thought For Today
What you do not want done to yourself,
do not do to others.
Confucius, The Confucian Analects
Renew your faith in television…
Sunday evenings – 6:30 p.m. on Vision TV
Produced by United Church Television, Spirit Connection is a broadcast presence unique to The United Church of Canada and its partners around the world. Royal Orr, an active United Church layperson, hosts Spirit Connection.
If you don’t get Vision TV, Spirit Connection programs can be borrowed from AVEL. Or you can purchase copies from UCRD. Spirit Connection is made possible by the Mission and Service Fund.
January 19 - All that Glitters
The latest rush for gold is seriously disrupting the indigenous people of the Philippines. Already marginalized in their homeland, they now face the arrival, en masse, of small independent miners, keen to make their fortunes, and Canadian mining companies with larger operations.
January 26 - Striking the Anvil: Mozambique
Mozambique - a country still battling the vestiges of colonialism and a brutal internal war that lasted 17 years. Recent droughts and floods have added to the woes of a people left with little in the way of resources to rebuild their lives. Yet, in spite of this, the people of Mozambique have continued to tackle their problems head on. This documentary tells the story of their beloved country and its commitment to, against all odds, shake the shackles of repression, globalization and poverty. (R)
Summary of the Board of Elders Meeting
January 14, 2003
We are journeying together in God’s love . . .
to discover, nurture and share our gifts.
The meeting of the Board took place January 14, 2003 at Westminster United Church with 17 Elders, and James in attendance.
Janet Kruijer, a member of the Discernment Committee for Inquirer, Margaret McCulley, reported to the Board concerning Marg’s Discernment. A motion was made, seconded, and carried by the Board, that the Joint Board of Westminster Congregation in South Alberta Presbytery District, having reviewed the application of Margaret McCulley to be received as a candidate for Ordained Minister (in-training) and having received the report of the Discernment Committee do hereby make the following recommendation; we support the application believing she to be genuinely called and suitable for ministry in the United Church of Canada.
Covenant for Mission: We, the members of Westminster United Church, commit ourselves to support the Mission and Service Fund through education of our people and by setting our covenant of $20,000.00 to the mission and ministry of The United Church of Canada in 2003.
** Of note: On the 2002 statistics forms, our Pastoral Charge listed 267 identifiable givers, of whom 109 gave to the Mission and Service Fund. In 2003 we hope to increase the number of Mission and Service Fund givers of our church to 120.
We look forward to seeing as many parishioners as possible at the Annual Meeting, scheduled for immediately following January 26, 2003 Worship.
Sometimes we forget to give thanks to God
for just how fortunate we are.
We enjoy our many freedoms;
our personal safety,
three nourishing meals a day (at least),
warm housing, sufficient clothing,
just a few things we take for granted.....
Yours in faith,
Marilynn Piotrowski,
Chairperson.