Sunday
Feb. 9, 2020 / 12:30PM
Fifth Sunday of Epiphany (Year A)
Knox United Church
Liturgy
Greg Glatz / Liz Rees
Table
Brenda Arndt
Music
Heather Adam
Sound
Niall Vos
Take it easy and slow in these short days, as you best know
All the rivers and gentle pines are whisperin' sure and quiet
You are a shinin' light, a shinin' light
I wonder with all my heart where love goes when times get hard
Does it wander and does it roam 'til it finds in you a home?
You are a shinin' light, a shinin' light
When the moment gets dark and heavy you know you are not alone
You are a shinin' light
Take your troubles and take your trials
Ride that train babe, hard and wild
You're a rocket, a gleaming star
Singin' hymns in a one man choir
You are a shinin' light, a shinin' light
We are all treaty people, and we meet today on Treaty 7 land that we we share with all our relations.
Knox United Church is an Affirming congregation in the United Church of Canada. If you’re lesbian, gay, bi, trans, two-spirited, queer, and/or straight––we affirm and celebrate who you are!
Water makes pavement glitter
And slips through the soles of old shoes
While power lines hum
Chickadees somehow stay in tune
Smell the rain
I get it under my tongue
Ain’t no tap gonna give that taste to anyone
I saw flowers in the alley
You saw a bar
Maybe that shows just how different we are
I almost asked if you’d been
Rolling your pain in cigarettes
watching It burn to ash
time and time again
Well I did that with grief in some way
Till I realized I was just coughing
and feeling the same
And I’ve been thinking lately
That the spotlight is just lonely
How the days ain’t worth much
If we’re just taking our stories
Rolling them up
And watching the burning
It’s such a fickle thing
I wonder what I can do
To show a different shade to you
Without breaking down
The colour you choose
Rain makes rivers on my sleeve
That drip down to puddles big
Streaming to the bow
There's Wisdom in there,
Its just a kind I don’t know
Salt of the earth
Oh I’m sure you heard
In a wooden pew childhood
Or read it in a thick book
And I don’t know what I believe
But he must’ve laced our tears with
It for some reason
It’s been awhile since you’ve shown me a bruise
From living life fully with nothing to prove
The rain smells like rich earth, like a reaching rose garden
It’s turning pavement to late night diamonds
I say you can’t buy that
You can’t buy this
And all you can say
Is “I hate being wet”
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. –– Margaret Mead
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. –– Martin Luther King, Jr. (minister/civil rights leader, 1929-1968)
All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. –– Francis of Assisi (1181-1226, founder of the Franciscan order)
Often you can see power lines running alongside the street. Unless current is flowing through them, there is no light. The power line is you and I! The current is God! We have the power to allow the current to flow through us and thus to generate the light of the world––Jesus––or to refuse to be used and, thus, allow the darkness to spread. –– Mother Teresa (1910-1997, founder of the Missionaries of Charity)
People who are the salt of the earth get up and go to a job that they hate. –– Gene Simmons (rock music/business icon, b.1949)
Nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even if it is the salt of the earth. –– Rebecca West (Irish author, 1892-1983)
Matthew 5:13-17
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”
"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
If you find yourself
Weeping with willows and birch
Take comfort in the bowing branches
How they reach down to the ground
Looking at you as if you’re some heaven
Like you’re a sunny day, golden
If you lose your kite
Tip your hat to the wind
Say under your breath
You gave it as a gift
Let it sink in
Let that sink in
If you find yourself with a pen
Eager to speak but feeling nothing
From the writing
Keep going till your hands aching
Because sweetheart
Only time knows
What you’re on the way to making
If you find yourself
Cut trying to jump a fence
Put on a bandage
And start climbing
Sweet peas do it slow
And rising up and blooming
Is all they know
If you find yourself
Weeping with willows and birch
Take comfort in the bowing branches
How they reach down to the ground
Looking at you as if you’re some heaven
Like you’re a sunny day, golden
This time is for you. We encourage you to be courageous and vulnerable by going inward and asking God to move.
You are invited to light a candle, make an offering, and eat the bread and grapes. Every part of this table is open to you. Every part of this table is optional.
Well the road is wide
And waters run on either side
And my shadow went with fading light
Stretching out towards the night
'Cause the sun is low
And I yet have still so far to go
My lonely heart is beating so
Tired of the wonder
There's a sign ahead
Though I think it's the same one again
But I'm thinking 'bout my only friend
And so I find my way home
'Cause when I need to get home
You're my guiding light
You're my guiding light
Oh, well the air is cold
And yonder lies my sleeping soul
By the branches broke like bones
Well, this weakened tree no longer holds
Well, the night is still
And I have not yet lost my will
Oh and I will keep on moving 'till
'Till I find my way home
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.
"A New Creed" is an affirmation of faith used widely in the worship services of the United Church of Canada. It was originally adopted in 1968 by the 23rd General Council. Originally known as "A Contemporary Expression of Christian Faith," it began with the line "Man is not alone." It was amended in 1980 to make its language inclusive, and again in 1995 to add the words "to live with respect in Creation."
The creed is not meant to replace the ancient Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, but to act as a supplement to these statements of faith.
Questions? Suggestions?
Contact Greg Glatz at gregglatz@kxcalgary.com or 403-269-8382.
PAX at Knox is an emerging ministry of Knox United Church.