Fifth Sunday of Creation TimeService of Worship for October 10, 2010: Thanksgiving Sundayby Michel Gadoury The GatheringScripture: Deuteronomy 26:9“[A]nd he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Call to Worship(Project a picture of a snowflake, representing God’s creation/fractals from chaos theory..) Eternity is now. Cosmos, creation, you and I: The earth is our Promised Land. Creation is yielding her abundance. Opening PrayerGod of abundance, Hymn of Praise“Ev’ry Day Is a Day of Thanksgiving” (More Voices 185) Children’s Moment: “The Three Sisters”(Project a picture of squash growing on vine.) · We all know what corn is and what beans are, right? Do you like them? · Do you know what squash is? (Point out picture of squash and marvel at how it grows.) · Our Indigenous people knew how to plant these vegetables. · They called them “the three sisters,” and here is why. · Before Europeans came to their land, the Indigenous people learned to plant all three seeds in one hole. · The corn stalk grew tall and strong so the beans could wind all around it as they grew. · The beans gave nitrogen to the soil as they grew, and that helped the squash and corn grow. · The squash grew big, big leaves that kept the soil cool and moist. · And corn, beans, and squash last a long, long time without being in a refrigerator, so they fed the Indigenous people into the winter when nothing else grew. · So corn, beans, and squash help one another to grow, and they help feed the people as part of God’s good creation. · When the Europeans came, the Indigenous people taught them how to grow the three sisters and so helped feed the Europeans too. Prayer of ConfessionGenerous God, Assurance of PardonLet us remember we are, all of us, Response to the Assurance of Pardon“All Creatures of Our God and King,” verse 5 (VU 217)
The ListeningScripture ReadingsDeuteronomy 26:1–11 Sermon: “Great and Promised Lands”(Project a picture of the painting “The First Thanksgiving” or the video “Thanksgiving through Native Eyes.” See Suggestions for Visual Display at the end of this service.) Deuteronomy 26:1“When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it…” · In the 15th century, Europeans began to settle in the “new” continent. · This Promising Land was both beautiful and bountiful! · The first settlers, however, did not know how to live in and with it. · Indigenous peoples came to their rescue. · However, the settlers knowingly and fearsomely turned against the Indigenous people, slaughtering them and pushing them off their land. · As if that was not enough, the settlers’ diseases decimated 95 percent of the Indigenous population. · Compare this with the story of the Israelites occupying Canaan. · Whose land is it? How might we show our gratitude for it today? Deuteronomy 26:11“Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.” · In the 20th century, we apologized to the Indigenous populations. · We apologized for our ignorance and abuses and now strive to work out right relationships with them. · In The United Church of Canada, Indigenous members are living in a period of discernment, seeking how they can be part of our denomination. Non-Indigenous United Church peoples must wait patiently for their decisions. · How might we see this period as part of “all the good things” we have here in Canada? · What does it mean to rejoice in these “good things”? · How strong is our sense that God has given us these “things”? John 6:33“For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” · Little by little we realize that our Promised Land is not only our city/town and our country but the entire planet and all its peoples: We are all one interconnected and small yet important part of God’s wonderful cosmos · We can think of the earth as Christ’s body feeding the world. · We are a part of Christ’s body and depend on him for our very life. · Yet the earth is being depleted on our altar of the economy. · We can no longer claim that we do not know what we are doing. · We need to work for justice and harmony for all. · How truly thankful are we? · How might or do we express that thankfulness? Hymn of Faith“Draw the Circle Wide” (MV 145) Prayer of Thanksgiving and SupplicationThank you, generous God, for May we be truly thankful. The Lord’s PrayerHymn of Departure“Into the Unshaped Silence” (VU 305) Commissioning for MissionGod’s energetic love connects us BenedictionMay the blessing of Suggestions for Visual DisplayIf you have access to Facebook you can download photos for this service from www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036156&id=1247823918&saved#!/album.php?aid=2036156&id=1247823918. Children’s Moment: squash for “the three sisters” Call to Worship: snowflake, symbolizing God’s creation and chaos theory/fractals Sermon Suggestions: • “Thanksgiving through Native Eyes,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCt1w0VfBIM&NR=1, 3 min. 50 sec. or • “The First Thanksgiving,” painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_First_Thanksgiving_Jean_Louis_Gerome_Ferris.png Commissioning for Mission: spider web, symbolizing cosmic interconnection Michel Gadoury est un nouveau membre de l’Église Unie. Ses intérêts sont l’Écologie, les nouvelles technologies et le français.
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