37th Moderator (2000-2003)

Worship Service for the Moderator's Day of Justice, Healing and Reconciliation (2001)

The following worship service opened the October 1998 meeting of the General Council Executive. At that meeting a report was made by members of the Executive who had visited Port Alberni, B.C., the site of one of the United Church related residential schools. For the Executive the meeting was a time of reflection with regard to what it means for the church to be on a journey of repentance. In the course of its meeting the Executive asked the Moderator to apologize for the role of The United Church of Canada in the Indian Residential Schools system.

Congregations are invited to use any part of this liturgy which they wish during their worship services.

Opening Worship

Greeting

Grace, mercy and peace from God,
And the love of Jesus Christ, be with you
And also with you.

Bless the Holy One, O my soul;
Forget not all God's benefits.
Who forgives all your inequity,
Who heals all your diseases.
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lasting love and mercy.
Who satisfies you with good as long as you live,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Jesus said: ask, and it will be given you;
Search, and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened for you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
And everyone who seeks will find
For everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Invocation

"O Great Spirit" (VU 239)

Let us pray:

One

We pray that someday an arrow will be broken--
Not in something or someone--
But by each of humankind,
To indicate peace with one another, not violence.

Two

Someday, oneness with creation,
Rather than domination over creation and created beings,
Will be the goal to be respected.

Three

Someday fearlessness to love
and to make a difference will be experienced by all.

All:

Then the eagle will carry our prayer for peace and love,
So that all communities can sit in the same circle together,
To communicate in love,
And experience the presence
Of the Great Mystery in the midst.
Someday can be today for you and me. Amen.

Hymn 619 "Healer of our every ill"

Confession

O Christ,
In whose body was named all the violence of the world,
And in whose memory is contained our profoundest grief,

We lay open to you:
The violence done in our name in time before memory;
The unremembered wounds we have inflicted;
The injuries we cannot forget
And for which we have not been forgiven.
The remembrance of them is grievous to us;
The burden of them is intolerable.

We lay open to you:
Those who have pursued a violent knowledge
The world cannot forget;
Those caught up in violence they have refused to name;
Those who have enacted violence
Which they have not repented.
The remembrance of them is grievous to us;
The burden of them is intolerable.

We lay open to you:
The victims of violence whose only memorial is our anger;
Those whose suffering was sustained on our behalf;
Those whose continued oppression provides the ground
We stand on;
The remembrance of them is grievous to us;
The burden of them is intolerable.

Hear what comfortable words our saviour Christ says
To all who truly turn to God:

Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy-laden,
And I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.
For I am gentle and lowly in heart,
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

We wholeheartedly repent
Of the evil we have done,
And of the evil done on our behalf;
And we look for grace to offer forgiveness,
And to know ourselves forgiven.

Assurance of pardon

In Jesus Christ,
God knows and receives us as we are.
Give thanks,
And live in the amazing grace of God.

Act of praise

"Amazing Grace" (vv. 1,2) VU 266
(Sung in the language of your choice)

Service of the Table

In the name of the One who said, "I am the bread of life,"
Invite you to come and eat.
In the name of the One who said, "I am the true vine,"
I invite you to come and drink.
In the name of the One who said,
"Love one another, as I have loved you,"
I invite you to the table of Jesus Christ.

O holy Wisdom of our God,
Eternally offensive to our wisdom,
And compassionate toward our weakness,
We praise you and give you thanks,
Because you emptied yourself of power
And entered our struggle,
Taking upon you our unprotected flesh.
You opened wide your arms for us upon the cross,
Becoming scandal for our sake,
That you might sanctify even the grave
To be a bed of hope to your people.

Therefore, with those
Who are made refugees in their own land,
Abandoned or betrayed by friends,
Whose bodies are violated or in pain;
With those who have died alone
Without dignity, comfort, or hope;
And with all the company of saints
Who have carried you in their wounds,
We join to praise you, saying:

Holy, holy, holy, vulnerable God.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed in the one who comes in the name of God.
Hosanna is the highest.

Blessed is our brother, Jesus,
Who, before his suffering, earnestly desired
To eat with his companions the passover of liberation;
Who on the night that he was betrayed,
Took bread, gave thanks. broke it, and said:
"This is my body which is for you.
Do this to remember me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying:
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood;
Do this, whenever you drink it,
To remember me."

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
We are proclaiming Christ's death until he comes.
In this communion,
We restore to memory and hope
The broken and unremembered victims of tyranny and sin;
And we long for the bread tomorrow,
And we wine of the age to come.
Come then, life-giving spirit of our God,
Brood over these bodily things,
And make us one body with Christ, that we,
Who are baptized into his death may walk in newness of life;
That what is sown in dishonour may be raised in glory;
And what is sown in weakness may be raised in power
For the glorious liberty of all the children of God.

Amen.

Come, for all things are now ready. Thanks be to God.

(The body of Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen.)
(The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. Amen.)

During Communion:

• VU 610 "God remembers pain"
• VU 612 "There is a balm in Gilead"
• VU 614 "In suffering love"

You are invited to partake of the communion elements at the nearest station, then proceed to your chair for quiet meditation, or to the lunch area to continue the community meal. The service will continue with singing of:

• Hymn 271 "There's a wideness"
• Hymn 700 "God of freedom"

Prayers of the People

As God's people,
Called to love and care for one another,
Let us pray for the needs of the church,
The whole human family,
And all the world, saying:
God of mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for the church.
Silence.

Faithful God,
You formed your church from the despised of the earth
And showed them mercy,
That they might proclaim your salvation to all.
Strengthen us gathered as your followers today,
That we might reflect your faithfulness,
Enduring all as we conform to the cross of Christ.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for peace.
Silence.

God of all-embracing love,
You sent the saviour Christ Jesus
To break down the walls of hostility that divide us.
Create in us the peace that only you can give,
And put down arrogance, pride, and anger,
That turns race against race,
Friend against friend, neighbour against neighbour.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for those from whom we feel alienated.
Silence.

O God,
Whom we cannot love unless we love our neighbours,
Remind us constantly that your will is
To replace domination with mutual friendship,
Replace fear with trust, and resentment with reconciliation,
That all your children may live in the peace of Christ
Which passes all understanding.

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who suffer.
Silence.

God of the cross,
Look with compassion on all who suffer.
Support with your love all those
Who have been or who are homesick and lost...
Those who feel estranged from their community or world...
Those who suffer from shortages of food,
Necessities, love and care...
Those who feel unheard...
Those whose spirits are broken...

God of Mercy, hear our prayer.

God of glory,
You hear our prayers, even as creation groans
In the labour of your Shalom.
We trust that you will answer our prayers with grace,
And fulfill your promise that all things work together
For good for those who love you;
In the name of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ,
We pray. Amen.

Prions ensemble; let us pray together:

Français

Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
Que ton nom soit sanctifié
Que ton règne vienne,
Que ta volonté soit faite
Sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offenses, comme nous pardonnos aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation, mais délivre-nous du Mal.
Car c'est à toi qu'appartiennent le règne, la puissance et la gloire, aux siècles des siècles. Amen.

English

Our father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
Those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power,
And the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Eternal and Gracious One, through we live in a world of need,
Here we have tasted your goodness,
And hungered for a world more just.

Though afflicted by pain, brokenness and division,
Here we have heard your call
To be people of healing community.

Though daily we touch our limits,
Here we have received the treasure
Of your unfailing grace.

Make us instruments of your peace,
Abiding in faith, in hope, and in love. Amen.

Hymn 613 "We cannot measure how you heal"

Blessing

God is with us, Christ is calling us,
The Spirit will guide us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God.