Today's Presider and Guest Blogger is Rev. Tim Sale, honorary assistant at St. Paul
To watch the service click here
430 Will You Come and Follow Me
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let me love be shown, will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
In Christ there is no east or west,
In Christ no south or north,
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.
In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find,
Whose service is the golden cord
Close binding humankind.
Join hands, disciples of the faith,
Whate’er your race may be;
Who serves my God in truth and love
is surely kin to me.
In Christ now meet both east and west,
In Christ meet south and north;
All faithful souls are joined in one
Throughout the whole wide earth.
430 Will You Come and Follow Me
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let me love be shown, will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
Welcome to St. Paul’s Fort Garry Anglican Community worship on this Summer Sunday. Today, we will be celebrating the Eucharist, here in our church building, and at home wherever you are. If you would like to share in our meal together, please take a moment now to get some bread and perhaps some wine so we can share together in one spirit, even though we remain apart physically.
The Grace of our companion Jesus, the Love our Creator God and the energy of the Spirit be in you all,
Response: And also in you!
Collect
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and sent into our hearts the Spirit of your Son.
Give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that all people may know the glorious liberty
of the children of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS, Chapter 45: 1-15
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there - since there are five more years of famine to come - so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Song Whatsoever You Do
Chorus
Whatsoever you do to the least of my people
That you do unto me.
When I was hungry, you sent me your grain;
Sick or in prison, you softened my pain.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was lonely and in a strange land,
Looking for kindness, you held out your hand.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was little, you played for a. while;
When old and shut-in; you listened and smiled.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was weary you helped me find rest;
Supported and cheered me, when I was depressed.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
Bereaved and in sorrow, you shared in my loss;
Mocked or insulted, you shouldered my cross.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
The Gospel of MATTHEW 15: 21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He an-swered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Homily
Race, Racism, Racist and Racialized.
We are living in a most unusual Covid-19 time. But today, I want to ask you to put Covid out of your minds for a few minutes. There is a much more basic tidal wave of movements sweeping across many societies in our world. Think of “Occupy”, the rebellion of the 99 percent against the obscene concentration of wealth in the world’s billionaires. Think of “Me Too”, the demand of women that male aggression, sexual and physical be named and stopped. “Black Lives Matter” is the demand for justice and respect for Blacks in encounters with any authority, but especially the justice system. “Idle no More” and “No more Silence” recognize the violence and injustice faced by aboriginal women. Think of the many Climate Change organizations and of Greta Thunberg. Think of our Bishop Geoff and Canada’s Anglican Bishops call, along with the calls of a multitude of others, for a Guaranteed Adequate Income. Each of these movements speaks of a demand that those in power relinquish some of their dominant power in the name of love and justice. We might say, In the name of basic human rights.
What unites each of these seemingly different movements is that they all stem from the perception and experience of power being used to oppress. Poverty, violence, oppression and exclusion are the root of each of these and of most other justice movements. And because poverty, oppression, violence and exclusion are vastly disproportionately felt by poor and marginalized people, especially people of colour, that’s why we keep hearing four words almost daily right now. Race, Racism, Racist and Racialized.
Understanding these tidal waves requires us to reach a deeper understanding of our both how our brain deals with our experiences and our resulting social structures. That’s hard, because these structures are the water we swim in; shadows on the wall, unseen yet basic assumptions that shape how we function day by day.
So here’s a fifth word… Reptile. Our wonderful brain is not ALL really human. Deep in our brain stem towards the back of our head lies our inheritance of over 300 million years of evolution from ancient critters, such as Lizards. It’s the part of the brain that controls our basic systems… breathing, heart beat, sleeping, swallowing and movement. It’s our “Flee, Freeze or Fight” brain. It gets its cues from a little almond-shaped structure called the Amygdala which senses danger and seeks to save us from injury or death, and it’s fast… it senses danger even before our conscious brain sees it.
When we reached our current state as “Humans”, evolution had added the higher levels of brain function that let us speak, anticipate the future, plan, evaluate and imagine… in short what we broadly call our consciousness. That consciousness includes a capacity for Empathy; that ability to feel what others are experiencing; pain, rejection, pleasure, exclusion, fear.
With our consciousness came the ability to learn… to learn empathy, and sadly as well, to learn selfishness and fear of others. And that’s where race comes in with vengeance. Our fear response is wired to fear difference. If the dominant culture is white, or even if whites are in a minority, but have great power (Think South Africa and Apartheid), then “others” different ones, are non-white. They are aboriginal: Africa, North America, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Asia, China, India. We White ones, with our power and skills and wealth (often extorted wealth), defined the rules, and made sure that these rules worked for us, and they did.
However, there have always been those whose capacity for empathy outweighed their fear of different others, of letting go of unjust power. They are the advocates, the enspirited ones, the Holy-Spirited ones who called for us to listen to our “better angels”. Jesus, Mohammed, Ghandi, Buddha Tutu, King, and a host of others through the ages. It turns out that we can help folks to increase their empathy, just as we need to help children learn empathy, to learn to respond to the feelings and needs of others.
This is the gift of the wonderful story of Joseph’s reuniting with his brothers… the brothers who beat him and forced him to leave all that he loved. Now in a position of great power in Pharaoh’s household, Joseph wept for joy at seeing his brothers, even though they did not recognize him in his handsome robes. His deep empathy flooded out, drowning his anger and hurt, and reconciliation began.
However, we can also teach fear, which is the basis of racism, and racist behaviour. Leaders who rely on fostering fear lead us to our Lizard brains; the world becomes a dangerous place full of those “Not Like US”. Those who have weak empathy and respond and react to such leadership are being primed for violence, often expressed in racist actions.
Our Gospel of the Canaanite woman crying for healing for her daughter, exposed the racism of the disciples, and perhaps of Jesus himself. She is “other”, a non-Jew. “Send her away” the disciples said. Jesus said "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.", implying that he saw her as a dog, not his concern… he was sent only to the “lost sheep of Israel”. But she confronted Jesus, and he heard and relented, and healing happened. Most importantly, this the amazing turning point when Jesus’ understanding of his ministry broadened to embrace a wider community… a call for love and justice for all - the whole of humanity.
Leaders who rely on building empathy call on our capacity for empathy in return, and we become a more inclusive nation, more generous and caring community. We nurture and care for our young and old, we share our wealth, we embrace restorative justice, we care for our world’s capacity to nurture us and we are colour-blind.
For there is only one Race; the Human Race. That’s why the character of leadership really, really matters.
Ultimately, we choose our way… in leadership, and in community building. It is a choice, a deliberate choice. So as the writer of Deuteronomy says;
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. Choose Life.
Prayers of the People: Brook Jones
Offering:
As we make our offering this morning, take a moment to put into the plate your worries; for your family, for yourself, for the world and all its worries, and offer them up, let them go, if only for a few minutes and be at peace.
Offering Hymn 484 In Christ there is no East or West Response: And also in you!
Collect
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and sent into our hearts the Spirit of your Son.
Give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that all people may know the glorious liberty
of the children of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS, Chapter 45: 1-15
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there - since there are five more years of famine to come - so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Song Whatsoever You Do
Chorus
Whatsoever you do to the least of my people
That you do unto me.
When I was hungry, you sent me your grain;
Sick or in prison, you softened my pain.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was lonely and in a strange land,
Looking for kindness, you held out your hand.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was little, you played for a. while;
When old and shut-in; you listened and smiled.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
When I was weary you helped me find rest;
Supported and cheered me, when I was depressed.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
Bereaved and in sorrow, you shared in my loss;
Mocked or insulted, you shouldered my cross.
Now enter into the home of Creator. Chorus
The Gospel of MATTHEW 15: 21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He an-swered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Homily
Race, Racism, Racist and Racialized.
We are living in a most unusual Covid-19 time. But today, I want to ask you to put Covid out of your minds for a few minutes. There is a much more basic tidal wave of movements sweeping across many societies in our world. Think of “Occupy”, the rebellion of the 99 percent against the obscene concentration of wealth in the world’s billionaires. Think of “Me Too”, the demand of women that male aggression, sexual and physical be named and stopped. “Black Lives Matter” is the demand for justice and respect for Blacks in encounters with any authority, but especially the justice system. “Idle no More” and “No more Silence” recognize the violence and injustice faced by aboriginal women. Think of the many Climate Change organizations and of Greta Thunberg. Think of our Bishop Geoff and Canada’s Anglican Bishops call, along with the calls of a multitude of others, for a Guaranteed Adequate Income. Each of these movements speaks of a demand that those in power relinquish some of their dominant power in the name of love and justice. We might say, In the name of basic human rights.
What unites each of these seemingly different movements is that they all stem from the perception and experience of power being used to oppress. Poverty, violence, oppression and exclusion are the root of each of these and of most other justice movements. And because poverty, oppression, violence and exclusion are vastly disproportionately felt by poor and marginalized people, especially people of colour, that’s why we keep hearing four words almost daily right now. Race, Racism, Racist and Racialized.
Understanding these tidal waves requires us to reach a deeper understanding of our both how our brain deals with our experiences and our resulting social structures. That’s hard, because these structures are the water we swim in; shadows on the wall, unseen yet basic assumptions that shape how we function day by day.
So here’s a fifth word… Reptile. Our wonderful brain is not ALL really human. Deep in our brain stem towards the back of our head lies our inheritance of over 300 million years of evolution from ancient critters, such as Lizards. It’s the part of the brain that controls our basic systems… breathing, heart beat, sleeping, swallowing and movement. It’s our “Flee, Freeze or Fight” brain. It gets its cues from a little almond-shaped structure called the Amygdala which senses danger and seeks to save us from injury or death, and it’s fast… it senses danger even before our conscious brain sees it.
When we reached our current state as “Humans”, evolution had added the higher levels of brain function that let us speak, anticipate the future, plan, evaluate and imagine… in short what we broadly call our consciousness. That consciousness includes a capacity for Empathy; that ability to feel what others are experiencing; pain, rejection, pleasure, exclusion, fear.
With our consciousness came the ability to learn… to learn empathy, and sadly as well, to learn selfishness and fear of others. And that’s where race comes in with vengeance. Our fear response is wired to fear difference. If the dominant culture is white, or even if whites are in a minority, but have great power (Think South Africa and Apartheid), then “others” different ones, are non-white. They are aboriginal: Africa, North America, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Asia, China, India. We White ones, with our power and skills and wealth (often extorted wealth), defined the rules, and made sure that these rules worked for us, and they did.
However, there have always been those whose capacity for empathy outweighed their fear of different others, of letting go of unjust power. They are the advocates, the enspirited ones, the Holy-Spirited ones who called for us to listen to our “better angels”. Jesus, Mohammed, Ghandi, Buddha Tutu, King, and a host of others through the ages. It turns out that we can help folks to increase their empathy, just as we need to help children learn empathy, to learn to respond to the feelings and needs of others.
This is the gift of the wonderful story of Joseph’s reuniting with his brothers… the brothers who beat him and forced him to leave all that he loved. Now in a position of great power in Pharaoh’s household, Joseph wept for joy at seeing his brothers, even though they did not recognize him in his handsome robes. His deep empathy flooded out, drowning his anger and hurt, and reconciliation began.
However, we can also teach fear, which is the basis of racism, and racist behaviour. Leaders who rely on fostering fear lead us to our Lizard brains; the world becomes a dangerous place full of those “Not Like US”. Those who have weak empathy and respond and react to such leadership are being primed for violence, often expressed in racist actions.
Our Gospel of the Canaanite woman crying for healing for her daughter, exposed the racism of the disciples, and perhaps of Jesus himself. She is “other”, a non-Jew. “Send her away” the disciples said. Jesus said "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.", implying that he saw her as a dog, not his concern… he was sent only to the “lost sheep of Israel”. But she confronted Jesus, and he heard and relented, and healing happened. Most importantly, this the amazing turning point when Jesus’ understanding of his ministry broadened to embrace a wider community… a call for love and justice for all - the whole of humanity.
Leaders who rely on building empathy call on our capacity for empathy in return, and we become a more inclusive nation, more generous and caring community. We nurture and care for our young and old, we share our wealth, we embrace restorative justice, we care for our world’s capacity to nurture us and we are colour-blind.
For there is only one Race; the Human Race. That’s why the character of leadership really, really matters.
Ultimately, we choose our way… in leadership, and in community building. It is a choice, a deliberate choice. So as the writer of Deuteronomy says;
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. Choose Life.
MV 138 My Love Colours Outside the Lines
My love colours outside the lines,
Exploring paths that few could ever find;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before,
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.
My Lord colours outside the lines,
Turns wounds to blessings, water into wine;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.
We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.
My love colours outside the lines,
Exploring paths that few could ever find;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before,
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.
My Lord colours outside the lines,
Turns wounds to blessings, water into wine;
And takes me into places where I’ve never been before
And opens doors to worlds outside the lines.
We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.
My soul longs to colour outside the lines,
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines.
We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.
My soul longs to colour outside the lines,
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines.
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines.
We’ll never walk on water if we’re not prepared to drown,
Body and soul need a soaking from time to time.
And we’ll never move the gravestones if we’re not prepared to die,
And realize there are worlds outside the lines.
My soul longs to colour outside the lines,
Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine;
I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I’ve never been before,
Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines.
Prayers of the People: Brook Jones
Offering:
As we make our offering this morning, take a moment to put into the plate your worries; for your family, for yourself, for the world and all its worries, and offer them up, let them go, if only for a few minutes and be at peace.
In Christ there is no east or west,
In Christ no south or north,
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.
In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find,
Whose service is the golden cord
Close binding humankind.
Join hands, disciples of the faith,
Whate’er your race may be;
Who serves my God in truth and love
is surely kin to me.
In Christ now meet both east and west,
In Christ meet south and north;
All faithful souls are joined in one
Throughout the whole wide earth.
The Eucharistic prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer After Communion
Eternal God, May we who have been nourished by holy things live as faithful heirs of your promised kingdom, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing:
As we have been gathered, so must we be sown back into the world to witness to the power of God's
transforming love, to support and challenge each other, to bring healing and justice to the world around us.
Said together here and at home:
And now may the God who shakes heaven and earth, whom death could not contain,
Who lives to disturb and heal us bless us with the power to go forth and proclaim the gospel. Amen.
Closing Hymn 418 Draw the Circle Wide
Chorus Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
Standing side by side,
Draw the circle wide.
God the still point of the circle,
Round whom all creation turns;
Nothing lost, but held forever,
In God’s gracious arms. Chorus
Let our hearts touch far horizons,
So encompass great and small;
Let our loving know no borders,
Faithful to God’s call. Chorus
Let the dreams we dream be larger,
Than we’ve ever dreamed before;
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer After Communion
Eternal God, May we who have been nourished by holy things live as faithful heirs of your promised kingdom, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing:
As we have been gathered, so must we be sown back into the world to witness to the power of God's
transforming love, to support and challenge each other, to bring healing and justice to the world around us.
Said together here and at home:
And now may the God who shakes heaven and earth, whom death could not contain,
Who lives to disturb and heal us bless us with the power to go forth and proclaim the gospel. Amen.
Closing Hymn 418 Draw the Circle Wide
Chorus Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
Standing side by side,
Draw the circle wide.
God the still point of the circle,
Round whom all creation turns;
Nothing lost, but held forever,
In God’s gracious arms. Chorus
Let our hearts touch far horizons,
So encompass great and small;
Let our loving know no borders,
Faithful to God’s call. Chorus
Let the dreams we dream be larger,
Than we’ve ever dreamed before;
Let the dream of Christ be in us,
Open every door. Chorus x2
Thanks to our readers and singers, and to all of you out there joining us this Holy Day. Please be safe, love each other and your neighbours and come together again with us next week when we will worship together outside, and enjoy the wonderful music of steel drums!
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