Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Easter Sunday
March 30 2024
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: wwwheeler@sympatico.ca
Music Director Joan Simpson
Gathering
Call to Worship
One: This is the Good News the grave is empty Christ is risen
All Hallelujah
One: this is the good news the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never put it out.
All Hallelujah
One: This is the good News Once we were no people now, we are God’s people
All Hallelujah
One: Christ is our peace,
All: the indestructible peace we now share with each other.
One: The Angels sing and rejoice. They proclaim that hearts are healed, and the weeping is done
All The earth shouts joy and new life begun Christ the Lord is Risen
Lighting of the Christ Candle
One: We have travelled through the weeks of Lent each vailed in darkness Yet even then the light of Christ persisted in breaking into our lives despite our failures to live out the great commandment Christ once more has taken on our burdens and the stone is rolled away. The stone is rolled away and the light of the risen Christ shines into the darkest corners of our lives a light that can not be extinguished.
All: We come today having transcending the darkness of our lives finding new life in the Risen Savour. Today we celebrate the light of Christ in the world. The light that shines forth with forgiveness, a light which proclaims victory over sin and death. As we light this candle we remember how Christ lives and is a part of each of us. May that light continue to burn with in us.
Joyful, Joyful we adore thee, God of Glory, Lord of Love
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun Above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away
giver of immortal Gladness, fill us with the light of day.
One The empty cross is a cross of Transformation
All The empty tomb a empty shell left at the birth of new life.
One The burden of sin lifted and changed. Transformed.
All Darkenss to light. That which has burdened us is changed by the light of God’s love found in the empty tomb and the risen Christ.
One Our self centeredness, our pridefulness is changed into a greater awareness of those around us and a willful desire to live in right relationships
All, The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted, Jesus the light of the world has risen
One Our envy of what others have and our desire of what is our is ours, is changed to have respect for what others have and to be content with what we have for ourselves and see that all that we have is a gift from God
All: The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted Jesus the light of the world has risen
One: Our sin of greed and money our human need to horde resources for ourselves at the cost of others is changed to Open hearts willing to be generous and voice to speak out against poverty.
All: The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted , Jesus the light of the world has risen
One: Our sin of Humanity first Our Careless use the land and sea of its resources for ourselves and failure to live in harmony with creation is changed to our hearts being open the rhythm of our planet and inspire us to once more be good stewards of earth.
All: The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted , Jesus the light of the world has risen
One Our sin of striving to control, the sin of systems to manage and manipulate others for our own is changed to a honest desire to strive to put a face on humanity and find ways to make systems work without crushing the creative spirit.
All: The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted , Jesus the light of the world has risen
One Our sin of quick fixes and scapegoating our willingness to find the easy solution, or pass the buck our failure to take responsibility Is changed to our honest desire work at making right that which is wrong, our desire to work towards reconciliation and forgiveness To be changed by the light of God’s love in our lives. For the stone is rolled away, and we are forgiven, changed by God’s love.
All: The stone is rolled away and the burden is lifted , Jesus the light of the world has risen
Prayer
One: Lord God, early in the morning when the world was young , you made life in all its beauty and terror; you gave birth to all that we know.
Hallowed by your name.
All Hallowed by your name.
One: Early in the morning, when the world least expected it, a newborn child crying in a cradle announced that you had come among us, that you were one of us. Hallowed by your name
All Hallowed by your name
One: Early in the morning, surrounded by respectable liars, religious leaders, anxious statesmen and silent friends, you accepted the penalty for doing good for being God: you shouldered and suffered the cross.
Hallowed by your name All Hallowed by your name
One early in the morning, a voice in a guarded graveyard and footsteps in the dew proved that you had risen, that you had come back to those for those who had forgotten denied and destroyed you. Hallowed be your name,
All Hallowed by your name
One: This morning in the multi-coloured company of your church on earth and in heaven we celebrate your creation, your life, your death and resurrection, your interest in us so we pray together

All Lord , Bring new life, where we are worn and tired; new love where we have turned hard-hearted; forgiveness where we feel hurt and where we have wounded; and the joy and freedom of your Holy Spirit, where we are prisoners of ourselves.
Silent prayer
One To all and to each, on his community and on his friends, where regret is real, Jesus pronounces his pardon and grant us the right to begin again. Thanks be to God
All Amen
One: Will you hear the promise of God this Morning?
All: We joyful and open hearts we long to hear the good news.
One Rejoice and hear for this is the good news taken form the Gospel of
: Mark 16:1-8
One The word of God for the people of God.
All thanks be to God.
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Sermon
Every journey has to start somewhere. I was chatting with someone a week or so ago about being young, I mean really young. The family Road trip which my family was a trip to New Brunswick. Dad have to leave at pre dawn. I think the rational was to get through Montreal as early as possible. Now child car safety was not really invented yet. I was set up in the back window well until I bounced down. Then there would have to be the stop. I would get car sick and need to well you know. This of course was an annoyance to my father because it meant a delay getting through Montreal. So that is how the family road trip journey would begin. Every journey has to start somewhere.
Where did the Journey truly start for Jesus? At the river the baptism? The ride into Jerusalem (at least he didn’t have to get through Montreal) The Garden? The journey that would lead to that center pivotal moment. I have spoken of the sacred spiral the labyrinth before
The spiral. A symbol of a journey. Through out lent we have journeyed from outside to the center. The path we have been called to walk has lead to this moment. The path that Jesus was called to travel lead him to this moment. The moment when all that we have ever known has changed.
Before this moment all people though was the path we walk, the road we walk lead to our ending our destruction. That Death was this finality the inevitable. Death is defeated by the gift of the resurrection, the empty tomb and it is not just one tomb, but all graves are opened for all time. This is the true gift of this moment.
Today is the center of our faith. All that we are and all that we claim in our Christianity is center on the moment. Christmas, the feast days of the Saints, Pentecost all are made sacred by this one central act today.
Sacred spiral has lead us to this moment but the spiral does not just lead us to the center it leads us back as well. Taking with us the wisdom that we have found on the journey.
In the wizard of Oz, At the beginning when Dorothy is in Munchkin land and she is called to follow the yellow brick road. The road starts as the enter of a spiral. Gold brick contrasted against red brick. One could ask “were does the red brick road lead” It too begins at the center and spirals outward.
Good question. We as a people of God now stand in the center and road forward for us is for us to choose. Is it the yellow brick road, red brick road? Both roads will have their trials and challenges. The one we know where it leads. But the other? I believe that we are called to red brick road. We can journey out to where we know we have been or we can embrace the journey and let Spirit of God lead us out once more to proclaim the good news of what it is to be gifted with the Easter promise. To proclaim to own our story. To reclaim and own our story.
I don’t know where this red brick road will lead us but I know together we are blessed by the presence of the Spirit, That the light of God’s son shines on us. The wisdom of God will lead us. As we journey forth as an Easter people traveling not alone but with God for we are not alone God is with us, thanks be to God.
Prayers of the people
Slow me Down Slow me Down
Still my restless mind Still my restless mind
Quell my fears Quell my Fears
Quench my Thirsty soul Quench my thirsty Soul
Fill me with your love Fill me with your love
God of Truth God of Truth
God of love God of love
Prayer God of grace and glory, by the death and resurrection of your Beloved child your reign of wholeness has been unleashed within our bent and broken world. Open us to your empowering grace that we may be bearers of your world-redeeming love . We pray for your world that on this day for even a moment it may know the peace that comes with your triumph. We Name and hold up to you those saints living today and those alive through the promise of the empty tomb.
One Lord hear our Prayer
All For all those in need we offer prayer. We ask for your blessing and offer you our own prayers in the silence of our hearts.
One: Lord hear our Prayers
All: And in your love answer
All: Lord we entrust all of the prayers of our heart’s to you and now that in your time and in your way they shall be answered.
In Christ Amen
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
Prayer : May our gifts give testimony to the risen Christ. As we share in his ministry of healing and reconciliation, pour out your spirit in our midst that we may be equipped and empowered to carry out your purposes. We cannot keep the good news to ourselves; teach us how to pass it on Amen.
Commissioning and Blessing
Commissioning and Blessing
Commissioning and Blessing
One: In life, in death in life beyond Death
All Jesus Christ is Lord
One over powers and principalities over all who determine, control
Govern or finance the affairs of humankind
All Jesus Christ is Lord
One: Of the poor, of the broken of the sinned against and the sinner
All Jesus Christ is Lord
One Above the church beyond our most excellent theologies and in the quiet corners of our hearts
All Jesus Christ is Lord
One today and tomorrow
All today and tomorrow
One Lo, I am with you always
All When we try to do your will,
One I am with you always
All When we go where we don’t not know,
One I am with you always
All When we meet one we do not recognize
One I am with you always
All Where faith ends and doubt begins,
One I am with you always
All and should we forget you.
One I am with you always
All today and tomorrow, today and tomorrow you are with us always to end of the world.
One In life in death in life beyond death
All God is with us we are not alone
One: Now may the blessing of God travel with you, May the teachings of Christ Illuminate you path and may the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit lead you forward. All Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever shall be world without end, Amen.
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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