Dear Friends,
Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week - the week we remember and re experience Jesus' last week, which also happens to have been our theme for Lent. We joined together for online worship with Inlet United Church. If you haven't seen the video you can check it out here.
Holy Week and Easter are the "High Holy Days" of the Christian faith, and as such, there is a lot of tradition surrounding how we mark them. At Golden Ears, our tradition has been a small group gathering on Maundy Thursday evening to remember the story of the Last Supper - we would do foot washing and celebrate Holy Communion together. Then we would gather with other local churches on Good Friday to mark this most solemn of days together with a moving service remembering the crucifixion of Jesus.
Then on Easter morning at 7am we would gather for our sunrise service at Haney Wharf to remember the surprise of the disciples to find the empty tomb. This would be followed by an Easter egg hunt and special Easter treats. After that we would come to the church with flowers in hand to flower the cross for our big Easter Sunday service at 10am.
Everything is different this year, and yet... the same. It is still Holy Week. The Passion story will be relived and retold in our homes and in our hearts. And we will be #togetherapart. And no matter how difficult the circumstances we are experiencing, no matter how hopeless we are feeling, the story of Easter comes along and God breaks in with a message of hope and redemption and new life. Maybe this year, more than ever we can enter the story of the Passion like never before.
This year on Good Friday, we will gather in Zoom at our House Church at 10:30 am and we will mark Holy Week with a retelling of the story, and a time to worship and meditate on the mystery of the Passion. I will be also recording a message and posting on Facebook and YouTube.
If you click on this link it will take you straight into our zoom gathering. We will be online from 10am to anyone who is having technical challenges. If you want to phone in (audio only) you can dial 778 907 2071 and when prompted you can enter the following
Meeting ID: 498 026 7350
Password: 301273
On Easter Sunday we will be having an Online Easter worship service. We are with our friends from Inlet United church again for a music filled Easter Celebration. Including the premiere of our version of the Hallelujah Chorus!
We will be also gathering in the Zoom Room on Easter Sunday morning at 10am - all the details for worship will be sent out on Saturday with the links that you will need to watch on YouTube or to join us in the Zoom Room, where we will be sharing in the sacrament of Holy Communion together. So when you come to worship on Sunday morning bring with you a glass of wine or grape juice and some bread (Or whatever food/drink you have at hand)
There is one tradition that we have figured out that we can do safely. We will be flowering the cross and placing it out on the lawn for all of Maple Ridge to witness as a powerful symbol of hope in the resurrection.
You can bring flowers to the edge of the memorial garden between 8:30 and 9:30 am and between 12:00-2:00 pm. Please keep the required physical distance from anyone else who is there. We will have someone there to take your flowers and place them on the cross. If you are not able to come in person but would like to donate towards the cost of some flowers you can let me know. We will photograph the cross and share the pictures on our social media. (If there is someone else there when you arrive, we ask you wait until they are finished before approaching the memorial garden.)
God bless you all in this time of waiting.
|
|
|
NEW ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCE
|
|
|
We are trying out a new service called Amplify Media that brings great quality Mainline Christian Bible study, book study, discipleship videos to your computer, iPad, smartphone, Apple TV or Android TV device. We have a month's free trial and would love to hear from you if you would use this resource.
There is content for kids and youth as well as adults. The Deep Blue Kids curriculum is all on there, as well as Bible studies, small group book studies, nightly devotionals, and lots more.
Click on the Channel URL below. The first time you log in you will be prompted for our congregational Access code. Enter the code below, and you will be prompted to set up your own account with your email and a password. You will not be billed or charged for this.
|
|
Family Fun Prayer idea
Say you’re going to be a little part of Golden Ears United Church at home today.
Light a candle and pray:
With the light of this candle, we remember the light of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God, you are here with us now and also with our friends and family in their homes today.
Especially we remember that you are also with.... (invite everyone to remember people from church, school, extended family, neighbourhood)
Thank you, Jesus, light for the world. Amen
Say: Today we’re thinking about eating together, which is something Jesus loved doing with his friends and something Christians have always done together, as have people of other faiths too. Quickfire questions for everyone:
-
Favourite food?
-
Worst thing in the world to eat?
-
Best meal you’ve ever had with someone else?
-
Weirdest place you’ve eaten a meal?
-
If you could put anything on a pizza, what would it be?
Enjoy Disney’s song from Beauty and the Beast ‘Be our guest’.
Read a story where Jesus invites his friends to be his guest, not at a banqueting table, but by a campfire on a beach in John 21:1-14. This takes place after he has died and come back to life. As you read it, ask people to close their eyes and imagine themselves as Peter in the story. What can they see, hear, smell, taste, feel?
-
Ask everyone to share anything that struck them from the story.
-
Ask why everyone thinks Jesus wanted to eat with his friends.
-
Can anyone think of any other time Jesus ate with anyone?
-
Why does everyone think Christians eat together – either ‘formal meals’ like Communion, or other meals like Messy Church meals?
Pizza Prayers (from Holy Habits: Eating Together, BRF, 2018):
Cut a circle of paper into segments and give one to everyone present. On one side draw (or write) your favourite pizza topping, and on the other write one short line of a grace or draw something for which you are thankful.
The segments are returned to the table centre, topping side up, to form everyone’s favourite pizza. Everyonetakes a slice at random and they are read out in turn.
Say the following Grace:
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hold out your hands as if expecting a present)
And the love of God (Put your hands on your heart)
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (Hold hands)
Be with us all now and forever. Amen (Raise hands together on the word ‘Amen’ and shout loudly!)
Blow out the candle, changing the light from visible to invisible light.
Deep Blue Adventures – You can download a free app for your phone or tablet that works with our Deep Blue resources and includes the videos for each week. The app is called Deep Blue Adventures. Download from the Apple Store or Google Play, depending on your device OS.
To tell the Easter story at home, we also have some worksheets that you can download to use with your children or grandchildren, and a leader guide.
|
|
|
While we are not meeting for Sunday worship, people who support us financially by cash or cheque in the offering plate, may continue to support us by sharing their offerings via alternate means. You may want to sign up for PAR for this time period. You can cancel at any time, or you can click the button above to donate by Canada Helps, or you can mail your cheques to the church office. Thank you for your generosity!
|
|
GOLDEN EARS UNITED CHURCH is part of the network of Affirming Churches in the United Church of Canada. Please click on this link to read our Affirm Statement
|
|
|
|
|
|
