Welcome: Prelude: Beloved Jesu, We Are Here by J.S. Bach Invocation: The SOURCE of Creation’s LOVE, the passion of CHRIST, and the power of the SPIRIT is with you all. Thanks be to ALL that IS HOLY!

Music printed under LiscenSing #1975

WORSHIP:SECOND Sunday of Lent

Thomas Berry

Holy Cross Lutheran Church Progressive In Approach:Christlike In Action!

February 28th 2021

Listening to Creation Pastor Dawn Hutchings, Musician: Marney Curran

Worship Team: Marney Curran, Eric Schultz, Andrew Slonetsky, Petra Vollmerhausen, Sharon Willan, Jane Winstanley

Music: Canticle of the Sun Text & Music by Marty Haugen Verses 1, 2, & 6

Prayer of the Day

Encircled by the LOVE which IS the MYSTERY we call, God, let us breathe deeply of that LOVE to find the inspiration we need for the living of these days. Let us not be discouraged by the journey which lies before us. Let us trust the ONE who IS beyond our ability to imagine, to live in, with, through and beyond us to heal the world and restore the Earth. Let us find the courage born of LOVE so that we can follow Jesus into the places which hunger for justice, compassion, and healing. Let us open ourselves to the wonders of being LOVE in the world. We pray in the name of the ONE who IS our CREATOR, CHRIST, and SPIRIT, ONE, now and forever. Amen. Hebrew Scriptures: MICAH 6:8 Listen here, mortal: God has already made abundantly clear what “good” is, and what YAHWEH needs from you: simply do justice, love kindness, and humbly walk with your God.

Music: My Spirit Rests in You Alone

Reading from the Talmud

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

Music: Can You Feel the Seasons Turning Text: Mary Louise Bringle; MUSIC: EBENEZER Can you feel the Seasons truning, winds and wavs grown wild and strange? Can you feel Creation groaning, fearful of the coming change: icecaps meltin, oceans rising, homes and habitations lost? Can you feel the seasons turning? Can you count the bitter cost? Can you hear the creatures crying— lynx and otter, wolf and whale? Can you hear the SPIRIT sighing as Her children grieve and fail? Nature’s poor, the first to suffer, pay the price of human greed. Can you hear the creatures crying, begging us to stop and heed? Can you feel the seasons turning? Storm clouds gather in the skies. All around us signs of warning bid us open frightened eyes. Called by God to serve as stewards till Earth’s garden greens and thrives, can we learn intime to listen? Can we turn and change our lives? Gospel: Mark 8: 31-38 Jesus began to teach them that the Promised One had to suffer much, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and religious scholars, be put to death, and rise again three days later. Jesus said these things quite openly. Peter then took him aside and began to take issue with him. At this, Jesus turned around and, eyeing the disciples, reprimanded Peter: “Get out of my sight, you Satan! You are judging by human standards rather than by God’s!” Jesus summoned the crowd and the disciples and said, “If you wish to come after me, you must deny your very self, take up your cross and follow in my footsteps. If you would save your life, you’ll lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you’ll save it. What would you gain if you were to win the whole world but lose our self in the process? What can you offer in exchange for your soul? Whoever in this faithless and corrupt generation is ashamed of me and my words will find, in turn, that the Promised One and the holy angels will be ashamed of that person, when all stand before our God in glory.”

Sermon: How Many Crosses Can I Bear?

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Prayers:

As we journey deeper into the wilderness of LENT, we do so trusting that we live and move and have our being in the MYSTERY which is LOVE. To that LOVE we open ourselves to express our gratitude, our longings, our fears, and our desires for Creation and for our neighbours. Let our prayers move us, shape us, and release us to embrace the power of the LOVE who IS, BEYOND the BEYOND, and BEYOND that Also, our CREATOR, CHIRST, and SPIRIT, ONE:

It is winter here! We are grateful for a season of sledding, skiing and snowmen. For snowballs and snow forts and ice rinks in the backyard. For sunshine and sparkling snow - each snowflake uniquely formed. I pray that we might be thankful for the snow which insulates the ground allowing growth to happen in the darkness. Under the protection of snow our spring bulbs are preparing to delight us. In the darkness of the den polar bear cubs are born and nurtured. Beneath Arctic ice bowhead whales sing and in the darkness of night the snowy owl hunts. Winter is full of life! My prayer is that with deep humility we recognize the wisdom of our Indigenous people who understand that we are intimately related to every form of life. I pray that we learn how to live with nature, not just without damaging the earth but also by regenerating where we can. I long for the day when we will be willing to live in peace with ‘all our relations’ and healing and harmony be restored to this planet.

The Talmud exhorts us: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief”. But I must confess I feel overwhelmed by the groaning of the Earth as fracking, drilling, clearcutting scrape and delve into her. I am overwhelmed hearing the cries of starving children, the numbers of deaths by war, terrorism, the pandemic. I'm concerned for today's children and what kind of Earth they will have to live in. To take up the cross and move forward, not fixing or completing the work is so difficult .and impossible So, I walk outside and see the Breath of the HOLY ONE swaying the trees, lifting the wings of birds as they flit through the air. I hear the song of Mystery in the multitude of layers of bird song. And at night through the darkness, I dimly grasp the pale light of moonbeams covering us and piercing the darkness as LOVE reminds us we have all we need to keep going and not abandon the work. May the breath, song, and light of MYSTERY flow through us as we carry this cross and become breath, song and light to all we meet.

O SACREDNESS that dwells within and beyond; the inspired and prophetic words from Micah are a paradox within me. I rejoice that “simply to do justice, love kindness, and humbly walk” is all that is required of me, for these are my heart’s greatest desire. And yet as I look at the world around me, creation flowing with flora and fauna, my fellow journeyers, and even myself in the mirror, my mind tells me it is not so simple. I pray for unity of mind and heart so that my thoughts remind me of the magnitude of this task and not dimmish it, but that my heart be inspired to act on the simplicity of doing justice, loving kindness and quiet companionship with all of creation. I pray for gentleness of spirit for others for whom this paradox causes distress.

We confess our unwillingness to face the truth about the future days. May we accept with grace what happens and know that better days are still to come. And may we continue to be agents of your love in all that we do. We confess our unwillingness to face the truth about the future days. May we accept with grace what happens and know that better days are still to come. And may we continue to be agents of your love in all that we do. I cannot help but think that although we have never experienced changes like this on a global scale, this wonderful blue planet has been through eons more. It has seen how balance inevitably arrives, the universe continues to display complexity and beauty. May we find the frame of mind that is able to be encouraged and inspired so as to most fully experience what is unfolding and our part in it. Trusting the LOVE that is God, we breathe deeply of the Spirit and taking our lead from Jesus, and our strength from one another, we journey into the wilderness of Lent, so that we might discover all that we were created to be. All praise, honour, and thanksgiving, we offer to the ONE who IS our LOVER, BELOVED and LOVE Itself, now and forever. Amen.

Music: God in Everything Text: Jocelyn Marshall; MUSIC: DUNDEE

Blessing:

May the LOVE which encircles you encourage you to do justly now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. Be assured that you not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. MAY the LOVE which encircles us, strengthen us to take up our cross and follow the ONE who came that we might have life and live it abundantly, the ONE who IS our LOVER, BELOVED, and LOVE Itself, now and forever. Amen.

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ZOOM LINK Topic: faith CHAT Time: This is a recurring meeting TUESDAYS @ 10am EST Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84227666621?pwd=Z1FtNnhzTm9BNTRVdit2RkU4ZkNoZz09 Meeting ID: 842 2766 6621 Passcode: 776087

faith chat

10am Tuesdays in Lent - ZoomAn opportunity to CHAT with fellow explorers. During our study of the book “faith after doubt” the desire to explore our common and not so common experiences of faith in these challenging times has prompted members of Holy Cross to host a weekly conversation over Zoom. This is a chance to come together to create community over conversations about our shared desire to explore what it means to be faithful in 2021, with all the doubts, challenges, joys, isolation, inspirations, discoveries and revelations we are encountering along the way.

www.holycrosslutheran.ca

Meeting: Zoom LINK:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82934746801?pwd=Y1hNRzQ0R2JwbktSR0QrSm82VHVRUT09 Meeting ID: 829 3474 6801 Passcode: 376309

Wednesday MARCH 3rd at 10am

MIRACLES in the WILDERNESS please Zoom in a few minutes before 10am so that we can begin on time.

LENT Morning PrayerGather with us over Zoom Wednesdays @ 10:00am

beginning Feb. 24th

Morning Prayer followed by conversation about life

during these challenging times.

Guided by our Worship Team, we will begin with music, prayer, and images as we open ourselves to the MYSTERY which IS LOVE. Out of our brief Morning Prayer a question will emerge to inspire our conversation.To register: send an email to holycrosslutheran@rogers.comand we shall send you the Zoom link. Everyone is welcome to journey through LENT with us!

We worship as we live in the presence of MYSTERY…

www.holycrosslutheran.ca Progressive in Approach: Christlike in Action!

Progressive in Approach: Christlike in Action!HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCHProgressive in approach: Christlike in action!

Pastor....The Reverend Dawn Hutchings B.A., M.Div. 905-868-0897 Musical Director…………………………….Marney Curran B.S.M.,A.R.C.T.

email…………………………………….......holycrosslutheran@rogers.comMember of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Worship Videos posted Sundays at 10:45amwww.holycrosslutheran.ca

Gather with us! ONLINE Sundays @ 10:45am We are reviving the early Christian

practice of “Home Church.”Updated for these challenging times:

Online Worship Videos are posted

Sundays at 10:45am www.holycrosslutheran.ca

Opening ourselves to the MYSTERY

which is God who IS LOVE

Creation: the Original Sanctuary

Season of LENT

Thomas Berry

Annual Congregational

MeetingThursday

March 18, 2021 7pm on Zoom

Thomas Berry

Informational Meeting

Thursday March 11, 2021

7pm on Zoom

E-transfer You can now transfer funds via email to:

holy.cross.donations@rogers.com

please remember to designate your offering to the Street Outreach Van

Crosslinks Street Outreach Vanprovides a range of urgent-care services seven days a week.

Make a designated donation via E-transferSo that we can provide packaged food

items to be distributed by the Street Outreach Van

You can now transfer funds via email to:holy.cross.donations@rogers.com

for more information go to

www.holycrosslutheran.ca

Make sure you are on our MAILING LIST so that we can send you all the Zoom Links

We want to see your smiling face as often as possible! Send an email to: holycrosslutheran@rogers.com

and we will be sure to send you all our news!

OFFERINGS: There are several ways to ensure that we are able to continue meeting our commitments.

You can mail in your offerings: Holy Cross Lutheran Church

1035 Wayne Drive Newmarket, On. L3Y 2W9

You can sign up to our Preauthorized Remittance Program PAR contact our Treasurer Sharon Smyth who will guide you

You can go to Holy Cross’ CanadaHelps page to donate just follow the link:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/36983

E-transfer You can now transfer funds via email to:

holy.cross.donations@rogers.com

ACCESSIBILITY FUND:

Carried forward from 2019 $ 2,180.34 Donations 2020 11,728.61 Loan Repayment 12,500.00 Carry forward to 2021 $ 1,408.95

Financial Report: GENERAL FUND January - December 31, 2020

INCOMEJan-Dec. BUDGET

Jan-Dec. ACTUAL

Total OFFERINGS $129,835.17 $105,284.83Solar Panel Income $9,000.00 $8,435.43Fundraising $2,000.00 $20.00Gifts $500.00 $0.00Interest $0.00 $53.83Non-Budgeted Expenses $1,000.00 $0.00

Budgeted Expense $1,000.00 $2,061.81

Budgeted Exp. Government Subsidy $0.00 $17,356.84Total Budgeted Expenses $1,000.00 $19,418.65

Rentals: Church Facility $1,500.00 $540.00Rental: Armitage Daycare $12,900.00 $12,900.00Movie Nights/Matinees $3,000.00 $608.81Miscellaneous Income: LWF $0.00 $0.00

Sub-Total General Fund $160,735.17 $147,261.552019 Surplus Carried forward $992.45 $992.45

TOTAL INCOME $161,727.62 $148,254.00Designated: LWF $50.00

EXPENSESTOTAL EXPENSES to Dec. 31, 2020 $161,727.62 $135,356.33NET SURPLUS as of Dec. 31, 2020 $12,897.67

Designated: LWF $50.00

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