Sermon 4 Epiphany Yr A

You can read my sermon for January 30, 2011 by clicking this link: 4 Epiphany Yr A

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011

Today, January 18, marks the beginning of Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year the theme is based on Acts 2:42f.: “One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.”  The initial work leading to the publication of this booklet was done by a group of Christian leaders from Jerusalem. They gathered at the invitation of the World Council of Churches. Their work was facilitated by the Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre. Unfortunately the city in which I live is not officially celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but in previous years, I have enjoyed organising ecumenical services with other clergy. You can read more about this year’s background, theme, and a daily devotion, order of service, etc., here.

Sermon 2 Epiphany Yr A

You can read my sermon for January 16, 2011 by clicking this link: 2 Epiphany Yr A

Prayers and Benediction Baptism of Our Lord, Yr A

Prayer of the Church, Baptism of Our Lord, Year A

P: LORD God: we worship and laud you for choosing your Servant. We long for the day when your Servant will bring forth and establish justice in the earth. We are astounded by the gentleness with which your Servant loves the weakest and most vulnerable: a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. We are filled with gratitude, that your Servant has made a covenant of life with us and is a light to the nations: opening the eyes that are blind, and bringing out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

P: God of heaven and earth: we ascribe glory and strength to you and worship you in holy splendour. Your voice speaks creation into being and is full of life and promise; for your LORD sit enthroned as king forever and bless your people with strength and peace. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

P: God of Israel and the Gentiles: We thank you that you show no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears you and does what is right is acceptable to you. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, that we, like the apostle Peter, may be your faithful witnesses in our community and around the world; that Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness in his name. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.  

P: Heavenly Father: On this day we remember that Jesus was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness; and your Spirit in the form of a dove descended and alighted on him as your heavenly voice spoke and said: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Today help us to remember our baptismal covenant and that you too have claimed us as your daughters and sons and are well pleased with us as we faithfully follow the way of Jesus by loving you and our neighbour. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

P: Loving God: We pray for the governments and leaders of nations, including our own, in Canada: grant them wisdom and compassion as they work for peace and justice in the world. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

(Other thanksgivings and intercessions may be offered here, ending with: In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.)

P: Christ our Mediator: We repent of the many divisions within the whole Body of Christ; pour out your Spirit upon the Church universal, that all followers of Jesus may pray, work towards, and desire the unity of the Church, insofar as we are able; and in so doing, bear faithful witness to you and your gospel. In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

P: Christ our Healer: We pray for all who are sick, hospitalized, shut-in, lonely, depressed, and the dying and those in bereavement, whom we name out loud or, in the silence of our hearts, PAUSE: In your mercy: C: Hear our prayer.

P: All of these prayers and whatever else is in harmony with your holy will; we ask in the name of our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ALL: Amen.

Benediction

Now may God the Covenant-Maker; Christ the Beloved Son+ and Light to all nations; and the Life-Breathing Spirit bless you and remain with you always.

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 24,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 5 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 64 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 234 posts. There were 20 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 9mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was May 29th with 535 views. The most popular post that day was Sermon Trinity Sunday Yr C.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were textweek.com, deaconsil.com, wehrhan.tripod.com, en.wordpress.com, and search.aol.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for writing on stone provincial park, shepherd me o god lyrics, writing-on-stone provincial park, ottawa, and i am.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Sermon Trinity Sunday Yr C May 2010
1 comment

2

Sermon 5 Lent, Yr C March 2007

3

Sermon 1 Christmas Yr A December 2007
1 comment

4

Sermon 20 Pentecost Yr C October 2007
4 comments

5

Sermon 17 Pentecost Yr C September 2010
5 comments

Crude The Real Price of Oil

Over the holidays I watched a Joe Berlinger film, Crude: The Real Price of Oil

It is a hard-hitting, no nonsense environmental documentary of what giant Goliath corporations like Texaco and now Chevron have done in the Ecuadorian Amazon rain forests. David, the indigenous peoples of the region are now suffering from loss of their way of life, and plague of health issues as a consequence of their polluted environment. The documentary does a fine job of presenting the David vs Goliath lawyers fighting it out in a legal battle that seems unending. What is most commendable about the film is that Berlinger leaves it up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions.  My conclusion is that it is almost impossible for a judge to remain neutral in such a case as this, making the final decision shall have tremendous implications for both sides of this battle; which causes one to pray for the judge to be granted the wisdom of a Solomon to deliver the right decision. However, even if the right decision is delivered in a court of law, there are no guarantees that the losing side will accept the ruling and comply with it. God have mercy on us all. For more info on the movie, check out the website here.