Nelson United Church

   What do we make of these verses from the 3^rd prophet known as Isaiah offered some 2400 years ago?  (Isaiah 65:17-25) Is it a naïve bit of fluff that will never happen?  Or is there something deeper and more profound going on in this idyllic vision of peace with justice?

         This past week we got a real dose of how polarized our world is: the election in the UK and the Brexit question is dividing the country.  The impeachment of the US President has created a storm of innuendo and hardening positions.  The question of whether the fires in Australia are a product of climate change has polarized people there.  Canadian politics is as deeply polarized as I’ve ever seen it.  And Don Cherry?…  Enough said there!

         All three prophets who claim the name Isaiah offer us wonderful words of hope, real words of challenge and many of the iconic images of God’s vision for a peaceable Kin-Dom that are in our cultural psyche; these images and visions are a counter-balance to the harsh and polarized world in which we live.

At the beginning of the book of Isaiah—the 1^st Isaiah, we hear about turning swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks—weapons of war turned into implements of food production.  We hear the whole of the peaceable Kin-Dom prophecy where “the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little »»

Let us settle back, clear our minds, open our hearts and enter into prayer. When  you hear the words: “Lord, source of our blessings,” please respond with “Hear our prayers.” »»

Twenty-third  Sunday after Pentecost
     Children’s Sunday: Child Honouring

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Breathing deeply, breathing prayerfully, we settle our bodies and quiet our minds. Gentle Strong Divine Love, it is you willing us into holiness, healing our brokenness, patiently reshaping our sharp edges to mould us into your kind of beauty. »»

The Board is very excited about all of the new initiatives we’ve been taking over the past year in particular. »»

When you hear the words, “God of rain and rainbows,” please respond with “Hear our prayers.” »»

Please join me in the prayers of the people today. Whenever our congregational response comes,  please remember who needs mercy and blessing with that beautiful Greek prayer: Kyrie Eleison. »»

We are blessed with the bright, so clear, sunlight of the fall that shines on all people, and all creation, equally. How it flames out at sunset! We thank the Creator. When you hear the words “We pray in gratitude for all peoples and our world” please respond with, “Creator, listen to our hearts”. »»