Good morning,

My hope is that you have had a good week and that you are well.

Today’s worship will continue the theme of how God calls us and engages in our lives.  I have chosen to familiar hymns for todays worship and invite you to listen to each in a particular way.

The first hymn is for the beginning of worship and will provide a context to our worship.

The Second hymn is for the end of the worship service.  This is a perfect hymn to continue your worship experience by connecting the worship experience to your personal life situation. This is the process that I suggest that you follow:

• Begin by listening to the hymn: hearing and responding to each of the questions that are posed.  Notice any of the questions that elicit a strong YES … or a strong NO.
• Listen to the hymn a second (and maybe a third time) allowing yourself to be open to discovering why your reactions were as they were – whether they were Yes’s or No’s.
• Next spend time listening for God’s response (don’t try to figure anything out!) … just be present.
• And now journal your experience, or share your experience with another person.If you would like to share your experience with me, please write me an e-mail or give me a call – sometimes sharing with another person allows for a deeper insight to emerge.
• Finally, end with a short prayer of thanks to god for the time together.

(The words of the hymn and two journaling prompts, which you may or may not choose to use, are at the bottom of the e-mail)

Candles for Worship: Our weekly worship services are a time when we draw closer to God and to one another.  As you prepare to listen to the service, I invite you to have a candle ready to light that reminds us of God’s presence with us as well as the wooden Knox 16 that reminds us that we are all connected together.  I also invite you to pray out loud the Lord’s Prayer.

Public worship:  As per public health directives, public worship has been suspended until further notice.  Session has taken the decision to revaluate when public worship will be reinstated at the monthly Session meeting: our next meeting is February 12th.

Annual Meeting: The date for the Annual Meeting has been set for March 14th.  As we do not know if we are going to be able to gather as a large group, we have begun to make plans to hold the meeting using Zoom.  I would invite anyone who is not familiar with the platform to reach out to me over the next few weeks so that we can assist you in learning how to use the technology.  If anyone has any knowledge, experience or interest in “live-streaming” please let me know!

Reaching out to others: I know that these are unsettling times and that many are feeling the strains that come from not being able to be together.  So I encourage you to connect to people for conversation and companionship.  Especially now, I would encourage everyone to make a daily practice of giving someone a call to check-in.  Even a short conversation will lift the spirit of the person you call … and miraculously, it will lift your spirits as well.  We are all connected, and we will be stronger & healthier when we are intentional in nurturing our relationships with one another.

 Blessings,

Patrick

Will You Come And Follow Me (The summons)

Will You Come And Follow Me
If I But Call Your Name?
Will You Go Where You Don’t Know
And Never Be The Same?
Will You Let My Love Be Shown,
Will You Let My Name Be Known,
Will You Let My Life Be Grown
In You And You In Me?

Will You Leave Yourself Behind
If I But Call Your Name?
Will You Care For Cruel And Kind
And Never Be The Same?
Will You Risk The Hostile Stare
Should Your Life Attract Or Scare?
Will You Let Me Answer Prayer
In You And You In Me?

Will You Let The Blinded See
If I But Call Your Name?
Will You Set The Prisoners Free
And Never Be The Same?
Will You Kiss The Leper Clean,
And Do Such As This Unseen,
And Admit To What I Mean
In You And You In Me?

Will You Love The ‘You’ You Hide
If I But Call Your Name?
Will You Quell The Fear Inside
And Never Be The Same?
Will You Use The Faith You’ve Found
To Reshape The World Around,
Through My Sight And Touch And Sound
In You And You In Me?

Lord, Your Summons Echoes True
When You But Call My Name.
Let Me Turn And Follow You
And Never Be The Same.
In Your Company I’ll Go
Where Your Love And Footsteps Show.
Thus I’ll Move And Live And Grow
In You And You In Me.

Journaling Prompts

• If you experienced a strong Yes or No

o   How do you feel God is calling you to change?

o   Are there places where you feel is calling you to be present for another?

• If you did not experience a strong Yes or No.

o   Is there a risk to following Jesus that you are avoiding taking?

o   How do you feel confident and affirmed in your faith?