Sunday Service for 24 January 2021

24 January 2021
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk

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Call to Worship and Prayer
Today Christ calls us to make room for unexpected amazement—
in our schedules, in our places, in our minds, in our hearts.
Whatever our situation,
wherever we find ourselves,
however we are feeling today,
God is with us,
making all things possible.
Come, let us worship.
Let us pray.
God of surprises, you are always doing a new thing. Even when we are tired, even when we are curious, even when we are sure and when we are anxious, you call us to trust you. We admit that we often think we know better, and find it difficult to follow where you lead. We confess that we don’t want to go through the deep water, however much life might be found there amidst the danger. And we confess that when we do receive the riches of your providing, we would prefer to keep it for ourselves. Yet you call us to turn our amazement into discipleship, to leave the profits and the spectacle and follow your way. Forgive us our hesitancy, our unwillingness to let go of the things that define and secure, our fear of what others might think. Forgive us, and help us to put our words of faith into actions of trust. We ask in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn #189: Be Still, for the presence of the Lord

Reading: Luke 5.1-11 (Common English Bible)

Last week we heard Jesus give his first sermon, in his hometown of Nazareth. It started well but by the end people were quite upset. He went on from there to Capernaum, where he was again teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath when a demon who was possessing a man shouted out his identity for all to hear. Jesus cast out the demon and healed the man, and people began to talk about him even more than before. After synagogue, Jesus went to Simon’s house, where he healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and then once the sun went down and the Sabbath was over, the whole town came to the door to ask for healing. That night, Jesus went out and prayed, and decided it was time to go preach in new places, even as word about him was spreading. We pick up the story today in Luke chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. I am reading from the Common English Bible.
~~~~~

One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Gennesaret when the crowd pressed in around him to hear God’s word. Jesus saw two boats sitting by the lake. The fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets. Jesus boarded one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, then asked him to row out a little distance from the shore. Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he finished speaking to the crowds, he said to Simon, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.”
Simon replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you say so, I’ll drop the nets.”
So they dropped the nets and their catch was so huge that their nets were splitting. They signalled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They filled both boats so full that they were about to sink. When Simon Peter saw the catch, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I’m a sinner!” Peter and those with him were overcome with amazement because of the number of fish they caught. James and John, Zebedee’s sons, were Simon’s partners and they were amazed too.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

For the word of God in scripture,
For the word of God among us,
For the word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Open

One day…just an ordinary work day like any other. Morning chores were in process, merchants were setting up their stalls, day labourers were congregating and waiting for work, children were running underfoot on their way to get water from the town well, fishwives were gathering up the night’s meagre catch to sell — not from Simon’s boats, though, since they had caught nothing — and fishermen were cleaning nets to prepare for the next night instead. Everyone else’s workday was gearing up, but theirs was winding down.

Jesus had been visiting synagogues in all the villages, but this was a work day, not a Sabbath day, so he was out doing what normal people did on an average weekday morning. Perhaps he was out waiting to buy fish beside the shore, or talking to day labourers, or waiting for the baker to get fresh loaves from the ovens. People recognised him though, and started to gather round, hoping to hear him say something profound. When the crowd got to be a bit too claustrophobic, he hopped into Simon Peter’s boat. Jesus clearly could not handle the boat himself, he asked Peter to push away from the shore — a task that actually would have required the crew of 4 or 5 men to stop their net-cleaning and get back into the boat.

Once Jesus finished everything he had to say that morning, he ask them to go out into the deep water and go fishing.

The deep water…where anything can happen. It’s away from the crowds, and it’s the most dangerous part of the lake, where you can’t see what’s down there and where squalls could rise quickly and without much warning. It was also the place where, at that time of day, there might be more fish than closer to the shore. Life and danger together summed up in one phrase: the deep water.

These men were tired, they’d worked all night…perhaps they didn’t even have the energy to resist their new friend who was brought up inland. Even though a tired crew out on the deep water was likely an extra layer of concern, they humoured him — “if you say so, I’ll drop the nets.” The nets they had just cleaned, for the record, as their last work task before finishing their shift. It’s like when the tables are wiped and the machine is cleaned and the floor is mopped and with one minute before closing time someone comes in and orders a cappuccino.

But they did it — they dropped the nets. And the result was so far beyond their imagining they didn’t even have time to think. Pretty soon they had so many fish that two boats were sinking — and each boat at the time could have safely held nearly half a ton of fish! With a literal ton of fish, they struggled — an exhausted crew working overtime on the biggest catch they’d ever experienced, they probably were barely even able to hum a sea shanty as they rowed their sinking boat to shore. Once they were safely on land, though, the truth hit: this was the best day in their small business owner lives! Nothing like this had ever happened before. Even after taxes, this was a huge windfall for them and their families.

Peter’s first reaction, though, was to worship. In awe, he sank to his knees and recognised that he was in the presence of something, someone, so great he could never deserve it. This man had power over the deeps, and though he wasn’t a fisherman he knew the fish better than anyone. They had experienced his teaching and healing but now they saw something else, something cosmic that could control creation.

All of them were overcome with amazement. Imagine realising that such power and holiness had left the sanctuary and the synagogue and come down to the shore in the midst of all the people and work and commerce, and plopped itself down in your business. That’s not how the world works! God is supposed to be safely in the holy places, not in the middle of the workweek, visiting our shops and offices and turning everything upside down!

It’s no wonder Jesus has to say “don’t be afraid.” Think of the other times human beings have encountered the presence of God — Isaiah in the temple seeing the hem of God’s robes and the seraphim singing Holy Holy Holy…the people at the foot of Mount Sinai, with the pillar of cloud and fire quaking with God’s voice…Samuel in the temple, uncertain where that voice is coming from…Elijah on the mountain hearing God in the silence…even when the people of God faced the moment with courage, they were nervous. Because meeting God is dangerous, for two reasons — first because human beings can’t handle or comprehend the fullness of God’s holiness, we’re made to be “a little lower” as the psalmist says. And second because all of these encounters end with God sending the people out to do something that they would likely not have chosen to do on their own. Isaiah and Samuel and Elijah all had to go proclaim a message that the kingdom would not want to hear.

What would come next, for these fishermen who understood they were experiencing something beyond them?

Jesus said: come with me to fish for people. And they left everything and followed him.

They left everything. Their boats. Their nets, which now needed to be re-washed and mended. A literal ton of fish, the catch of a lifetime. Their families and friends. The life they knew and were comfortable in, even though it was hard work. They left it all and followed Jesus. His invitation, to be close to that level of holiness and power and grace all the time, was more compelling than their social network, than their massive income boost, than their exhaustion at the end of the work day — more compelling than anything else.

So they left everything and followed him.

Whatever they expected that day, it wasn’t that. The crowd that pushed and pressed and begged to hear the word…the tired fishermen that humoured this itinerant preacher when he tried to tell them how to do their jobs…then found themselves overcome with wonder and amazement, falling on their knees and then getting up to follow. That was not how they thought their day was going to go when they got up that morning.

But when it happened, they were open to it. When their expectations were shattered and confounded, they adapted to the new situation. When God showed up, they recognised and responded.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the tasks of a day, and in what we think is and is not possible in our situation, and our own sense of our expertise compared to others. Simon Peter and his business partners and their crew could have said “it’s the end of our shift, we’re done for the day” and just laid their nets out to dry and clocked off. They could have said “we’re professional fishermen telling you that there are no fish to catch today” and rowed back to shore. But they had enough space in their spirits to recognise when something divine happened, even unexpectedly in the middle of their everyday life.

Wherever we find ourselves — at home whiling away hours, or working more than ever before without the usual boundaries between work and home; managing home learning, or never getting even a moment’s break from our family members; walking the dog half a dozen times a day for an excuse to go out, or relishing the time to get a break from the hectic pace — what would happen if God turned up? Can we make space within our minds and hearts for God to do something…and then to leave what we know and follow him?

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn #509: Jesus calls us o’er the tumult

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you walk right in to everyday life:
in the middle of the work day,
in the middle of our families and friends,
in the middle of the things we know all about and the messes we have made.
You come bringing holiness out of the sanctuary and into the street,
drawing us into your powerful grace.
Your voice reaches us wherever we are,
at work and play, through screen and silence,
in the endless ordinary days,
even when we are numb to the possibility that we might be called
to belovedness and belonging.
Your call is so urgent, so clear
to leave what we know
to discover that what seems impossible~
justice, mercy, love, equality~
is your dream for your kingdom here on earth,
and we can be a part of it as we follow You.
We lift up to you, O God,
people who live each day with violence and fear,
for our neighbours who can’t see their way through the system,
for our friends who do not see how they hurt or how they could help.
We pray, O Christ, for those suffering in mind, body, or spirit.
For those awaiting the research that could bring relief,
for those eagerly anticipating their vaccine appointment and those who are nervous about it,
for those awaiting the day when every tear is wiped away,
and for those who work each day to save lives and heal people.
We remember, O Spirit, those who have no heart or hands or will
except our own, as your disciples.
Give us courage to speak up, to work, to care, and to go out
on behalf of those you love.
We give you thanks for those who make our world, our nation, our community, our church work:
those who serve in office, and those who hold them accountable to our highest ideals,
those who work behind the scenes, and those who are at the forefront of the news.
Give them wisdom and courage to seek the good of all people and of your earth,
and to do what is right.
We pray…
for our world.
for our country.
for our earthly home.
for our children and our children’s children to the seventh generation,
for the sick and lonely,
the disengaged and angry.
Help us to remember
that we belong to You,
and you are Love,
and we are beloved.
Gather us up as your disciples,
Bind us together in peace,
Claim us so completely that we give all we have
to be healers of the breach,
offerers of grace,
a voice of hope.
In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Benediction
Friends, as you go about your everyday lives, be open and alert to what God is doing, and allow yourself to be drawn by the compelling love of Jesus that calls us to follow. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.
 

Announcements

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) until further notice — the building is closed during the government’s lockdown and during level 4 restrictions. We will let you know when in-person worship begins, and whether any new procedures will be in place at that time.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

* The theme for worship during the season of Epiphany is “Confounding Expectations.” We will be considering how Jesus and his ministry are beyond, around, beneath, outside, blowing-open, confusing, and generally…confounding, compared to what we expect!

* The coffee money that we normally send on to the school in Venda has been exhausted. If you would like to contribute to keep our donations to the school going, please send your donations to Rab & Eileen Gowans.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* Evening Prayer with Connect will be led by both David this evening. Join us on the Connect Facebook Page at 6:58pm.

Sunday Service for 17 January 2021

17 January 2021
Service prepared by Rev. Teri Peterson, Gourock St. John’s
email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland (dot) org (dot) uk
 

To hear the audio recording, including music: 01475 270037 (let your friends, family, and neighbours without internet access know!)

Call to Worship
Listen! The good news of God’s grace is all around.
Even now, the Spirit is fulfilling God’s word in Christ —
and we are the Body of Christ.
Listen beyond your amazement
and hear the truth of Emmanuel
weaving between the lines
and beneath the shallow pride
and behind the pieces we understand.
Come, with hearts and minds open,
and meet the Word made flesh.

Hymn 757: Come All You People

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
your vision of good news is broader than we can see.
We pray this day that you would move us
past our expectations and entitlement, toward our proper place
in the story of your grace transforming the world.
May we not simply speak well of you,
but follow your way of liberation and healing for all.
For we love to praise you, to proclaim your wonders and count our blessings.
We are so grateful for all you have done for us.
We confess that is what we want: for you to do things for us.
And when we hear that your good news prioritises
those who need your tangible justice-creating grace,
more than our desire to feel good about ourselves,
we confess that we don’t like that very much.
We admit that, if we’re being honest,
we’re a little uneasy about the mission you state,
worried that our privilege might be in danger
as you lift up and heal and set free in this world, not only in spirit.
Forgive us for our self-centred view of your work
that tempts us to join the crowd headed toward the cliff.
Open our hearts and minds,
and turn our lives to embody your good news for the poor.
We ask in your holy name, and we join our hearts to yours,
praying as you taught us:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Reading: Luke 4.14-30, New Revised Standard Version

Last week we heard about John the Baptist preaching at the Jordan River, and baptising people, including Jesus, who then heard God’s voice proclaiming him God’s beloved Son. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days, where he experienced several temptations — to turn a stone into bread, to worship Satan in exchange for the glory of the kingdoms of the world, and to demonstrate his specialness by throwing himself from the top of the Temple. Having resisted all these, he then returned home, where we pick up the story today in the gospel according to Luke, chapter 4, beginning at verse 14. I am reading from the New Revised Standard Version.
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Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Sermon: Beyond and Beneath

Can you imagine the scene that day in the synagogue? This hometown boy has been away for a few months, listening to John the Baptist and then going on that wilderness prayer retreat, and he’s been making his way home — they’re hearing glowing reports from every village along the way and can’t wait to welcome him back, to hear all about his experiences and what he’s learned about God and the scriptures, and to celebrate that one of their own is rising to prominence as a preacher.

New archaeological evidence suggests that Nazareth was a bigger town than previously thought, maybe having a thousand or so people. The scholars think that there may have been a number of priestly families living there, and that on the whole the town was more stringently devout than some other places — archaeologists have found evidence that they followed tighter rules and restrictions than some neighbouring towns did. If that’s the case, how much more proud would they be that this native son was becoming a teacher and healer, following in the footsteps of John the Baptist, encouraging people to repent and turn to God’s way? The buzz about Jesus was growing, people were talking about him at home, in the streets and marketplace, and in the synagogue.

His first weekend home, of course he was invited to the front to speak. It happens to everyone training for the ministry! Just come up and say a few words, we’re so proud and excited to hear from these young people who have grown up in our Sunday School classes, we just know they’re going to do great things and be a credit to us and all the time we invested in them.

Jesus stood and was handed the scroll for the week’s lectionary reading — Isaiah. Isaiah is a long scroll, 66 chapters, so unrolling it would take some time, carefully finding the spot for chapter 61, near the end, before reading out a passage we heard just a few weeks ago during Advent. All eyes were on him as he rolled and rolled, then found the right place, and finally read out: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” Then when he finished reading, he rolled and rolled until the scroll was carefully put away. Only then did he start a sermon.

Already after the first sentence, people were thrilled. He spoke so well, especially for a workman’s son. They murmured to each other and swelled with pride for being the place that this great man came from, the neighbours who looked after him and changed his nappies, the friends who studied with him, the people who taught him and who bought their furnishings from his father — they knew him before he was famous, in fact it was probably their help in his upbringing that made him this way! They would definitely get a mention in his award speech.

And then Jesus kept talking. He didn’t stop where they were happy and leave them wanting more. He didn’t quit while he was ahead. He had read what was to become the mission statement of his own ministry, and now he was going to tell them what that meant in practice.

The truth is, he said, the good news is for the people who are beyond you — outside your circle of holiness, like the gentile widow that Elijah fed during the drought. And the good news is for people who are beneath you — like the enemy general that Elisha healed of leprosy. God’s grace is good news to the poor, the captive, the blind, the outcast, and the oppressed.

And the people of Nazareth, who were careful and observant about correctness and holiness and purity, who were priests and small business owners and tradesmen, were furious. They are not the poor, the captive, the blind, the outcast, or the oppressed. Or at least, they don’t see themselves that way, aside from the situation with the Romans. So what does that mean for them, and their expectations for how their hometown celebrity Jesus will treat them?

In essence, Jesus said to them: not everything is about you.

That doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you and care about everyone. It just means that God’s world does not necessarily revolve around me.

And Jesus’ mission was for those who never had their moment in the sun: those that the people of Nazareth assumed were beneath them or beyond their bounds. Too often, we expect that everything God says and does is for us — by which I mean the “us” that is in our comfortable circle. Us in our nation, or our language, or our skin colour, or our religion, or our socio-economic status. But if the way we interpret something is not good news to the poor, the captive, the blind, the outcast, and the oppressed, then it is not actually Jesus’ good news. It’s just our expectations, reinforced by some pretty words.

No wonder the people of Nazareth were furious enough to try to throw Jesus off a cliff. He pointed out their privileged position, and said his mission was to people who needed him more — and then gave examples that suggested that his work would challenge their position, hold them accountable to a vision of God’s kingdom that was more just than the world in which they lived. Their response suggests that they would prefer the status quo rather than the work of God as described by the prophets, or even by Jesus’ mother in her magnificat.

The thing is, if it isn’t good news for the poor, it isn’t good news for anyone. And, despite what the people of Nazareth and down through the ages think, if it is good news for the poor, it will also be good news for the rest of us, no matter how uncomfortable it feels at first. As Emma Lazarus wrote, and later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said, “until we are all free, we are none of us free.” Our welfare is bound up with each other, and — like the word I mentioned last week, kuleana — we have a responsibility to one another. So as long as we think some people are beyond us, outside the bounds, or as long as we think some people are beneath us, then none of us have truly received the good news.

So what would be good news to the children who received such paltry food parcels for their lunches this week?

If it isn’t good news to hungry children, it isn’t good news for anyone, no matter how happy we might be to hear it.

What would be good news to the person fleeing their home because they can no longer live in the midst of war or famine or abuse or lack of opportunity?

If it isn’t good news to the person standing on the beach at midnight trying to decide whether to get into the overloaded raft, it isn’t good news for anyone, no matter how good it makes us feel about God or ourselves.

What would be good news to the immigrants who serve as carers, working for private companies or councils rather than the NHS, wondering about their immigration status and their place in the immunisation priorities, and paying for their own PPE from their minimum wage?

If it isn’t good news for the invisible members of society, it isn’t good news for anyone.

Jesus reads this passage from Isaiah, a passage about God’s kingdom being a kingdom of jubilee, of justice that creates equity, and then says it is fulfilled in him, this is his mission. In his person, in his very being, by his presence among us, these words become true in our present reality. Throughout Luke’s gospel we will see him bringing this about — he is anointed for this purpose, to make God’s kingdom visible here and now, and that will be good news for the poor, the captive, the blind, the outcast, and the oppressed. We may well join the people of Nazareth when we realise the good news is not targeted just to us — indeed, that it is actually targeted to “them.” But only when it’s good news for the least can it be true good news for the greatest. Anything else is just shallow empty words…or even idolatry, a god made in our own image. And the good news of Jesus Christ is so much more than that, so much deeper, so much wider. He challenges us to follow him beyond our comfort zone, so that all people, even “them,” can hear good news and experience God’s kingdom, here and now.

May it be so. Amen.

Hymn 710: ‘I have a dream,’ a man once said

Prayer
God of mercy and justice,
we lift our hearts and voices in praise,
for you have done wondrous things.
You provide for your creation and your people,
You heal and teach,
Your gift of freedom is for all.
In gratitude we come,
amazed and hopeful.

We bring our prayers for those who long for good news —
for those awaiting test results,
for those living with illness, pain, and treatments,
for those in poverty even in our own community.
May your word be fulfilled today.

We bring our prayers for the captives —
those in prison and those working their way through the justice system,
those imprisoned by injustice, greed, or selfishness,
those bound by expectations, broken relationships, or their past.
May your word be fulfilled today.

We bring our prayers for those who cannot see clearly —
whose vision is narrowed by their own desires,
whose sight is clouded by certainty and pride,
whose lenses do not allow them to look toward the full truth.
May your word be fulfilled today.

We bring our prayers for those who do not believe they are worthy of your favour,
who have come to believe the lies about who is deserving of love,
who have found themselves tethered to old stories.
May your word be fulfilled today.

Gracious God,
grant that your Church may be anointed with your Spirit
to be a tangible, living embodiment of your grace that changes the world.
May our life together be good news for the poor and release for the captives.
May our witness point people to your love.
May our praise translate into faithfulness to your story
that is farther-reaching than anything we can imagine.
We ask in the name of the One who brought your Word to Life, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Hymn: God of Justice (Tim Hughes)

Benediction
Friends, go into the world today to be the living embodiment of God’s word for the world — to live as the Body of Christ, anointed to bring good news for all people, for all creation, even. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you; may the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion; may the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone; and may the Spirit of God go within you, to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Announcements

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) until further notice — the building is closed during the government’s lockdown and during level 4 restrictions. We will let you know when in-person worship begins, and whether any new procedures will be in place at that time.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church by post or with a neighbour who is coming to in-person worship and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

* The theme for worship during the season of Epiphany is “Confounding Expectations.” We will be considering how Jesus and his ministry are beyond, around, beneath, outside, blowing-open, confusing, and generally…confounding, compared to what we expect!

* The coffee money that we normally send on to the school in Venda has been exhausted. If you would like to contribute to keep our donations to the school going, please send your donations to Rab & Eileen Gowans.

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* Evening Prayer with Connect will be led by both David and Teri this evening. Join us on the Connect Facebook Page at 6:58pm.