Music as the Community Gathers – Sam Hirst
Words of Welcome
Lighting of the Candles & The Christ Candle
Invitation to Worship
We gather for worship this morning on this Sunday in Creation Time when we recall the gift of rivers. As Canadians we are a people of the river – the St. Lawrence, the Ottawa, the Rideau, the Moira and the Trent – to name but a few. Many of our forebearers came to this land on the rivers – when they were highways through the virgin forest. In worship today we celebrate the life of rivers. We give thanks remembering God’s love and grace that is for us like a flowing river. We celebrate the healing power of water. God meets us here today to empower and enable us, by the Spirit, to love the world in Jesus’ name. Let us worship God – Creator, Christ & Spirit, One.
Opening Prayer
In times of joy, and in times of trouble, help us gracious God, to trust your love, to serve your purpose, and to praise your name. Amen
Opening Hymn MV#163 “River Running in You & Me”
(Verses 1,3,4 & 7 – We sing in silence from our hearts.)
- River running in you and me, Spirit life, deep mystery, dancing down to the holy sea, River run deep, River run free.
- River, cry my name to me, lend me hope and memory, sing me the story of the holy sea, River run deep, River run free.
- I stand on the edge, lookin’ down, too scared to swim, afraid I’ll drown – give me the courage to journey on, River run deep, River run free.
- River sing in you and me, Spirit of life, deep mystery – catch us up in your melody, River run deep, River run free.
Bible Reading Ezekiel 47 paraphrase selections
The prophet, Ezekiel, saw in a vision a river that flowed from the Temple – from the Holy City – God spoke to him, saying:
“This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the desert wilderness. When it enters the stagnant water of the Dead Sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many kinds of fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so, everything will live where the river goes. Fishers will stand beside the sea; from Engedi to Eneglaim, it will be a place of spreading of nets; its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea (The Mediterranean)
And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will be all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month for the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
Like a River Flowing
In this Creation Time – this Sunday is called “River Sunday” As Canadians we can readily relate to the metaphor of a river flowing – since we live in a country that is rich in rivers.
You may know that I grew up on the banks of a river – the Sauble River we called it – it is now in The Chutes Provincial Park in Massey, Ontario. Less than a mile from my home, the Sauble emptied into the larger Spanish River at “The Mouth”. A few miles further on, the mighty Spanish empties into the North Channel of Lake Huron at the village of Spanish.
“The Chutes” park is so named because of the role that the rivers played in the timbering history of
Canada. The Sauble River carried thousands of pine logs from the camps in the northern wilderness – down to mills where they were cut into lumber for the use of builders all over North America – and especially in the 1870’s the rebuilding of Chicago after the fire in 1871 left 100,000 people homeless.
I want to tell you a story today about the rivers of my birthplace.
Back in the early years of the last century, the Spanish River Pulp & Paper Company.) built a pulp and paper mill on the banks of the Spanish River at Espanola, Ontario. The site was chosen because the river could easily be dammed to provide power for the paper-making process. The process itself also took large quantities of water, in order to cook the wood that became the pulp and then the paper. In early days – before roads were adequate – the river also carried the logs that were called “pulpwood” to the mill for chipping and processing.
The mill was closed in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. During World War II it was used to house German prisoners of war. About that time the mill was purchased by the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company – KVP. (You may recall one of the company’s products was Appleford Waxed Paper – though that wasn’t made in Espanola.)
Perhaps you have driven the Trans Canada Highway, Number 17, along the north shore of Lake Huron, west of Sudbury? Or you may have crossed to Manitoulin Island from the Bruce Peninsula and approached Espanola from the south. Depending on the direction of the wind – you would certainly know when you got close. The stench of the papermill would have accosted your olfactory nerve – and you would be inclined to hold your nose. In the area they called it the smell of money – as the welfare of the community was dependant on the work provided by the mill – and the work of cutting pulp in the bush for miles around.
The air quality was not the only issue. The waters of the mighty Spanish River also carried away the waste products of the paper-making. These wastes were literally flushed into the river and carried away. Out of sight, out of mind. The result was that the river was severely damaged by the process. A river that had abounded in aquatic life – with a wide variety of fish – trout and bass and pike and pickerel and perch and even sturgeon – some as long as six or eight feet in length. Over the course of decades almost all of the fish life disappeared. The river became largely sterile – a sewer of industrial waste.
Fortunately, there is a happy ending to this sad tale of environmental destruction. Beginning in the 1970’s legislation was passed by the Province of Ontario prohibiting the dumping of liquid waste into the river. With ever increasing fines, the companies who owned the mill – sold by KVP to Brown Brothers and then to E.B. Eddy, and then Domtar – were forced to comply with the law.
Over the course of the half-century since the tighter environmental controls, the river has cleaned itself. The flow of fresh water has been purified. Wonder of wonders, now, for the first time in 100 years, salmon are making there was up from Lake Huron, through the Spanish and are spawning in the waters of the Sauble River! Anishinaabe friends, Doug and Linda, who live on the shore of the Spanish near Massey are avid fishers. They report that even the sturgeon has returned and large ones are being caught – though it is mostly “catch and release” these days.
What a story of nature’s ability to recover from the abuse of reckless and thoughtless men.
The Bible Reading this morning provides a metaphor of a great river flowing from the Holy City – from the Temple. It starts out as a creek and then becomes a stream and then a river and finally a mighty river that is uncrossable. Wherever the river goes there is new life! Trees flourish. The River itself teems with every kind of fish – as many as in the Great Sea. The trees that flourish bear fruit every month of the year – and the leaves of the tree are for healing.
I recently mentioned that the author of the Book of Revelation picked up this image from Ezekiel and quoted it almost verbatim in the very last chapter of the Bible.
As our United Church Creed proclaims – God is at work in us and others by the Spirit. God is at work to redeem not just humanity, but the whole creation. God’s care is for the fish of the river, the birds of the air, and the animals that walk the earth – as God’s care is for us.
God’s love is like a river flowing. And as it flows it carries away all the brokenness and pain and brings healing and wholeness, joy and freedom – not just in our own lives – but in the life of the world.
Jesus picked up that metaphor when he spoke of a river of living water flowing from the hearts and souls of the beloved.
Thanks be to God for the hopefulness of this message.
God calls us to take part in the healing of creation. The mighty rivers of our land and of our world are in need of our help. We think of the Amazon basin with its rainforest that provides a very significant percentage of the oxygen we all depend on for life. We know that rainforest is burning.
The good news is that the earth can recover when we do our best to protect and nurture the water and the air.
God help us to respond to the call to care.
As you do what you can – remember the story of the Spanish and the Sauble – remember the image of Ezekiel 47 – and hold on to the hope.
Amen.
Acknowledgement of Gifts, Tithes & Offerings
Prayers of Gratitude and Concern
The Lord’s Prayer
Parting Hymn VU#710 “Shall We Gather at the River”
- Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feel have trod; with its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?
Refrain: Yes we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river; gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.
- Ere we reach the shining river, lay we every burden down; grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and crown.
Refrain:
- Soon we’ll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease, soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.
Refrain:
Commissioning & Blessing
Isaiah 43.2a When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they will not overthrow you.
John 7.38 He who believes in Me, Jesus said, “from their heart and soul will flow rivers of living water.”
Psalm 46.4 There is a river whose stream make glad the city of God, the dwelling of the Holy One.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Community of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and always. Amen.
Extinguishing the Christ Candle
Music as We Move into the World – Sam Hirst
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