When long before time and the worlds were begun,
when there was no earth and no sky and no sun,
and all was deep silence and night reigned supreme,
and even our Maker had only a dream . . .
the silence was broken
when god sang the song
and light pierced the darkness and rhythm began,
and with it first birth-cries creation was born,
and creaturely voices sang praise to the morn.
The sounds of the creatures were one with their Lord,
their harmonies sweet and befitting the Word,
the Singer was pleased as the earth sang the Song,
the choir of the creatures re-echoed it long.
Though, down through the ages, the Song disappeared -
its harmonies broken and almost unheard -
the Singer comes to us to sing it again:
our God-is-with-us in the world now as then.
my brothers and sisters
good morning as usual we're coming from
Saint Mark's
Anglican Church Fisher Avenue
before we move into matters pertaining
directly to the service
there are few announcements to be made
pertaining to our opening on this sunday
the 6th of september
we reopen at 9 00 a.m
now i would advise you to register
by calling the church i think that is
advisable
but we also take in in walk-ins
but just bear in mind our limit is
50. also bear in mind that
the reopening team will be here at least
by 8 am
so if you don't want to be rushed if you
don't want to be hurried
you can come after 8
and they will register you for
service in addition to that
there are some persons who are still
fearful
to attend the in-person service
you are welcomed
to join us on youtube sunday by sunday
until further notice
now back to the church itself
when you come to the church
during the course of the week for those
of you who have
access to the church there is a new
protocol from the diocese
whereby each person who enters
the building the buildings on the on
this ground
you are asked to sign in there are
sheets registering your name and a few
other bits of information at
all of the entrances
so please cooperate with us in this
regard so this sunday
again at 9 00 a.m and
i am anxiously awaiting to see all of
you
who I have not seen for several months
today we are celebrating the 14th sunday
after pentecost and for the next
several sundays we'll be looking at
the creation season various aspects
of the creation season and just to let
you know
that each sunday or each time the
service
is broadcast there might be something
in the hymn in the sermon
in the readings in the prayers
that might directly relate to the theme
of creation not all of the service but
some
aspect will have some element
of creation we wanted initially to do something
that is much bigger
and more elaborate but as you're aware
covid did not allow us to do so
today i welcome with me
Miss Jenny Morphew who will be assisting
me
in this morning's prayer
there are a few shout outs and the first
one goes to
Suja Mani who celebrates her birthday
on September 10th happy
birthday Suja but there are two
additional persons
and these people are in the Bahamas they
are our members online
overseas and the first one is
one of my eldest brothers
who happens also to be my godfather
Canon Sebastian Campbell who celebrates
his who celebrates his birthday on the
7th
of september and then
i forgot to announce last week my
sister who happens also to be my
second mother so to speak her name is
Da'Ren Campbell Newbold and she
celebrated her and she celebrated her
birthday
on the 27th of august happy birthday to
all of you
as you celebrate another year that the
lord
has given to you
lord open our lips and our mouth shall
proclaim your praise
o god make speed to save us o lord
make haste to help us glory to the
father
and to the son and to the holy spirit
as it was in the beginning is now and
will be forever
amen the lord be with you
and also with you let us pray
stir up o lord the wills of your
faithful people
that richly bearing the fruit of good
works
we may by you be richly rewarded
through jesus christ our lord who is
alive and reigns
with you and the holy spirit one god
now and forever amen
O be joyful, o be joyful in the Lord all ye lands
Serve the Lord with gladness, with gladness, 
with gladness,
and come before his presence with a song.
O be joyful, o be joyful
Be ye sure that the Lord, that the Lord He is God;
it is He that hath made us,
and not we ourselves, and not we ourselves.
We are his people, we are his people, his people
 and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into His gates, 
go your way into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise, His courts with praise;
Be thankful, be thankful, be thankful unto Him, 
and speak good of His name, speak good of His name.
O be joyful, o be joyful
For the Lord, the Lord is gracious,
His mercy is everlasting,
and his truth, his truth endureth
from generation, from generation,from generation 
to generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Ghost; and to the Holy, Holy Ghost;
As is was in the beginning, as is was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end.  Amen
a reading from the book of revelation
then i looked and there was the lamb
standing on mount zion and with him
144 000
who had his name and his father's name
written on their foreheads and i heard a
voice from heaven
like the sound of many waters and like
the sound of loud
thunder the voice i heard
was like the sound of harpists playing
on their harps
and they sing a new song before the
throne
and before the four living creatures and
before the elders
no one could learn that song except the
144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth
it is these who have not defiled
themselves
with women for they are virgins
these follow the lamb wherever he goes
they have been redeemed from humankind
as first fruits for god and the lamb and
in their mouth no lie was found
they are blameless then
i saw an angel flying in mid heaven
with an eternal gospel to proclaim to
those
who live on the earth to every nation
and tribe
and language and people
he said in a loud voice fear
god and give him glory for the hour of
his judgment has come
and worship him who made heaven and
earth the sea
and the springs of the water the word of
the lord
thanks be to god the appointed psalm
63 verses 1 through 8
and you're encouraged to join in on the
refrain
my soul thirsts for you o god
my god o god you are my god
eagerly i seek you my soul thirsts for
you
my flesh faints for you as in a barren
and dry land
where there is no water therefore
i have gazed upon you in your holy place
that i might behold your power and your
glory
for your lovingkindness
is better than life itself my lips shall
give you praise
so will i bless you as long as i live
and lift up my hands in your name
my soul is content
as with marrow and fatness and my mouth
praises you with joyful lips
when i remember you upon my bed and
meditate on you in the night watches
for you have been my helper and under
the shadow of your wings
i will rejoice my soul clings to you
your right hand holds me fast
the lord be with you
and also with you the holy gospel of our
lord jesus christ
according to matthew glory to you lord
jesus christ
jesus said if another member of the
church sins against you
go and point out the fault when the two
of you
are alone if the member listens to you
you have regained that one
but if you are not listened to take one
or two others along with you so that
every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three
witnesses
if the member refuses to listen to them
tell it to the church and if the
offender refuses to listen to even the
church
let such a one be to you as a gentile
and a tax collector truly i tell you
whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven
and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven
again truly i tell you if two of you
agree on earth
about anything you ask it will be done
for you by my father in heaven
for where two or three are gathered
in my name i am there
among them the gospel
of christ praise to you lord jesus
christ
as i said in the introduction
for the next several weeks we'll be
looking at
concepts pertaining to
the theme of creation and not every
sunday
you will hear it through the sermons but
in some form during the service
and i would like to say to you
we are called to live in community
now from person to person the idea
the definition of what community living
is might differ
if you speak to somebody who's perhaps
65 or 70 years plus
their concept about community
might be might be perhaps going to the
store
helping somebody out maybe driving
someone somewhere
somewhere and that might be their
concept
about community i spoke to somebody in
another culture
and their idea of community is at the
death of a loved one to
be there in very practical meaningful
ways
while the person begins to grieve and to
heal
from the death of a loved one
now if you speak to somebody who's
perhaps 20s 30s 40s or even 50s
their concept of community
might be totally different
i remember seeing on facebook to all my
facebook friends and then facebook has
a new lingo i friend you
i unfriend you and that itself
is a community it's the virtual world
and then you go to whatsup and then
there's another set of language or
expressions that many persons who are 65
plus would perhaps scorn
it's a different era a different time
and therefore
the whole idea of community
means something totally different
a few weeks ago i was invited to join
something called marco
polo it's an app
and i i enjoy it and the app says you can
simply go on
and in real time just leave a video for
the person you wish to say something to
and at the right time or at the
convenient time the person responds
in like manner and i enjoy this
but some persons will not enjoy this
so that is what community means for
different people
different places gender age culture
but matthew also speaks about a
community today as well
and what does matthew how does matthew
address this idea
of community matthew was fully aware
that
in the early church in that day and time
there were tensions in the church just
as there are tensions now
in any group in any culture in any
society
and matthew gives a remedy in how to
deal with tension and how to be in
harmony within the community
matthew first says you just cannot
escalate
the matter first matthew says
go and speak to this brother or sister
who have sinned or who have offended you
go and speak to the sister or  brother and
the key word
in matthew's gospel is do it
alone you may ask
why is matthew stressing
do it alone
matthew's whole thinking is don't
make the matter worse by humiliating the
person publicly
do not cause more strife in the church
than what is already there do not
produce
a lot of anger and angst within the
community
the larger picture for matthew is
the host the body of christ
is intact after all is said
and done that is what living
in community in terms of all the human
relations
are all about but i submit to you
there are other forms of living in
community
or living in harmony when it comes to
nature itself
i will draw just a few examples for you
how many of you remember in the late
1980s
i was a child but i remember it
there was this big
accident called the chernobyl
accident  in the ukraine
a lot of nuclear waste got into the
environment as a result
many people people became sick
as a result people
had to evacuate and then there were some
people
who said they actually tasted
metallic substances
in their mouths
it was a big affair because
nature itself had been troubled
nature itself was revolting
against this and it caused
humanity great pain
how many of you recall in some countries
the evil act of deforestation
in one of the caribbean countries
deforestation has taken
a toll as a result of deforestation
when there is rain there
are landslides when there are landslides
a lot of poor people's houses
are destroyed
when there is deforestation the soil
cannot be
kept intact and therefore there's soil
erosion as a result of deforestation
many times when natural disasters such
as hurricanes
go across certain land mass
the landmass becomes even more
vulnerable
because the trees are not there
to prevent some of the impact
of the winds my brothers and sisters
as a result there is chaos as a result
there is death as a result man
is out of harmony with nature
itself and how many persons do we see
just polluting the environment day by
day
in some other means
but what's our mandate what's our
mandate
from our creator what does
our creator say to us our creator says
to us
i have given you the earth i have given
you the land i've given you the sea
i've given you the air but i've given
you these things so that you
can be good stewards of my
creation in
the revelations this morning
revelation puts it this way for us
revelation chapter 14 and
verse 7 and this is
the lord speaking in these visions
and it says he said in a loud voice
fear god and give him glory
for the hour of his judgment has come
and worship him who made heaven
and earth the sea and the
springs of water in essence
god who created all of these things
is inviting us is calling us
to be good stewards of what he has
given us because when we are good
stewards
of what he has given us everybody
around us everybody benefits
we benefit the earth benefits
everything benefits around us
my brothers and sisters
we are called to live in harmony
with each other but we are also called
to live
in harmony with creation
will we be found wanting the end of all
would we grieve god's holy spirit
by not being in harmony with what he has
given us
i pray that as we continue to celebrate
creation
we might be more open
and be more honorable as relates to what
god
has given us may god give us the
strength
to be the stewards he has called us to
be
amen let us confess the faith of a
baptism
as we say i believe in god
the father almighty creator of heaven
and earth
i believe in jesus christ his only son
our lord he was conceived by the power
of the holy
spirit and born of the virgin mary
he suffered under pontius pilate was
crucified
died and was buried he descended to the
dead
on the third day he rose again he
ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the
father
he will come again to judge the living
and the dead
i believe in the holy spirit the holy
catholic church
the communion of saints the forgiveness
of sins
the resurrection of the body and the
life everlasting
amen lord in these uncertain times
we join together in prayer saying lord
in your mercy hear our prayer
lord as christians are gathering
together in worship
as schools are reopening we ask
that you may guide and sustain all who
are involved
lord in your mercy hear our prayer
lord we pray for all who hold positions
of authority
both in the spiritual and secular
society
help them to make right decisions
to your glory and for the good of all
lord in your mercy hear our prayer
lord we pray for peace and justice
for all people help us to respect each
other
to strive together to make a better
world
in which to nurture your creation
lord in your mercy hear our prayer
lord we pray for all who are in trouble
whether it be in mind body or estate
we think of innocent people suffering as
a result of hurricanes
those torn from their homes as fires
rage
those whose lives have been changed
forever
in Beirut and the many in your world
suffering from injustice and the
violence
of human beings one to another
we especially pray for the sick and
those who have
asked us to pray for them be with them
lord
and those who minister to their needs
lord
in your mercy hear our prayer
we pray that for those who have died
remembering Jane Delroy
and her friends and family
may she rest in your peace
lord in your mercy hear our prayer
we pray for ourselves
the needs of this parish our personal
needs
and we rejoice and give thanks
for all your blessings
lord in your mercy hear our prayer
many of us are anxious we do not know
what lies ahead
quieten our fears for we know
that as we gather in your name you
are ever present in our midst
through jesus christ our lord amen
and now as our savior christ has taught
us we are bold to say
our father who art in heaven hallowed
be thy name thy kingdom come come thy
will be done
on earth this day
our daily bread and forgive us our
trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against
us
and lead us into temptation but deliver us
for thine is the kingdom the power and
the glory
forever and ever amen
i now invite you to join in
as i pray a prayer from creation.org
the lord be with you and also with you
let us pray loving father and god
creator of all we come to you today
deeply grateful for your creation
as we look around us we are amazed at
the greatness
and majesty of all that you have made
nature around us speaks of your
greatness
the vast expanse of the sky the
mountains
trees lakes and streams speak of your
great design
you have given us such beauty in the
colors of the rainbow
the beauty of flowers and fields
words cannot adequately express the
magnificence
of all you have created we join in
praise with the writer of the psalms when
he says
o lord our lord how majestic
is your name in all the earth
may we show our love and reverence to
you our lord
by caring for all that you have created
we humbly give you prayers and thanks
through jesus christ our lord amen
and now the blessing of god almighty
the father the son and the holy spirit
be with you and remain with you always
amen go in peace to love
and serve the lord thanks be to god
Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side,
Draw the circle wide.
God the still point of the circle, 
‘round whom all creation turns;
nothing lost, but held forever, in God’s gracious arms.
Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
let this be your song no one stands
alone
standing side by side
Draw the circle wide.
Let our hearts touch far horizons, 
so encompass great and small;
let our loving know no borders, 
faithful to God’s call.
Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side,
Draw the circle wide.
Let the dreams we dream be larger,
than we ever dreamed before;
let the dream of Christ be in us,
 open every door.
Draw the circle wide.
Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side,
Draw the circle wide.
