ST. COLUMBA
ANGLICAN UNITED CHURCH
Palm / Passion Sunday (Lent 6)
April 13, 2025
Worship leader: Rev. Bob Gilbert
Mission Statement
As followers of Jesus Christ, our church is a community called to love, honour, worship, and serve God. We invite others to share our Christian journey as we grow in faith and engage in ministry in our town and mission in our world.
9190 Granville Street
PO Box 1260, Port Hardy, BC V0N 2P0
Office Phone: 250-949-6247
E-mail: admin@stcolumbaporthardy.ca
Ministers: Rev. Sheila Cook
(250)-230-7433 scook@bc.anglican.ca
and Rev. Bob Gilbert (250) 686-5695
Wardens: Robert Fyles and Heather Jones
Treasurer: Judy Fyles
Music Ministry: Judy Fyles Video: Ammie Yuipco
Community Partner: Cathie Wilson
www.stcolumbaporthardy.ca
~ Leader: regular font
~ All: bold font
~ Sung words: bold italics
~ Asterisk* stand as you are able
Scripture reading: Luke 19:28-40
*Palm Procession: MV 128 When They Heard That Jesus Was Coming (verses: 1, 2, 3, 5)
When they heard that Jesus was coming
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
All the people went out to meet him
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the chosen one.
Spread their cloaks and branches before him
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Children sand with palm branches waving
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the chosen one.
Blest is he, alike David before him,
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Blest is he, God's blessing upon him,
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the chosen one.
Word of God, and first-born of people,
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Promise kept, the crown of the creation,
Sing hosanna to the chosen one
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
sing hosanna to the chosen one.
Words and Music: Rory Cooney
Welcome and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement
THE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY
Call To Worship
Honour, praise, and glory.
Honour, praise, and glory are yours almighty God, now and forever.
In celebration, we join the crowds of old,
waving branches, giving honour to the Messiah.
Yet, our celebration is bittersweet, for our story doesn’t end here.
We know the pain of what lies ahead.
Today anticipates the rest of the story—
a story of betrayal and death, a story of hope and resurrection.
Let us worship our glorious and gracious God.
Opening Prayer
God, we gather on this day to begin a week of contrasts.
From hope to despair to hope again.
As we begin the week, as we join with the crowd,
help us cut through the noise to see what is happening, to see what is at stake.
As the story unfolds,
open us to both the hope and the pain.
In this time of worship,
prepare us to celebrate, to weep, and to wait. Amen.
Lenten Candle Liturgy Lent 6 – The Candle of Unity
(one candle plus the Christ candle is lit)
On this sixth Sunday of Lent, Palm/Passion Sunday, one of the candles that are lit represents our being brought together in a spirit of unity.
We rest in the glow of that candle now.
(a moment of silence)
As we ponder how fractured and divided we can be as a people, it can be hard to trust that we will ever be brought together in a real and lasting way. We grieve how unforgiving we can be to each other and how much harm and hurt we can cause to one another by allowing our differences to keep us apart.
As we move with Jesus into Jerusalem this Palm Sunday, we extinguish our candle of unity, just for today, as we seek to learn new ways of respecting our differences and respecting each other so that we can be together as one.
Hymn: VU 108 Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights (v. 1)
Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way,
where, meeting Christ, our guide and light,
we live in hope till Easter Day.
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
Hutłilala's! Listen deeply as Scripture is proclaimed.
Prayer of Illumination
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 31:9-16 VU 758 Part Two & Three
Refrain: I trust in you, you are my God.
Have mercy on me, God, for I am in trouble; my eyes are wasted with grief, my soul and my body also.
My life is worn out with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails me in my misery, my bones are wasted away.
I am the scorn of my enemies, yes, even of my neighbours.
My acquaintances shudder at the sight of me; when they see me in the street, they shrink away.
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
I hear the whispering of many; fear is on every side, while they conspire against me, and plot to take my life.
R: I trust in you, you are my God.
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
Let your face shine on your servant, and save me, for your mercy’s sake.
R: I trust in you, you are my God.
Philippians 2:5-11
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
*Hymn: VU 143 My Song Is Love Unknown (v 1, 3, 4)
My song is love unknown,
my Saviour’s love to me,
love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.
O who am I
that for my sake
my Lord should take frail flesh, and die?
He came from his blest throne
salvation to bestow,
but people scorned, and none the longed-for Christ would know.
But O my Friend,
my Friend indeed,
who at my need his life did spend.
Here might I stay and sing,
no story so divine;
never was love, dear King, never was grief like thine!
This is my friend,
in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.
The Passion Story:
Introduction
Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46 ‘Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane’
Meditation: Jesus Feels the Isolation
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
(remain seated each time its sung)
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.
Scripture: Matthew 26:69-75 ‘Peter denies Jesus’
Meditation: A Friend of Jesus Has Let Him Down
A Prayer of Hope:
In the midst of uncertainty and doubt,
we need your presence, O God.
we need your friendship, O God.
In the midst of powerlessness and despair,
we need your confidence, O God.
When the fear of death comes home to us,
we need your eternal love, O God. Amen.
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
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.
Scripture: Matthew 27:11-14 ‘Pilate questions Jesus’
Matthew 27:27-31 ‘The soldiers make fun of Jesus’
Meditation: What’s It Like to Be Powerless
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
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.
Prayer of Confession:
O God, it is hard to believe that the friends of Jesus would let him down at the critical moment.
We confess that we, too, have not always been friends to trust.
O God, it is hard to believe that the leaders with the power would fail to understand the goodness of Jesus.
We confess that we, too, have used our power over others unwisely.
O God, it is hard to believe that popular opinion could be manipulated to condemn a wonderful person.
We confess that we, too, have gone along with the crowd.
O God, it is hard to believe that the cruel death of crucifixion was tolerated in a civilized society.
We confess that we, too, have been slow to speak out against the cruelty and injustice of our time.
(a time of silence)
Words of Assurance:
We stand at the foot of the cross and look up. We regain our Christian perspective.
We will see our weakness through the eyes of Christ.
The cross changes our perspective.
We will find courage through the example of Christ.
The cross changes our perspective.
We will stay the course through the persistence of Christ.
The cross brings us to a new way.
We will experience peace through working in the spirit of Christ. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 27:32-44 ‘Jesus is crucified’
*Hymn: VU 144 Were You There (v 1, 2, 3)
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Meditation: The Crucifixion Echoes Down the Ages
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
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.
Scripture: Matthew 27:45-56 ‘The death of Jesus’
Meditation: People Are Being Crucified All Over the World
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
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.
*Hymn: VU 152 There is a Green Hill Far Away (v 1 ,2, 4)
There is a green hill far away,
outside a city wall,
where our dear Lord was crucified
who died to save us all.
We may not know, we cannot tell,
what pains he had to bear,
but we believe it was for us
he hung and suffered there.
O dearly, dearly has he loved,
and we must love him too,
and trust in his redeeming blood,
and try his works to do.
Scripture: Matthew 27:57-61 ‘The burial of Jesus’
Meditation: We Also Suffer Crucifixion
(a time of silence)
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope…
Sung Response: MV 145 Draw the Circle Wide (refrain only)
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.
Prayers of the People
The Lord’s Prayer
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. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
The Peace
The Peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.
(We share a sign of peace with one another)
Invitation to the Offering
*Hymn: VU 149 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (v 1, 2, 4)
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ, my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small:
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
*Response: VU 537 Your Work O God, Needs Many Hands
Your work, O God, needs many hands
to help you everywhere,
and some there are who cannot serve
unless our gifts we share.
Because we love you and your work,
our offering now we make:
and pleased to use it as your own,
we ask for Jesus’ sake.
Prayer over the Gifts
*Hymn: VU 135 Beneath the Cross of Jesus (v 1, 3)
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand:
the shadow of a mighty rock
within a weary land,
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat
and the burden of the day.
I take, O cross, your shadow
for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face,
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all, the cross.
Commissioning and Benediction
Passing from joy into sorrow and on to elation,
we come to Christ this holy week.
Today is only a part of the story.
Jesus’ triumph leads to his death, his death to his resurrection.
May the journey of this week lead you into the fullness of Christ’s love.
And the blessing of God: Creator, Christ, and Spirit be with you this day and forever more.
*Three-fold Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God! Gilakas’la!
Holy Week Services
Join with Rev. Bob Gilbert and folks in Port Alice at St. John's Church in Port Alice (corner of Marine Drive and Nigei Street) as they journey through Holy Week. Holy Week commences on Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday.
It is a time to concentrate on the events of that week including: the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; the cleansing of the Temple; Jesus’ escalating conflict with the religious leaders; his betrayal by Judas; the ‘last supper’ with the ‘foot washing’ and Jesus’ new commandment; the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday; the waiting in-between time of Holy Saturday.
Bob is offering daily Holy Week services (Monday – Thursday, Saturday) on ZOOM at 11:00 am. These are ‘devotional’ services designed to enter into the experience of Jesus and his disciples in this final part of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and the Cross. The services are about 20 – 30 minutes in length and feature: prayer, scripture, silent reflection, and short meditations.
Join with Bob in giving focused attention to the Passion of Christ as we conclude the season of Lent, anticipating the mystery and joy of Easter. The Zoom link is found below. The ZOOM room will open about 5 minutes before the service begins.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/82415426859?pwd=KgaxFURGluzGABKfaa7kRQIKrmayC2.1
Good Friday worship will be in person only.
St Columba Port Hardy: 12:00 Noon with Rev. Canon Jenny Replogle
St Theresa’s/St. John’s Port Alice: 5:00 PM with Father David
St. John’s parishioners welcome Bishop Anna and The Rev. Canon Jenny who will be visiting Port Alice on Good Friday and attending the Good Friday service at St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Parish.
April 20 7:00 AM Easter Sunrise service at Tsulquate Park, Kinsman Pavillion
April 20 10:30 AM Easter Sunday service with communion led by Rev. Bob Gilbert After both the Easter services there will be hot cross buns during the fellowship time.
Announcements
Coffee following the service!
Canned and dried food are always appreciated
Mission Focus: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Red Dress Day local events
Lenten Study Tuesday April 15 at 2:00 PM (the last study date for now)
April 25 10:00 AM Church Council
April 27 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon worship with Rev. Sheila Cook
Liturgical Resources:
Call To Worship; Commissioning & Benediction – from “Ministry Matters – Palm Sunday 2025”
Opening Prayer – adapted from Rev. Gord’s blog – “Worship Offerings”
Lenten Candle Liturgy from Gathering, L/E 2025, p. 68-69
Prayers of the People; Invitation to the Offering; Prayer over the Gifts – adapted from Presbyterian Church in Canada – “Worship Resources – April 13, 2025)
Passion Story resources adapted from ‘UCC Gathering’ Lent/Easter 2015, pp. 69-71.
Music copyright:
Words for hymns reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 or CCLI License # 11033010. All rights reserved.
More Voices 128 When They Heard That Jesus Was Coming Words and Music: Rory Cooney, 1999. Words and music copyright © 1999 GIA Publications. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#00462). All rights reserved.
Voices United 108 Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights Words: James Gertmenian; Music: Musikalisches Handbuch, Hamburg 1690; arr. W. H. Havergal 1864. Words copyright © 1993 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#12108). All rights reserved.
Voices United 758 Psalm 31 Refrain Music: La Scala Santa, Ireland 1681, Arranged by Erik Routley © 1985 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#89938). All rights reserved.
Voices United 143 My Song Is Love Unknown Words: Samuel Crossman, 1664; Music: John Ireland (1879-1962), 1918. Words: Public Domain. Music copyright © The John Ireland Trust. Permission on file from a representative of the John Ireland Trust to reprint and stream. All rights reserved.
Voices United 144 Were You There Words: African-American spiritual; Music: African-American spiritual, arr. Melva Wilson Costen, 1987. Words and music: Public domain. Arrangement copyright © 1987 Melva Wilson Costen. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#52666). All rights reserved.
Voices United 152 There Is a Green Hill Far Away Words: Cecil Frances Alexander 1848, alt. Music: William Horsley, 1844. Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 149 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross Words: Isaac Watts 1707; Music: second supplement to Psalmody in Miniature ca. 1780, adapted Edward Miller 1790; harmony Samuel Webbe; descant John Wilson. Words, French Translation, Music, Adaptation: Copyright, public domain. Descant copyright Hope Publishing Company. Descant © 1992 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#259446). [Descant never played or sung.] All rights reserved.
Voices United 537 Your Work, O God, Needs Many Hands Words: Calvin Weiss Laufer 1927, altered; Music Nick Dougall ca. 1831. Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 135 Beneath the Cross of Jesus Words: Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane 1868, alt. Music: Frederick Charles Maker 1881. Copyright: Public domain.
