Where We Are At with In-person Worship

We are moving forward to having worship in the sanctuary once more, beginning Sunday, September 13, at 10:30 a.m. The service will look and sound different than it did 6 months ago, but the goals will be the same: to give God thanks, to be refreshed in faith, to build up community, and to be renewed in service and witness:

-We will enter through the wooden doors in the front hall. Volunteers will welcome you, screen you, and include your name and phone number on a contact list (to be used by the Health Unit if contact tracing becomes necessary.)

-There will be a limit of 30% of capacity inside the sanctuary. This works out to 40-60 in attendance.

-Signs will direct you in the direction you are to travel, ask you to use hand sanitizer, and remind you of the need to wear masks. The worship folder will be on the pew, helping to mark the designated, physically distant place you can sit. Those from the same social bubble are able to sit together. Every other pew will be marked off.

-There will be no congregational singing, or dialogue. No hymnbooks or other material will be in the pews.

--Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, ushers, and readers – of the Lessons, as well as the prayers.

-The presiding minister and assistants will be at least 4 m, 16 ft., from the assembly.

-There will be a container for offerings at the entrance to the sanctuary.

-The Sharing of the Peace can still be offered – through a gentle nod, a bow, a simple wave, sign of the cross, or crossing one’s arms over the chest.

-The service will last 30-45 mins.

-Pastor Matthew will not greet people.

-There will be no Fellowship hour. On the way out, please maintain physical distancing, exiting by the doors to the parking lot.

-There will be no Sunday School.

-Our first celebration of Holy Communion will be on Sun. Oct. 4. More details to follow.

-Participants are encouraged ‘to go’ before they arrived. Washrooms will be available, but will have to be cleaned after each use. The platform will be available, as needed, to access the basement washrooms.

-On-line worship folders, and sermons, will continue to be available.

Your Congregational Council

For the Beauty of the Earth:

To all members and friends of Our Saviour’s,

As we look forward to heading back to church this month, we also are preparing the building. Please assist us in developing new bulletin boards in Immanuel Hall. The theme is the hymn ‘For the Beauty of the Earth” and pictures, paintings, photos, drawings and anything illustrating the hymn’s words are needed. Please review the words and drop off your artistic submissions at the church. Remember to put your name on the backs or somewhere so that they can be returned.

This is a chance for everyone – young, old, or in-between, to participate in the life of our church.

Thank you in anticipation,

Pat Kaukola and Kim Koivukoski

For the Beauty of the Earth

John Rutter (modified)

For the beauty of the earth

For the beauty of the skies

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of the hour

Of the day and of the night

Hill and vale

And tree and flower

Sun and moon and stars of light

Lord of all to these we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the joy of ear and eye

For the heart and mind’s delight

Linking sense to sound and sight

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth

And friends above

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise.

Our Carillon

Since Ontario's state of emergency began in March, we have been playing hymns on our outside 'bells', about 1:00 p.m., each week day and Saturday, as a source of peace and renewal. On Sunday they are played at 10:30 a.m.

As our province and congregation are beginning to open up, and to give our 60-year old chimes a rest, daily playing will stop on Aug. 13. However, Sunday playing will continue.

On Dec. 11, 2016 our Sunday School children unveiled the names of the 'bells', the bell-shaped external speakers for our chimes.

They are 'Glory, Joy, Love, Honour'.

Thank you to the children, the leaders, and all who offered suggestions for the names.

The bells first hung in the tower of Our Saviour's on Secord Street, donated in 1958 by Mr. Ogden. Since 1970 they have hung outside the choir loft window at our location on Farrand Street -- thanks to Gerry LaForme for installing them back then!

National Bishop Susan's Daily Hymn and Prayer

Join our National Bishop:

"Many of us are feeling isolated as we practice social distancing because of COVID-19. Join me each day in focusing our prayers around one hymn."

Three times weekly during the summer Bishop Susan will be suggesting a hymn from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Join her to pray while you sing, and then in prayer through the petition. Please share these with others in your community.

http://elcic.ca/publichealth/BishopSusanHymnandPrayer.cfm

Mandatory Use of Mask or Face Covering within Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Under instructions issued by the Medical Officer of Health, all businesses and organizations, including places of worship, in the Thunder Bay District Health Unit area must adopt a policy that requires all members of the public and employees who enter or remain in an enclosed public space to wear a mask or face covering.:

1. Beginning 12:01 a.m., July 24, 2020, all members of the public, employees, and others who enter or remain in enclosed public areas of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay, Inc. are required to wear a mask or face covering. The mask or face covering must cover the nose, mouth and chin without gaping.

a. The following persons are exempted from the requirement to wear a mask or face covering and will not be required to provide proof of such exemption:

i. Children under two years of age, or children under the age of five years either chronologically or developmentally who are unable or refuse to wear a mask or face covering and cannot be persuaded to do so by their caregiver;

ii. Individuals with medical conditions rendering them unable to safely wear a mask or

face covering, including breathing difficulties, cognitive difficulties, hearing or

communication difficulties;

iii. Individuals who cannot wear or are unable to apply/remove a mask or face covering without assistance, including those who are accommodated under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or who have protections under the Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c.H. 19 as amended;

iv. Employees who are within or behind a physical barrier (e.g. Plexiglas).

b. Temporary removal of the mask or face covering is permitted where necessary when:

i. actively engaging in an athletic or fitness activity, including water-based activities;

ii. consuming food or drink;

iii. receiving services in a personal service setting on an area of the face that would otherwise be covered by a mask or face covering; and

iv. for any emergency or medical purpose.

2. This policy will be implemented and enforced in “good faith” to primarily educate people on wearing masks or face coverings and promote their use in enclosed public spaces. Persons listed under 1a) are not required to show proof of exemption.

3. Signs about the requirement to wear masks or face coverings will be posted prominently at all public entrances. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer will also be made available at all entrances and exits for persons entering or exiting Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Thunder Bay, Inc.

4. Employees/staff will be trained on the policy, including:

a. How and when to provide verbal reminders of the policy’s masking requirement to persons entering or remaining without a mask or face covering, and those who remove their mask or face covering for an extended period of time.

b. where and how to properly wear a mask or face covering;

c. how to respond to customers who do not have a mask or face covering;

d. where people can get more information about the policy; and

e. how to handle a customer who becomes aggressive about the new requirement.

5. A copy of this policy will be made available on request to a public health inspector or other person authorized to enforce the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Dr. Janet DeMille, the MOH has included these words in her directive:

Emerging evidence supports that wearing a mask or face covering when in enclosed spaces is an important measure in reducing community transmission of COVID-19. Increasingly, recommendations and expectations around masking in enclosed spaces are being strengthened to reflect this...

Implementation of the policy should be enacted and enforced in ‘good faith’ and should be primarily used as a means to educate people on mask or face covering use in public spaces."

Season of the Spirit

LWF Communion Prayer for the Pentecost 2020

The liturgical season of Pentecost is called “ordinary” because the weeks are ordered, or numbered. Some churches order these weeks according to the Sundays after Pentecost, some after Trinity Sunday, and others, until the start of Advent, and a new liturgical year.

Our Lutheran World Federation is offering 'Season of the Spirit' to the global Lutheran communion, as a way to be in the solidarity of prayer during this sesason.

The daily prayer follows a simple order: psalmody and prayer. "We commend these prayers to your use, whether alone in your home, as a family, or as your community is able to gather at a distance. As you pray in solidarity with the communion across the globe, and the communion of saints in all times and places, be encouraged by the counsel that Luther offers in his letter, A Simple Way to Pray:

“Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of the Church...are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain. There we find God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Holy Spirit, that is, God who daily sanctifies us.”

Throughout this green time, may the Spirit of God bring forth new growth in you."

August 2-8

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200802_pentecost_reflections_week_10_en.pdf

July 26 - August 1

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200726_pentecost_reflections_week_9_en.pdf

July 19-25

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200719_pentecost_reflections_week_8_en.pdf

July 12-18

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200712_pentecost_reflections_week_7_en.pdf

July 5 - 11

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200705_pentecost_reflections_week_6_en.pdf

June 28 - July 4:

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200628_pentecost_reflections_week_5_en.pdf

June 21-27:

https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/20200621_pentecost_reflections_week_4_en.pdf

May 31-June 6:

www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2020/documents/20200531_pentecost_reflections_week_1_en.pdf

World Council of Churches Prayer Cycle:

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea

02 - 08 August 2020

INTERCESSIONS

We are thankful for:

• the natural resources and diverse gifts that come from these countries, such as the distinctive music and dance of Cameroon

• those who minister to victims of sexual violence, trafficking and other human rights abuses

• Christians and people of other faiths who courageously have pursued reconciliation and peace among those in conflict

• individuals and organizations who have provided for health clinics and schools in Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

We pray for:

• just resolutions to the conflicts and violence among diverse groups and their leaders

• refugees who flee to other countries, and for those who host them

• economic developments that make it possible for all to rise out of poverty

• stable democratic governments that effectively serve the common good.

PRAYERS

For our country Cameroon, our regions, our villages, our towns

Heavenly father, we humbly pray:

Direct the leaders of our country, Cameroon, now in this time when terrorism is overtaking this great nation. Grant them wisdom and understanding, and help them to respond to this crisis, quickly and effectively. Direct them that they may do what is right in your sight. May they follow your divine will to lead our nation on the paths of peace and safety.

Unite all response agencies in an organized and harmonious fashion to bring quick and effective resolution to the issues created by the actions of Boko Haram. Empower us as Cameroonian citizens to do our own part, financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Give us strength to support all who have been affected by this tragedy.

O Lord, we also pray for effective eradication of corruption that is destroying our beautiful and rich country. Touch our heart and enlighten our thoughts so that we will use our resources for the benefit of the entire nation, for Africa and ultimately the whole world.

Bring peace and comfort to all those who are suffering as a result of these crises.

Surround us with your love and mercy!

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Catherine Manga, Cameroon)

Lord Jesus,

you who have marked seventy times seven our falls each day,

and who know the dull frenzy of our eyes, darkened with fever and rancid wind,

you who know the snares of the fowler,

and his net that circles our steps in the bush, and our paths to the villages,

here we are given over to the horn of the rhinoceros,

and here are hovering the vultures and goshawks.

But you, who know the frailty of our two feet of clay,

and the place of our weakness and that of our rousing again,

Lord, let us not yield to temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

(A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from around the World, comp. John Carden, WCC, and Cassell, London, UK, 1998, p.210)

Prayer from Cameroon

When we contemplate such beauty,

the immensity before us,

blossoming with colour and scent,

the surprising diversity of all that surrounds us,

the green forests, the animals,

the intelligence which allows us humans

to create with you,

God,the acts of your grace on our behalf,

we can only express our joy at being your children

and gladly sing of the generosity of your love.

(© Rev. Dr Kayoka-Luendu M., Cameroon. English transl. Dr Colette Bouka Coula, adapted by Terry MacArthur.)