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Finding the Words

Heather Carlson • July 5, 2019

Our congregation was fortunate to be one of the “test” sites for the new “Presence Project” of the national faith formation initiative. The project was attractive to me as a leader because it promised to be easily grasped and easily integrated into what we were already doing. I appreciated that it came with suggested materials for sermon, worship and visuals (free resources – yay!) that I could use and/or adapt. Being spearheaded by a valued colleague helped me jump on board.


It really was as simple as presented, and as full of impact!


The brief overview and theological rationale documents gave the parameters for integrating it easily into our congregational life. We launched on Lent 1, and finished up the end of the Easter season (12 Sundays in all). We used four sermon themes (adapted content to our context), visuals, hymn suggestions, opening and closing worship phrases on Sundays as well as through the week at meetings, email communication or one-on-one. Several of us, including myself, made a habit of using these phrases in personal prayer as well.


“Surely God is in this place. Help me notice. Help us notice together.”


This phrase wormed its way into our ears, minds, hearts and mouths. After only a few weeks, I was startled to find it come to my mind in the middle of a disagreement with my teenager – it changed my temperature and source of hope immediately! Another time after a difficult meeting, these simple words brought me back quickly to the awareness and trust in God’s presence and provision.


Among the people here at Knox United Drumheller, I heard these phrases generate many stories and experiences. People in the congregation said it to one another and to others, and best of all, people opened in a deeper way to sharing their “God moments” with one another. Some Sundays we shared in pairs or triads right in the pews. Sometimes at coffee time I overheard “God stories” when the chatter usually centres on weather and hobbies. I received a few pictures by email of “God’s presence”, and more than once I was pulled aside by folks who’d never shared their spiritual life with me for a “I have to tell you what happened...!” story.


“Surely God is in this place. Help me notice. Help us notice together.”


God’s Presence was not “new” to either me or our congregation, but these simple tools and outline gave us a starting vocabulary to break down the barriers to sensing, savoring and sharing God’s presence ourselves and with one another. Taking on the discipline together heightened our intentional “God radar” that has been a blessing to us all.


Praise be to God!

Rev. Heather Carlson

Knox United Church, Drumheller, AB

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A Pandemic Christmas Call to Worship

By Greg Smith-Young • December 17, 2020
This year all of our Christmas Eve worship services will be online. So people will be joining us from their many places. This Call to Worship reflects that. It names streets in our community, as well as retirement and long-term care homes, and our hospital. You can replace these with locations in your own community. It can also work well at other times in the service, and throughout the Christmas season. In Mary’s hometown of Nazareth, where she trusted the angel’s news. . . . In Elizabeth’s house in Ein Karem, where her baby leaped for joy. . . . Beside a manger in Bethlehem, where Joseph held his child. . . . Surely God was in those places, and they noticed! Within the Jerusalem Temple, where a priest’s life was upended. . . . On a Judean workplace, where shepherds trembled before an army of angels. . . . In a Persian study, where sages pondered a strange star. . . . Surely God was in those places, and they noticed! In homes on Chalmers Street, Clegg Road, and Halls Drive; on Erb Street, Keating Drive, and in Highland Manor; on Patrick Boulevard, Geddes Street, and Stanley Crescent. . . . Surely God is in those places. Will we notice? In homes on Station Square, North Queen Street, and in Wellington Terrace; on Gordon Street, Thomas Boulevard, and Queen Street West; on Graham Street, Groves Hospital, and Second Line. . . . Surely God is in those places. Will we notice? In homes on John Street, Inverhaugh Road, and Eighth Line; on Woodhill Drive, Robertson Street, and in Riverside Glen; on Fourth Line, Water Street, and in Heritage River. . . . Surely God is in those places. Will we notice? In homes on Country Road 21, Kingswood Gate, and in Caressant Care; on St. David Street, Sideroad 10, and Middlebrook Road; on Mathieson Street, Colborne Street, and in Chartwell Elmira. . . . Surely God is in those places. Will we notice? Wherever we are tonight, and however we are gathering for worship, God is with us. We are not alone! Come and worship. Let us worship together. Artwork: Seeing Shepherds (Daniel Bonnell) Used with permission. Written by Greg Smith-Young for The Presence Project. Please feel free to use and adapt this as suits your needs with credit to the author and The Presence Project.

Christmas Call to Worship

By Greg Smith-Young • December 17, 2020
This is a Call to Worship for a Christmas Eve service in 2019. It could be used in other parts of a worship service too, throughout the Christmas season. Surely God was in Jerusalem, where prophets declared God’s promise. Surely God was in Iraq, where exiles waited for God’s way home. Surely God was in Nazareth, where Mary trusted the angel’s news. Surely God was in Ein Karem, where Elizabeth’s baby leaped for joy. Surely God was in Bethlehem, where the Messiah was born. Surely God is in this place. God, help me notice. Help us notice together. Surely God was in a workplace, where late-shift shepherds met an angel. Surely God was in a classroom, where sages studied a strange star. Surely God was in an office, where staff scoured records for answers. Surely God was in a lonely back-room, where the Word moved into the neighbourhood. Surely God is in this place. God, help me notice. Help us notice together. Surely God was in Mary’s womb, where the Word became a human being. Surely God was in Joseph’s home, where God’s fullness was pleased to dwell. Surely Jesus, in the form of God, emptied and humbled himself, even to death on a cross, where he reconciled all things to God. Surely God is in this place. God, help me notice. Help us notice together. Written by Greg Smith-Young for The Presence Project. Please feel free to use and adapt this as suits your needs with credit to the author and The Presence Project.

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Nora Sanders reflects about God's Presence

By Greg Smith-Young • February 7, 2020
Nora Sanders is the General Secretary of the United Church of Canada. That means she gives leadership to the whole United Church. A while back, she reflected on an experience of God's Presence. Last Saturday I had one of those small but profound reminders of the presence of God in an everyday setting. I was in The Burger's Priest restaurant, grabbing a hamburger before a funeral. It was my second funeral in three days, and my thoughts were heavy. Even though we call funerals “celebrations of life,” it is never easy to bid good-bye to wonderful elders. As I waited for my burger to be ready, a man and woman with a little boy of about four sat down next to me. Their shopping bag told me that they had just been to a bookstore. In the tight quarters of a fast food restaurant, you can’t help but overhear conversations. The mother, who, when she took off her winter coat, was visibly pregnant, began reading to the little boy. They had two new books, both about the experience of becoming a big brother. Along with the reading, both parents chatted encouragingly to the child about his upcoming new role. This simple reminder of the renewal of life stayed with me as I joined the mourners at the funeral a short time later. Surely God is in this place. Help me notice. Blessings, Nora https://www.united-church.ca/blogs/round-table/note-nora-surely-god-place Image: United Church of Canada CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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