Good Friday Service
April 18, 2025
Good Friday – March 18th, 2025
It Began with Hope
A joint service with:
• Forest Hill United Church
• Trinity United Church
• St. James’~Rosemount United Churh
• Calvary Memorial United Church
Welcome, Land Acknowledgement, & Lighting of Christ Candle
Good morning, my name is Scott Davis. We here at Forest Hill and Trinity United Churches are so pleased to host this year’s combined Good Friday service. We hope you had an opportunity to share some refreshments before the service. All the hymns and choruses will be on the screen. Many thanks to the music directors and choirs of our congregation as they lead us in music that lift us up and supports us as we journey into the valley death that is Good Friday.
Good Friday places us in the role of those towards whom injustice has been done. Through the trail, abuse and crucifixion Jesus we know what it is like to be unjustly and horribly treated by a justice system and those who controlled it. Therefore, it ought to soften our hearts towards generations of the First Peoples of this land who have felt the sting of our unjust systems and behavior created by our ancestors and sewn into the very fabric of Canadian culture. But Holy Week reminds us that the Good Fridays of our lives doesn’t have to be the last word or final act of us and our nation towards the First People. We choose to ask for forgiveness. We choose to live that forgiveness and we choose to seek reconciliation from those we have been and continue to be hurt by our society.
One halting step in reconciliation is to acknowledge that we gather on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Neutral peoples some of which were the Chonnonton. We deeply appreciate their historic connection to and stewardship of this land. Now we must strive to hear and respond to the 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. May God bless our work for reconciliation.
Good Friday doesn’t appear out of nothing. This Holy week began with such hope and a celebration of love. Who could have foretold the turn it took? And maybe that is the cruelest cut of all, to have every hope and dream within our grasp and then snatched away. But they didn’t know that yet…
First Scripture Reading: Luke 19:28-37
Read by: Rev. Tim Graham
The crowds sang with and for Jesus…..
Song of Celebration: You Gotta Put One Foot in Front of the Other
Music & Words by: Melanie DeMore
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
All:
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Don’t give up hope Don’t give up hope
You’re not alone You’re not alone
Don’t you give up Don’t you give up
Keep movin on Keep movin on
Congregation Sings:
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
And Lead With Love
Prayer for those who are beat before they Begin
Rev. Chris Fickling
God of our stories, we know how this is going to end.
It's not that we've been here before,
or succumbed to the comforting reality of the same texts,
familiar hymns, or that we’re fed full of warm hot-cross buns and good company,
it’s that this Good Friday happens every Friday.
When we presume to know. When we assume the ending.
When we judge by our eyes instead of our heart.
When we hallucinate a future divorced from your dreams.
When we drive the nails into dividing lines,
choosing sides rather than compassion.
God of our stories, we know how this is going to end.
So let us not run like Peter, or scatter like the disciples,
but instead draw us to the hillside full of crosses,
the countless kangaroo courts in our own halls of “justice,”
to see the victims of those who are prejudged,
“guilty” because of the colour of their skin, the love in their hearts,
their desire to be Wholly loved because of the Holy Love that created them.
Make us bear witness to the Fridays that keep coming, week after week,
as we stand alongside those who are beat before they even begin.
God, you have led us back to this story, where we think we know how this is going to end.
May we cling to the palms of salvation
rather than discard them easily when fickle crowds make faith come with a cost.
May we hear the anguish fresh, as we listen to the voices of the crucified amongst us.
May we align ourselves with those whom you cherish, even as they are rejected by the world.
Because God, only you know how this is going to end. Amen
Let us say the prayer Jesus taught us…
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
>
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them
that trespass against us.
>
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: MV #4 “All Who Are Thirsty”
THE GARDEN OF BETRAYAL
Jesus was thirsty for the quiet peaceful garden. His soul was heavy and heart breaking that a beloved one had betrayed him and would lead armed men to arrest him. He knew the end was near and he sought the support of his closest friends. Even though they didn’t betray Jesus, they let him down. Perhaps this story is painful because we have been the betrayer, the betrayed and those who failed to stay away awake with Jesus.
Anthem: “The Garden”
Words & Music by: Larry Shackley
Performed by: The St. James-Rosemount Choir
Second Scripture Reading: Luke 22:39-48,54
Read by: Rev. Gaylyn Mclean
And as Jesus was being lead away, Peter called defiantly to the other disciples.
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Lift up your eyes Lift up your eyes
Don’t you despair Don’t you despair
Look up ahead Look up ahead
The path is there The path is there
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
And Lead With Love
Prayer for those who wish to be defiant in the face of Oppression
Rev. Gary Clark
Lord of our garden experiences it is too easy to be carried away with outrage. Everyday there are news stories and social media buzz that make our blood pressure soar and indignation grow. How dare they? How could they? Is there no justice, no God in this world? We need courage to stand against the powerful and the heartless. We ask for your spirit to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. And then at the height of our fevered righteousness slowly reveal to us that we must also change. We must also be more compassionate, more forgiving and humble. Then with more love than think we can possess let us again seek the same changes in others. Amen
Please stand if you are able and join me in singing ‘Go to Dark Gethsemane’.
Hymn: VU #133 - Go to Dark Gethsemane
BETRAYAL AT THE COURTYARD
Third Scripture Reading: Mark 14:66-72
Read by: Lorraine Bowlby
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
I know you’re scared I know you’re scared
And I’m scared too And I’m scared too
But here I am But here I am
Right next to you Right next to you
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
And Lead With love.
Prayer for We Who Deny Jesus in everyday Betrayals
Rev. Tim Graham
We remember with thanks, O God, those times of testing and trial when your spirit was very close to us, your strength carrying us through, so that our faith and our commitment were able to stand unshaken, our sense of relationship with you unbroken. But we remember also those daily times when the testing was beyond us, when the stress and conflict of the moment overwhelmed our convictions and displaced our desire for the finest and the best we knew as followers of Jesus. Our hearts are thankful too, O God, that even in our falling, we were surrounded by your steadfast love, upheld by your grace and forgiveness, so that we could find our feet again, and know ourselves to be still your sons and daughters, weak and foolish, guilty and sinful, but your children still, and the agents of your will in the world. Speak to us, through our own struggles and shortcomings, of your love for others of your people, those who have fallen harder than we have, perhaps, prey to temptations we ourselves may never have encountered. Grant us the grace to share with them this redemptive love and forgiveness given so freely to us, and so make of our experiences even of failure and of falling, instruments of redemption and renewal for the building of your kingdom and the living out Jesus’ message of sacrifice, love and forgiveness. Amen.
Hymn: VU #132 - Bitter was the Night
CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER
Fourth Scripture Reading: John 19:25-27
Read by: Judy Wiens
Peter says to Mary
I know you’re scared I know you’re scared
And I’m scared too And I’m scared too
But here I am But here I am
Right next to you Right next to you
Prayer for those who stand with the Grieving
Rev. Gaylyn Mclean
We are comforted by the words “We are not alone”. And we rely on those who support and comfort of us through difficult and challenging times as well as happier ones. God of compassion and understanding, we pray for those who care for us, stand by us and sometimes even hold us up. We are grateful those whose strength and purpose anchor us in times of uncertainty and pain. We are grateful for their prayers, their presence and their faith that carries us when we do not have the ability to do that for ourselves. We pray for their comfort and strength, the caregivers and grief counselors, the faithful who risk their own well being or safety at times to stand in solidarity for those who cannot stand on their own. We are humbled by the way Jesus offered prayers for others in pain even in the midst of his own. Give us the heart of compassionate care that we too might be a comforting presence to one another in need. For the one who holds us this day, may one day need our strength as well.
In the name of the one who stands with all who grieve, we pray. Amen.
Hymn: VU #135 - Beneath the Cross of Jesus
WE DON’T HAVE TO SUFFER AND DIE ALONE
Death is unavoidable but dying alone or surviving alone is not. Jesus gives us such a powerful example of caring for those who grieve. He makes sure that we understand that we are family. A family that cares for the needs, the housing, the feeding, and comforting of those who live with loss. When we follow his example, we re-member him. We bring him back from the pain of the cross and place him among the other members of the family. In all we do we remember him.
Anthem: “I will Remember Thee”
Music by: Jay Althouse
Lyrics by: James Montgomery
Performed by: The Combined Choirs of FHUC/TUC
Fifth Scripture Reading: Luke 23:32-43
Read by: Dennis Steckly
I know you're scared I know you're scared
And I'm scared too And I'm scared too
But here I am But here I am
Right next to you Right next to you
Prayer for those who Suffer
Read by: Robin Maxwell-Nunn
In this year’s Lenten study “Something Sacred, Reflections on Music and Faith” one of the authors by the name of Bill Kervin reflects on lament and grace. Ultimately there are many times and events in life that show us how powerless we are. When we seek forgiveness or acceptance or even a safe place to lay our heads. Try as we may there are times when all our efforts fall short and we must lay our hearts into the grace of God. And until that that happens grace is only a word and not the life giving gift that it is. This is Bills pray to God. Let us pray…
In this Lenten pilgrimage
towards the cross and beyond,
we face the limits of all our efforts, O God.
We cannot save ourselves.
We whisper,
or cry,
or shout:
Hosanna!
Save us!
Open us to your grace, O God—
generous and unmerited,
forgiving and transformative,
beautiful and surprising—
for we are desperate
for this gift
that only you can give.
Amen.
Hymn: VU #144 - Were You There?
JESUS DIES AND IS BURIED
Sixth Scripture Reading: Luke 23:46-55
Read by: Mark Breathwaite
Anthem: “Have you Seen My Jesus”
Words & Music by: Douglas E. Wagner
Performed by: The Calvary Memorial Choir
Prayer for those whose family, friends, and or dreams have died
Rev. Gary Clark
Creator and grieving parent God, Your Word reminds us that You are the God of all comfort, the One who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Today, as we stand in the shadow of grief and loss, we turn to You for the comfort that only You can provide. Your Word assures us that blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. We cling to this promise, trusting that You will wrap Your loving arms around us and bring solace to our aching hearts. This service reminds us that you understand the loss of one whom you loved. That you felt his despair and could not protect him from his suffering.
In our moments of despair, we find comfort in the knowledge that You are a compassionate God, full of unfailing love and tender mercies. Your grace sustains us, and Your love surrounds us, even in the darkest valleys of our lives. Lord, as we seek Your comfort and peace, may we also find the strength to comfort others who are grieving, just as You have comforted us. We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus whom even death could not destroy. Amen.
As they left the tomb they said under their breath the song of Jesus.
As they left the tomb they said under their breath the song of Jesus.
Benediction
You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
LEAVE IN SILENCE
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