OUR MISSION
"We are to be a reflection of God's love to congregation, community, and the world, willing to risk, to struggle, and to celebrate as we live the gospel" 

Crawford and Knox United Church
​ON-LINE WORSHIP SERVICE
Order of Service – Sunday, August 1, 2021
HYMN: “Lord, Your Church on Earth is Seeking” Caribbean Praise CD
                              -Words by Hugh Sherlock, Music by Joy Brown                             
 
MESSAGE: Rev. Dr. George Mulrain 
 
LORD’S PRAYER
- Music by Denise Smith-Lewis, Arrangement by Ulston P. Smith
 
OFFERTORY
Offering Song: ‘Give Thanks’
                                                                                               
HYMN: “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” VU 357 – Duet: Anaiah and Melanie Hackshaw   
           
GO NOW IN PEACE
Order of Service – Sun., July 25, 2021
 
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES  
 
PRELUDE: “Blessed Assurance” VU 337, Azrael Hackshaw, Organist
 
CALL TO WORSHIP:   We come not as heroes and heroines to make our boast, but as rebels and sinners, making confession and seeking forgiveness. Blot out our transgressions and forgive our sins, O God. Open our mouths, O God, that we might shout your praise and hail your love.
PRAYER:  Almighty everlasting God, you know that we are sinners, yet you treat us as if we are not; you know that we are unworthy of your love, yet you treat us as if we were. We thank you for welcoming us into your presence. We bow before you in confidence, not because of our goodness, but because of your grace. We pray that you will repeat in us the miracle you have worked in others - converting worshipers into witnesses and believers into disciples.

HYMN: “Seek Ye First the Kingdom” VU 356 – Duet: Anaiah and Melanie Hackshaw

SCRIPTURE READINGS read by Linda Hastie
  • Psalm 14
  • Ephesians 3:14–21
  • John 6:1–21                                                             

MINISTRY OF MUSIC: “My Life Flows On” VU 716 – Soloist: Cindy Dickson

MESSAGE: Rev. Tessica Hackshaw 

PRAYER and LORD’S PRAYER
- Music by Denise Smith-Lewis, Arrangement by Ulston P. Smith

OFFERTORY
Offering                                                                                
Song: ‘Give Thanks’
Offering Prayer:  Gifts abundant and glorious, you shower upon us, O God, yet we often receive them without acknowledging the Gracious Giver. How can we ever say thank you? Are there words enough, deeds that are good enough?
                                                                              
HYMN: “Come We That Love the Lord” VU 714 – Trumpeter: Pam Hopwood

BENEDICTION
                
GO NOW IN PEACE
Order of Service – Sun., July 18, 2021
                                                                                                  
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES 
 
PRELUDE: “O God of Bethel” VU 650 – Marilyn Dickson
 
CALL TO WORSHIP:  The Lord has restored our fortunes.  Come, you thankful people, come; let us rejoice and be glad! The Lord has brought us near, a people once far off.  The Lord has reconciled us in one body through the cross.  Now we all have access to God in one spirit, let us rejoice and be glad.
PRAYER:  You, O Lord, are the Good Shepherd.  Yet we drift like sheep without a shepherd.  We pursue goals that demand too little of us, challenge too few of us, and threaten all of us.  Deliver us from our aimless wanderings, O Lord, and lead us into paths of righteousness for your sake and ours.
 
HYMN: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” VU 333 – Soloist: Spencer Bristow
 
SCRIPTURE READINGS read by Lisa Hunking
-        Jeremiah 23:1–6
-        Psalm 23
-        Ephesians 2:11–22
-        Mark 6:30–34, 53–56
 
MINISTRY OF MUSIC: “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life” VU 681 – Soloist: Amy Krauter
 
MESSAGE: Rev. Tessica Hackshaw 
 
PRAYER and LORD’S PRAYER
- Music by Denise Smith-Lewis, Arrangement by Ulston P. Smith
 
OFFERTORY
Offering and Song: ‘Give Thanks’
Offering Prayer:  Here we bring our gifts for your blessing, O God.  Here we bring the rewards of our labours, over the past week, months, and years gone by.  Here we dedicate our talents to serving this faith community, to serving our fellow men and women and bringing reconciliation, healing, support, and caring.  Here we offer our time; to bring hope in the struggle, to enable people to fulfill their dreams, to proclaim the forgiving way.  Here we bring our gifts for your blessing. O God.  Amen.
 
HYMN: “The King of Love” VU 273 – Soloist: Cris Pagett
 
BENEDICTION
 
GO NOW IN PEACE
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Order of Service – Sun., July 11, 2021
 
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES 
 
PRELUDE: “The Church Is Wherever God’s People Are Praising” VU 579 – Marilyn Dickson
 
CALL TO WORSHIP:  We gather in the name of Jesus Christ, the Head of the church and the Saviour of the world, not because we have invited Christ into our home, but because Christ has invited us into the house of the Lord. We come, not to tell 
Christ what we will do, but to learn from Christ what we must do. We have listened for the voice of the Lord in the earthquake, wind and fire. Now we await the still small voice. Speak, O Lord, for your servants hear. 
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PRAYER: O God, you have created us for yourself. You have made our minds restless until we embrace your purpose as our own; our hands profitless, until we seize your task as our own, and our hearts aimless, until they adopt your will as our own. We praise you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom you have revealed the person you created us to be. Let your revelation never cease until our minds and hearts and hands are wholly committed to your service.
 
HYMN: “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing” VU 559 – Soloist: Cris Pagett
 
SCRIPTURE READINGS read by Anaiah Hackshaw
  • 2 Samuel 6: 12b-19
  • Psalm 24
  • Ephesians 1:3-14
  • Mark 6:14-29
 
MINISTRY OF MUSIC: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” VU 271 – Duet: Anaiah & Melanie
                                             Hackshaw
 
MESSAGE: Rev. Tessica Hackshaw 
 
PRAYER and LORD’S PRAYER
- Music by Denise Smith-Lewis, Arrangement by Ulston P. Smith
 
OFFERTORY
Offering and Song: ‘Give Thanks’
Offering Prayer: Here we bring our gifts for your blessing, O God. Here we bring the rewards of our labour. Here we dedicate our talents to serving this faith community and our fellow human beings.  Here we bring reconciliation, healing, support, and caring. Take our gifts for your blessing, O God. Amen.
 
HYMN: “When We Are Living” VU 581 – Soloist: Amy Krauter
 
BENEDICTION
 
GO NOW IN PEACE

Order of Service – Sun., July 4, 2021
                                                                                                  
PRELUDE: “This is the Day of New Beginnings” MHB – Organist, Marilyn Dickson

LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES 

CALL TO WORSHIP:  We erect high altars and raise high steeples, but in one place shall God be found.  We sing right hymns and preach right doctrines, but in no one word shall God be bound. Our God is not bound, but our God shall build not temples but truth, not shrines but shalom. Not rituals but 
rights, not dogmas but dreams. Not a space we call sacred, not a time we call holy, shall confine the works of the Almighty Lord! Let us burst our bonds and break into praise, for our God is free. Our God is free!
PRAYER:  O Great revealer, we come seeking visions. We come desiring dreams. Grant our wish.  Wave before us one branch of paradise lost, and we shall see in its leaf our life regained. Or conjure up a carpenter whose hands are as rough as the bark of a tree, and we shall behold in his face our salvation. Lift us, we plead, in a flight not of fancy, but of faith; not that we might boast of your presence, but that we might know your forgiveness.  O God of all, we rest in knowledge that wherever we are, there shall you be also. Whether we reside in the palace of a King or the house of a carpenter, the mansion of a president or the dwelling of a tenant, ours is your dwelling place. Your loyalty surpasses the greatest love we’ve ever known. It is loyalty that persists through all terrors, survives despite all betrayals; and endures for all generations. Greater love has no one than this: you laid down your love and life for the light of the world.
 
HYMN: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” VU 334 – Organist, Azrael Hackshaw
 
SCRIPTURE READINGS read by Lenora Bristow
  • 2 Samuel 5:1–5
  • Psalm 48
  • 2 Corinthians 12:2–10
  • Mark 6:1–13
 
MINISTRY OF MUSIC: “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” – Improvisation by Azrael Hackshaw
 
MESSAGE: Rev. Tessica Hackshaw 
 
PRAYER and LORD’S PRAYER
 
OFFERTORY
Offering and Song: ‘Give Thanks’
Offering Prayer:  This is the faith community that nurtures us and gives us hope: Our familiar and well-loved church. May these gifts bring justice, promote compassion, inspire fellowship, and empower the powerless. Be with us as we use all our gifts, O God. Amen.
 
COMMUNION HYMN: “Spirit of the Living God” VU 376 – Organist, Marilyn Dickson
 
SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
 
HYMN: “One More Step Along the World I Go” VU 639 – Soloist: Spencer Bristow
 
BENEDICTION

BEAUTIFUL CHURCH ON THE HILL

Some time ago, Annabelle Neuman, a member of the Knox congregation, wrote a lovely song about the history and meaning of this church.  Press the button to the right to hear that selections sung by the 2019 congregation.  To return to this site, press the "back" arrow.  This song is included on the "2019 Sampling" CD completed to commemorate the congregations 160th anniversary in 2019.

​
​Sunday Worship 

Due to the current virus outbreak
Sunday worship, and all other activities,
​cancelled until further notice


SPECIAL MESSAGES

Dear Faith Leader serving Grey-Bruce:

If we have not yet had the pleasure of meeting my name is David. I serve as the Lead Pastor of SouthPort Church in Saugeen Shores; I also serve as Police Chaplain for the Saugeen Shores Police, and as the Section Pastor (presbyter) for the Owen Sound Section Churches, Western Ontario District (PAOC). Over the course of the last several months I have had the opportunity of serving alongside the Grey-Bruce Vaccine Distribution Task Force representing the faith communities of our region. I have been encouraged as this amazing team of community leaders has joined together under the direction Dr. Arra working towards a vaccination plan for our Grey-Bruce community. I have been that encouraged faith leaders were included as part of the phase 1 vaccination roll out.

In Grey-Bruce we are blessed to have many faith groups represented and serving a wide range of people. Thank you for each of your continued dedication, service, and daily sacrifices each of you and your families continue to make as you serve. I believe we need the strength of our faith and our collective unity more than ever before. Our communities need us as faith leaders to be beacons of hope during these very challenging times. 

Over the course of the last week the Grey-Bruce Vaccine Distribution Task Force has worked collaboratively on a joint letter to our Grey-Bruce community. This letter is attached to this email and we would like you to consider sharing the letter and its message with your faith communities. Doing so will help us spread this important message throughout our community. Please feel free to post the letter on your social media, and encourage people to share it. If you have an opportunity to read the letter as part of your live streamed services over the next week we would also welcome you to do so. I do have a pre-recorded video of the letter being read if you would like to receive this video to include in your pre-recorded or live services please let me know.

Thank you in advance for your time and your efforts. Download/view the letter HERE.

If I can serve you or your faith communities in any way during this time, or if you have questions about the vaccine distribution or this letter please reach out to me by phone, text or email. 519.270.9582 or david@myfamily.church

This pandemic will end!

Here to serve,


David Baker
Lead Pastor, SouthPort Church
Chaplain, Saugeen Shores Police Service (CISM)
Section Pastor, Owen Sound Section, Western Ontario District, PAOC
Task Force Member, Grey-Bruce Vaccine Distribution Task Force (GBHU)
The 23rd Psalm is a perennial favorite.
And yet for all its familiarity, there may be some nuances to the Psalm we have missed, some reflections scholars might share to deepen our sense of the most comforting words ever composed.
Consider one four letter word in verse four: thou. The second-person pronoun "thou" is old English, a relic from the 1611 King James Version. The vast majority of the time we prefer modern translations of the Bible—but Christians cling to a 400-year-old translation of Psalm 23. Why is this? Could it be that elevated language, words with some lineage and dignity, are appropriate to the grandeur, the majesty, the immeasurable grace of God who is indeed our shepherd?
And here is a fascinating item: James Limburg points out that, in the original Hebrew of Psalm 23, there are exactly twenty six words before and after, "Thou art with me."2 Perhaps the poet was boldly declaring that God being with us is at the very center of our lives.
God is with us. We are not alone down here. The whole Gospel is that God is with us. Jesus was called "Emmanuel," which means "God with us." John Wesley's dying words were, "The best of all is, God is with us." God doesn't shelter us from trouble. God doesn't magically manipulate everything to suit us. But the glorious with is unassailable, unchangeable, the only fact that matters.
This marvelous news draws our attention again to the Thou. For the first three verses of the Psalm, God is spoken of in the third person: "The Lord is my shepherd... he leads me... he restores my soul." But with the Thou, the third person shifts to second person: "for Thou art with me, thy rod... thou preparest a table..." Instead of talking about God, the Psalmist begins to talk to God; instead of God in the head, God is a friend in the heart. A conversation happens, a relationship grows. This is faith, the only true comfort.
If we genuinely and in the marrow of our being believe that God is with us, then the only logical consequence would be, "I shall not want."
We've read it, uttered it, delighted in it: but have we thought about it? Or lived it out in reality? I shall not want? Our whole life is about wanting: I want, I shop, I look, and when I have it, I want new stuff. In our consumer culture, I shall want, I shall always want. I shall never stop all my wanting because the mall entices me with ever new, shiny, unnecessary objects, and I am instructed from childhood on to want—and not merely to want, but to have.
I shall not want? "The Lord is my shepherd." If the Lord is the shepherd, then I am a sheep, and the reason sheep need a shepherd is simple: sheep nibble themselves lost.
Sheep are not brilliant creatures, and we cannot be flattered that the Psalm thinks of us as sheep. Leave a sheep without a shepherd, and he nibbles a bit of grass here, wanders over there for some more, sees a patch just past that rock; and before you know it the sheep is lost, or has fallen into a ravine, or been devoured by a wolf.
The Hebrew original is perhaps better translated, "I shall lack nothing," or "I shall lack no good thing." What do I lack? Well, I lack an iPhone or a house at the coast. I lack a fully-funded pension and I lack... We can fill in the blank endlessly.
But it is more to ask "What do I lack?" in the sense of "What really matters that I do not have?" What, at the hour of death, would I dare not lack? The answers aren't iPhones or vacation houses. Jesus spoke with the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30), who claimed to be good, and had plenty of stuff. What did Jesus say? "One thing you still lack."
We don't lack lots of things: we lack just one. The one thing we lack is intimacy with God. The one and only thing that can cause us to say, "I shall not want," or "I lack no good thing," is God. Nothing else.  Just the Lord who is a good shepherd to his sheep.
God is our satisfaction. God is good enough. Or, to be truer, God exceeds whatever we may think we desire.
If "Thou art with me" is the focal point of the Psalm, and if "I shall not want" is the beginning of a new life of being satisfied with God, then the end of our life with God is this: "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
Why do we want stuff like iPhones and vacation homes? Is it sheer coveting? I don't think so. We want communication devices because we long to connect. We want a house, or a better house, because no matter how far we travel, no matter how happy or sad our nuclear family might have been, we carry inside a yearning for home. In our mobile society, we may be clueless about where that might be, or if it really exists. But we still want, above all else, to go home.
Perhaps T.S. Eliot was right: "The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."3 Or consider this: if you are lucky, you have fond memories of summertime junkets to the home of your grandparents. For me, it was a house that is factually small, but as a child it was large in love, in special treats, in cousins and fun. It was another home, one without problems or homework or chores, a special place of a more unconditional kind of love.
Does God give us such places in our memory so that we will learn to desire the home for which God destines us when this life is over?
Isaac Watts often recast Psalms into slightly different language. His metric version of the 23rd Psalm is eloquent, elegant, and moving: "The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days; O may Your House be my abode, and all my work be praise. There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come; no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home."4
Like a child at home. Yes, some children bear the misfortune of a home that is more warfare than peace, more division than love. They gaze at the television and hear the news of the spread of covid19, and they are scared, they are worried. But the fact that we recoil at the idea of any child anywhere not enjoying peace and love at home is evidence that God has wired into our hearts a keen sense of a proper destiny.
Various happenings in our life strike us as urgent. They make us anxious, or perhaps we have some fun or face trials. But it is all a preparation for a grand homecoming, when we will "find a settled rest... no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home." Or as the Psalmist sang, "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (23:6).

 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.
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WORSHIP AT KNOX

... Experiencing the sacred in our sinful midst

The Knox United church meets on Sunday mornings for worship services.

I know we can encounter the sacred presence of God at anytime in any place. As we integrate our faith with our daily living, everything we do can be an act of worship, bringing joy and hope to life and allowing us to experience God’s presence. But when we come apart to a place of worship, dedicated to the glory of God, we come with greater intention, expecting to receive something more powerful than we have not received during our daily routine. This is why worship becomes so important to our lives and Knox United, Durham, ideally located on the hill, offers a glorious opportunity for us to encounter such glorious experience. The doors to the sanctuary are widely opened for all and anyone to come in and worship. We at Knox are intentional about worship; we pause to be still, to listen, and to hear God’s word, to sing praise, offer prayers of thanksgiving, to lift the world and other people’s concerns to God, to participate in the Holy sacraments of baptism and communion and to reflect on God’s calling to us and God’s world.

I am cognisant that people come every Sunday morning for a variety of reasons. Some come with joyful hearts, eager to sing praise and give thanks. Some come with heavy hearts, seeking comfort and encouragement. Some bring their confusion, looking for clarity. Some come feeling depleted, looking for nourishment and renewal. Some come longing for meaningful connection with others. Regardless of the reasons for coming to Knox United, Durham, on a Sunday Mornings, we try to create welcoming and engaging worship opportunities where people can satisfy their yearning for God and encounter the Holy.
People can encounter God in a variety of ways during the worship services. At different times, different elements of the worship service can help us experience God’s acceptance, encouragement, guidance, challenge and calling, healing and support. Here are some things we can expect to experience in a Sunday morning worship service:
  • A friendly welcome from our greeters as you arrive
  • Music- singing hymns, listening to the choir as they offer an anthem, listening to the different musical instruments play.
  • Prayer- Individual silent prayer, collective prayers, prayer requests, prayer candles
  • Scripture- listening for God’s Word to us from the Bible
  • Sermon-Hearing the minister reflect on the Bible reading and relate it to our present lives
  • Life and Work of the church- hearing about upcoming activities, events, and opportunities to get involved
  • Parting Blessing
  • Coffee and fellowship following the service –a time to connect with others
It takes a team of people who join together to create meaningful worship services:
  • Our minister, Rev Tessica T. Hackshaw, leads the worship service and offers a weekly reflection
  • Our music directors and members of the choir lead us in singing
  • Members of our Worship Committee
  • Scripture Readers
  • Greeters and ushers
  • Those who prepare and serve the bread and wine for our monthly communion service
  • People who operate the sound and projection equipment
  • Those who share their lives’ testimony on third Sundays
  • Individuals who design and create banners and who decorate the sanctuary for special services
  • Those who prepare the refreshments for coffee time
  • Those who donate cakes every first Sunday for monthly birthday celebrations  . . .  
  • Those who meet every week for prayer meetings and Bible study
  • The two youth groups (5-12) and (12- 22) who meet every Friday for Spiritual nourishment and socialization

​At Knox United Durham, we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion monthly as well as on special Sundays such as Easter Sunday. We also celebrate the sacrament of Baptism throughout the year, welcoming new members to the church.
Our largest gather for worship during the year is on Christmas Eve night service when we celebrate Holy Communion, act out the Christmas stories and bring a Christmas message.
Worship is also experienced at special times of the celebration, including Weddings, Anniversaries and celebrations of life.
We are an inclusive Christian community with a deep passion for God and God’s vision of equity, justice and well-being for all.
The feeling of knowing that we are in the sacred presence, when we enter this sanctuary for worship, leaves us with a sense of awe and refreshment. Come join us and celebrate God’s sacred presence in the midst of our sinful nature.
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