Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
Sunday, August 23rd 2026
The Gospel According to Munsch: The Paper Bag Princess
Prelude
Welcome & Telling Our Story
GATHERING
Introit
Call to Worship
God calls us to be strong and courageous. Not because life is always easy, and not because we always know what comes next, but because God goes with us.
So today we come as we are— with our questions, our worries, our hopes, and even the things that have gone terribly wrong. We come trusting that God is with us, that God does not leave us alone, and that there is always more to the story. Let us worship God together.
Hymn It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker MV 30
- It’s a song of praise to the Maker,
the thrush sings high in the tree.
It’s a song of praise to the Maker,
the gray whale sings in the sea,
Refrain: And by the Spirit, you and I
can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.
- It’s a call of life to the Giver
when waves and waterfalls roar.
It’s a call of life to the Giver
when high tides break on the shore, Refrain
- It’s a hymn of love to the Lover;
the bumblebees hum along.
It’s a hymn of love to the Lover;
the summer breeze joins the song. Refrain
- It’s the chorus of all creation;
it’s sung by all living things.
It’s the chorus of all creation,
a song the universe sings, Refrain
Gathering Prayer & Assurance of Grace
Gracious God, we gather this morning with all the pieces of our lives. The good pieces, the difficult ones, and the parts we aren’t quite sure what to do with. Some of us come today feeling strong and ready. Others may be carrying worries that we haven’t shared with anyone.
Some of us are looking forward to what is ahead, while others are wondering how we are going to get through what is right in front of us. And yet, you meet us here. You remind us that we don’t have to have everything figured out.
We don’t have to be fearless. We don’t have to be perfect. You simply ask us to trust you and to take the next step. Sometimes that next step feels brave. Sometimes it feels more like we’re wearing a paper bag and hoping for the best. But you are with us in all of it.
So, God, settle our hearts this morning. Help us to put aside the things that can wait, to be present with one another, and to listen for your voice.
Friends, may you hear this good news: God knows us completely, loves us completely, and never leaves us. Rest in this grace. Amen.
Time for the Young & Young at Heart
Hymn God, Help Us to Treasure (Moments of Mys’try) MV 147
- God, help us to treasure these moments of myst’ry;
to hallow the Sacred in all that we do;
Throughout ev’ry season may we be
your agents of love, joy, and blessing
as hearts are renewed.
- God, help us to honour your presence among us
in newborn, in elder, in fam’ly in need.
By sharing with others we soon will discover
your kindness and loving in generous deeds.
- God, help us to value each moment of wonder
when peace shall o’ershadow our sorrow and pain.
In times shares at Table with all who are kindred,
may we find the healing to sing Love’s refrain.
WORD
Prayer for Illumination
God of wisdom, open our hearts and minds as we hear the witness of your people. Help us hear not just the words, but what you are saying to us through them. Amen.
Scripture Joshua 1:4-9 Mike Gorman
Sermon
Special Music Kayla Jackson
Hymn Bring Many Names VU 268
- Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and hosanna! Bring many names!
- Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and hosanna, strong mother God!
- Warm father God, hugging every child,
feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving till we’re reconciled;
Hail and hosanna, warm father God!
- Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil’s new disguises,
glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and hosanna, old, aching God!
- Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and hosanna, young, growing God!
- Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and hosanna, living God!
RESPONSE
Thanksgiving & Offering
We sometimes think we need something big and impressive to make a difference. That our offerings need to be fit for some fantastical palace. But God has always used ordinary people, ordinary gifts, and ordinary acts of love to do extraordinary works. So as we give today let us give with grateful hearts as we sing dedicate our offering by singing Praise God From Whom All Blessings in Flow in VU 541.
Offertory Hymn Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow VU 541
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures high and low;
give thanks to God in love made known;
Creator, Word, and Spirit, One.
Prayers of the People & The Lord’s Prayer
Gracious God, we come before you carrying many things. Our own concerns and those of friends, family or even the needs of folks we have heard about through the news.
We pray for those who are facing difficult decisions, for those who are worried about what comes next, and for those who are tired from carrying more than they think they can manage. Grant them courage. We pray for those who feel as though life has stripped away everything they thought they could depend on. Remind them that they are not alone, and that their story is not finished.
We pray for our families and friends, for our neighbours and our community, and for those around the world who are facing war, poverty, injustice, loneliness, or fear. Give us the courage not simply to notice their needs, but to respond with compassion. We offer to you the things we can name and the things we cannot put into words. And we pray together the prayer Jesus taught us: Our Father…
SENDING
Hymn Through the Heart of Every City VU 584
- Through the heart of every city
runs the flow of human need.
‘Mid this glass and steel are pulsing
smoldering wick and bruised reed.
Has our church a word to offer,
some hope shining from our creed?
Walking through the concrete furrows
Jesus sows the Word as seed.
- Through the passing generations
in their spirit, flesh and bone,
Jesus Christ becomes incarnate:
holy hearts are living stone
building here a house of refuge
as a temple, as a home.
So within the city’s shadow
Jesus’ planted Word has grown.
- Through our worship and our witness
Jesus, grant that we may still
hear the heartbeat of compassion
calling us to do your will.
You, our vine, and we, your branches,
deadened not by any chill,
working for that final city
where the harvest is fulfilled.
Sending Forth
Go now with courage. Whatever the week brings, remember that you do not go alone. God goes with you. So go in peace, and go knowing that your story is still being written. Amen.
Sung Blessing Choral Amen VU 974
Amen! Amen! Hallelujah, amen!
Amen! Amen! Hallelujah, amen!
Amen! Amen! Hallelujah, amen!
Postlude
The Gospel According to Munsch
The Paper Bag Princess
Joshua 1:4-9
We are in our 2nd week of the sermon series “The Gospel According to Munsch”. This week we are delving into Munsch’s book The Paper Bag Princess. For those who are unfamiliar with the story- I’ll recap it for you quickly. Princess Elizabeth is going to marry Prince Ronald. And they look the part. The finest clothes, the most gold crowns and a wonderful castle. However, one day a dragon swoops down from the skies and burns up and eats basically the whole castle and takes Prince Ronald as a little pre-bedtime snack. In the charred ruins stands Princess Elizabeth who decides she is going to get Ronald back but all she can find to wear that isn’t burn to a crisp is a paper bag. She puts on the bag and starts off following the dragons path which is easy due to the burnt forests and horse bones left in its wake. She tracks the dragon all the way back to its lair where she knocks on its door and the dragon promptly slams it in her face. She asks the dragon if his flames are strong enough to burn 10 forests, he says surely, and burns 20. She praises him and he burns another 100! When the dragon tries to show off again only wisps of smoke come out of his mouth. Elizabeth then says he must be a fast flyer. He says he can fly around the world in 10 seconds and Elizabeth asks to see. The dragon displays his speed, once again Elizabeth praises him and he does it again but in 20 seconds. This time upon returning he’s so tired he simply lies down and falls asleep. Having outsmarted the dragon, Princess Elizabeth enters the dragons home to rescue Prince Ronald. Upon seeing her Ronald says: “You’re such a mess and wearing a paper bag. Come back when you look like a real princess”. Elizabeth replies: “Ronald, your clothes are pretty and your hair is very neat. You look like a real prince but you’re a bum.” With that, Elizabeth dances away through the fields and they do not get married.
Some of the most powerful and relevant lines that Munsch wrote are in those final few pages. And I think that the meaning behind them are relevant for all ages. What came to my mind initially was when Gandalf visited the halls of King Theodin and they let him inside to see the King because he looks disheveled and not a powerful wizard. Well, upon getting to the throne room he uncloaks himself to reveal his white undergarments and uses magic to dispel the king of the curse that he’s under. He didn’t look like a proper and powerful wizard at the city gates but he was. When I first began in ministry I had most of the tattoos that I have now. And I remember one of my first evaluation forms I received one that said “Good minister, I just think he’d look better without all the tattoos on his arms”.. I offered to go to get a tattoo with this individual but they never took me up on that offer… All this to say is that although clothing can communicate a lot of things it isn’t the qualification for someone being effective or being kind. But outward appearances are so often the first things we encounter of folks so there’s the tendency to draw numerous conclusions from there. Similarly, you might be thinking this minister before you is one cool dude because he has tattoos. I assure you that many do not find me cool.
If I may humour you with another story; the first time we went to Disney I realized that we did not have any Disney branded gear. It was plain colours, a few Spidey shirts, your average “wardrobe”. And man, I felt like I did not belong. I was worried I wasn’t doing Disney well because almost everywhere I looked there were matching family outfits, park branded t-shirts and Disney as far as the eye can see. And although I felt like “less of a fan”, I can assure you that my love for Disney runs as deep as many of those park goers even if it wasn’t as colourfully outwardly expressed. But somehow I still wondered if any other visitors would view me as a true Disney fan.
Friends, I imagine that you’ve found yourselves in situations where you’ve wondered if you fit in. Or perhaps you’ve been looking at out the crowd at a concert or restaurant wondering if they should be there or if they meant to come to that place. Maybe there’s something that you’ve bought that makes it clear to the world what you’ve accomplished. Take for example a gold Rolex or another status symbol type of thing. Remembering that those aren’t “bad things”; but the importance that we as individuals or as a collective could be problematic in our faith journeys. The danger is that it could lead us to misunderstand the worth and value or ourselves and others. Overly attached to this could lead it to being the focal point of how we view/interact with another instead of just a facet of it. The good news is that what you wear doesn’t change (or make) who you are. Princess Elizabeth understood this whereas Ronald is still cultivating that knowledge.
Beloved, God isn’t Ronald. God doesn’t wait for us to have the perfect haircut, the right brand of jeans or driving the right vehicle. Our worth and our calling in God’s eyes doesn’t rely on the things we wear or the roles we take on- but on the attributes we embody and cherish. God calls us because of those inherent qualities and God works with us we figure out what those are and the best way in which we live out our ministries through the knowledge. Call us as we are. Grants us the ability to be courageous with the knowledge that God has been there before in Jesus and that we never undertake any journey alone. Elizabeth (the Paper Bag Princess), put on the paper bag, bested the dragon, rescued Ronald and then lives her life to the fullest. It was her discovery of self and that confidence in who she was and what she was called to do that allowed her to simply be her. It was on that path that she was able to reach the conclusions she did and then make the decisions that honoured her whole self and not fall into line with the expectations placed on her by whomever else in the world of The Paper Bag Princess.
In the scripture lesson from Joshua that Mike read we heard one of the charges of God to Joshua and the people was to “take courage and meditate on the law”. Which, in our context as Christians, Jesus summed up to be to have the courage to love the lord your God with all your all your heart and mind and soul and love your neighbour as yourself. The courage to be sounds something simple but friends as we know it’s a lot more complicated to live out then to read. And that’s why it’s written in the scriptures. The bravery to be oneself, to do that inner work and to live selflessly and love abundantly is something that carries risk and therefore requires courage doesn’t it?
We are invited to trust in what God has given and that you have the courage and the means to live into that vocation. This is partially why we are called as people have faith to do a whole lot of self-examination to truly know ourselves, the gifts God has placed within us and the means in which we can live out lives of authenticity, love and compassion.
As we know this self-knowledge or self-assurance takes time. It can even take an entire lifetime. After all, we are all works in progress. It is in the Christian spiritual practices of self-examination leading to detachment that we are able to lead and live with both courage and conviction. In knowing who we are and the attributes that we most cherish we are able to live fully in the world, unrestrained by the expectations heaped on ourselves by others are by the media. Once we know who we are and what we cherish then we have the ability to detach from the things that do not serve us and weigh us down. However, detachment is not enough; we must go on to attachment. The detachment from confusion all around us in order to have a richer attachment to God. Christian meditation leads us to the inner wholeness necessary to give ourselves to God freely and to be in full community.
The discipline of meditation helps us to be able to achieve self-knowledge and then detach from that which does not give life. One of the ways we can do this is through meditation on the items in a room. It’s a bit of a Marie Kondo type of inventory. We are going to carefully consider all that’s in a room, think of its significance, its place in our lives and what its role is. We can then see what is most important to us or in us. And it’s not necessarily to purge or call up 1-800 Got Junk physically or spiritually. But it’s to know what is critical for us and our identities and who we are called to be. We are essentially asking ourselves the question: “What about yourself are you most attached to?” And honestly that’s a whole lot easier to do without being cluttered. Elizabeth from the story this morning went through almost that practice. In what remained of the castle and on her journey to rescuing the Prince she found out what she valued the most about herself and the qualities she was seeking in a friend and companion. The good news friends is that we don’t have to wait for a flying lizard to prompt us to that type of soul-searching self-assessment. Through that decluttering we can see ourselves well and even be able to see others without the baggage that we carry or that we imagine others to be carrying. It is that perspective that will help reshape how we live our faith publicly as well as privately.
Can you imagine what the impact of that could be? We have the potential to reorient our lives into those focused on the people and not the accessories. On the nature and quality of God rather than the miracles worked by God. I want us this week to channel our inner Paper Bag Princess. So we can confront the dragons in our lives. So we can have those conversations with the metaphorical Ronalds. To be individuals who are emboldened to lead Godly lives permits us to lead full lives of abundance. As a Trinity St. Andrews United Church, located in the Ottawa Valley I believe it is critical to be courageous and vocal when it comes to the love and empowering of others in the community. I think of the work we do as an Affirming congregation. The Rainbow Worship ministry and the many other inclusive ministries we are hoping to champion and support. It is our responsibility as a people of faith to ensure the knowledge of God’s love is not buried in the rubble of fallen castles but danced in the avenues just as Elizabeth did at the end of the Paper Bag Princess. Let’s be bold as we courageously embody God’s love. Amen.
