Archive includes previous four recorded services only.
All recorded services, prior to that, can still be viewed on Eldad’s Facebook.
of the United Church of Canada.
with Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director: Jennifer Pearce-Chambers
March 12, 2023
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
Pre-Service Reflection and Prayer: Breathe Deeply, Read Silently, Reflect Personally, Pray Thankfully.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God and put a new and a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. restore me the joy of your salvation and sustain in me a willing spirit.
GATHERING AND WELCOME
One: Welcome! May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy spirit be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
Paul teaches that it is the same God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. but we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God.” We light this Christ candle to remember that the light that shines in our hearts is from Christ, God with Us.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Acknowledgement of the Land
The East Central Ontario Regional Council (ECORC) of the United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings and ministries are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples.
One: Good Morning and welcome! This is the Day that the Lord has made!
ALL: Let us rejoice, and be glad in it.
One: The heavens are telling the glory of God
ALL: and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.
One: Day to day pours forth speech, and night tonight declares knowledge.
ALL: There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Yet there voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the word.
One: Thanks be to God, for the voiceless word of God’s Spirit!
ALL: God, holy spirit, come to us, come among us, come as the wind and cleanse, come as the fire and burn, come as the dew and refresh. Convict, convert and consecrate many hearts and lives to our great good and your greater glory. Amen.
HYMN OF APPROACH: Voices United #367 “Come Down, O Love Divine“
One: As we gather in worship, we remember that Jesus taught us not to be anxious about our lives or about what tomorrow might bring. Are there anxieties that cause us to feel ashamed, anxieties that cause us to feel separated from others, and anxieties that cause us to feel separated from the love of God? Let us bring our anxieties and or shortcomings to God in prayer:
ALL: Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. Forgiving God, have mercy on us and forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be so that we may delight in Your will and walk in your ways to the glory of Your name through Jesus Christ, Amen.
One: Friends, this is the Good News: God loves each one of us with a deep and profound love beyond our human understanding, and God delights in an honest and contrite heart. Through transparency we are renewed, through humility we rise, and through contrition we are restored to a vibrant relationship with our Eternal source. Thanks be to God for the paradox of love.
One: The peace of Christ be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
One: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: “Practice Makes Permanent”
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #288 “Great is Thy Faithfulness“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Gospel of John 3: 1-10; 19-21
John 4: 5–22
Contrasts: Named/Anonymous; Male/Female; Israelite/Samaritan; Social Privilege/Social Limitation; Leader/Outcast; Respected/Despised; Powerful/Powerless; Mount Moriah/Mount Gerizim; Shame/Prestige; Official Voice/Socially Silenced. (Blindness/Insight; Material World/Spiritual World)
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
Minute for Missions, Messages from Ministries, and receiving gifts offered to the work of the ministry:
ALL: (Sung Response): “What Can I Do?” More Voices 191
What can I do? What can I bring?/ What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy, I’ll say a prayer/ I’ll bring my love, I’ll do my share!
OFFERING PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVING FOR GIFTS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY
One: The Scriptures remind that, ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Therefore, let us pray, and let us do so asking that God will shape us in the image of our prayers. Let us pray: Gracious, Loving, and Living God, we pray for the faithful all over the world, that all who love you may be united in your service. We pray for the church both here at home and throughout the world that your people will share your good news with the poor, and liberation for the captives, and witness that the day of the Lord has come near. Loving God, hear our prayer.
ALL: And in your love, answer.
One: God of Peace, we pray for peace. We pray for the people and leaders of the nations, that they may be reconciled one to another, in pursuit of Your justice and Your peace. We pray for our fragile world…God of Peace, hear our pryaer
ALL: And in your love, answer.
One: God of the victim, we pray for all who suffer from prejudice, greed or violence, we pray for all who suffer from war, and insecurity, we pray for all who suffer injustice because of the misuse of politics, religion, and power. We pray for relief from oppression and for the return of justice for all. God of Equality, hear our prayer.
ALL: And in your love, answer.
One: And here at home, Our Loving Parent, here in our own community, we pray for all who suffer the pain of sickness, loneliness, fear, or loss. We pray for those whose names are in our hearts, in our thoughts, and on our lips. We pray for weaknesses known to all, and for challenges known by You alone. Loving God we pray that they may receive strength, courage, healing, grace, and a renewed love and understanding of your courage, healing, grace, and a renewed love and understanding of your presence in their lives, as we recall their needs in silence or repeat their names aloud in supplication before you.
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT OR EXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER]
One: God, you have promised that where two or three are gathered in your name, you are here, in our midst. Fulfill now the desires and petitions of your people as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting through the Spirit of Christ, that taught us to pray saying:
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
THY KINGDOM COME, THEY 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 THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY
FOREVER AND EVERY. AMEN.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians through time we affirm our belief in the Old and New Testaments as primary standards of Christian faith and life. The United Church of Canada also affirms that these timeless truths are expressed for our day in the poetic expression “A Song of Faith.” Let us declare our faith together:
We Sing of God the Spirit who, from the beginning,
has swept over the face of creation,
animating all energy and matter, and moving in the human heart.
We sing of God the Spirit, faithful and untameable,
who is creatively and redemptively active in the world.
The Spirit challenges us to celebrate the holy, not only in what is familiar
—but also in that which seems foreign. We sing of the Spirit,
who speaks our prayers of deepest longing and
enfolds our concerns and confession, transforming us and the world.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #418 “Go Forth in God”
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
CHORALE BLESSING (“Go Now in Peace”)
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY FOR ALL IN CHRIST
of the United Church of Canada.
with Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director: Jennifer Pearce-Chambers
March 5, 2023
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
Pre-Service Reflection and Prayer: Breathe Deeply, Read Silently, Reflect Personally, Pray Thankfully.
I lift up my eyes to the hills–from where will my help come? My help comes from YHWH, who made heaven and earth. God will not let your foot be moved; God who keeps you will not slumber. God who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep YHWH is your keeper; YHWH is your shade at your right hand.
GATHERING AND WELCOME
One: Welcome! May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy spirit be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
Jesus said, “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers
will worship in spirit and in truth, for God seeks such as these to worship.
God is Spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Today, we light this candle as the light of Christ, calling all to worship.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Acknowledgement of the Land
The East Central Ontario Regional Council (ECORC) of the United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings and ministries are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples.
One: People of God, Jesus called to his disciples, saying: “Love one another!”
ALL: We have come to worship God, who is love, so that w may learn to love one another.
One: Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants. Now, I call you ‘my friends.'”
ALL: We come to worship God, whose friend we are in Christ.
One: Let us sing praises to God and live in love and friendship through Jesus Christ.
ALL: Amen.
One: Wonderous God, you touch our lives with healing and with justice. New life is your gift.
ALL: We praise you for the Good News, which is ours through Jesus Christ.
One: May this time of worship nourish us with meaning and purpose
ALL: That we may carry the light of our goodness to share with others this week. We pray in the name of Jesus and in the love of God, our source and saviour, Amen.
HYMN OF APPROACH: Voices United #333 “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling“
One: Jesus said, “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Do we feel the yoke of hardship and the burden of loneliness, reproach, and shame? As we come together in the name of Jesus, Let us bring our fears, worries and regrets before God in prayer. Let us pray:
ALL: Gentle God, you made us in your image, with a mind to know you, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. But: our knowledge is imperfect, our love inconstant, and our obedience incomplete. Morning by morning, we fail to follow Christ. Day by day, we fail to grow into your likeness. In your tender love, O God, we ask that you forgive, heal, and restore, that we may grow more and more into the likeness of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
One: Friends, this is the Good News: Anyone in Christ becomes a new person altogether, a new creation. The past is finished and gone. Everything has become fresh and new. Friends, believe the good news of the Gospel: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.
One: Jesus promised: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you so do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. In the love of Christ, may the peace of Christ be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
One: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: “Practice Makes Permanent”
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #147 “What Wondrous Love is This?“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Romans 4:2-5 & 13–17
John 3: 1–21
One: Sophia, Spirit of Wisdom, in the reading of scripture, may your wisdom be heard. Jesus, Light of Christ, in the meditations of our hearts, may your word become flesh. Emanuel, God with Us, in the faithfulness of our lives, may your word dwell within.
ALL: Amen.
ALL: God of Wisdom, and the Word, we hear your words of life today. May the word implanted reconcile, save and make new as Christ the Living Word works in us and others by the Spirit. Amen.
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
Minute for Missions, Messages from Ministries, and receiving gifts offered to the work of the ministry:
ALL: (Sung Response): “What Can I Do?” More Voices 191
What can I do? What can I bring?/ What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy, I’ll say a prayer/ I’ll bring my love, I’ll do my share!
OFFERING PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVING FOR GIFTS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY
One: The Scriptures remind that, ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Therefore, let us pray, and let us do so asking that God will shape us in the image of our prayers. Let us pray:
O God: creator, Saviour, and Spirit of the World, listen to your people praying. you hold all that you have created within your compassionate embrace. As you hold or lives, torn by pain sorrow, or hatred, we call out for wholeness.
ALL: May your holy presence gently transform the places of our lives where we hold pain.
One: May your loving presence be a comforting reality for all who suffer loss, loneliness, and despair.
ALL: O God, lover of the world, may your holy presence comfort, console, and inspire.
One: And, from the silence of our own hearts we remember before you the names of these people and places that need the liberating release of your spirit. We silently bring their names to mind or share our requests aloud in the assembly as the spirit leads.
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT OR EXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER]
One: Gracious, Loving, and Living god, we pray for the faithful all over the world, that all who love you may be united in your service.
ALL: Loving God, hear our prayer.
One: We pray for the church both here at home and throughout the world that your people will share your good news with the poor, and liberation for the captives, and witness that the day of the Lord ahs come near.
ALL: Loving God, hear our prayer.
One: Loving, God, receive, we pray—in communion with an unnamed scribe of the eight century known only to you, whose faith and wisdom inspires our own—receive, we pray, the prayers of your people. Grant that we may not only understand the things we ought to do but have the grace and power faithfully to do them. This we pay, in unity with the universal Church of Christ across time and throughout history that taught us to pray saying:
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
THY KINGDOM COME, THEY 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 THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY
FOREVER AND EVERY. AMEN.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians through time we affirm our belief in the Old and New Testaments as primary standards of Christian faith and life. The United Church of Canada also affirms that these timeless truths are expressed for our day in the poetic expression “A Song of Faith.” Let us declare our faith together:
Jesus announced the coming of God’s reign—a commonwealth not of domination but of peace, justice, and reconciliation. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He forgave sins and freed those held captive by all manner of demonic powers. He crossed barriers of race, class, culture, and gender. he preached and practised unconditional love—love of God, love of neighbour, love of friend, love of enemy—and he commanded his followers to love one another as he had loved them.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #681 “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
CHORALE BLESSING (“Go Now in Peace”)
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director: Jennifer Pearce-Chambers
February 26, 2023
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
Pre-Service Reflection and Prayer: Breathe Deeply, Read Silently, Reflect Personally, Pray Thankfully.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain in me a willing spirit. A contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51 Selections)
GATHERING AND WELCOME
One: Friends in Christ, Lent is a time to prepare and to renew. We mark this holy season in reflection.
ALL: We acknowledge our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness of the gospel.
One: We are invited, in the name of Christ, to observe a season of holy reflection and self-searching.
ALL We seek to understand ourselves through self-examination, penitence, and prayer.
One: Let us observe this time together to grow in Christ, through reading, prayer and understanding
ALL: And by responding to the Word of God with prayer, compassion, and works of loving care.
Today, we pause together on life’s path to acknowledge that we travel this road together between baptism and celebration, knowing that the light of fellowship revealed in Christ illuminates our shared path, as we journey together from the ashes of the past to the glory of a life fully share with God.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Acknowledgement of the Land
The East Central Ontario Regional Council (ECORC) of the United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings and ministries are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples.
One: Friends in Christ, Lent is a time to prepare and to renew our lives.
ALL: In this holy season, we acknowledge our need for change, for growth, for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel through the love of Christ.
One: The Spirit is here, inviting us to pray, to reflect, and to consider our holy calling as one body
ALL: Through self-reflection, through penitence, in prayer, in fasting and in works of love we affirm that we are one body in Christ, united together in God through one Lord, Spirit and Baptism.
One: Let us consider one another as well as ourselves as we seek to become on e in Christ.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the unity of the body of Christ in the earth. As we reflect and worship, let us grow more and more into one body in Christ, who has come to gather all.
ALL: Most Holy God, we rejoice in our awareness of your presence. As you enter our lives, refresh and renew us. Grant that we may live with love in the example of Jesus the Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, through whom we pray, Amen.
HYMN OF APPROACH: Voices United #108 “Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights”
One: God, the Creator of all there ever was and of all that ever will be, had created as a loving partner in the fullness of creation on earth. Yet, we have fallen short of the caretaker’s call, and we have treated the Earth as our own. Let us turn to God as we seek a right relationship with all of God’s creation. Let us pray:
ALL: God of Love, as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us, so may we give ourselves to you, living according to your holy will. Forgive us, Loving God, for the moments when we fall short of your high calling. May we seek not to lift up ourselves, but that we may lift you up for the world to see. May we seek not to serve our desires, but that we may fulfill your desire for all to be one. Keep our feet firmly on the Way where Jesus leads us. Help our lips speak the truth that Christ teaches us. Fill our bodies with the life that is Christ within us. In Christ we pray, Amen.
One: The peace of Christ be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
One: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: “Competing Voices”
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #559 “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Genesis 2: 15-17 & Genesis 3: 1–7
Matthew 4: 1–11
One: This is the Word of the Spirit, revealed through The Law and the prophets, the Gospels and writings of the New Testament, and through Christ Jesus, the Living Word.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the Word.
One: God of Wisdom, Revelation, and Love: We give yo thanks for your love. We are comforted that you know us, and that you have called us today both to rise to the mountain top and to descend to serve others with a renewed vision of your love, your redemption, and your regeneration in our hearts and in our lives. We give you thanks for the wisdom, the words, and the work of your Spirit, oh God, and we pray that we will turn understanding into action through the regenerative work of your spirit in our lives. In Christ we pray, Amen.
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
Minute for Missions, Messages from Ministries, and receiving gifts offered to the work of the ministry:
ALL: (Sung Response): “What Can I Do?” More Voices 191
What can I do? What can I bring?/ What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy, I’ll say a prayer/ I’ll bring my love, I’ll do my share!
OFFERING PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVING FOR GIFTS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY
One: Today, we recognize that, in the desert, hungry, vulnerable, and alone, Jesus faced the temptations of pleasure, pride,and power and defeated each one in turn. Let us now turn in prayer to the One God who also understands our temptations to pleasure pride, and power, and who guides us in truth, who strengthens us in enticement, and who forgives us in our weakness. Let us pray:
God of Providence, we see the humility of Jesus who refused to use his power to turn stones into bread. Strengthen us to refuse the temptation to use our power, however little, to pursue our own preferences in the face of the greater needs of others in our community and our world.
ALL: God of Providence, open our ears to hear the cries of those who experience sadness, loss, and alienation in our families, our community, our culture, and our world. Fill us, we pray, with the spirit of compassion to respond in understanding, generosity, and kindness.
One: God of Service, we see the understanding of Jesus who refused the temptation to leap from the temple as a test of your covenant. Strengthen us to refuse the temptation to use our talents, skills, and attributes to pursue our own pleasure in the face of the nobler calling to uplift the disenfranchised who have been denigrated by our stratified society and our competitive culture.
ALL: God of Service, soften our hearts to understand the loneliness and exclusion that others experience, such as the different, the diverse and the disenfranchised in our world who seek acceptance to a community of care, of compassion, and inclusion.
One: God of Submission, we see the discernment of Jesus, who refused to kneel before a false god that promised the wealth, the honour, and the power of this world. Strengthen us through your spirit to refuse the temptation to use our cultural privilege, our institutional power, or our social status to reinforce our own status, but to respond like Jesus and set the captives free.
ALL: God of Submission, help us discern the difference between practicing an easy religion that serves ourselves instead of travelling the way of the cross, the harder path of the Calvary road, to which you have called us in compassion, in service, and in submission. Strengthen us oh God, to deny ourselves, to pick up our cross, and follow you where your spirit leads.
One: And here at home, Our Loving Parent, here in our own community, we pray for all who suffer the pain of sickness, loneliness, fear, or loss. We pray for weaknesses known to all, and for challenges know by You alone. And, we pause together in prayer for those whose names are in our hearts, in our thoughts, and on our lips:
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT OR EXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER]
One: God, you have promised that where two or three are gathered in your name, you are here, in our midst. Thank you for hearing our prayers. We pray that you will shape and re-shape us in the image of our prayers through your compassionate Spirit, and through the example of Jesus, who taught us to pray together saying:
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
THY KINGDOM COME, THEY 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 THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY
FOREVER AND EVERY. AMEN.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians through time we affirm our belief in the Old and New Testaments as primary standards of Christian faith and life. The United Church of Canada also affirms that these timeless truths are expressed for our day in the poetic expression “A Song of Faith.” Let us declare our faith together:
Made in the image of God, we yearn for the fulfillment that is life in God.
Yet, we choose to turn away from God. We surrender ourselves to sin, a disposition revealed in selfishness, cowardice, or apathy.
Becoming bound and complacent in a web of false desires and wrong choices we bring harm to ourselves, and others.
This brokenness in human life and community is an outcome of sin. Sin is not only personal, but accumulates to become habitual and systemic forms of injustice, violence, and hatred.
Yet, evil does not—cannot—undermine or overcome the love of God. God forgives, God reconciles, and God transforms. We sing of grace.
Grateful of God’s loving action, we cannot keep from singing of the One on whom our hearts rely, the fully shared life at the heart of the universe. Amen.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #288 “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
CHORALE BLESSING (“Go Now in Peace”)
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director: Jennifer Pearce-Chambers
February 19, 2023
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
Pre-Service Reflection and Prayer: Breathe Deeply, Read Silently, Reflect Personally, Pray Thankfully.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. Your name, O God, like your praise , reaches toe the ends of the earth. (Psalm 48)
GATHERING AND WELCOME
One: People of God: Today is the Day that the Lord has made, imagined by the Creator of the Universe, illumined by the Light of the World, and enlivened by the Spirit Wind that breathes life over the Waters of Creation!
ALL: We have come to Worship God, whose creations we are in Christ! May our spirits give thanks to the Creator, the Light, and the Wind of the Spirit, the Breath of Life.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness
but will have the light of life.” Today, we light this candle to symbolize
the light of Christ that shines with us and within us.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Acknowledgement of the Land
The East Central Ontario Regional Council (ECORC) of the United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings and ministries are on traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples.
One: Good Morning and welcome! Welcome into the presence of God, the Maker of all there is.
ALL: Let us rise to meet the God of Earth and Space, Valley and Mountain.
One: God has created this beautiful Earth, for you and me, for all that live here, and for all that grows.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the riches of nature and the blessings of our world.
One: God has given us seasons in the cycle of nature, and also the seasons of our own lives, as we rise to experience God’s presence and return to serve God’s world.
ALL: Thanks be to God who calls us to look up, and see the Majesty of God in all of God’s glory and who also calls us to bow down, in ministry and in service to all in need of liberation. Let us worship the Creator and Sustainer of all that lives, in love, in thanksgiving and in praise.
One: Sculpting God, it is you that gives galaxies their form, you that shapes the granite mountains, and you who designs butterfly wings and the iridescent colours of the chameleon.
ALL: We are grateful for the beauty of your creation, Oh God.
One: Dancing God, you choreograph the paths of stars, the branches that fan in the breeze, and the flight paths of Snow Geese.
ALL: We look in wonder at the beauty of the world you have created, Oh God.
One: Singing God, your divine song reverberates in the song of the sparrow, the swoosh of mountain streams, and the breath of the gentle breeze.
ALL: We rejoice to be a part of the divine natural world that you have created in the atom, the planet, and the swirl of galaxies. Amen.
HYMN OF APPROACH: Voices United #288 “Great Is They Faithfulness”
One: Friends, we are people of worth and value. And, when we acknowledge the imperfections of life, the shortcuts, the secrets that we are too embarrassed to admit, when we turn in honest contrition to our loving and redeeming God, we can be transformed, redeemed, and forgiven. Let us pray:
ALL: Gentle God, you made us in your image, with a mind to know you, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. But: our knowledge is imperfect, our love inconstant, and our obedience incomplete. Morning by morning, we fail to follow Christ. Day by day, we fail to grow into your likeness. In your tender love, O God, we ask that you forgive, heal, and restore, that we may grow more and more into the likeness of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
One: Friends, this is the Good News: Anyone in Christ becomes anew person altogether, a new creation. The past is finished and gone. Everything has become fresh and new. Friends, believe the good news of the Gospel: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.
One: The peace of Christ be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
One: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: “Climbing the Mountain to the Winner’s Circle”
Winning is only half of the challenge…
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #103 “How Good, Lord, to Be Here”
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Exodus 24: 12–18
1 Kings 19: 8b–13a
Matthew 17: 1–9
One: This is the Word of the Spirit, revealed through The Law and the prophets, the Gospels and writings of the New Testament, and through Christ Jesus, the Living Word.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the Word.
One: God of Wisdom, Revelation, and Love: We give yo thanks for your love. We are comforted that you know us, and that you have called us today both to rise to the mountain top and to descend to serve others with a renewed vision of your love, your redemption, and your regeneration in our hearts and in our lives. We give you thanks for the wisdom, the words, and the work of your Spirit, oh God, and we pray that we will turn understanding into action through the regenerative work of your spirit in our lives. In Christ we pray, Amen.
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
Minute for Missions, Messages from Ministries, and receiving gifts offered to the work of the ministry:
ALL: (Sung Response): “What Can I Do?” More Voices 191
What can I do? What can I bring?/ What can I say? What can I sing?
I’ll sing with joy, I’ll say a prayer/ I’ll bring my love, I’ll do my share!
OFFERING PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVING FOR GIFTS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY
One: In Thankfulness for Creation, let us join in Praise and Prayer, who could have imagined any world at all, and who chose this as the Edenic garden where all life may flourish. Let us pray: Lord of all Being, and Source of all Blessing, we come before you in unity to give you thanks.
ALL: For Life and Love, for health and food, for work and home, for nature’s beauty of gentle solace we give you thanks.
One: We thank you, God, that we have lived in this great world and known its many joys.
ALL: For the songs of birds, the strong, sweet scent of fresh-cut hay, the cool breeze at dusk, and the bright flavour of fresh-picked fruits, we give you thanks.
One: We thank you God, for others that we have known who have built into our lives.
ALL: For the love of family, the comfort of old friends, and the joy of new acquaintances, we give you thanks.
One: And yet, God of Flood and Fire, we lament that not all winds bring gentle breezes. Adversity affects the just and the unjust in our imperfect world. We pray for healing, and we pray for mission. May we, your body in the world extend your hands, your voice and your love to a hurting world.
ALL: Open our ears that we may hear your healing voice so we can lift up the people we meet. Open our eyes that we may see the needs of those around us. Open our minds that we may see the needs of others from their point of view, not our own. Open our hearts to withhold judgement and extend helping hands where needed.
One: And here at home, Our Loving Parent, here in our own community, we pray for all who suffer the pain of sickness, loneliness, fear, or loss. We pray for weaknesses known to all, and for challenges known by You alone. And, we pause together in prayer for those whose names are in our hearts, in our thoughts, and on our lips.
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT OR EXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER]
One: God, you have promised that where two or three are gathered in your name, you are here, in our midst. Fulfill now the desires and petitions of your people as may be best for us, and bind us together in the contemporary words of The Prayer of Jesus saying:
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
THY KINGDOM COME, THEY 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 THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY
FOREVER AND EVERY. AMEN.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians through time we affirm our belief in the Old and New Testaments as primary standards of Christian faith and life. The United Church of Canada also affirms that these timeless truths are expressed for our day in the poetic expression “A Song of Faith.” Let us declare our faith together:
God is creative and self-giving, generously moving in all the near and distant corners of the universe. Nothing exists that does not find its source in God. Our first response to God’s providence is gratitude. We sing thanksgiving. Finding ourselves in a world of beauty and mystery, of living things, diverse and interdependent, of complex patterns of growth and evolution, of subatomic particles and cosmic swirls, we sing of God the Creator, the Maker and Source of all that is. Grateful of God’s loving action, we cannot keep from singing of the One on whom our hearts rely, the fully shared life at the heart of the universe. Amen.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #716 “My Life Flows On”
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
CHORALE BLESSING (“Go Now in Peace”)
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.
Know He will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there watching from above.
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Hampton United Church 