Archive includes previous four recorded services only.
All services are recorded at Eldad United Church.
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Congregational Minister:
Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director:
Evan Funnell
May 12th, 2024
Pre-Service: We Prepare for Worship: Breathe, Read, reflect, Pray:
St. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians: “I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his great power” (Ephesians 1: 16-19)
GATHERING AND WELCOME
Welcome! May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 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.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge this land as the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat First Nations, governed by the Williams Treaties and Treaty Number Twenty. We give thanks for the stewardship of the first people of this land. May we live within the agreements of truth and Reconciliation as we partner together.
CALL TO WORSHIP
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 we 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.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER OF APPROACH
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, the Christ.
One: May this time of worship nourish us with meaning and purpose
ALL: That we may carry the light of your 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 #238 “How Great Thou Art“
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION
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:
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #703 “In the Bulb There is a Flower“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
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. Emmanuel, God with Us, in the faithfulness of our lives, may your word dwell within.
ALL: Amen.
Luke 24: 44-53
Acts 1: 1-11
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER
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:
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 not 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 our 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.
[ALL: A moment of quiet reflection or spoken intercession can be shared by the congregation.)
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 has 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 uor 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 pray, in unity with the universal Church of Christ across time and throughout history that taught us to pray saying:
ALL: Our father heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians ….. Let us declare our shared faith together:
God is Holy Mystery, beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description.
Yet, in love, the one eternal God seeks relationship. So God creates the universe and with it the possibility of being and relating.
God tends the universe, mending the broken and reconciling the estranged.
God enlivens the universe, guiding all things toward harmony with their Source. 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 confessions, transforming us and the world. Grateful for 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.
One: Friends, welcome. This is an open table, freely available to all. You are welcome to celebrate without hesitation. Welcome, one and all in joy and in spirit. This is the table of the risen Christ. In this feast comes the root of our joy.
ALL: In this feast gleams the promise of the earth and the glory of all creation.
One: Just as there is one bread, we who are many are one body in spirit.
ALL: We share in this one loaf just as we abide together in the one spirit and body in Christ.
One: In this feast come the Christ, Saviour and friend to all. Let us pray as one:
ALL: Spirit of unity, bind us together as we celebrate as one.
One: We remember that, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and after giving thanks, he broke it, saying, “Take, eat; this is the bread of life, shared with all.
Jesus also took the cup and poured it, saying, “the wine of the spirit poured out upon all.”
Let us share together with the words:
The Bread of Life, shares with all
(Response: “Thanks be to God for the Bread of Life”)
The wine of the Spirit, poured upon all
(Response: “Thanks be to God for the wine of the Spirit”)
THE CELEBRATION OF COMMUNION SHALL BE OBSERVED
(Instrumental music during communion, Musician’s choice from any of: VU 457, 459, 461, 465, 480)
ALL: Life-Giving God, May the broken bread of life shared as one strengthen our community. May the wine of the spirit poured out on all renew our lives and relationships. May the Spirit present with us today in the bread and wine give strength for the journey, light for the path, and joy for the companionship. In the all-loving Spirit of Christ we pray, Amen.
SENDING FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY
FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Congregational Minister:
Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director:
Evan Funnell
May 5th, 2024
Pre-Service: We Prepare for Worship: Breathe, Read, reflect, Pray:
O God, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbours; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honour those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath, even to their own hurt, who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15; NRSV)
GATHERING AND WELCOME
The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made the light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God’s glory. Today, we light this Christ candle as a symbol that reminds us of God’s light of life and hope that shines inside each one of us.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Land Acknowledgement
Since time immemorial, First Peoples’ lives and spirituality have been deeply connected to this land. We acknowledge that the land we are worship on as the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat First Nations. This territory is governed by the Williams Treaties and Treaty Number Twenty. We give thanks for the stewardship of the first people of this land. May we challenge ourselves to live into the agreements of Truth and Reconciliation in our community of faith and in our daily lives.
Call to Worship
One: Welcome in the Name of the Creator, the Liberator, and the Healer.
ALL: God is doing a new thing here, now, in the midst of our daily lives.
One: The Holy One, Creator of Heaven and Earth, shapes us and re-shapes us afresh today.
ALL: Let our spirits rise to greet our Creator, our Liberator, and our Healer.
One: Loving God, whose image resides in the hearts of all people and in all life-giving creation, we give you thanks for the diversity of your creative imagination and your sacred gift of life.
ALL: May we see your face in faces different from our own. May we hear your voice in words of faith that are foreign to our traditions. May we perceive your spirit in ways and words beyond our experience. Today, we welcome your eternal spirit in our midst, Creator, Christ and Comforter, so that we can become one with each other, one with our creation, and one with you. Amen
HYMN OF APPROACH: Voices United #409 “Morning Has Broken“
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION
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 God? Compassionate God, Mother and Father of us all, we adore You: the Source of All Love.
ALL: We, Your children, ask your blessing, for your nature is compassion.
One: Loving Parent, we come to you as children seeking your joy, kindness, and peace.
ALL: In the truth of your word, and the touch of our spirit we find peace.
One: And yet, Gracious God, we know that our thoughts, words and actions often fall short.
ALL: We have not loved God with all our heart, soul, and minds. We have not loved one another as we should. Sometimes we submit to pride, anger, or self-centredness. Forgive us, oh God, and direct us to your path of compassion and love. In Christ we pray, amen.
PASTORAL AFFIRMATION
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: “Rock-Paper-Scissors:” A Winner’s Strategy, vs. A Winning Mindset.
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #625 “I Feel the Winds of God“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
One: Spirit of Wisdom, who enlightens our minds to hear you, our hearts to love you, and our lives to be obedient to you, we ask that you renew our vision. give us your eyes to see, your heart to feel, and your Spirit of understanding.
ALL: We give thanks for the Spirit and the Living Word. Amen.
Psalm 15
Micah 6:8
John 13:34
Galatians 5:22-23
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER
ALL: Loving and compassionate God, we give you thanks for creating us, and for creating a world of beauty and balance. We give you thanks that we are, as the psalmist said, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Thank you for the miracle of life, that we have even existed at all. We give you thanks for hope.
Thank you for teaching us that we have the power of choice, and that we can make a difference. Thank you for giving us the power to choose between Generosity and Selfishness.
Thank you for giving us the power to choose our thoughts, words and actions in ways that build up “the Good”, and that resist evil intentions, evil words, and evil actions.
Loving and guiding God, forgive us when we do choose thoughts, words and actions that are selfish and self-serving.
Forgive us when we choose self-serving thoughts that promote our prestige and power over others. Forgive us when we choose to use words like weapons to hurt other people, to put others down. Forgive us when we choose selfish actions that satisfy our selfish desires at the cost of other living creatures, the environment, or the earths’ natural balance.
Teach us to learn from our mistakes and poor choices.
Inspire us to speak words of healing that encourage liberty, freedom, and choice for others.
Inspire us to act in ways that improve the lives of people everywhere and that protect other living things, the environment and the Earth, our home.
For all these things, we ray in Christ, 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:
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 not 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:
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. 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 prayer
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: 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, who taught us to pray saying:
ALL: Our father heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
Note: An alternate version of the Lord’s Prayer used in today’s service. “The Lord’s Prayer,” English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), 1988. Voices United, p. 910.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians ….. Let us declare our shared faith together:
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God. We are called to be the church:
to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY
FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Congregational Minister:
Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director:
Evan Funnell
April 28th, 2024
Pre-Service: We Prepare for Worship: Breathe, Read, reflect, Pray:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Those who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” (John 14:21). In response, Oswald Chambers wrote: “Christ never insists on obedience; the Spirit tells us what we ought to do, but the Spirit never ‘makes’ us do it. We must choose to do it out of a oneness of Spirit, and when I choose to obey Christ, God’s redemption rushes through me to other lives. Behind our act of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.”
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.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge this land as the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat First Nations, governed by the Williams Treaties and Treaty Number Twenty. We give thanks for the stewardship of the first people of this land. May we live within the agreements of truth and Reconciliation as we partner together.
Call to Worship
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 we ma learn to love one another.
One: Jesus said, “I no longer call your servants. Now, I call you ‘my friends.'”
ALL: We come to worship God, whose friend we are in Christ.
One: Let us sing praises too 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 the Christ.
One: May this time of worship nourish us with meaning and purpose,
ALL: That we may carry the light of your 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 #642 “Be Thou My Vision“
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION
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.
PASSING THE PEACE
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.
All: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE: Wise Words—from Kids!
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #375 “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Genesis 1: 1-3
Wisdom of Solomon 7: 22-28
John 14: 15-26
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER
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:
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 not 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:
One: 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 our 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.
[A moment of quiet reflection or spoken intercession can be shared by the congregation.]
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 has 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 pray, in unity with the universal Church of Christ across time and throughout history that taught us to pray saying:
ALL: 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 forive those who 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.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians ….. Let us declare our shared faith together:
God is Holy Mystery, beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description.
Yet, in love, the one eternal God seeks relationship, so God creates the universe and with it the possibility of being and relating.
God tends the universe, mending the broken and reconciling the estranged.
God enlivens the universe, guiding all things toward harmony with their Source.
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 confessions, transforming us and the world.
Grateful for 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.
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY
FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
with Congregational Minister:
Pastor Doug Ferris
Music Director:
Evan Funnell
April 21st, 2024
We apologize, there was a problem taping today’s service.
Pre-Service: We Prepare for Worship: Breathe, Read, reflect, Pray:
The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words—their voice is not heard, yet their voice goes out through all the earth—and their words to the end of the world.
( Psalm 19: 1-4)
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: The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; The decrees of the LORD are sure, teaching wisdom; The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes; May our spirits give thanks to the Creator, the Light, and 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.
Land Acknowledgement
The East Central Ontario Regional Council (ECORC) of the United Church of Canada acknowledges that its buildings are on the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples.
Call to Worship
One: Good Morning and welcome! This is the Day that the Lord has made!
ALL: Let us rejoice, and be glad in it.
One: God has created this beautiful Earth, for you and for 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 creation.
One: God has given us seasons in the cycle of nature, and in our own lives: regeneration in Spring, growth in summer, harvest in autumn, and rest in winter.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the natural seasons on Earth, and for the seasons of faith in our lives. 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 create, 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 #409 “Morning Has Broken“
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION
One: God, 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: Creator God, we confess that you have created us through your love as caregivers for your Creation. We confess that we have exploited the gifts within nature, and that we selfishly dominate the richness of Creation. Forgive us, we pray, for our grasping selfishness. We confess our part in the devastation of our planet home, the Earth, a devastation that we can see mirrored in the violence and brokenness of cities and human hearts. Forgive us, O God of Creation. Restore our relationship with you, and with it, our relationship to the living, integrated and symbiotic environment that sustains not only our own lives, but the lives of all other creatures on Earth, as we seek to selfishly dominate the richness of creation. Forgive us, we pray for the healing of the Earth, and the restoration of its life forms. Thanks be to God, for the gentleness of his mercy. In Christ we pay, Amen.
PASSING THE PEACE
One: The peace of Christ be with you all.
ALL: And also with you.
All: Let us greet one another with the Peace of Christ.
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE
HYMN OF DEVOTION: Voices United #296 “This Is God’s Wondrous World“
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
John 10: 11-18
Psalm 23
1 John 3: 16-24
All: Thanks be to God.
RESPONSIVE PRAYER
ALL: God of all living, God of all loving, God of the seedling, the snow and the sun, teach us, direct us, in Christ reconnect us with all of Creation, United as one in you: A living universe of matter, energy, and spirit. Thanks be to God, who is in all, and who IS all. 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:
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 and 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 judgment 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.
[ALL: A moment of quiet reflection or spoken intercession can be shared by the congregation.]
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, as found in the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand, saying:
ALL: Eternal Spirit, Source of all that is, and every shall be,
loving Parent, in whom we discern heaven; may knowledge of your holiness inspire all peoples, and may your commonwealth of peace and freedom flourish on Earth until all of humankind heed your call to justice and compassion.
May we find the bread that we need for today, and for the hurts we cause one another, may we be forgiven in the same measure that we forgive.
In times of trial and temptation, help us to be strong.
When life seems overwhelming, help us to endure.
And thus, from the yoke of sin, deliver us;
May you reign in the power of human love, now and forever, Amen.
(Adapted from the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.)
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURES, TRUTH, AND CREEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:
One: With Christians ….. Let us declare our shared 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 practiced unconditional love—love of God, love neighbour, love of friend, love of enemy—and he commanded his followers
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
THE CONCLUSION OF WORSHIP & THE BEGINNING OF MINISTRY
FOR ALL IN CHRIST
Hampton United Church 