Feb. 1 – Service

 

Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.

 

Rev. Doug Ferris
Music Director: Evan Funnell

February 1, 2026

Services are recorded, contact eldadunitedchurch@gmail.com,
if you wish to receive a link each Sunday to the service.

PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP

PRE-SERVICE SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

“To you O Lord, I lift up my soul. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, O Lord, and teach me, for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been for of old. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 25, Selections)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & CELEBRATIONS

LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE

We light this Christ candle today remembering that: ‘To fall in love with God is the greatest romance, to seek God the greatest adventure, to find God, the greatest human achievement. May we each seek the light of Christ while God’s light may be found and may we each call upon God while the light of the Spirit is near’ (St. Augustine, Isaiah 55).

WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP

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: 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 to night declares knowledge.
ALL:  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.
One:  Thanks be to God, for the voiceless word of God’s spirit! 

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER OF APPROACH

One:  Loving and Generous God, as the sun rises and as a new day unfolds with all of its promise and hope we commit ourselves and our community to you: 
ALL:     We commit to respond in Christ’s love, in whose love we are made whole. We commit to embody Jesus in whose Spirit we live, move, and have our being.
One:  We commit ourselves as a community of believers to Your divine mission:
ALL:     We commit to offer our generous best, to witness blessing, and to seize opportunities for gratitude.
One:  We commit to change and to be changed, to regard ourselves with grace.
ALL:     We commit to advocate for justice, to exercise compassion and to love others without reserve.
One:  We commit to work toward peace, to extend understanding and to afford second chances.
ALL:     We commit in whose compassion we arise and greet this day, every day, and for all our days. In Christ we pray, Amen.     

GATHERING IN SONG: More Voices #145 “Draw the Circle Wide”  

PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION: 

One:  Jesus taught us not to be anxious about our live 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 our shortcomings to God in prayer: 
God of mercy and grace, we lower our heads before you and admit that, too often, we forget that we are Yours. Sometimes, we speak and behave as if there was no God at all.
ALL:     Sometimes, we fall short of being credible witnesses to your love, our kindness, and your forgiving nature. For these shortcomings, we ask Your forgiveness, and we ask for strength. Give us clear minds to remember your voice, courage to follow your calling, and open hearts so that we may witness for You with compassion and understanding. Remind us of the honour that arises as we respond in faith to your high calling, and strengthen us to serve as Your ambassadors, regardless of where we are and who we are with.
One:  Embrace us with your loving kindness O God, and soften our hearts so that we can reach out in the Spirit with compassion, understanding, and holy love.
ALL:     In Christ we pray, Amen.

PASTORAL AFFIRMATION: 

Friends, this is the Good News of the Gospel: God loves each one of us with a love deep and profound beyond our human understanding, and God delights in an honest and contrite heart. Paradoxically, it is through humility that we rise, through honesty that we are esteemed, and through contrition that we are loved. Thanks be to God for the paradox of love.

WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–AND EVERYONE:  Eldad-Hampton’s 2026 New Year’s Resolution: Team-Building Activity: How About a Church Fishing Trip?!! Where to Go? What to Bring??

FAMILY IN SONG: More Voices #182 “Grateful”