Eldad – Hampton Pastoral Charge
of the United Church of Canada.
Rev. Doug Ferris
Music Director: Evan Funnell
May 24, 2026
PRE-SERVICE: WE PREPARE FOR WORSHIP
PRE-SERVICE SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Moses…gathered seventy elders of the people and placed them all around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied…Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them…and so they prophesied in the camp. And… Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!”
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.
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
The Apostle Paul, wrote to the Church at Rome declaring that: “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us…[and] if Christ is in you the Spirit is your life.” Today, we light this candle to symbolize the light of Christ that shines with us and within us.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP
CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Good Morning and welcome! May the Holy Spirit of the Risen Christ be with you!
ALL: And may the Spirit in us greet the Spirit in you!
One: We have come to celebrate the birth of the church, through the gift of the Spirit we have come to celebrate Pentecost, to open ourselves to God’s Spirit working through us
ALL: May the Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the grave also raise the Church in the love of God.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER OF APPROACH:
One: Let us unite in Prayer. Let us Pray:
ALL: Spirit of the Living God, fill us anew on this Day of Pentecost.
Holy Spirit Come, on rushing winds that sweep away the barriers of inequity. Holy Spirit Come, with tongues of flame that set our hearts on fire for you, Holy Spirit Come, with love that triumphs over human barriers of race and nation, Come Holy Spirit, come. In the Spirit of the Living Christ, we pray, Amen.
HYMN OF APPROACH: More Voices #1 “Let Us Build a House”
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND AFFIRMATION:
One: Jesus taught us not to be anxious about our lives or about what tomorrow might bring, yet fear and anxiety weigh on our hearts. Let us seek consolation in the loving kindness of God’s forgiving Spirit. Let us pray: Spirit of God, you are the breath of creation, the wind of change that blows throughout lives, and the fresh breeze that enlivens new dreams, new hope, and new life in Jesus Christ.
ALL: Merciful God, forgive our closed minds that resist new ideas, new understandings and new insight. Forgive us for preferring the stale bread of the past for the Living Water of the Spirit of Peace. Loving God, forgive our closed eyes That fail to see the needs of your world, and that remain blind to opportunities of reconciliation, unity and love. Refreshing God, forgive our closed hearts which limits our affections to our own wellbeing, and the entitlement of those we choose to hold close. We ask forgiveness for the blindness of spirit that leads to closed eyes, closed hands and closed hearts. May the fresh breeze of your Spirit blow away the self-centeredness of our age and open our hearts to embrace all whom you have created. In Christ we pray, 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.
PASTORAL AFFIRMATION
WORDS FOR THE YOUNG–& EVERYONE: Life-Changing Moments, How many have you had?
FAMILY IN SONG: Voices United 375 “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness”
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
PRAYER OF ENLIGHTENMENT:
John 3: 3-8 [Link to Scriptures]
John 20: 19-23
Galatians 5: 22-25
One: The Word of God for the people of God.
ALL: Thanks be to God for the Word.
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION:
RESPONSIVE PRAYER:
THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO THE WORD
THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION: Offertory
We bring our Gifts of Service and Support before God and for the Work of the Church.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER:
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: At this Pentecost moment, we are not alone: God will reveal Creation’s dream,
ALL: as we give thanks for whose we are.
(Share a moment of silence to reflect on how we can affirm each other as beloved children of our Creator )
One: Christ will claim us as his own,
ALL: as we declare who we are.
(Share a moment of silence to reflect on how we can continue to declare our faith and identity as followers of Jesus.)
One: God’s Spirit will pour out on us,
ALL: AND IN YOUR LOVE, ANSWER.
One: as we anticipate who we will become.
(Share a moment of silence to reflect and give thanks for whom we hope to become with the Spirit’s help and guidance.)
One: At this Pentecost:
ALL: We take courage in the assurance of whose we are; we affirm our call to be Christ’s disciples; and we trust the Spirit to guide us through the challenging space between who we are and who we will be. Surely, we are not alone. Thanks be to God.
[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:
ALL: OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME,
THY 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.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.
RESPONDING TO THE WORD IN THE UNITED CHURCH’S EXPRESSION OF FAITH, “A SONG OF FAITH”:
With Christians throughout 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 these timeless truths as expressed for our day in the poetic phrases of “A Song of Faith.”
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.
RENEWED, COMMISSIONED AND SENT FORTH INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
HYMN OF COMMISSIONING: Voices United #684 “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” (Song #2 on link)
BENEDICTION & BLESSING
Hampton United Church 