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Message: The Road of Blessing / Genesis 12:1-4

Genesis can be divided into two main parts. Chapters 1 to 11 move from the creation stories to the Tower of Babel. This first section gives us a broad picture of humanity and the world, and it is often called the primeval history. Then, in chapters 12 to 50, the focus becomes much more specific. Instead of speaking about all people, the story follows one household and its descendants, beginning with Abraham and Sarah. This section describes the roots of faith for many in the world, including those within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Today’s first reading comes from the very beginning of this second part of Genesis. The change is sudden. There is no long introduction and no explanation. God simply speaks to Abram and says, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house.” In the ancient world, this was not a small request. Land, family, and household were the foundations of life. They were the basis of survival, identity, and security. So, leaving home was not a simp...
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Order of Service / Annual Meeting Sunday / March 1, 2026

*Gathering Hymn Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love (#574 VU | vs. 1&2) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: On this Annual Meeting Sunday, with gratitude for the vision of all those who have come before and gratitude for the vision that will lead us into tomorrow and the years ahead,    All:  we come to this place of worship with heads bowed and hearts open. One: As God’s Spirit has touched the spirits of so many of our forebears in the faith,   All: may God’s Spirit touch our spirits this day. One: Come, Holy Spirit, come with your call and vision for this community of faith. * Sheryl Spencer. Gathering ACE 2022/23 . Page 52. Opening Prayer *Opening Hymn We Are One (#402 VU|vs.1,2,4) Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison) God of mercy, we admit that we do not always love well. We have used words that wounded. We have made choices that left others carrying the cost. Forgive us, O God. Open our eyes to w...
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Message: Eden & Wilderness / Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 & Matthew 4:1-11

On this first Sunday of Lent, the lectionary readings bring us into two stories, Eden and the wilderness. Eden is a place of abundance, where everything is given to enjoy. The wilderness, by contrast, is a place of lack, exposing weakness and vulnerability. Today’s readings show that both can be places of temptation. This reminds us that temptation can appear anywhere and is never far from us. Through these two stories, we are invited to reflect on what temptation is and how we can face it. Genesis begins with two creation stories. Today’s first reading comes from the second story, which explores the human condition. God forms the human from the dust of the ground, but it does not end there. When God breathes the breath of life into it, the human becomes a living being. Life is more than just physical movement. Without the divine breath that makes relationships possible, humans are not truly alive. Because of this, the Hebrew word for breath also refers to spirit. It connects God and u...
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Order of Service / Lent 1 / February 22, 2026

  *Gathering Hymn Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love (#574 VU | vs. 1&3) Welcome & Land Acknowledgement Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: As we enter this Lenten season, God renews God’s promise to us. God promises to support us when life calls us to a tough decision.    All: Will we renew our promise to God? One: God promises to travel with us through the places of testing.   All: Will we renew our promise to God? One: God promises to show us the faithful and wise way.    All: Will we renew our promise to God? One: God promises that when we fail or falter, God will not forsake us. All: Will we renew our promise to God? One: In the life and death of Jesus Christ, we know we are able to trust God’s promises.    All: And so we recommit to our promise to trust God’s leading in the hard places we encounter and in the hard places encountered in the life of our faith community. One: Knowing that the promises of God are to b...
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Message: Ashes of Invitation / Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

In the Bible, sin does not mean only wrong actions or illegal behaviour. Scripture uses several different words for sin, but what they all have in common is that they point to a state of being distant from God. It might sound a little abstract. Simply put, sin is when we fail to keep what truly matters at the centre of our lives. Sometimes we forget what is most important in our lives. We lose gratitude for a meal that nourishes us. We overlook the gift of clean water and fresh air. We fail to notice the people who care for us and walk alongside us. We forget the gift of a home where we can rest and recover. Most of all, we forget that we ourselves are precious, God’s beloved. This kind of forgetting often happens more easily in times of plenty than in times of need. When resources are scarce, we know how much we depend on daily bread, safe shelter, and one another. But when we have more than enough, the gifts that sustain us can slip from our attention. Gratitude grows weak, and compa...
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Order of Service / Ash Wednesday Service / February 18, 2026

Invitation Lighting the Christ Candle Call to Worship One: We gather carrying dust and breath, aware of our limits and our longing.  All: We pause before the One who meets us with mercy. One: We come with stories unfinished, with regrets, hopes, and open hands.  All: We turn toward the promise of forgiveness and renewal. One: This is a time to listen, to release, and to begin again.  All: We enter this season together, seeking grace that reshapes our lives and love that leads us forward. Opening Prayer *Hymn Dust and Ashes Touch Our Face (#VU 105) Scripture Reading 1 2 Corinthians 5:20b – 6:10 We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now...
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