Order of Service / Creation Time 3 / September 22, 2024

*Gathering Hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful (#291 VU | vs. 3, 4)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: Come into this sacred space to worship the Holy Mystery who is Wholly Love.

All: We come troubled by the environmental Code Red, worried about destruction, war, and violence in our world, uncertain we have the wisdom to juggle the complexities of life today.

One: Come to encounter the Spirit’s movement in song, in prayer, and in word.

All: We come to be strengthened for life’s ongoing journey, communing in person and digitally with one another as a family of faith. Amen.

*Gord Dunbar. Gathering Pentecost 2, 2024. Page 27.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn All Creature of Our God and King (#217 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Behold and praise be to you, God of the Living Sky! Eternal cycles of day and night, and seasons upon seasons, bring us again before you in amazement for your glorious, ever-changing Creation. We know our weaknesses. We acknowledge our shortfalls. Bless us in our humanness. Your endless love warms our listening hearts, assuring us of forgiveness. Beloved and Divine Creator, give us new strength to discern and follow your way in our words and actions, so that we may shine for others with your light. (a time of silent confession) Amen.

*Jani Francis. Gathering Pentecost 2, 2024. Page 31.

Words of Assurance

One: Receive this Good News! On the seventh day of Creation, God finished work and rested.

  All: We are reminded that the Holy One loves us in our work and in our play.

One: Be at peace, knowing that the love of God surrounds and enfolds you, today and every day.

All: Thanks be to God. Amen.

*Mary Parsons. Gathering Pentecost 2, 2024. Page 31.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Time for God’s Children(Know that God is Good / MV #104)

Know that God is love, know that God is love,

know that God is love, God is love, God is love.

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

James 3:13-18 Wisdom from above is gentle and peaceable.

Psalm 1 (VU p.724) Blessed are those who follow God’s law.

Mark 9:33-37 Whoever welcomes a child, welcomes me.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn O God Who Shaped Creation (#276 VU)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn (Tune: #374VU)

Acts of kindness, times for sharing; bringing Christ to human need.

Caring for the least among us; simple actions plant the seed.

By our giving and forgiving, work a miracle of love.

Holy presence to us offered; Praise the One who reigns above.

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)

Loving God, as we bring our offerings today, we remember your call to welcome the least and the vulnerable among us. May these gifts reflect our desire to serve others with the humility and love shown by Christ. Let our hearts be open, like a child’s, ready to embrace the wonder of your creation. Use these offerings to build your kingdom where all are valued and cared for. Bless our giving, that it may spread hope and peace to the world. Amen.

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

*Closing Hymn For the Beauty of the Earth (#226 VU)

*Commissioning

One: As we go from this place, let us welcome the children, the vulnerable, and the least among us.

  All: We go, ready to serve and embrace all with love and compassion.

One: May we walk in love, caring for one another and all of God’s creation.

All: We go with open hearts, sharing God's grace wherever we are.

One: Go in the name of Christ, who calls us to walk humbly and live faithfully.

All: We go, trusting in God’s presence, and following the way of love. Amen.

*Commissioning Song Peace be with You (#215 MV)

Peace be with you, peace forever, peace be with you my friends.

Till we meet again, may God be with you. Peace, peace, peace.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message: Like Mom's Food / Luke 6:17-26

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.  Then he looked up at his disciples and said:      “Blessed are you who are poor,      for yours is the kingdom of God.      “Blessed are you who are hungry now,      for you will be filled.      “Blessed are you who weep now,      for you will laugh.  “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the...
Read more

Message: Fragrance of Love / John 12:1-8

Have you ever smelled something and, all of a sudden, it reminded you of a special memory? Maybe it was the smell of cookies baking, and it made you think of your grandmother’s kitchen. Or maybe the smell of grass after it was cut reminded you of summertime when you played outside as a child. Or perhaps the smell of fresh coffee made you feel calm, like a slow and peaceful morning. Smell is powerful. It does not just enter our nose; it reaches into our heart. This happens because, unlike our other senses, smells go directly to the part of the brain that stores emotions and important memories. In this way, a scent can take us back to moments we have experienced before. This is known as the Proust Phenomenon. The term comes from the French writer Marcel Proust and his novel In Search of Lost Time. In one scene, the main character, Marcel, dips a small madeleine cookie into warm tea and takes a bite. At that moment, a vivid memory of his childhood at his grandmother’s house suddenly retur...
Read more

Message: Dance of the Wind / Acts 2:1-21

Today is Pentecost Sunday. This is the day we remember when the earliest followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Church came into being. It is the day when a new community of faith was born through the breath of God. It is a day full of mystery, courage, and hope. According to the book of Acts, on the 40th day after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Before he left, he told his followers not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of God. He said, “This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4–5). So they stayed. About 120 people remained in Jerusalem. They waited and prayed. They did not know what would happen, but they trusted what Jesus had told them. Several days later, it was the day of Pentecost. This was a Jewish festival when people from many different places came together in Jerusalem to worship and celebrate. The city was filled wit...
Read more