Order of Service / Easter 7 / June 1, 2025

 *Gathering Hymn We Praise You, O God (#218 VU)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: Come, let us gather in love and hope.

  All: Jesus prays for all of us that we may be joined together as one.

One: Come, let us step into this time of worship.

  All: Christ shares the fullness of God’s love and invites us to live that love with each other.

One: Come, let us open our hearts.

All: The Spirit draws us together with compassion, with peace, with grace.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn Spirit of the Living God (#376 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Loving God, we come to you in prayer, bringing all that we carry inside us. Sometimes we look for your grace in faraway places, while missing the love and kindness already around us. In those times when we feel hurt or broken, remind us that your grace often comes through the people beside us. When someone reaches out with care, help us to notice and respond. And as we reach out in return, may we find healing together and be made whole in your love. (a time of silent confession) Amen.

Words of Assurance

One: Even when we feel far from grace, God is near. Even when we struggle, we are not alone.

  All: God’s love surrounds us, and God’s mercy renews us.

One: In Christ, we are held in kindness and made new by love.

All: Thanks be to God. We are forgiven. We are set free. We will live with open hearts and renewed hope.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Time for God’s Children (Draw the Circle Wide (MV 145), Refrain)

Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.

Let this be our song: no one stands alone.

Standing side by side, draw the circle wide.

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

Acts 16:16–34 Paul and Silas are freed from prison.

Psalm 97 (VU p. 817) God reigns; let the earth be glad.

John 17:20-26 Jesus prays that they all may be one.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn In Loving Partnership We Come (#603 VU)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn (#541 VU)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

praise God, all creatures high and low;

give thanks to God in love made known;

Creator, Word and Spirit, One.

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)

Loving God, we offer these gifts with hope and love. May they help us live in unity, care for one another, and share your grace with the world. Use our giving to bring healing and peace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

*Closing Hymn We Are Pilgrims (#595 VU | vs. 1-4)

*Commissioning

One: As we leave this place, let us remember we are not alone.

  All: We are part of something greater, held in love and shaped by community.

One: Wherever we go, may we bring peace with our words and hope through our actions.

All: May we listen with care, speak with kindness, and walk beside others with respect.

One: Let us carry the good we have found here into the world.

All: We go now in love, ready for what comes next.

*Commissioning Song May God’s Sheltering Wings (#214 MV)

May God’s sheltering wings, her gathering wings protect you,

May God’s nurturing arms, her cradling arms sustain you,

And hold you in her love, and hold you in her love.

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