Order of Service / 100th Anniversary Sunday / June 15, 2025

 *Gathering Hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore You (#232 VU)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: We are called to be the Church,

  All: not only on Sunday mornings as we gather, not only when it suits us, but always and in every place.

One: We are called to celebrate God’s presence,

  All: through song, through prayer, through action and care for one another, within these four walls and beyond.

One: We are called to live with respect in creation.

All: Though the voice of creation comes to us in many languages and forms, we are called to be attentive, to collaborate, and to follow.

One: We are called to love and serve others,

  All: and we do this, not because of our own rules and laws, but because it is God who asks us to do it, by Christ’s example.

One: We are called to seek justice and resist evil.

All: We do so every time we intentionally take time to notice injustice, because evil does not always take the shape we expect. Yet love and service are always in season.

One: We are called to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.

All: Our hope rests in the knowledge that pain, suffering, and even death are only parts of a bigger journey. We trust that Christ will heal our brokenness and that as those who follow Christ, it is possible to celebrate our freedom from bondage.

One: We are called to be the church. God is with us. We are not alone. Let us worship God.

*Éric Hébert-Daly, Gathering Pentecost 1 2025. Page 31.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (#651 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Gracious God, Time and again, you send us the gift of your Spirit. Time and again, you send us the gift of your dreams. Time and again, you love us back into being. And time and again, we turn away from you. Gracious God, forgive us for all the times we have twisted or forgotten your Good News, for all the times in which we have confused unity with “sameness”, for all the times we have failed to let your Kingdom inspire our living. We are sorry for the times we have tried to be the church without you, for the times we have doubted your presence and power to work in us, for the times we have believed the lie that there is not enough and we are not enough. Take all the ways that we have fallen into hubris and fear, missing the mark as individuals and as a denomination, and in your mercy, help us to move into the future you have for us. Open our hearts, God. May your Spirit ignite your dream in us again! (a time of silent confession) Amen.

*From A Centennial Worship Service for the Wider Church. The United Church of Canada.

Words of Assurance

One: Dear Ones of God, receive these words and take heart: God poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, healing hearts and divisions, empowering the church to move forward in Christ’s spirit. And God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit on us today. So, let us rejoice in God’s love and forgiveness, and share this blessing with all those we meet, for we are forgiven, and we are blessed to be a blessing.

All: Thanks be to God! Amen!

*From A Centennial Worship Service for the Wider Church. The United Church of Canada.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

Romans 5:1-5 Suffering-endurance-character-hope does not disappoint.

Psalm 8 (VU p. 732) God and Wisdom create the earth and creatures.

John 16:12-15 The Spirit of truth

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn Praise Our Maker (#316 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)

Empowering God, we believe your Spirit is with us this day, leading us into a new future. We offer our time, talents, finances, and hopes, trusting you to do more than we can dream possible. Bless us and these offerings with your Spirit. May we be bold disciples, deeply connected to you, who dare to act for justice. This we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

*From A Centennial Worship Service for the Wider Church. The United Church of Canada.

Sacrament of Communion

< All are welcome to this table.>

*This order of the communion is attributed to A Centennial Worship Service for the Wider Church

 

Invitation to Communion

As we gather at this table, on the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada, we remember that this is the table of Jesus Christ, a table where all are welcome. It is a banquet of grace, prepared for you and me and us, and for everyone seeking to be nourished in faith, sustained in hope, and strengthened for the work of healing, peace, and justice. Come, just as you are. There is room for all at this table.

Call to Give Thanks

One: God be with you.

  All: We are not alone.

One: Christ is present here.

  All: The Spirit is among us!

One: Let us give thanks to God.

  All: in memory and in hope

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Blessed are you, loving God, for you fill the world with life, light, and love. In the beginning, your Spirit moved over the waters, like the Northern Lights dancing across the night sky. Where there was nothing, you created a world full of wonder—day and night, sky and sea, trees, stars, birds, fish, and every living thing. You looked at it all and called it good. Through all the ages, your Spirit kept calling us. You gave your people courage and wisdom. Your Spirit came to life in Jesus, who showed us how to love deeply, to live with joy, and to walk the path of peace and justice. He dreamed of a world made whole, where your love fills every heart, and invited us to follow in his way. Together, we praise your goodness in every language, saying:

The Song of Creation (#203 MV)

O holy, holy, holy God, O God of time and space.

All earth and sea and sky above bear witness to your grace.

Hosanna in the highest heav'n, creation sings your praise.

And blessed is the One who comes and bears your name always!

The Story Remembered

Living in the Spirit’s ways drew attention, both from those who sought to follow and those who were afraid. And so, we remember the courage and vision Jesus shared with his friends on the night he was betrayed. During supper, Jesus took a loaf of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take this bread and eat. This is my body which is given for you. Whenever you eat, do this in remembrance of me.” And after supper, he took the cup of blessing, He gave thanks to God, and shared it with his disciples, saying: “Take this cup and drink. This cup is God’s promise, shared in my life. Whenever you drink it, remember me.”

Prayer of Self-Giving

Loving God, we rejoice in the life of Jesus Christ, and in the gift of your Spirit that is poured out upon us. We now open ourselves to your power and presence so that our lives may proclaim the mystery of our faith:

Affirmation of Memory and Hope (#204 MV)

Sing Christ has died and Christ is risen, Christ will come again! (X 2)

Prayer for Transformation

Send, O God, your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts, that all who share in this bread and cup may be the body of Christ:

Doxology Great Amen (#205 MV)

Amen, Amen, O Holy One! Hosanna and Amen! (X2)

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

Sharing of Bread and Wine

Prayer after Communion (Unison)

In your grace and by your Spirit we have been fed at this table, brought into communion with you and each other. May this banquet so inspire us to love as we have been loved, feed as we have been fed, and to welcome all as Christ has welcomed us. In this way, we will witness your reign on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.

*Closing Hymn Go forth for God (#418 VU)

*Commissioning

One: Beloved, as you go out into the world this year, hold this blessing on your heart: God who created you has chosen you for hope. So, may the Word of Life dance in you like the lights in the northern sky. May the power of the Spirit awaken your heart with awe, and may your witness awaken the world in which you live. May we travel together, listen together, love together, and grow together in the life of Christ, as the Body of Christ. For we are called to life–To live a Deep Spirituality, a Bold Discipleship, and a Daring Justice in Christ’s name, through whom all things are possible.

All: Praise be to God, whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine! Glory be to God, in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, from generation to generation. Amen!

*From A Centennial Worship Service for the Wider Church. The United Church of Canada.

*Commissioning Song Halle, Halle, Halle (#958 VU)

Halle halle hallelujah! Halle halle hallelujah!

Halle halle Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

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