Order of Service / World Communion Sunday / October 5, 2025

 *Gathering Hymn God Is Here (#389VU)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One: As we gather to receive the Word and reflect upon it, we remember the faith of our ancestors who built this congregation, the faith of those among us today who sustain it, and the faith of siblings around the world who encourage us.

All: We give thanks for the goodness of Christ, who comes to us still.

One: Remembering God’s love, let us gather now around this table, here to find a welcome, a promise, and a hope.

  All: We come, ready to be nourished, strengthened, and renewed.

One: We remember all who have eaten at this table through the years: those dear to our hearts, and those known only to the heart of God.

  All: We celebrate our oneness in Christ with them.

One: So come, this is the table of life.

  All: Here we are welcomed, here we belong, here we are made one.

*Bob Root, Gathering Pentecost 2 2025. Page 41.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn As We Gather at Your Table (#457 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

O God, we stumble into your presence in this time of confession. Too often, we attempt to hide our brokenness from you and those around us. We struggle with letting go. We fear the price of healing. This is your invitation to us to be honest with you. Loving God, in this time of silence, we offer to you our brokenness. (a time of silent confession) Amen.

*Sandy Ferguson, Gathering Pentecost 2 2025. Page 36.

Words of Assurance

One: God meets us not with judgment but with mercy, not with rejection but with love. Even in our silence, God knows us; even in our weakness, God holds us close.

  All: In Christ, we are welcomed with love, forgiven with grace, and renewed with hope.

One: What we release to God is made new, what we entrust to God is healed. The Spirit brings life where we thought there was only brokenness, and freedom where we feared only burden.

All: Thanks be to God! In Christ, we are set free to begin again, to walk in love, and to live in hope. Amen.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

Lamentations 3:19-26 Great is God’s faithfulness.

Psalm 137 (VU p. 858) God will raise you up on eagle’s wings.

2 Timothy 1:3-7, 13-14 A faith that lived in your grandmother and mother.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn All the Way My Saviour Leads Me (#635 VU)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn (#542 VU, We Give You But Your Own)

We give you but your own, whate’er the gift may be,

all that we have is yours alone, we give it gratefully.

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)

We ask you to bless what we offer, O God, as part of the body of Christ. May our generosity cause ripples of joy-filled laughter and hope to spread. Through these gifts gratefully given, may your blessing become our dance of delight as we share our gifts. Amen.

*Gord Dunbar, Gathering Pentecost 2 2025. Page 36.

 

Sacrament of Communion

 

Invitation to Communion

Friends, God in Christ prepares a feast for all of us. It is a banquet of good things for our hearts and souls. All are welcome at this gathering—no matter who you are or what you have done; no matter your age or gender or who you love. Come and taste. Eat and be filled. Drink deeply and never thirst again. This is the table of Jesus Christ who invites us all to this feast that can change our lives.

*Rosemary Godin. Gathering Pentecost 2 2025. Page 42.

Call to Give Thanks

One: God be with you.

  All: And also with you.

One: Lift up your hearts.

  All: We lift our hearts in prayer.

One: Let us give thanks to God.

  All: It is good to give God thanks and praise.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Creator, Christ, and Spirit, we praise you for your love revealed to us in Jesus, who walks with us, our Wisdom and our Way, sharing our joy and sorrow, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and setting the captive free. So it is that we join the song of all creation to proclaim your goodness:

The Song of Creation Holy, Holy, Holy (#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

On the night before he died, it was Jesus who took a loaf of bread, gave you thanks, broke it, and said, “Take and eat; whenever you do this, remember me.” Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, saying, “This is the new covenant; remember me.”

Prayer of Self-Giving

Loving God, we rejoice in the gift of your grace, remembering Christ’s life and death, proclaiming his resurrection, waiting in hope for his coming again. Grant that in praise and thanksgiving, we may so offer ourselves to you that our lives may proclaim the mystery of faith:

Affirmation of Memory and Hope Memorial Acclamation (#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: light, life, and love in the world. In this hope, and as your people, we praise you:

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)

Gracious God, strengthen us by what we have shared this morning, that we may dare to confront our fears, loving one another as you love us, and be the body of Christ in the world. Amen.

*Robin Wardlaw. Gathering Pentecost 2 2025, Page 43.

*Closing Hymn Sent Forth by God’s Blessing (VU 481)

*Commissioning

One: Do not be afraid: the Spirit of Life is with you.

All: The Spirit gathers all peoples, from every direction.

One: Each one is created for God’s glory.

All: We are formed and made to be Christ for one another.

One: Together we are the body of Christ.

All: Let us go out to be Christ’s body in the world.

*Robin Wardlaw. Gathering Pentecost 2 2025, page 43.

*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.

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