Bulletin – Sunday, June 9, 2024 – Anniversary of the United Church of Canada / Third Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, June 9, 2024
Anniversary of the United Church of Canada / Third Sunday after Pentecost

We Gather as People of Faith

Welcome

Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Lighting the Christ Candle

Call to Worship

One:   From deep soil comes bold and daring growth. From the seeds of our past will come fresh new growth.
Two:    We come today to marvel at what has been harvested and prepare for what will come.
Three: We come to celebrate where we are and where we have been. We come rejoicing with our ancestors in faith across generations.

One:   The Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians,
Two:    the Evangelical United Brethren and Local Union Churches, and our full communion partners across this world.
Three: The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea,

One:   The United Church of Christ,
Two:    The United Church of Christ in the Philippines,
Three: and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

All:      We give thanks to God for the blessings of past, present, and future, and dare to plant new seeds of faith!

Hymn – “Make a Joyful Noise” (VU #820)

Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship your God with gladness.
Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Come to this place with a song!

Know that your God has made you.
Know it’s to God we belong.
And come to this place with joyfulness and praise.
Worship your God with a song!

Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship your God with gladness.
Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Come to this place with a song!

Enter these gates, thanks giving.
Enter these courts with praise.
Sing thanks to your God and bless the holy Name.
Worship your God with a song!

Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship your God with gladness.
Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Come to this place with a song!

Age through endless ages,
Seasons of endless years,
The love of our Maker ever shall endure.
Worship your God with a song!

Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship your God with gladness.
Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Come to this place with a song!

Prayer of Approach and Confession

One:   Let us pray: again and again, God, we come to this time and place with a song! Each day you give us a chance to being anew: to drink deeply of your Spirit, to boldly follow in the Way of Jesus, and to dare to seek justice as we seek relationship with our neighbours and you.
All:      Again and again, God, you call us out of our old lives and into your new day.

One:   And so, we celebrate the 99^th anniversary of this United Church of yours, help us to reflect back with clarity upon all that deserves to be celebrated, all that deserves to be lamented, and all that deserves to be let go.
All:      We are not perfect, God, but we are yours, and we trust that you are with us every day. This day, and always, help us to be good grain that is planted and tended by your love, so that in the year to come we may flourish in this time and place. Amen.

Words of Assurance

One:   Rest assured that God is ever faithful. When we stumble, when we make mistakes, God lifts us up with the gentle correction encourages us to continue on this journey
All:      Thanks be to God.

Sung Response – “Spirit of Life” (VU #381)

Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.

We Hear God’s Word

Scripture Reading:        Deuteronomy 30:15-20

¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰ loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Scripture Reading:         John 12:20-28

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
Thanks be to God!

Anthem – “He’s Always Been Faithful to Me”

Harmony Singers:

Morning by morning, I wake up to find the power and comfort
Of God’s hand in mine.
Season by season I watch Him, amazed,
In awe of the myst’ry of His perfect ways.
All I have need of His hand will provide.
He’s always been faithful to me.

I can’t remember a trial or a pain He did not recycle to bring me gain.
I can’t remember one single regret in serving God only
And trusting His hand.
All I have need of His hand will provide.
He’s always been faithful to me.

All:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not,
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Wondrous the portion Thy blessings provide.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Harmony Singers:

This is my anthem,
This is my song;
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long.
God has been faithful, He will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.
All I have need of His hand will provide.
He’s always been faithful to me.

Meditation

A New Creed

We are not alone, we live in God’s world.

We believe in God: who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
We are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Anthem – “Caring Community”

Imagine the dream of Creation,
Imagine the song of a thousand seas.
Sun and moon, the colours of dawning,
The Holy in all that we see.

Called to this covenant, called to the Dream,
Guided by Love we will be,
Gathered by Spirit, one body, one mind,
As a caring community.

Beyond all that’s broken and shattered,
Beyond all that tears us so far apart.
Still, our gift, our healing, our wholeness,
Lie deep in the dream of your heart.

Called to this covenant, called to the Dream,
Guided by Love we will be,
Gathered by Spirit, one body, one mind,
As a caring community.

When justice cries out from the shadows,
When kindness and mercy have lost their way.
Lead us now, our faith turned into action,
With strength and with courage we pray.

Called to this covenant, called to the Dream,
Guided by Love we will be,
Gathered by Spirit, one body, one mind,
As a caring community.

We offer the work of our living,
And lift up the love of our open hearts.
Share the joy, the laughter, the daring,
Remembering all that we are.

Called to this covenant, called to the Dream,
Guided by Love we will be,
Gathered by Spirit, one body, one mind,
As a caring community.

We Respond to God’s Word

Invitation to Share

Offering Response – “We Give You but Your Own (VU #542)

We give you but your own, whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is yours alone, we give it gratefully.

Offering Prayer

We believe that you are calling us forward into a new day. We believe that you have a future for Windsor Park United Church and The United Church of Canada that is rooted in your abundant life, and we trust you with this future, even though it’s beyond the horizon of our dreams. So, we offer you the blessings you have already given us—our time, our talents, our finances, and our hopes—so that you might use them and transform them for the good of your whole world. May these gifts be a blessing to the people of Windsor Park United Church and beyond! All this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Prayers of the People

God of the past, present, and future, on this anniversary Sunday we remember our ancestors, those faithful followers of Jesus who continue to inspire us on the journey.

We give thanks for their lives.

We pray for our community of faith, as we seek a way forward in these times.

May we listen to one another, may we be mindful of different needs, may we be willing to take risks.

We pray for our world, for your creation and for future generations as we find ourselves at the precipice of global climate disaster. As wars rage and whole populations find themselves at risk, may we continue to serve you, to feed the hungry, to welcome the strange and to advocate for the least among us.

From this moment, we are on the threshold. The church is almost, but not yet, 100 years old. As we remember backward to dream forward, help us to go forth to prune—gathering in all that is good and lovely, repairing the damage we find, lamenting that which has died and is dying. Guide us through this year, help us to make faithful decisions. Lead us to deep spirituality, strengthen us for bold discipleship and encourage us to dare justice.

All of this we pray in Jesus name, who taught us to pray saying…

Our Father and Mother, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

We Go Into God’s World

Hymn – “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You” (VU #232)

Joyful, joyful we adore you God of glory, life and love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before you, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the gloom of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All your works with joy surround you. Earth and heaven reflect your rays,
Stars and angels sing around you, centre of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain, sound their praise eternally.

You are giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Source of grace and fount of blessing, let your light upon us shine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals join the might chorus, which the morning stars began;
God’s own love is reigning o’er us, joining people hand in hand.
Ever singing march we onward, victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music leads us sunward in the triumph song of life.

Benediction

Minister:    Beloved, as you go into the world this day and this, may you receive this blessing as both gift and call:

One:   Blessed are you who give your life to the living deeply within the Spirit’s call, who long to be planted fully within the heart of Christ and to love God’s world with all your heart.
Two:    Blessed are you who give your life to bold discipleship: who plant the Saviour’s seeds of love, faith, hope, and joy, and trust that Good will nurture the seeds with a future good beyond your imaging.
Three: And blessed are you who give your life to daring justly for all Creation, you, whose heart breaks open like a seed in the earth as you give your life for the flourishing of all places and people.

All:      Blessed are who live this life and give this life, for we are not alone in this living and dying and rising again. God is with us! Thanks be to God!

Response – “One More Step Along the World We Go” (VU #639)

One more step along the world we go,
One more step along the world we go,
From the old things to the new,
Keep us travelling along with you:
And it’s from the old we travel to the new;
Keep us travelling along with you.

Parts of this service have been adapted from2024 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice. The original service was written by Rev. Penny Nelson and Rev. Michelle Armstrong.