Bulletin – Sunday, October 2, 2022 – World-Wide Communion Sunday

Sunday, October 2, 2022
World-Wide Communion Sunday
To Be Changed

Approach

Lighting the Christ Candle

As we light this candle on this World-Wide Communion Sunday we call, come, O Holy Spirit: come as Holy Fire and burn in us, come as Holy Wind and cleanse us within, come as Holy Truth and dispel our ignorance, come as Holy Power and enable our weakness, come as Holy Life and dwell in us. Convict us, convert us, consecrate us, until we are set free from the service of ourselves, to be your servants to the world.

Call to Worship

One:   Today we gather around God’s table from near and far
All:      We are the People of God!

One:   Though we differ in language, custom, and tradition
All:      We are brothers and sisters in Christ!

One:   Though we understand God in many different ways
All:      We are One in God’s Spirit!

One:   We are one and together we remember our Lord Jesus
All:      For we are the people of Redemption!

One:   He gave himself up for us, so we could be reconciled to God.
All:      Come, let us worship God.

Hymn – “All Who Hunger”

All who hunger, gather gladly;
Holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wandering.
Here, in truth, we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness,
All around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, never strangers;
Seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming.
Here, in joy, we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered
In communion’s love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, sing together;
Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing.
Here, in peace, we have been led.
Blest are those who from this table
Live their lives in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

On this World-Wide Communion Sunday we remember that God sent Jesus, to the world, so that we might be reconciled to God. God then called the entire church to continue that work and this has always been the heart of the gospel in any age. Our generation stands in peculiar need of reconciliation in Christ. We confess our need, confident in God’s forgiving grace. God of compassion and mercy, we are your wounded and wounding children. We bring our wounded selves, our divided society, and our broken world, seeking your healing and transforming grace; it is easy for us to point the finger at others.

Yet we know that we all need your forgiveness; so we lift into your presence today, not only the victims of conflicts, but also those we have called enemies.

Break down the walls of hatred, distrust, and bitterness and open a way for us to reach one another in truth and love. Enable us to build a society where all can belong; to share our gifts in mutual respect and to seek for the new future which you offer us through Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Words of Assurance

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Lamentations 1:1-6

¹ Oh, oh, oh. How empty the city, once teeming with people. A widow, this city, once in the front rank of nations, once queen of the ball, she’s now a drudge in the kitchen. ² She cries herself to sleep each night, tears soaking her pillow. No one’s left among her lovers to sit and hold her hand. Her friends have all dumped her. ³ After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile. She camps out among the nations, never feels at home. Hunted by all, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. ⁴ Zion’s roads weep, empty of pilgrims headed to the feasts. All her city gates are deserted, her priests in despair. Her virgins are sad. How bitter her fate. ⁵ Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up because God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions. Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile. ⁶ All beauty has drained from Daughter Zion’s face. Her princes are like deer famished for food, chased to exhaustion by hunters.

Scripture Reading:           Luke 17:5-10

⁵ The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.” ⁶ But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it. ⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? ⁸ Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? ⁹ Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? ¹⁰ It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

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

Meditation – “Do You Want to Eat This Bread?”

Anthem – “Bread of Life, Feed My Soul”

The Response

Offering / Response

Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
With a spirit large and free,
That ourselves and all our living
We may offer faithfully.

Communion

One:   May God be with us.
All:      God is here among us.

One:   Let us open our hearts to God.
All:      We open them to God and to one another.

One:   Let us give thanks to God.
All:      It is right to give our thanks and praise.

All:      Why do we give thanks and praise at this table?
One:   We give thanks because God is always with us.

One:   We thank you, God, Creator of us all; from the beginning you made the world and all its creatures. You made people to live for you and for one another. We praise you, O God.
All:      We praise you, O God.

One:   You created Adam and Eve and gave them a garden; you showed Noah a rainbow; you gave Moses strength to free your people and taught Miriam to sing; you gave courage to Esther and loyalty to Ruth; you gave David a harp to sing your praise, and helped him defeat the giant. We praise you, O God.
All:      We praise you, O God.

One:   Yet, even they turned away from you and forgot about you, as we do too. But you did not forget. You sent Jesus to the world to show how much you love us and to bring us back to you again. We praise you, O God.
All:      We praise you, O God.

One:   He came as one of us, first an infant, then a child, later a youth, then an adult. He rejoiced with those who rejoiced, and wept with those who wept. To the despairing, he spoke a word of hope. To the sick, he gave healing. To the hurting, he was a friend.

One:   Still, people turned away from you. They betrayed Jesus and nailed him to a cross. But he was lifted from the grave and restored to life, that he might be with us and we with him, alive for evermore! Therefore with all the saints of every time and place, we join the angels in their praise:
All:      Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

All:      Why do we eat bread at this table?
One:   We gather at this table to remember that on the night before he died, Jesus ate with his friends, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them, saying: “Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Each time you do this, remember me.”

All:      We do we drink from the cup at this table?
One:   That same night, Jesus also took a cup, and after giving thanks, passed it to his friends, saying: “Drink. This cup, poured out for you, is the promise of God. Whenever you drink it, remember me.”

All:      What do we remember at this table?
One:   We remember Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection; we await with hope his coming again to bring peace and justice to the earth; and we proclaim the mystery of our faith.

All:      Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

All:      For whom to we pray at this table?
One:   We pray for God’s world…

One:   Remember your church, O God, redeemed by Christ and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Reveal its unity, guard its faith, preserve its peace, empower its witness. Remember our Moderator Carmen Lansdowne, and all those in leadership who share in the ministry of your church. Remember all your people, those we lift up to you today as we pray for…and those who seek your truth. Remember all who have died in Christ, and those whose faith is known to you alone. Bring them into the place of eternal joy and peace, with all the saints. We praise you in union with them, and give you glory through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

One:   Send, O God, your Holy Spirit upon us and what we do here, that we and these gifts, touched by your Spirit, may be signs of life and love to one another, and to the world.

One:   Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever.

One:   As our Saviour taught us, let us pray together, saying
All:      Our Father, 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 them that 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.

One:   The gifts of God for the people of God…Come for all things are now ready.

Prayer after Communion

Life-giving God, may we, who share Christ’s body, live his risen life; we, who drink his cup, bring new life to others; we, whom the spirit lights, give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so that we and all your children shall be free, and all creation will live to praise your name. Let all of God’s people say “Amen.”

Hymn – “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing”

Sent forth by God’s blessing, our true faith confessing,
The people of God from this dwelling take leave.
The supper is ended, O now be extended
The fruits of this service in all who believe.
The seed of Christ’s teaching, receptive souls reaching,
Shall blossom in action for God and for all.
God’s grace did invite us, God’s love shall unite us
To work for the kingdom and answer its call.

With praise and thanksgiving to God ever-living,
The tasks of our everyday life we will face.
Our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring,
Embracing God’s children of each tribe and race.
With your feast you feed us, with your light now lead us;
United us as one in this life that we share.
Then may all the living with praise and thanksgiving
Give honour to Christ and the name that we bear.

Benediction

Go into the world: dance, laugh, sing, and create. Go into the world: risk, explore, discover, and love. Go into the world: believe, hope, struggle, and remember. Go out into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill your high calling as disciples of Jesus Christ, knowing that Christ goes with you each and every day. Amen.

Response

Turn our worship into witness in the sacrament of life:
Send us forth to love and serve you, bringing peace where there is strife.
Give us, Christ, your great compassion to forgive as you forgave;
May we still behold your image in the world you died to save.