Bulletin – Sunday, October 27, 2024 – Home Coming Sunday / Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, October 27, 2024
Home Coming Sunday / Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

We Gather as People of Faith

Welcome

Announcements

Treaty Land Acknowledgement

We gather for worship and work in Treaty One Territory, which is also the homestead of the Métis Nation. For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples walk this land and knew it to be the center of their lives and their spirituality. May we live on these lands in peace and with respect for all creation.

Lighting the Christ Candle

Come to the quiet center where the Spirit in us greets the Spirit in everyone. God’s in us and we are in God, who calls us to be the church and celebrate God’s presence. Let us worship together.

Call to Worship

One:   The days are getting longer.
All:      The light is getting brighter.

One:   God is our light to our path.
All:      Let us follow the well-lit path God offers.

One:   Let us worship and praise our God this day.

Hymn – “I am the Light of the World” (VU #87)

“I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the shepherds have found their way home,
The work of Christmas is begun.

“I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be.

To find the lost and lonely one,
To heal the broken soul with love,
To feed the hungry children with warmth and good food,
To feel the earth below, the sky above!

“I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be.

To free the prisoner from all chains;
To make the powerful care,
To rebuild the nations with strength of good will,
To see God’s children every where!

“I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be.

To bring hope to every task you do,
To dance at a baby’s new birth,
To make music in an old person’s heart,
And sing to the colours of the earth!

“I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love you’ll learn the mystery
Of what you were meant to do and be.

Prayer of Approach

One:   People of the Light, worship your God with joy!
All:      The gifts of each new day, the ties of family and friends, bring us to God with gratitude.

One:   People of the Light, worship your God in community!
All:      The traditions of the church, the witness of saints, bring us to God with gratitude.

One:   People of the Light, worship your God with just acts!
All:      The inclusion of those looked down upon, the acceptance of the disadvantaged, bring us to God with gratitude.

One:   People of the Light, worship your God known through Christ Jesus!
All:      Jesus’ ministry of compassion and justice, his sacrifice of the cross, brings us to God with gratitude. Amen.

Prayer of Reflection

O Holy One, we dwell in darkness when we are away from you: ignorant of our true nature, unaware of life’s blessings, disconnected and isolated from the dance of the cosmos and the blessing that we are. Yet deep down we know we dwell in your light when we are open to you and are aware that we are made in your image. We are blessed by the opportunity to be alive, at one with all that is, enveloped by you, luminous in all creation, beyond all thought, yet present in our ‘yes’ to life. By this light, all that is came into being. Into this light, everything returns, Holy One your divine glory shines out everywhere…a melding of flesh and spirit, a celebration of life that must go on. We ask your forgiveness when we miss the mark and trespass against you and other beings in your creation.

Time for Personal Reflection

Words of Assurance

Hear the Holy One’s voice declare for all with ears to hear, eyes to see and bodies that move, that the best has yet to come to light. May the light of Christ shine within us, among us and from us wherever darkness reigns. Amen.

(paraphrased from If Darwin Prayed by Bruce Sanguin)

Hymn – “Amazing Grace” (VU #266)

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
This word my hope secures;
God will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

We Hear God’s Word

Prayer for Understanding

Shine within our hearts, loving God, the pure light of your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our minds and hearts that we may understand and embrace the message of your Word, this day. Amen.

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:18-20

¹⁸ Listen, you who are deaf, and you who are blind, look up and see! ¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant    or deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is blind like my dedicated one    or blind like the servant of the Lord? ²⁰ He sees many things, but he does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 146

¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! ² I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

³ Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. ⁴ When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

⁵ Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, ⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; ⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; ⁸ the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. ⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Scripture Reading: John 9:1-17

¹ As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” ¹⁰ But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

Friends listen to the Good News
God’s Wisdom for this world.

Reflection – The Mud

Hymn – “Open My Eyes, That I May See” (VU #371)

Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my eyes that I may hear voices of truth thou sendest clear,
And while the wave-notes fall on my ear, ev’rything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth ev’rywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

We Respond to God’s Word

Invitation to Share

God expects through us to be his light in this world. Sharing with all who are in need. Let us offer what we can through our gifts of time, attention, and love, so this light will manifest itself in this world.

Offering Response – “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (VU #541)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God all creatures high and low;
Give thanks to God in love made know;
Creator, Word, and Spirit, One. Amen.

Offering Prayer

One:   Holy One, let these gifts bring light…The light of companionship, when journeys are taken. The light of confidence, when evil is encountered. The light of contentment, when commitments and purposes are reached. The light of Christ, when confusion threatens. The light of generosity, when needs become clear. Bless these gifts and bless this congregation of givers.
All:      Let these gifts be used in Christ’s service. Amen.

Prayers of, and for, the People

One:   God who dwells among us.
All:      God who dwells among us.

One:   God who calls us to dwell together, bless us now as we gather our thought in prayer.
Lay Reader: Holy God, you have never held anything back from us…a universe chocked full of abundance; a rich planet teeming with life; a human family of incredible diversity and possibility; a great tradition of poets and prophets, who have brought us your guidance; any number of Spirit persons, who lead us to your presence; and Jesus your anointed one, your greatest gift, the gateway into life with you. You have never withheld the essentials we need. You have always poured out blessings beyond what we need. With thanksgiving and joy, we abide in the overflow of your generous heart.

One:   Holy God share with us your joy. Share it especially with those who are feeling down, depressed, who struggle to find hope each day. Share it with those who have forgotten how to love and have turned in upon themselves. Share your joy with those who have spent a lifetime trying to build up strong families, stable communities, and social and political order of dignity and justice. Let them see even a glimpse of the realization of their hopes.
Lay Reader: Holy God, share with us your peace. Share it especially with those who are in inner turmoil, as their efforts to being peace among warring nations seem to come to naught. We pray especially for Israel and Palestine; all Middle Eastern countries, all African countries that are at war. Share you peace with those peoples who have suffered terrorist attacks around the world.

One:   Holy God, share with us your wholeness of being that is your nature and your goal. Share it with those who feel broken, who are physically and spiritually suffering. Let us pray for those we know and those we do not know, and those we do not know, for whom we have concern. Today this community of faith prays for Marlene, Rob, Heather, Barb, Angela, Joe, Nick, Brenda, Laila, Bert, Paul, Sylvia, Grace, Cam, Greg, Richard, Muriel…Finally, we pray, in a moment of silence, for ourselves and the personal needs and concerns we bring with us today…Holy God, you share your love with us and all of your creation, so we pray to You as we so long ago learned…
All:      Our Father / 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 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.

We Go Into God’s World

Hymn – “We have this Ministry” (VU #510)

We have this ministry and we are not discouraged;
It is by God’s own pow’r that we may live and serve.
Openly we share God’s word, speaking truth as we believe,
Praying that the shadowed world may healing light receive.

O Christ, the tree of life, our end and our beginning,
We grow to fullest flow’r when rooted in your love.
Brothers, sisters, clergy, lay, called to service by your grace,
Diff’rent cultures, diff’rent gifts, the young and old a place.

The yoke of Christ is ours, the whole world is our parish;
We daily take the cross, the burden and the joy.
Bearing hurts of those we serve, wounded, bruised and bowed with pain.
Holy Spirit, bread and wine, we die and rise again.

Commissioning and Benediction

There are none so blind as those who will not see. As we leave this time and place together, may our eyes and hearts be opened by the love of God, that we might bring kindness, comfort, skill, and all that we have to the service of God’s world and God’s people. Let us go out from this place to be a blessing in God’s world. Peace be with you.

Response – “Lead Me, Lord”

Lead me, Lord, I will follow,
Lead me, Lord, I will go.
You have called me, I will answer.
Lead me, Lord, I will go.