We Gather Together
Musical Prelude
Announcements
Promise of Divine Welcome
Centering Song: Lord, Prepare Me, MV 18
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true;
with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you. (2x)
Call to Worship:
| One: | Jesus the Christ has called us to this place. |
| All: | Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. |
| One: | Jesus the Christ has offered us sanctuary. |
| All: | Jesus Christ, the True Vine. |
| One: | By God’s love |
| All: | we are called. |
| One: | By God’s peace |
| All: | we are uplifted. |
| One: | By God’s Spirit |
| All: | we are challenged to be who we call ourselves to be: disciples of the Christ. |
| One: | Then, with all that we are, and all that we have, |
| All: | let us worship our God! |
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Listening in the Light of Reconciliation
| One: | We acknowledge that this is only the first step towards living in right relationship. |
| All: | May we listen today, May we learn today. May we love today. |
Opening Hymn: Let Us Build a House, MV 1
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat;
a banquet hall on holy ground, where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace;
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Opening Prayer
Affirmation of Faith for World Communion Sunday
—An affirmation of faith inspired by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
and The United Church of Canada
In the communion of the Holy Spirit,
that joins us together in discipleship:
We sing our praise to the One and Triune God,
the Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love;
We confess that Jesus is the Christ,
the Holy One embodied that calls us to witness and service;
We receive the Holy Spirit,
the guide that empowers the whole people of God
to receive the gift of ministry
for the mending of the world.
By the bonds of Christian faith,
We are called to be the church:
To yield ourselves to God,
whose covenant of love binds us to one another;
To celebrate the transforming works of the Spirit through God’s
reconciling power in the waters of baptism, and
To Christ’s saving acts in the bread and cup;
To proclaim Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
the triune God is with us.
We are not alone.
May all blessing, glory, and honour be to God,
now and forever.
Amen.
Choral Anthem
Children’s Hymn: We Are One in the Spirit by Peter Scholtes
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
and we pray that all unity may one day be restored,
and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
we will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
and together we will spread the news that God is in our land,
and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
The Lord’s Prayer
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 those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Children’s Prayer:
God, be in my eyes and in my looking.
God, be in my ears and in my listening.
God, be in my mouth and in my speaking.
God, be in my heart and in my understanding. Amen.
God Calls and We Respond to the Word
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 37, with sung response:
Commit your way to God and trust the One who takes your part.
Do not fret because of the wicked,
or envy those who do evil.
For they soon wither like grass
and fade away like the green leaf.
Trust in God and do good;
dwell in the land and there find safe pasture.
Find your delight in God,
who will grant the desires of your heart. R
God will make your vindication shine like the light,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before God and wait patiently;
do not fret because some prosper in evil schemes.
Let go of anger and abandon wrath.
Do not fret – it can only do harm. R
Those who do evil shall be cut off,
but those who look to God shall inherit the earth.
In a little while the wicked will be no more;
you will look where they were
and their place will be empty.
But the meek shall inherit the earth;
they shall enjoy fullness of peace.
Salvation for the righteous comes from God,
their refuge in time of trouble.
God helps and delivers,
and rescues from the wicked those who seek shelter. R
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Sermon: “Faith of Generations” – Rev. Cynthia O’Connell
Music
Invitation to Communion
Communion Hymn: One Bread, One Body, VU 467
Refrain:
One bread, one body, one Lord of all,
one cup of blessing which we bless;
and we, though many, throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.
Gentile or Jew, servant or free,
woman or man, no more. R
Many the gifts, many the works,
one in the Lord of all. R
Grain for the fields, scattered and grown,
gathered to one, for all. R
| One: | The Lord be with you. |
| All: | And also with you. |
| One: | Lift up your hearts. |
| All: | We lift them up to the Lord. |
| One: | Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. |
| All: | It is right to give our thanks and praise. |
The Great Thanksgiving Prayer
Song: Sanctus and Benedictus – VU 932
Holy, holy, holy are you,
God of power and might;
heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one
Who comes in your name.
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna in the highest!
| One: | …we proclaim the mystery of our faith |
| All: | Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. |
Prayer for Transformation
Sharing the Elements
| One: | …We are the Body of Christ |
| All: | At the table of Jesus Christ, we bear witness to our faith. At the table, God brings wholeness out of brokenness, and healing to our world. |
| One: | Let us break bread together! |
Prayer After Communion
| One: | Loving God, you invite us, you welcome us, you feed us. |
| All: | And we are blessed. |
| One: | Because we have been at your table, |
| All: | may we now go out to invite, to welcome, and to bless, all the days of our lives. Amen. |
We Pray
Prayers of the People, with response:
| One: | O God we pray |
| All: | that your realm will come closer. |
Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.
Poem: O Hidden Life by Annie Besant
O Hidden Life vibrant in every atom;
O Hidden Light! shining in every creature;
O Hidden Love! embracing all in Oneness;
May each who feels himself as one with Thee,
Know he is also one with every other.
Closing Hymn: O Christian, Love, VU 594
O Christian, love your sister and your brother!
Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there;
to worship rightly and to love each other,
each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.
Follow with reverent steps the great example:
Jesus whose holy work was doing good;
so shall the wide earth seem a hallowed temple,
each loving life a psalm of gratitude.
Then shall all shackles fall; the stormy clangour
of wild war music o’er the earth shall cease;
love shall tread out the baleful fire of anger,
and in its ashes plant the tree of peace.
Commissioning:
| One: | Having been united with Christians across the globe to this holy meal, |
| All: | may we continue to remember we are all made one body in Jesus Christ. |
| One: | Go forth with the foretaste of God’s grace; |
| All: | may it help us in breaking down divisions of prejudice, across borders and closer to home. |
Benediction
Song: Go You Now in Peace
Go you now in peace, and know that the love of God will guide you.
Feel his presence here beside you, showing you the way.
Go you now in peace, go you now in peace.
Postlude
