First United Church, Wetaskiwin

 

 

 

COMING CLOSE TO THE LIGHT You’re invited to breathe deeply and make room for the Spirit.

 

GATHERING SONG #42 More Voices “Praise God for this Holy Ground” vss 1, 2, 4 & 5
Praise God for this holy ground, place and people, sight and sound.
Refrain Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God’s goodness is eternal.

 

 

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
In this time and place, to worship and service, To be part of the body of Christ,
God gathers us in.
Through joy and sorrow, in the decisions we face, The Spirit sustains us.
Whether we are ready or not, willing or not, trusting or not, Christ calls us to follow.
Let us worship together, in the great company of saints. We are not alone.
Thanks be to God!

 

 

DISCOVERY CIRCLE
I wonder if you’ve ever been away from home? What did you pack to take with you?
I wonder what you would take on a long trip ? I wonder how you pack God?

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS Exodus 13:17 – 22 Psalm 99 VU p.819 with Refrain

 

HYMN #186 Voices United “If You will Trust in God to Guide You”
If you will trust in God to guide you, and hope in God through all your ways,
God will give strength, whatever betide you, and bear you through the evil days.
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love builds on the rock that will not move.

 

 

 

 

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING & THE LORD’S PRAYER
Holy Friend… show us your way.
We have wandered or rushed through this week, too often missing the beauty around us, too busy to call a friend, too lonely to ask for help. We trap ourselves in anxiety or expectations. Still you surround us with love and call us together. Thank you God, for your love and companionship. When we become distracted or discouraged, Holy Friend… show us your way.
Thank you for the freedoms we enjoy… Freedom to choose… freedom to love… to worship… to gather without fear… freedom to live into all the possibilities with which you bless us. Help us to cherish such freedom. To choose wisely the best ways to live that others also might know such freedom. We pray for people who have loved and do love us enough to show us the best ways; for people who lay down their lives and their livelihoods in order that your love might reach into the violent and fearful places in our world and in our lives. Where human freedoms and rights are trampled, Holy Friend… show us your way.
We pray for the generations who have gone before, who have sown the abundant harvest which we now reap. We pray for those who will come after us, may we leave them an inheritance that will sustain them. We pray for relationships that have been broken, between fathers and sons, parents and daughters, between spouses, neighbours and nations. For the hurtful things we say, forgive us, from the hurt we carry release us. Pour your healing presence onto each one of us, that we might be whole in mind and body and spirit.
Holy Friend... show us your way.  We ask this in Jesus’ name who taught us to live and to pray together saying … Our Father who art in heaven …. Amen.

 

MINUTE FOR MISSION “Thank you to our ministers”

 

HYMN #131 Voices United “If our God had simply saved us” vss 1, 3, 5, & 11
If our God had simply saved us, merely brought us out of Egypt,
only opened up our prison: Dayeinu!

 

 

 

 

 

CHANGING THE LIGHT Now wherever you go the light goes with you.

 

Into this world that God loves so much, God sends us.
With the power of the Spirit and the Peace of Christ, God equips us.
To be a blessing and a sign of hope, God trusts us.
Go then with the blessing of God’s patience, the laughter of Christ and the music of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah and Amen!

 

#884 Voices United “You Shall Go Out with Joy”

 

WELCOME & NEWS OF INTEREST  A video link for this service is provided below.

 

 

GATHERING SONG #174 More Voices “Soil of God, You and I”
Soil of God, you and I, stand ready to bear Seeds of faith nourished by God’s tender care.
Growing in everyone for here God is found. All stand together, we are …. Holy ground.

 

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
Creator God, you are the source of wisdom and love. In the whisper of the wind, in the giggles of children, in the silence of our souls, You call to us.
Grant us ears to hear and hearts to respond.
In the fertile soil paved over, the lament of species at risk, In the waters that long to flow.
Grant us ears to hear and hearts to respond.
In the beating of our hearts, In the cries of the ones we love, In the tears that scald the night, You call to us.
Grant us ears to hear and hearts to respond.
In this time of worship, In the tasks that await us. You call to us,
Grant us ears to hear and hearts to respond.

 

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS Exodus 3:1 – 14, Psalm 27 VU p.754-5 with Refrain, Matthew 22:15 – 22

 

HYMN “Who am I to Say No?” verses 1, 3 – 5
I will send you to the Pharoah, God of mercy said to Moses. So that you can free my people.
Who am I to say no?

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING & THE LORD’S PRAYER
Creator God, we have forgotten, Teach us to live with respect in Creation.
You, O God, created land, and sea, and sky: small, tiny plants to grace the Earth,
giant trees with roots deep in soil and arms reaching into the sky; and animals, from giant, blundering elephants to chattering chipmunks, You, O God, created, but too often we take ownership and assume the world is ours to use. Creator God, we have forgotten,
Teach us to live with respect in Creation.
You, O God, created an abundance of space: forests to shelter a herd of deer and a pack of wolves;
prairie grasslands to host thundering bison and whistling prairie dogs; bogs for turtles and water snakes; ponds for bull frogs and great blue herons. We have fenced others in or out, bought and sold and put interests first. You, O God, created. Creator God, we have forgotten,
Teach us to live with respect in Creation.
You, O God, created all kinds of people in a never-ending variety of shapes, sizes, and colours:
people to cultivate the land and tend the earth, people to gather in praise on a Sabbath day, people to minister, to support, to love. We pray for all your relations, those who grieve, those who have no home, those who live in fear. Speak your holy peace upon the leaders in the headlines and those in places forgotten or ignored by the word smiths of our culture. When we are confronted by anger, when we are tempted to lash out in our hurt, grant us patience and grace us with forgiveness.
Creator God, we have forgotten, Teach us to live with respect in Creation.
We ask this in Jesus’ name who taught us to live and to pray together saying … Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Your names. Your kin-dom come. Your 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kin-dom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

 

HYMN #509 Voices United “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky”
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in deepest sin my hand will save.
I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

 

 

 

 

SENDING FORTH Let love be genuine. We will hold fast to what is good.
Rejoice in hope. God grace us with patience in our suffering.
Persevere in prayer.
We do so with the peace of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

 

#884 Voices United “You Shall Go Out with Joy”

 

 

 

 

WELCOME & NEWS OF INTEREST COMING CLOSE TO THE LIGHT
You’re invited to breathe deeply and make room for the Spirit.

GATHERING SONG #242 Voices United “Let all Things Now Living”
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God our Creator triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us, by guiding us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us, pure light goes before us, a pillar of fire shining forth in the night;
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished, as forward we travel from light into Light.

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
God, who is the hope of all creation calls us by name. We remember and give thanks.
God, whose love embraces all our relationships, calls us to love one another.
We remember and give thanks.
God, who girds the hills with joy, and holds us in our sorrow, calls us into community.
We remember and give thanks.
God calls you and I, to worship and service in Christ’’s name. We remember and give thanks.

 

 

DISCOVERY CIRCLE God is good … All the time.
All the time … God is good.

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS Deuteronomy 8:7 – 18, Luke 17:11 – 19

 

HYMN # 25 All God’s Children Sing “Thank You, God” [Think of 3 things to name in thanks]
Thank you, God, for giving us life. (X 3) right where we are.
Alleluia, praise our God (x 3) right where we are.

 

 

 

MESSAGE “Second Chances”

 

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING & THE LORD’S PRAYER
God of Love, call us into service.
Abundant hope, we pause to give thanks. So much blessing in our lives. Too often we take for granted or pass by without noticing – simple and essential gifts of air to breathe, water to drink, light to guide our way and welcome us home; the company of people who care and encourage. Still You notice us and call us to live purposefully and gratefully.
God of Love, call us into service.
Healer of our every ill, You bless us with the possibility of healing and reconciliation. Sometimes we lose sight of Your presence, of the hope You offer. Deepen our trust in Your presence. Grant us courage to reach out to those who grieve, to those who feel lonely or abandoned. Increase our willingness to listen, to seek understanding with those who are different; humility to recognize our privilege.

God of Love, call us into service.
Spirit of Truth and Justice, You remind us we are all a part of a great family. We pray for our many partners in Mission and Service, for the peace-keepers and peace-makers, for village and community leaders who commit to improving quality of life. We forget You are always willing to enter into human suffering; when we hold back, You are already there, in the cities and towns of our province and around the world, where children sell their bodies and their futures in order to feed themselves. You are in the hands of the aid worker; You are in the wisdom of the social worker who sees people not numbers; You are in the community of homeless who look out for one another. On the reserves and in isolated communities, in any place where despair and frustration twists life into violence, You are the seeds of hope, the courage to begin again, the promise of new life. May we accompany You.

God of Love, call us into service.
That we might follow more closely the Good Shepherd, who calls us each by name, who taught his friends to pray together saying … Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Your names. Your kin-dom come. Your 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kin-dom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

 

MINUTE FOR MISSION I wonder who inspires you to give generously?

 

HYMN #174 More Voices “Soil of God, You and I”
Soil of God, you and I, stand ready to bear seeds of faith nourished by God’s tender care.
Growing in everyone for here God is found. All stand together, we are …. Holy Ground.

 

 

 

CHANGING THE LIGHT Now wherever you go the light goes with you.

 

SENDING FORTH
The way is long, let us go together.
The way is difficult, let us help each other.
The way is joyful, let us share it.
The way is open before us, let us go:
With the love of God, the grace of Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

 

884 Voices United “You Shall Go Out with Joy”
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth before you;
There’ll be shouts of joy, and all the trees of the fieldwill clap, will clap their hands!

https://fb.watch/VS4JRycPX/  Worship link

 

https://fb.watch/VS6SscPWF/ Communion link

 

 

 

GATHERING SONG #72 All God’s Children Sing “The House of Our God” vss 1, 3 & 4
The House of God is not just for the holy, the house of our God is not just for the wise;
Come in and be one with the common and lowly who wait with the hunger for God in their eyes.

 

 

 

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
We are called, From the known to the unknown.
We are known, By God, who comes so close to us.
We come close to God, In this time of worship
and whenever we trust God’s promise.
People of promise, we are part of God’s great family,
As many as the stars in the sky, Or grains of sand in the desert.
Let us worship together with gratitude and hope.

 

 

SCRIPTURE READINGS Genesis 11:31 – 12:3
Psalm 107 p.831 Voices United, Parts 1 & 4 with Refrain
2 Timothy 1:1 – 7

 

HYMN #639 Voices United “One More Step” vss 1, 3 & 4
One more step along the world I go, one more step along the world I go,
From the old things to the new, keep me travelling along with you:

 

 

MESSAGE [The Video and Sunday will move to Prayers of the People. Communion segments have been pre-recorded and will be posted on Sunday.]

 

WELCOME TO THE TABLE
This is the table of the Good Shepherd, who goes before us to show us the way, who calls us to follow. Here is the bread and cup of the Good Shepherd. Sometimes there is a Candle or other symbol to remind us of the Good Shepherd, but the Good Shepherd is already here in the cup and bread. The Good Shepherd invites all of creation to gather at this table. And at this table all means all.
You are welcome whether you were born in Canada or somewhere else; whether your skin is light, dark or in between. You are welcome whether you are young, old or in-between; whether you are male, female or transgendered; whether you are a new or lifelong Christian, of another faith, agnostic, atheist, or aren’t really sure. All are welcome here.
You are welcome whether you are single, married, divorced, separated, widowed, partnered, or “it’s complicated;” whether you are straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual. You are welcome whether you are politically active, apolitical or indifferent; whether you own your home, rent, live in a half-way house, group home, with your parents or are homeless; whether you are mentally, physically or not noticeably challenged or gifted. All are welcome here. The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.

 

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING & THE LORD’S PRAYER
God of our ancestors and children, Lead us in thanksgiving and service.
We thank You God, for all good things – light and dark, warmth and moisture, times of growth and rest – all work together to sustain life. May we honour Your intentions for abundant life in all we say and do. Stretch our gratitude beyond one holy day to a life grounded in thanksgiving.
God of our ancestors and children, Lead us in thanksgiving and service.
God who comes amongst us in Jesus, touch our hurts with Your healing grace. Pour out Your peace upon our troubled spirits. As we gather at table, in our work places, while others feast, may we remember the many blessings that You freely share. We pray for people and places around the world where life is a struggle. Grant wisdom to the leaders of nations, to political candidates on campaign, to those who vote and those who choose to follow.
God of our ancestors and children, Lead us in thanksgiving and service.
Spirit of life, we give thanks for the people those past and present who help make this place a sanctuary of hope. We gather our hearts and minds with those around the world, in many languages who have chosen to answer the Good Shepherd’s call. We pray together in the words he taught his friends, saying … 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. 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.

 

SHARING AT TABLE
We gather at this table with the great company of saints, those who sit beside or across from us, those who have inspired us and those who will come after us. We gather because it is God who calls us here, feeds and strengthens us and sends us out into the world, that others might be fed and strengthened.
We remember that Jesus gathered at table with his friends, and by then he knew it would be their last meal together. After they had eaten all they wanted, he took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and shared it with them saying something like, this is my body broken for you. Whenever you share the bread like this, I’ll be there.
And then he took a cup filled with the fruit of the vine, and he gave thanks and shared it with them, saying something like, This cup is the covenant made with my life. Whenever you share the cup like this, I’ll be there.
And so we gather to share the bread and the cup, looking forward to a time when we can do so together in a more direct way. And we trust that Christ is present.
These are the gifts of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!
Come and feast at the welcome table!

 

 

HYMN #634 Voices United “To Abraham and Sarah”
To Abraham and Sarah the call of God was clear,
‘Go forth and I will show you a country rich and fair.
You need not fear the journey for I have pledged my word,
That you shall be my people and I will be your God.’

 

 

 

CHANGING THE LIGHT Now wherever you go the light goes with you.

 

SENDING FORTH
May God whose promises are steadfast and sure,  Be the peace in our hearts today.
May Christ who accompanies us into abundant life,  Be the hope in our hearts today.
May the Spirit of truth and knowledge, comforter and friend,
Be the strength in our hearts today.
And the people say … Amen!