Worship Service May 9, 2021

Mother's Day/Christian Family Sunday

WORSHIP LEADER: Rev. Jeannine Cline, B.A.,M.Div
RESOURCES:  Gathering LE 2021 

Let us worship together as we read! You can follow along with the service which will be livestreamed on Facebook at 10AM Sunday morning.  

For those who are not on Facebook, there will be a delay posting the video onto our YouTube channel - hopefully before the end of the week. 

MUSICAL PRELUDE

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS 

-Prayer from Moderator Richard Bott, May 3, 2021 for Alberta in these times.
-Apology from the United Church of Canada for Past Adoption Practises.

LIGHTING THE CANDLE

CALL TO WORSHIP: 
One: Come to settle into the comfortable rituals of worship, gathering from a physical distance or within a distance of time.
All: We come longing for the familiarity of life’s rhythms when so little is familiar. 
One: Come to celebrate our faith story of resurrection joy and of new life—of hope lived into a future where the risen son blazes light into our gloom. 
All: We come to breathe deeply the fresh air of renewed faith welling within us.
One: Christ is risen!
All: Christ is risen, indeed!
One: Woo-hoo! Hallelujah!
All: Hallelujah! God is good!
One: With trust in the Spirit’s leading and in the story we treasure, let us pray:
All: God who gathers us, who upholds us, and who enlivens us, we praise you for your joy that springs out of despair; we honour you as we humbly receive your healing loving-kindness; we submit to your path 
of self-giving love proclaimed in the risen Christ.
In our separation, unite us.
In our isolation, connect us.
In our loneliness, embrace us.
Into the light of the son’s rise, 
lead us in the dance of possibility. Amen.
(Gord Dunbar, Kincardine P.C., Kincardine, Ont. Gatherings, LE 2021, used with permission.) 

OPENING HYMN:
Voices United #268 - Bring Many Names

CONFESSION:
One: Easter morning takes us by surprise, awakening us to 
the doubt and despair that have been rooted in our lives. 
Let us now confess to God. 
(a time of silent prayer)
All: Come to us, O God, like fresh water, softening the soil of a parched and weary land.
We confess that hurts and disappointments harden our hearts, frustrations and failures dry us out. Come to us, God, with life-giving power. Free us from resentment, reluctance, and reserve. Remind us that in your forgiveness, we are free. Forgiven, may we be forgiving. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

WORDS OF ASSURANCE 
One: The stone is rolled away—we are released!
The tomb is empty—we can be free!
Christ is risen—life can be full! 
All: Thanks be to God!
( Éric Hébert-Daly, Responsable des ministères en français, L’Église Unie du Canada. Gatherings, LE, 2021, page 29. Used with permission.)

MINUTE FOR MISSION 

SCRIPTURAL READINGS:
Acts 10:44-48 
1 John 5:1-6 
John 15:9-17

Hymn:
More Voices #79 - Spirit Open My Heart

MESSAGE

INVITATION TO OFFERING

PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
All: Revitalizing God, transform our gifts with your immense love, so that they may make a difference to anyone in need in our world. Transform our hearts, so that we worship joyfully and give generously. Transform our lives, that we may affirm your grace in everyone we encounter. Amen.
(Gill Le Fevre, Walton Memorial U.C., Oakville, Ont. Gatherings, LE 2021, page 31. Used with permission.)

JOYS AND CONCERNS

HYMN:
Voices United #222 - Come, Let Us Sing

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE & THE LORD’S PRAYER:
One: We pray for the earth and hold in our hearts the planet that holds us. 
All: We pray for all who suffer from a disrupted climate: 
for those who endure famines and floods, 
droughts and wildfires, hurricanes and heatwaves; 
those who face hunger, thirst, and disease; 
those displaced by climate and resulting conflicts.
One: We pray for our sisters, brothers, and siblings all over the earth.
All: We pray for our animal kindred and kin: 
for each species shrunken, threatened, extinct, 
for the plants and the animals struggling in our time 
to adjust to a swiftly changing world.
One: We pray for reconciliation, people to people & people to land.
All: We pray for ourselves, that we,
in our words, our choices, and our actions,
would be true and faithful to Earth and to you, Creator God.
We pray and seek the wisdom of Sophia to guide us—
Sophia, who danced with you at the beginning of creation. 

One: As children turn to a mother who watches over them,
Let us now turn to God saying Our Father who art in heaven …

BLESSING:
One: Strength and hope and love flow freely. 
You stand in this flow in this Easter season. 
It washes new life into you and all the world. 
And so we give thanks and praise. 
Go share God’s blessings of love, strength, and hope. 
All: Amen.
(Robin Wardlaw, Toronto, Ont. Gatherings, LE, 2021, used with permission, page 33.)