October 6th, 2024
Season of Creation 5
Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live
Leading us today in Worship:
Minister: Rev. Dr. John Greg Smith
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Scripture Reader: Bonnie Hammond
Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics.
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.
We Gather
PRELUDE
“Sonata Opus 10 #1 2nd Mov’t” - L. van Beethoven
WELCOME
LIGHTING the CHRIST CANDLE
The season of creation is a time to pause and reflect
on our place in creation,
our love for creation,
and our stewardship of creation.
Let the Christ candle remind us of our sacred inner light
which we share with all living beings.
May the Christ light ignite our hearts
With love for all creation! AMEN!
OUR COMMITMENT to SAFE SPACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the LAND
We believe all people are made in the image of God and are entitled to dignity and respect. At Grace United Church we try to offer a safer, inclusive and generous space for all who are seeking a faith community. We offer full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, all races, ages and abilities in the life and work of the ministry.
Grace United Church is situated on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Petun, Huron-Wendat, and Mississauga peoples, located within the boundary of the region of Treaty 18 of 1818. We humbly acknowledge the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples of Canada as traditional stewards of the land on which we work and worship and are committed to working actively toward genuine restitution and reconciliation.
CALL to WORSHIP
Praise be to you O God who births all life
with all your creatures:
especially you, sir brother sun
who is the day and is your light,
Beauty so true to you.
Here you are,
Here we are.
Praise be to you O God: you are
sister moon and the stars.
Bright precious heaven
Sparkling dawn raising life.
Here you are,
Here we are.
Praise be to you O God:
you are brother wind, and the air,
breath of Spirit
recreating renewing restoring our breath;
Here you are,
Here we are.
Praise be to you O God:
you are sister water,
gift of life
pure essential flowing in and through us:
Here you are,
Here we are.
Praise be to you, O God:
you are brother fire, our friend through the night.
Strong and playful
warm enfolding,
Here you are,
Here we are.
Most high, all powerful precious God
Through brother earth we see your face;
you govern all of life,
sustain and nurture all that is.
And in sister death, first and last breath,
you are the key unlocking all we are;
Here you are.
Here we are. Here we are.
*HYMN: VU #217
“All Creatures of our God” vs. 1, 2 & 5
1. All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voice and with us sing:
hallelujah, hallelujah!
Bright burning sun with golden beam,
soft shining moon with silver gleam,
sing praises, sing praises,
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
2. O rushing winds and breezes soft,
O clouds that ride the winds aloft,
sing praises, hallelujah!
O rising morn, in praise rejoice;
O lights of evening, find a voice:
sing praises, sing praises,
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
5. Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship God in humbleness:
sing praises, hallelujah!
Praise God eternal, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, three in one:
sing praises, hallelujah!
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
OPENING PRAYER
O God, on this celebration of the feast of St. Francis
Let us remember that you created everything on the earth
As good and perfect and true.
While we don’t always understand your ways,
For instance skunks and mosquitos,
We know that all things are beautiful, and all things have a purpose.
“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful, in love You made them all.”
We celebrate the harvest time, the bounty of love and abundance
On display throughout your creation.
We thank you for the warmth of these early fall days,
The sunshine on our shoulders,
The slender foxes and the fat turkeys, we see them everywhere.
“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful, in love You made them all.”
As we gather together in worship,
We give thanks for this community of faithful ones.
We are blessed and privileged and full;
We know there is much required of us in this world.
Help us to care for the poor, to remember the lonely and despairing,
For they are us, and we are them, we are one.
Now let us end our prayer with the same refrain:
“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful, in love You made them all.”
PSALM READING: Psalm 96 (Responsive)
O sing to the Cosmos a whole new song;
Sing to the Beloved, the Maker of heaven and earth!
Sing to the Creator, and bless the name above all names;
Sing praises to the Glorious Radiant Light, day by day and night by night!
Declare the Splendour of the Radiant One,
The marvellous works of Love for all peoples of the earth.
For great is the Beloved One,
And greatly to be praised;
Reverence above all else!
We know that our thoughts reveal that which we treasure;
Let us seek the True Treasure,
The blessings of inner peace and inner light!
We will yield to eternal love, and seek integrity in all we do.
We will yield to Love’s glory and strength,
Finding our place within the whole matrix of creation.
We will learn of justice;
We will make of ourselves an offering of justice and peace
For the glory of our Maker.
Yes the earth has been created in splendour,
A gift for all generations.
Let truth and justice be birthed in the land;
Let peace and harmony leap up and dance.
Let the heavens be glad, and erupt in song!
Let the earth rejoice and the seas laugh,
Along with all that fills them!
And let the trees of the forest sing for joy
As prelude to the coming of the reign of Love Eternal.
May it be so! Amen! May it be so!
Theme Conversation
*Hymn: “There’s a Song of Love in My Heart”, by Handt Hanson
There’s a song of love in my heart,
Love is a gift from Jesus,
There’s a song of love in my heart,
Love is a gift from God.
Alleluia, love in my heart is singing praises
Alleluia, love is a gift from God.
There’s a song of joy in my heart,
Joy is a gift from Jesus,
There’s a song of joy in my heart,
Joy is a gift from God.
Alleluia, joy in my heart is singing praises
Alleluia, joy is a gift from God.
There’s a song of peace in my heart,
Peace is a gift from Jesus,
There’s a song of peace in my heart,
Peace is a gift from God.
Alleluia, peace in my heart is singing praises
Alleluia, peace is a gift from God.
We Listen
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 1: 26 – 31 New Century Version
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”
So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the air, and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day.
RESPONSE:
These words from scripture are meant to guide us, nurture us, and teach us.
Thanks be to God!
ANTHEM
“Each Blade of Grass”
SERMON: “Earth as the Original Monastery”
We Respond
HYMN: VU #226
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
1. For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
2. For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
3. For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
4. For each perfect gift sublime
to our race so freely given,
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
A Time for Communion
Prayer after Communion
In community with one another,
In relationships of friendship and care,
And in community with all creation around us,
In relationships of oneness and stewardship,
We thank you God for the blessings of life on this earth.
We promise now to be stewards of every gift,
That life may be sweet and sweeter for the generations to come.
In the light of Christ, we pray, AMEN
PRAYER of DEDICATION for OUR OFFERINGS:
Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “Give”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer.
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
or Offering Plate at the back of the sanctuary.
Tap your debit card at the door of the church, or Donate to Grace United Church through CanadaHelps.org. Our account is set up with them now and it is easy to register. Tax receipts are given automatically at the time of giving.
Care, Prayer, Share
What’s Up at Grace?
We Go Out
*HYMN: VU #227
“For the Fruit of All Creation”
1. For the fruit of all creation, thanks be to God.
For the gifts to every nation, thanks be to God.
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping, thanks be to God.
2. In the just reward of labour, God’s will is done.
In the help we give our neighbour, God’s will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing, God’s will is done.
3. For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God
*COMMISSIONING
*SUNG BENEDICTION: MV #209
“Go Make A Difference” Chorus X2
Go make a dff′rence, we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff′rence in the world
Go make a diff'rence we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff′rence in the world
POSTLUDE: tba
*****
SOURCES: The following are used with permission
Call to Worship: from Earth, Our Original Monastery: Singing Our Way to the Sacred released April 8, 2020 Canticle of Creation --by Simon de Voil (based on the prayer by St. Francis of Assisi) ©2019 www.simondevoil.com
Opening Prayer: (the spoken refrain is taken from the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful, (#291 in VU)
Psalm Reading: Psalm 96, from Nan Merrill, Psalms for Praying, revised by Rev J.G.Smith.
Prayers are written by Rev. Dr. John Greg. Smith
HYMNS and SUNG VERSES:
-“All Creatures of our God:” Words: St. Francis of Assisi. 1225 English Translation: William Henry Draper ca. 1919 © Boosey and Hawkes, administered by G. Schirmer, Inc. French translation adapted by J.-J. Bovet. Music: Geistliche Kirchengesänge. Harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Harmony: Used by permission of Oxford University Press. English Translation: Boosey and Hawkes. French translation: Public Domain. Music: Public Domain. Harmony: Oxford University Press. CCLI #11203479
-“There’s a Song of Love in My Heart:” by Handt Hanson. (c) 1996 Changing Church Forum. One License #608577
-“For the Beauty of the Earth:” Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 1864. Music: David Evans 1927 Used by permission of Oxford University Press. Words: Public Domain. Music: Oxford University Press. CCLI #11203479
-“For the Fruit of All Creation:” Words: Fred Pratt Green © 1970 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Music: Welsh folk melody. Words: Hope Publishing Company. Music: Public Domain CCLI #11203479
-“Go Make a Diff’rence:” Words and Music: Steve Angrisano and Tom Tomaszek, 1997. Copyright © 1997, Steve Angrisano and Tom Tomaszek. Published by spiritandsong.com One License #608577
Scripture Readings: New Century Version (NCV) The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Prelude: “Sonata Opus 10 #1 2nd Mov’t” L. van Beethoven
Anthem: “Each Blade of Grass” Words: K. Wehlander. Music: From the United States’ Sacred Harmony, 1799, arr. Linnea Good, 2005
Postlude: TBA
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