Grace United Church | United Church in Thornbury, ON

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November 3, 2024 : Sunday morning Service

Ingrid Remkins

Sunday, November 3, 2024

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November 3rd, 2024

24th Sunday after Pentecost

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Worship Leader: Ingrid Remkins
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Lay Leader: Debbie Potts

Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics.
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.

We Gather

PRELUDE
“La fille aux cheveux du lin” - C. Debussy

A Stewardship Second
The kin-dom of God is a lot closer than you may imagine. It appears every time you are generous and caring.

GREETING: (2 Cor. 13:13)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

THE LIGHTING of the CHRIST CANDLE: (JGS)
The light of Christ is with us always!
The light of Christ is in this place!
The light of Christ fills us with hope and courage
and gives us strength for the journey ahead!
(the candle is lit)
Thanks be to God for the light of Christ!

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.

A GATHERING CALL
We are called. Just as we are.
With no bravado. No artifice. No mask.
And so…
To this safe place, we come.
We are called.
Brave ones. Timid ones.
Determined ones. Wavering ones.
Boisterous ones. And quiet ones.
Remarkable ones. And ordinary ones.
And so…
To this safe place, we come.
We are called… for journeys yet begun.
In the midst of our journeys. And journeys almost done.
And so…
To this safe place, we come.
We are called. Woven tapestries of life and love.
Struggles and strife. Trust and hope.
And so…
To this safe place, we come.
We are called. Just as we are. Each and every one of us. Children of God. And so…
With open hearts, we come.
Ready to listen. Ready to share. Ready to worship.

OPENING PRAYER
Holy Mystery, Holy Love,
We give you thanks that we are not alone.
You accompany us along our disparate paths.
You treasure our moments and our days.
You know our stories.
And you clothe us in your love. You listen. You hear.
Holy Mystery, Holy Love,
We give you thanks that into your kin-dom we are all invited. That we matter.
By You, beloved ones brighten our footsteps and our phases. Trusted ones give anchor in tumult and turmoil.
Spirited ones strengthen our laughter and songs.
Tho’ we may go our own ways,
our stories are woven together with each other.
Our gift and our challenge.
Holy Mystery, Holy Love,
We give you thanks that into your kin-dom we are all invited. That we matter.
As we have received your comfort and grace, may we offer outwards.
As we have listened to your truths, may we offer it outwards.
Our hearts have shared in journeys and histories.
In love, we listen. That all may be heard.
Holy Mystery, Holy Love,
We give you thanks that into your kin-dom we are all invited. That we matter. That we might wholly love.
In the name of the One who walks with us – always and ever, we pray. Amen.

*HYMN: MV #1
“Let Us Build a House”

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.

2. Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

3. 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.

4. Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

5. 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.

PRAYER for WHOLENESS
God of Grace, Tho’ we speak of your mercy and love, still we are afraid that we are not good enough. Not extraordinary enough. Just not enough. And so, we wear our masks.
“Take, O Take Me as I Am” MV #85
Refrain:
Take, O take me as I am.
Summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart
And live in me.
Welcoming God, Tho’ we hear your invitation, we find it hard to believe that it is always for us. For all the ways that we are. In spite of all our faults and our foibles. Do we dare take off our masks?
Refrain:
Take, O take me as I am.
Summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart
And live in me.
God of Grace, Tho’ we receive your mercy and love, we sometimes, hold it inwards, only for ourselves. We are blinded by the mask.
Refrain:
Take, O take me as I am.
Summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart
And live in me.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
The many blessings, the welcome given, the grace offered, are unbroken. Thanks be to God.

We Listen

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Let grace, let love, let hope flow through your word to us, O God. Let new life and possibility jump from the page.
Let the word we need to hear leap into our hearts.
Let your word transform us today and always. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READINGS
Ruth 1:1-18
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me.May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.
Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Responsive Psalm: Psalm 63 VU #781
Refrain:
My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.

You are my God, I long for you from early morning.
My whole being desires you like a dry, worn, waterless land.
My soul thirsts for you.
In the sanctuary let me see
how mighty are your works;
your constant love is better than life itself,
and so I will praise you.
Refrain:
My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.

I will give thanks as long as I live;
I raise my hands in prayer.
My soul will feast and be filled,
and I will sing and praise you.
Refrain:
My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.

As I lie in bed, I remember you, O God;
I think of you all night long,
for you are my constant help.
In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cling to you; your hand keeps me safe.
Refrain:
My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.

Luke 18: 15-17
People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

RESPONSE
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

MINISTRY OF MUSIC
“Bathe Me in Your Light” Oldham/Klusmeier

PRAYER OF PREPARATION

MESSAGE: “A Shout Out to Orpah”

We Respond

*HYMN: MV # 157
“I am a Child of God”

1. I am a child of God,
I am a glimpse of God’s new creation.
I am a child of God,
I am a child of God.

2. I am an endless prayer,
I am a yearning for contemplation,
I am an endless prayer,
I am an endless prayer.

3. I am an angry voice,
I am compassion and consternation,
I am an angry voice,
I am an angry voice.

4. I am a cry for peace,
I am commitment and dedication,
I am a cry for peace,
I am a cry for peace.

5. I am a song of joy,
I am the moment of jubilation,
I am a song of joy,
I am a song of joy.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

THE LORD’S PRAYER: (VU#910)
As a child turns to a loving caregiver who watches over them, we turn in prayer to you O God, our heavenly parent,
Our Father, who art in Heaven…

PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.

MUSIC for PASSING the PEACE
Improvisation on a Hymn - C. Burton

INVITATION to the OFFERING
We are called to love our neighbours as ourselves, to pray for them and to act in accordance with our prayers. Our offerings today are one way we respond to our calling, both through the ministries of this community of faith and through the ministries made possible by Mission and Service. I invite you at this time to share God’s abundance—in person, online at graceunitedthornbury.ca, through PAR, or in any way that you feel called to do so.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of our OFFERINGS
O God, with open hearts and minds, we offer what we can to help clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and honour the poor. Help us to be merciful, ever grateful, and aware that all blessings come from you. We dedicate our gifts to your use. Amen.

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, and 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: MV #161
“I Have Called You by Your Name”

1. I have called you by your name, you are mine;
I have gifted you and ask you now to shine.
I will not abandon you;
all my promises are true.
You are gifted, called, and chosen;
you are mine.

2. I will help you learn my name as you go;
read it written in my people, help them grow.
Pour the water in my name,
speak the word your soul can claim,
offer Jesus’ body given long ago.

3. I know you will need my touch as you go;
feel it pulsing in creation’s ebb and flow.
Like the woman reaching out,
choosing faith in spite of doubt,
hold the hem of Jesus’ robe,
then let it go.

4. I have given you a name, it is mine;
I have given you my Spirit as a sign.
With my wonder in your soul,
make my wounded children whole;
go and tell my precious people
they are mine.

*COMMISSIONING and BENEDICTION

*SUNG BLESSING: VU #298
“When You Walk from Here”
When you walk from here,
when you walk from here,
walk with justice, walk with mercy,
and with God’s humble care

POSTLUDE: TBA

*****