April 13th, 2025
Palm Sunday
Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live
Leading us today in Worship:
Minister: Rev. Dr. John G. Smith
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Lay Reader: Heather Dickson
Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics. 
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.

We Gather Together in Community

PRELUDE:
Medley of Palm Sunday Hymns, arr. C. Burton

“A Stewardship Second:”
Is it service? Is it clothes? Is it money? Is it yourself? What will you offer to celebrate Jesus this week?

WELCOME: 

LIGHTING the CHRIST CANDLE:
Even as the darkness began to gather around Jesus,
Still, his light shone strong.
Even as the forces of oppression would soon condemn him to death,
Still, his light shone strong.
As we light the Christ candle again this morning
We remember his light,   and how it still shines in us.
Thanks be to God for the light of Christ!

OUR COMMITMENT to SAFER 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 territory of the Saugeen Ojibway First Nation. We acknowledge that they are the first stewards of this land and we respect their histories and past and present cultures. We will work to recognize and remove barriers to reconciliation.

CALL to WORSHIP:  (from Psalm 118, adapted by Rev. John G. Smith)
We give thanks to you, O Love Eternal, for you are kind!
Your steadfast love endures forever.
Let all the people of the earth proclaim:
Your steadfast love endures forever.
Let all creation proclaim:
Your steadfast love endures forever.
Let all hearts and spirits proclaim:
Your steadfast love endures forever!
Out of my distress I called upon your love O God.
Out of my time of trouble and discouragement,
I raised my heart to you.
You answered me and set me on a new path.
You walk beside me, and I am not afraid.
Your love is deep within me, and helps me face the fears that well up from within.
It is better to surrender to your Love
than to seek all the riches of the world.
Yes, Love Eternal, Source of Love and Light,
you have shown me the path that leads to new life.
You have opened to me the gates of the city of peace.
You have placed before me the Door to Life in all its fullness —
all who know your love shall enter it.
Blessed are those who enter through your gates!
Blessed are those who dwell in the Household of Love!
Blessed are those who follow your way,
for you bring light into darkness,
hope into fear,
and love into our midst.
We give thanks to you O Love Eternal:
Your steadfast love endures forever!

*HYMN: VU #123     “Hosanna Loud Hosanna!”
1    Hosanna, loud hosanna
the happy children sang;
through pillared court and temple
the joyful anthem rang;
to Jesus, who had blessed them
close folded to his breast,
the children sang their praises,
the simplest and the best.

2    From Olivet they followed
‘mid an exultant crowd,
the victory palm branch waving,
and singing clear and loud;
the Lord of earth and heaven
rode on in lowly state,
content that little children
should on his bidding wait.

3    ‘Hosanna in the highest!’
That ancient song we sing,
for Christ is our Redeemer;
earth, let your anthems ring.
O may we ever praise him
with heart and life and voice,
and in his humble presence
eternally rejoice!

OPENING PRAYER:
O God, we love the procession of palms.
We are grateful for their message:
that all may enter into the deepest dwelling place of all:
your eternal heart.
We are grateful Love Everlasting,
that you have shown the pathway of Life to us.
As WE follow the path Jesus made for us,
help us to find the echoes of his footsteps in our own lives.
Like him, help us to be courageous and selfless with others.
Help us to be generous and compassionate.
Help us to offer the light of Christ to others in our life,
to those who are suffering,
to those who are afraid,
to those who are beaten down or oppressed in some way.
In the midst of all the darkness and difficulty,
your light O God still shines in our hearts.
Holy One, bless this day before us with your grace.
Bless this Holy week with gifts of insight and learning.
Bless our whole lives with the great gift of your abiding presence,
and bring us to an ever-growing awareness
of your deep love for our lives   AMEN

ANTHEM:
Ride On in Majesty H.R. Fisher

We Listen for God’s Word

Theme Conversation:
Making a Resurrection Garden: Palms and Crosses

SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
Luke 19:  28 – 40    (New International Version)
 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
 “I tell you,” he replied,“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 22:  39 – 53  (New International Version)
 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.  On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.  “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,  but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?  Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

RESPONSE:
These words from scripture are meant to guide us, nurture us, and teach us.
Thanks be to God!

SERMON:  “The Holiest Place on Earth”
 
 We Respond to God’s Word

INVITATION to the OFFERING:
Today, we are each invited to welcome Jesus. Some will offer their voices. Some will offer their possessions. Some will offer their presence. All are important and valid. Thank you for what you give in this time of offering.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of OUR OFFERINGS:
Gracious and welcoming God, today we recognize that not all offerings are money. May all our offerings be used to joyfully proclaim your vision and hope for our world. Amen.

Donate online:   www.graceunitedthornbury.ca,  select “Donate” 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 Thornbury 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?

*HYMN:  VU #459 “Here, O My Lord, I See You Face to Face”
1    Here, O my Lord, I see you face to face;
here would I touch and handle things unseen,
here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,
and all my weariness upon you lean.

2    Here would I feed upon the bread of God,
here drink with you the royal wine of heaven;
here would I lay aside each earthly load,
here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

3    This is the hour of banquet and of song;
this is the heavenly table for me spread;
here let me feast, and feasting, still prolong
the fellowship of living wine and bread.

4    Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear.
The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;
the bread and wine remove, but you are here,
nearer than ever, still my shield and sun.

5    Feast after feast thus comes and passes by,
yet, passing, points to that glad feast above,
giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,
the Lamb’s great bridal feast of bliss and love.

Communion Prayer
Let us pray:      We are thankful for the grace and love of this moment.  God hear our prayers.
Let us pray for this gathering of our faith community, for the gift of God’s spirit to bind us together again in this Lenten journey.
Let us pray for those who are at home, for those who cannot be with us, for those watching online, for those in the nursing homes around us.
Let us pray for those outside our circles, the stranger, the homeless, those who are lost or lonely or afraid. Let us remember to pray for those who are marginalized and oppressed, in our day and in our time.
Let us pray for those who are in trouble, those who need to know they are loved, those seeking assurance or help in some way.
Let us pray for our world, ravaged by war and the unwillingness to cease fire, for those  struggling to find meaning and hope, for those facing job losses, for those deported as aliens; let us pray that we can find a way through.
Let us remember, it is for this world that Christ died. It is for this world that Christ lives.  It is for this world that we are given his Spirit of Life, the new life we need to breathe hope and peace into this tired world.
Thanks be to God!
Let us gather now at the table of the Christ. Let us gather to take in the Light, to taste the Good, to celebrate the Blessing of Life in these most unlikely of times.
In this sacred space we have made, let us open our hearts to one another as we share this communion meal together.
May the bread and wine live in us today, giving us hope,  giving us courage, giving us life, for the living of these days.
We pray in Christ’s name, AMEN.

The Lord’s Prayer: (VU #910)

The Bread is Broken,  the Wine is Poured
The bread that we break is Jesus’ bread.
The wine that we pour is Jesus’ wine.
Thanks be to God, for these gifts of God in us.

Music During Communion:
Prayer after Communion:
We thank you God for this bread and this wine,
signs of the “kin-dom”, in which we live with you!
We ask that these signs put a mark upon us,
that we might be reborn in heart and spirit,
and that ours may be the love which expresses itself in action
in our world, in our community, in our lives.
Together, we pray in Christ’s name, AMEN.

GOING FORTH

Hymn:   VU # 586 “We Shall Go Out”
1    We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We’ll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;
we’ll dream our dreams of hurts that can be healed;
we’ll weave a cloth of all the world united
within the vision of new life in Christ.

2    We’ll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we’ll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we’ll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We’ll share our joy with those who still are weeping,
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we’ll leap and dance the resurrection story,
including all in circles of our love.

*COMMISSIONING: 

*SUNG BENEDICTION:
“Go Now in Peace”
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day,
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, *within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.
*alternate words: watching from above

POSTLUDE:
Gigue from English Suite #4 J.S. Bach

SOURCES: The following are used with permission:
Stewardship Second & Invitation to the Offering & Prayer of Dedication of our Offerings from: © 2024 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.
Call to Worship:  adapted  from  Psalm 118, written by Rev J.G. Smith.
Opening Prayer & Commissioning: written by Rev. J.G. Smith

HYMNS and SUNG VERSES:
-“Hosanna Loud Hosanna:” Words: Jennette Threlfall 1873. Music: traditional 18th-century German tune. Adapted by Xavier Ludwig Hartig. Public Domain.
-”Here, O My Lord, I See You Face to Face:” Words: Horatius Bonar. Music: James Langran. Public Domain.
-“We Shall Go Out:” Words: June Boyce-Tillman 1993 © 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd. Used by permission of Hope Publishing Company. Arrangement: © 1993 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Music: Traditional Irish melody .Words, Arrangement: Hope Publishing Company, Stainer & Bell Ltd. One License #608577
-“Go Now in Peace” - Words by Don Besig and Nancy Price © 1988 Harold Flammer
Music, Inc. Alternate words used with permission. Reproduced with permission.
One License # 608577

Scripture Readings: 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Prelude:  Medley of Palm Sunday Hymns, arr. C.Burton
Anthem:  “Ride On in Majesty”  H. R. Fisher.  Copyright©1964 by Boston Music Co.
Postlude: “ Gigue from English Suite #4”  J.S. Bach