Minister - Rev. Debbie Aitken

Organist & Choir Director- Kathy Stone

Announcements – Anne Forbes

AST Field Education Student – Susan Gamblin

WE GATHER

PRELUDE 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN      Let Us With a Gladsome Mind      234 

WELCOME AND LIFE AND WORK OF THE CHURCH 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Lift up your eyes to the witness of the earth.

            God’s presence is here,

            in the plants and the trees.

Lift up your eyes to the canvas of the heavens.

            God’s praises are proclaimed by the stars above.

Lift up your eyes to the love of God.

            God’s grace abounds,

            in the courage of the weak

            and in the strength on the downtrodden.

Lift up your voices to join in the song.

            It is good to sing praise to our Creator God! 

Opening Prayer (unison)

Everlasting God, how good and fitting it is

            to sing your praises and worship your name.

From the beginning of time,

            you have revealed yourself to us

            in mighty acts of power and miraculous gifts of grace.

From the tiniest seed to the mightiest ocean,

            your show your presence and your power.

Speak to us now, that we may truly hear.

Inspire us now, that we may truly know.

Lift up our eyes, that we may truly see you as everlasting God,

            the One who never faints or grows weary.

Lift up our hearts,

            that we may truly feel your strength

 at every moment of our journey. Amen 

HYMN                         When Jesus the Healer                             358 

TIME WITH CHILDREN 

WE HEAR GOD’S WORD

SCRIPTURE READINGS                                        Susan Gamblin

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147  Part one                                                                      869

Mark 1:29-39

            May God’s people hear what the Spirit is saying.

P: Thanks be to God 

SERMON                   “The Gift of Vitality” 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE 

WE RESPOND TO GOD

THE OFFERING OF OUR GIFTS 

MEN’S CHOIR ANTHEM  My Forever Friend      Landsborough                                   

OFFERTORY AND DEDICATION OF GIFTS                    540

Grant us, God, the grace of giving,

With a spirit large and free,

That ourselves and all our living we may offer faithfully.

OFFERING PRAYER (In Unison)

Gracious God, may these gifts of money and ministry be like wings to the exhausted and strength to the powerless. May these gifts of ours bind up the brokenhearted and welcome the outcast. And may our offerings of time, talent, and treasure sing your praise and be a cause of delight throughout your marvelous world. AMEN

HYMN                  Come Touch Our Hearts

Come touch our hearts that we may know compassion,

From failing embers build a blazing fire;

Love strong enough to overturn justice, to seek a world more gracious, come touch and bless our hearts.

Come touch our souls that we may know and love you,

your quiet presence all our fears dispel;

create a space for spirit to grow in us, let life and beauty fill us,

come touch and bless our souls.

Come touch our minds and teach us how to reason,

Set free our thoughts to wonder and to dream;

Help us to open doors of understanding, to welcome truth and wisdom,  come touch and bless our minds.

Come touch us in the moments we are fragile,

And in our weakness your great strength reveal;

That we may rise to follow and to serve,

Steady now our nerve, come touch and bless our wills.

Come touch us now, this people who are gathered,

to break the bread and share the cup of peace;

that we may love you with our heart, our soul,

our mind our strength, our all, come touch us with your grace.

Sacrament of Holy Communion

Invitation to the Table

The Great Thanksgiving

May God be with us.

God is here among us.

Let us open our hearts to God.

We open them to God and to one another.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, Gracious God,

Creator of light, Giver of all life, Source of love.

You guide the sun, cradle the moon, and toss the stars.

At your Word the earth was made

and spun on its course among the planets.

You breathe life into us

and set us among all your creatures,

in a covenant of love and service.

Even when we turn away from you, you do not forsake us.

You send your prophets to proclaim your justice,

to remind us of your peace,

and to call us back to you.

Creator, Christ, and Spirit,

we praise you for your love revealed to us in Jesus,

for the Hope he births into Creation.

It is he who walks with us, our Wisdom and our Way,

sharing our joy and sorrow,

healing the sick, feeding the hungry,

and setting the captive free.

So it is that we join the song of all Creation to

proclaim your goodness:

Holy, holy, holy God,

Power of life and love!

Heaven and earth are full of your glory!

Hosanna through the ages!

Blest is the One who comes to bring your justice to the earth!

Here we remember how, when Jesus ate with his friends,

he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it,

he broke it and gave it to them, saying:

“Take, eat. Whenever you do this remember me.”

Likewise after supper, he took the cup, saying,

“This is the new covenant; remember me.”

Loving God, blessing your name,

we seek your Spirit with us.

Come to us and bless these gifts of bread and wine,

that in our partaking we may be made one body with Christ:

light, life, and love in the world.

In this hope and as your people, we praise you,

together praying as Jesus’ community continue to pray…

Our Father, Who art in Heaven….AMEN

Words of Institution

Sharing the Bread and the Cup

“The Gifts of God for the People of God”

Prayer after Communion

For the bread we have eaten, for the wine we have tasted, for the life we have received, we thank you God. Grant that what we have done and have been given here, may so put its mark on us, that it may remain always in our hearts. Grant that we may grow in Christian love and understanding, and that ours may be lives of faithful action. AMEN

HYMN                         On Eagles’ Wings                               808

COMMISSIONING

Go out to serve. Someone needs you today.

What you have to give will be helpful to someone.

         We pray God will open our eyes to needs around us.

         We will look for ways to be helpful.

Go in the name of Jesus Christ, who sends us.

Speak a healing word. Do a caring deed.

God’s power will be in you as you pray and serve.

         We shall run and not be weary.

         We will serve in the strength God supplies.

BENEDICTION                       The Grace

POSTLUDE

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 “DID YOU KNOW?” In October 2010, the United Nations declared the first week of February World Interfaith Harmony Week. The UN resolution encourages all states to voluntarily support the spread of the message of interfaith harmony and goodwill in the world's churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and other places of worship. "World Interfaith Harmony Week provides the opportunity for all of us to recognize that the common values we hold far outweigh the differences we may have," says United Church Moderator, Mardi Tindal. "It is also a good time to consider how we bring our common values to our shared societal challenges."   

The United Church of Canada participates in interfaith dialogue and action through local, national, and global organizations. Significant resources, including group study guides, are available on whole world ecumenism, United Church-Jewish relations, and United Church-Muslim relations.