29 October 2023
All Saints Sunday
God Invites Us To Gather
Words of Welcome
Welcome to worship here at Maple Grove United in Oakville Ontario!
My name is Rev. Jessica McCrae and it is good to see you all, and have those of you who are joining us online, a part of our community.
Thanks to all who help make this service possible. Thanks to the Caring team who is providing our greeters, scripture reading and liturgical support today for our All Saints and Memory service. Thanks to Dr. Deborah Henry and Eran Rozen, our choir and all who are sharing their gifts of music this service. And of course thanks to Charlotte on sound board and Mike on sound.
We have some exciting things coming up in November! On Nov 17th here in the sanctuary we have our Silent Movie fundraiser. Our friend and Juno award winning organist Ian Sadler will bring Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush to life. The show begins at 7:30 and tix available here or at the door.
On November 2nd Ann Bone will be leading a discussion on living in a chaotic time like we are in the climate crisis – how to acknowledge our grief but life into hope. We are encouraging you to read the book “How to Live In A Chaotic Climate” but even if you haven’t finished it please come out and join us!
On Nov 5 – we will have our Remembrance Sunday service.
Nov 5 will also be the last day to bring donations for the Adopt a Shelf for Kerr St Mission. We will keep you posted on our Christmas projects as they develop.
Our next Booked for Lunch will happen on November 28 at noon, here in the sanctuary in our children’s chapel and we will be discussing the book “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan … Sandra Onyfruk will be joining us for that session, tying the book to our response as people of faith responding to the needs in our world.
If you would like to contribute to the ministry of this church there is a plate is located at the back on your way out. If you are worshiping with us from home there is information about you can donate to us through Canada Helps on our website, or you can contact the office about other options.
There are a few changes in our service today. Because this is All Saints Sunday we will be taking time in our service to recognize those in our congregation who have died since our last memory service.
Acknowledgment of the Land
We acknowledge that the land upon which we are privileged to worship has a long and rich history with the Anishinabe, the Attawandaron, the Haudenosaunee, and the Métis peoples and is still home to many indigenous peoples today.
These lands are part of Treaty 14 and Treaty 22.
As a church we commit to the work of reconciliation through listening and learning, and seek to live with respect in creation.
Prelude:
Call to Worship
We have come here as a people of faith,
Thankful for all those who have gone before us.
We stand in awe of so many who have served faithfully and shared and lived the good news.
We come with thanksgiving for our family of faith, this community and the many ways God’s Spirit has been active.
We come to celebrate our journey of faith – past, present and future.
We come to celebrate the love and grace of God, active and alive in our lives!
Let us worship God this day.
Hymn: For All The Saints. VU 705
Prayer of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer
For all the saints
Who went before us
Who have spoken to our hearts
And touched us with your fire,
We give you thanks, God.
For all the saints
Who live beside us
Whose weaknesses and strengths
Are woven with our own,
We give you thanks, God.
For all the saints
Who live beyond us
Who challenge us
To change the world with them,
We give you thanks, God.
Help us to take our place among them. To answer your call to us. To make a difference where we are. This we pray in the name of Jesus and in words he taught us we say.
Our Creator
in heaven
Hallowed be your name
Your kindom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
for yours is the kindom
The power and the glory
Forever and ever
Amen.
Anthem: Shall We Gather at the River
Time of Remembering (Mary Lloyd)
Gracious God, thank you for the saints in our lives who are still with us.
God bless the everyday saints.
Gracious God, thank you for the saints of our past who have helped shape our lives and our world.
God bless the everyday saints.
Gracious and Holy God, thank you for your son, Jesus, who was and is the ultimate saint in our lives.
All goodness and mercy reigns with him forever and ever. Amen.
Lighting Candles in Memory (Mary Lloyd reads names Daphne Tonellato lights candles)
Words of Assurance (from Revelation 21:1-6) (Daphne Tonellato)
Behold:
there is a new heaven,
a new earth
and a new city,
where the river of life flows,
where the tree of life bears fruit in every season.
This heaven,
this city,
this river,
this tree
are a vision of your life
reborn, restored, and renewed. Thanks be to God!
Sung Response: I Am Walking a Path of Peace. MV 221
The Word of God Proclaimed
Prayer of Illumination (Brenda Lewis)
God of all creation,
send your Holy Spirit among us this day,
that the seed of your Word might take root in our hearts,
and bear the fruits of peace, love, and justice for all.
Amen.
Reading: Matthew 5:1-12 on page 4 New Testament of your pew bible
When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account.12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Keep Walking
Hymn: I Have Called You By Your Name. MV 161
Our Response to God
Introduction of Offering: Now let us take time to offer to God and give thanks for the gifts that have been given to our church community
Offering Prayer
Loving God
May we offer not only our material gifts but our whole selves to you. With these gifts and with our actions may we write a narrative of hope, love and compassion for our world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Liberator. Amen.
Music for Reflection:
Prayers of the People
God of all time and place,
We thank you for the witnesses of our faith,
for those who have helped us hear the story of your people,
for the ways the story has touched our lives.
Thank you for the scriptures that have inspired us,
The prophets who have disturbed us
for their ability to help us examine our living.
Thank you for those people we have known
Who have lived out the faith;
For the inspiration they have been to us.
Thank you for those who have shown great courage
And stood up for their beliefs, and shared their message.
Help us also to be witnesses to the faith.
Help our living be consistent with our beliefs.
Help us to be powerful prophets
Let our work of justice and compassion influence our society.
On this All Saints Day we pray for the saints of this time and place
those who need your encouragement God and those who need to feel you near.
We pray for all who are struggling under the weight of grief this day, but we give you thanks for the love that was shared and all that our loved ones, no longer with us, have added to our lives.
We pray for those who are struggling with failing health and anxieties of all kinds, steady their minds, give them courage, and bring your healing power upon them.
We pray for our partners in faith, those churches around the world who share a message of hope and love with your world and who reflect your grace in their actions.
We pray for the community ministries supported by this church and our Region: we pray for Kerr St. Mission, the M&S fund, Canadian Food Grains Bank, and the refugees we are sponsoring.
May we see a time God when poverty and vulnerability are no longer realities in our town, when there is peace in our time, when civilians are safe, and people are not forced to leave their homes …. and until then, help us to do all that we can to meet the needs around us.
We pray for all impacted by the wars and aggressions and the climate crisis unfolding around our world.
Open our eyes and our hearts to recognize your transformative love and hope surrounding us,
and give us courage to follow the path that you lay before us as your church.
Help us God to make a difference
Help us God to never lose sight of the vision you have for our world, and our role in it.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
*Hymn: The Church’s One Foundation. VU 331
*Benediction
Sung Blessing: Go Now In Peace
