Livestream broadcast will be available at 10:45 AM: (Please note that the “Order of Worship” below is an edited shorter version of the Sunday Bulletin)
“REFLECTIONS”
THIRD AVENUE UNITED CHURCH
WELCOMES YOU WORSHIP!
Order of Worship
MAY 17, 2026
Seventh Sunday of Easter
ASCENSION SUNDAY
ORDAINED MINISTER: Rev. Jo-Ann Hills
ORGANIST / PIANIST: Emilia Bacchetto
HANDBELL DIRECTOR: Kathleen Link
OFFICE COORDINATOR: Jodi Hargreaves
SCRIPTURES READER:
ORGAN PRELUDE
ACKNOWLEDGING TERRITORY:
We are gathered today to worship on land that is treaty 6 people. For thousands of years, they have lived on this land, honouring the Creator and living with respect for creation. We acknowledge their stewardship of the land and their relationship with the land and its plants and animals, and the lakes and streams with their life forms throughout the ages. We accept the responsibility we have to nurture and protect this legacy. Used with permission from Gathering: Lent/Easter 2023; Jeanne Wilson
WELCOME, TIME OF CELEBRATION OF BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, ANNOUNCEMENTS
CANDLE LITURGY
This beautiful spring Sunday is shrouded with mystery and awe. Breaking into this is the holy light of Christ. Let us light our Christ candle as a reminder that even in inexplicable times and circumstances, the Christ light illumines our path. Used with permission from Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; Laura J. Turnbull
SUNG RESPONSE: VU 409 “Morning Has Broken”
1. Morning has broken like the first morning,
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
2. Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where God's feet pass.
3. Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God's recreation of the new day!
1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
Enter into this sanctuary and know that you will find care and comfort. That is why we are here.
Enter into this your community with a loving heart and with a spirit that is ready to build the kingdom of God. That is why we are here.
Accept care when it comes your way, regardless of where your faith journey takes you. That is why we are here.
Even when you encounter trouble, sadness, and rejection, know that you are never alone. That is why we are here! Thanks be to God! Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; Éric Hébert-Daly
2. OPENING PRAYER: God most high, as Christ ascended into the heavens, may our hearts ascend to you. Open our eyes to the power of your Spirit, and open our lives to the fullness of your power, that we may be clothed with power on high. Help us wait patiently for the baptism of your Spirit, that we may be found worthy of your great gifts. Amen. From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission
3. LEARNING TIME/SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM:
Words of introduction
The sacrament of baptism proclaims and celebrates the grace of God. By water and the Spirit we are called, claimed and commissioned:
we are called God's own, given our identity as children of God; we are claimed by Christ, united with Christ, united with each other and the Christian community of every time and place; we are commissioned to Christ's ministry of love, peace and justice, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit for the work of the church in the world.
On behalf of the congregation of North Battleford Third Avenue United Church, I present the following person for initiation into the body of Christ through baptism:
Marcus Enzo Gammon son of Brittany Gammon
Godson of Brian and Jodi Hargreaves
Do you desire to have Marcus baptized? Yes.
Profession of Faith: (questions to parents and godparents)
Do you profess your faith in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Yes.
Desiring the freedom of new life in Christ, do you promise to resist evil and to live in love and justice? Yes.
Will you support the life and work of Christ's Church where ever you are? Yes.
Will you nurture this child, and together grow in faith? Yes.
Would the congregation please stand to pledge their support and care to this family?
As a baptized and baptizing church, we commit ourselves to support and uphold you within the community of faith. May God grant us all the grace to live out our baptism.
Let us affirm our faith by saying together the New Creed found on page 918 of Voices United.
Prayer of Thanksgiving and the Pouring of Water
God be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to God.
Let us give our thanks to God. It is good to give God thanks and praise.
Let Us Pray:
Gracious and Holy One, we bless you for the gift of life, and
within it, the gift of water. Over its unshaped promise your Spirit
hovered at creation; by water comes the growth of the earth.
Through water you led the children of Israel to freedom; in the
water of the Jordan your Child Jesus was baptized. Now may your
Spirit be upon us and what we do, that this water may be a sign
for all new life in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Baptism (water, cross, and laying on of hands)
Marcus Enzo, we baptize you in the name of the father,
and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Marcus Enzo with the sign of the cross, you are claimed as Christ's
forever. Amen.
I invite those present at this baptismal font to lay their hands on
Marcus Enzo the power of the Holy Spirit work within you,
that being born of water and the Spirit you may be
a faithful witness to Jesus Christ. Amen.
Presentation of certificate, bible and candle.
Would the household of faith, of the North Battleford Third
Avenue United Church welcome Marcus Enzo with joy and thanks
giving. All who are united in the covenant of baptism are the body
of Christ in the world. Go in peace. Amen.
4. HYMN VU 444 “Child of Blessing, Child of Promise”
1. Child of blessing, child of promise,
baptized with the Spirit's sign;
with this water God has sealed you
unto love and grace divine.
2. Child of love, our love's expression,
love's creation, loved indeed!
Fresh from God, refresh our spirits,
into joy and laughter lead.
3. Child of joy, our dearest treasure,
God's you are, from God you came.
Back to God we humbly give you;
live as one who bears Christ's name.
4. Child of God your loving Parent,
learn to know whose child you are.
Grow to laugh and sing and worship,
trusting in God's love and care.
5. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION Revealing God, may the delight of the shared word stir us to new understandings. When it seems confusing, grant clarity. When it is complex, simplify the concepts. Help us to experience the awe and wonder of your holy message. WE ask in the name of the Beloved Christ, the Word. Amen. Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; Laura J. Turnbull
6. PRAYER OF YEARNING: Merciful God, we yearn for the promise of your glorious inheritance, but settle for less. We long to see with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we might aspire to the glories of Christ above. Teach us anew to wait for your Holy Spirit, that we may be clothed with power on high. In the name of the one who ascended to heaven to show us the way to live here on earth, we pray. Amen. From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission
7. WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
Wait in patience for God's Spirit. Wait in longing for the hope to which we are called. God will fill us with Christ's glorious Spirit and clothe us with power on high. From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission
8. HYMN: VU 664 “What a Friend we have in Jesus”
1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
2. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
3. Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Christ the Saviour is our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do our friends despise, forsake us?
Are we tempted to despair?
Jesus' strength will shield our weakness,
and we'll find new courage there.
9. PASSING OF THE PEACE:
Brought together in the power of Christ's ascendant glory, turn and exchange signs of Christ's peace with one another this day. From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission
10. INVITATION TO OFFERING:
Remembering that God's family is our family, let us reach out in love and gratitude as we present our offering for our community and for the world. Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; George Allan
11. OFFERTORY: VU 540 “Grant Us, God the Grace”
Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
with a spirit large and free,
that ourselves and all our living
we may offer faithfully.
12. OFFERING PRAYER OF DEDICATION: Loving God, may what we offer here this morning be a prayer: that we may be blessed as living testimony to your good news, that our offerings may be blessed as good news to use in the world, and that your world may live within us in spirit and in truth. Amen. Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; Gord Dunbar
Please give by contributing online using “E-transfers” or PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) or by placing your offering in the plate.
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13. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER:
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy 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 thine is the kingdom
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. AMEN.
14. HYMN: VU 365 “Jesus Loves Me”
1. Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so;
little ones to him belong,
in his love we shall be strong. Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
2. Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, “Let them come to me.” Refrain
3. Jesus loves me still today,
walking with me on my way,
wanting as a friend to give
light and love to all who live. Refrain
15. BLESSING:
The limits of death are gone. Joy fills our hearts.
The disciples are renewed. We will follow the Way of Jesus faithfully.
The powerful are defeated. All who feel downtrodden are offered hope.
The faith community is inspired. Together we will change our small corner of the world for good.
As God's Easter people, we will be renewed. Thanks be to God. Amen. Used with permission Gathering Lent/Easter 2026; David Sparks
16. THREE FOLD AMEN:
SCRIPTURE READINGS:
SCRIPTURE LESSON: Acts 1: 1 - 11
Responsive Reading Psalm 47: VU page 771 Refrain 2 REFRAIN: “Praise to God who reigns above! Hallelujah!”
SCRIPTURE LESSON: Ephesians 1: 15 - 23
Luke 24: 44 - 53
Next Sunday: Day of Pentecost May 24, 2026: Acts 2: 1 - 21
Psalm 104: 25 - 35, 37; 1 Corinthians 12: 3b - 13; John 20: 19 - 23.
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