CANDLE LITURGY
Lighting a single candle symbolizing Christ as the light of the world has become a treasured tradition in our congregation, just as in many others.
We light the candle, symbolizing hope in our chaotic world.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Laura J. Turnbull

SUNG RESPONSE: VU 359 “He Came Singing love”   V3
3. He came singing hope
and he lived singing hope;
he died singing hope.
He arose in silence.
For the hope to go on
we must make it our song;
you and I be the singers.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
Time calls us to this place
to find comfort, to find caring, to love one another.
Time is a gift we are given each morning we rise.
It is our responsibility to use it wisely.
It is also our responsibility to use it gently.
To be, rather than always “to do.”
We are human creatures
and we come to this place to honour our Creator.
Come, sit, listen, and most importantly, BE in this place.
We have come answering God's call.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Eric Hebert-Daly

2.  OPENING PRAYER:
Creator of All, we awake each morning in the knowledge that you have granted us another day in which to live out our lives. Help us to appreciate this time and find joy in the moments of this day. Open our senses to experience the sunshine or the raindrops as gifts and to eat today savouring the tastes and textures. When we talk to a friend or a stranger and find common ground in sharing fears and anxieties, may we find a release and a freedom in knowing that others are in the same place, too. Help us to remember that while our earthly lives are but a flicker in time, you exist for eternity. The events in the world are also but a flicker in time, but you will always be our God.  Amen.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Sharon Winegarden

3. LEARNING TIME:

4. HYMN  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!

5. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Life-giving God, feed us with your word of transformation. Enable us to experience it with clarity and excitement. Let us feast on your Good News of love and grace as we receive this message. May we be your enlivened people. We ask in Jesus' name.  Amen. Amen.
     Used with permission from Gathering Pentecost 1 2026; Laura J. Turnbull

6. SCRIPTURE LESSON:
Genesis 21: 8 - 21
Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
8 The time came when Sarah no longer had to nurse Isaac,[a] and on that day Abraham gave a big feast. 9-10 One day, Sarah noticed Hagar's son Ishmael[b] playing,[c] and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that Egyptian slave woman and her son! I don't want him to inherit anything. It should all go to my son.”[d] 11 Abraham was worried about Ishmael. 12 But God said, “Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name, 13 but the son of the slave woman is also your son, and I will make his descendants into a great nation.” 14 Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar an animal skin full of water and some bread. Then he put the boy on her shoulder and sent them away.
They wandered around in the desert near Beersheba, 15 and after they had run out of water, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she sat down a long way off, because she could not bear to watch him die. And she cried bitterly. 17 When God heard the boy crying, the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven and said, “Hagar, why are you worried? Don't be afraid. I have heard your son crying. 18 Help him up and hold his hand, because I will make him the father of a great nation.” 19 Then God let her see a well. So she went to the well and filled the skin with water, then gave some to her son. 20-21 God blessed Ishmael, and as the boy grew older, he became an expert at hunting with his bow and arrows. He lived in the Paran Desert, and his mother chose an Egyptian woman for him to marry.

Responsive Reading Psalm 86:   VU page 803
Refrain:  “In the day of my trouble, I call unto you for you will answer me.”

Turn your ear to me, O God, and answer me, for I am poor and in misery.
Preserve my life for I am faithful; save your servant for I trust in you.
Be merciful to me, my lord, for I call to you all day long.
Gladden the heart of your servant, for to you I lift up my soul.
For you, my lord, are good and forgiving, and great in mercy to all who call on you.
Give heed, O God, to my prayer, and listen to my cry of supplication.   Refrain

Among the gods there is none like you, my lord, nor can the deeds of any be compared to yours.
All the nations you have made shall come and bow before you.
They shall glorify your name, my lord,
for you are great and do marvellous things; you alone are God.  Refrain

Turn to me then, and have mercy; give your strength to your servant.
Save your handmaiden's child; give me a sign of your favour!
Then those who hate me will see and be ashamed,
for you, God, have helped and comforted me.  Refrain

7.  REFLECTION:

8.  HYMN: VU 288 “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
1.  Great is thy faithfulness, God our Creator;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness!
     Refrain:
     Great is thy faithfulness!
     Morning by morning new mercies I see;
     all I have needed thy hand hath provided
     great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

2.  Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.  Refrain

3.  Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
wondrous the portion thy blessings provide.   Refrain

9. SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
Romans 6: 1b - 11
Should we keep on sinning, so that God's gift of undeserved grace will show up even better? 2 No, we should not! If we are dead to sin, how can we go on sinning? 3 Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? 4 When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. 5 If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. 6 We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. 7 We know sin doesn't have power over dead people. 8 As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. 9 We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. 10 When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. 11 In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.

Matthew 10: 24 - 39
24 Students are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family? 26 Don't be afraid of anyone! Everything is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 27 Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. 28 Don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. 29 Aren't two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. 30 Even the hairs on your head are counted. 31 So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows. 32 If you tell others you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven you are my followers. 33 But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven you don't belong to me. 34 Don't think I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. 35 I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 Your worst enemies will be in your own family. 37 If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 38 And unless you are willing to take up your cross and follow me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 39 If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.

10. REFLECTION

11. HYMN: VU 652 “Be Still My Soul”
1.  Be still, my soul, for God is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Trust in your God, your saviour and your guide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul, your best, your heavenly friend
through stormy ways leads to a peaceful end.

2.  Be still, my soul, your God will undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul, life's tempests still obey
the voice that once the waves' wild fury stayed.

3.  Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on
when we shall be forever in God's peace;
when disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
love's joys restored, our strivings all shall cease.
Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

12. PRAYER OF YEARNING:
Merciful God, hear our prayer. Hear the cries of our hearts and the needs of our souls. When we are cast aside or falling apart, hold us in your arms of love. Help us sing once again of your love and proclaim your strength and grace. Show us signs of your goodness, your presence, and your love, over and over again. Teach our hearts that we never walk alone. In your mercy and grace, we pray.  Amen.
      From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

14.  HYMN: VU 574 “Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love”
1.  Come, let us sing of a wonderful love, tender and true, tender and true,
out of the heart of the Father above, streaming to me and to you:
wonderful love, wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above.

2.  Jesus the Saviour this gospel to tell joyfully came, joyfully came,
came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell, sharing their sorrow and shame,
seeking the lost, seeking the lost, saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

3.  Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet; why do they roam? why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget; home, weary wanderers, home!
Wonderful love, wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above.

4.  Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love! Come and abide, come and abide,
lifting my life till it rises above envy and falsehood and pride:
seeking to be, seeking to be lowly and humble, a learner of thee.

15.  PASSING OF THE PEACE:
Just as we have received God's peace through Christ Jesus, so now we are invited to offer God's peace to one another through the grace and love of Christ Jesus. May peace be the promise we offer to one another.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

16.  INVITATION TO OFFERING:
As God has promised good to us, so God invites us to offer promises of goodness to others in need. May our offerings be blessings of healing and hope to a weary world.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

17.  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.

18. OFFERING PRAYER OF DEDICATION:
Gracious God, you have blessed us as our Father, as our Mother, and as our companion and friend. Christ Jesus, you have blessed as a savior and teacher, and as a master and guide. We thank you for those who help us discover your patenting love, your guiding companionship, and your loving grace. Bless these gifts this day, that others might touch your loving presence in all of life.  Amen.   Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

19. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER

20. HYMN: VU 387 “Loving Spirit”
1.  Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

2.  Like a mother, you enfold me,
hold my life within your own,
feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone.

3.  Like a father, you protect me,
teach me the discerning eye,
hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.

4.  Friend and lover, in your closeness
I am known and held and blessed;
in your promise is my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.

5.  Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

21.  BLESSING:
Guided by God,
we go into the world.
Led by Christ,
we go with love and grace.
Strengthened by the Spirit,
we go to make the world a better place.  Amen and Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2026.
     Copyright @2025 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission

22.  THREE FOLD AMEN:

Next Sunday:  Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
        June 28, 2026:
         Genesis 22: 1 - 14   Psalm 13;
         Romans 6: 12 - 23;  Matthew 10: 40 - 42.

1. SUNDAY, June 21, 2026  Fourth Sunday after Pentecost   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!


2. SUNDAY, June 21, 2026  SUNDAY BRUNCH   11:30 AM   Wesley Hall  ALL ARE WELCOME!


3. SUNDAY, June 28, 2026  Fifth Sunday after Pentecost   10:45 AM   Rev. Nora Borgeson  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!