CANDLE LITURGY
Red like maple leaves, yellow like birch leaves, orange like oak leaves; the colours of fall are the colours of fire. We light this Christ candle in gratitude
for the love of Christ,
in gratitude
for the changing season,
in gratitude
for this day.
     (Light the Christ candle.)
     Adapted/Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Whitney Bruno

Sung Response: “It Only Takes a Spark”  289 VU   ( Verse 1)
1. It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing:
that's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it:
you spread God's love to everyone, you want to pass it on.

1. CALL TO WORSHIP
We come into worship, weakened by the demands of daily life.
We come into worship to find strength in the Lord.
We bring with us our worries and concerns that fill our minds and our hearts.
We come seeking the gentleness of the Lord to soothe our souls.
We lay down our burdens, opening ourselves to the mighty glory of the Lord.
Rejoice, the Lord is near.
And God's peace will guard our hearts and minds.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Leeyan Steinthorson

2. OPENING PRAYER:
God of many blessings, Christ of truth and compassion, Spirit of justice and peace, may you travel by our side this day and all our days. May your gentleness comfort us when we need it. May your wisdom and love guide us down the right paths. May your power and strength hold us up. As the land around us prepares to sleep for winter, never let our hearts be dormant. Open our spirits to your presence in all the hours ahead. Warm our hearts to the needs of others in the cold days that are sure to come. For we will always remain your people, people of a compassionate and generous Creator. Amen.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Rosemary Godin

3. LEARNING TIME:

4. HYMN: VU 226 “For the beauty of the Earth”
1.  For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Refrain: God of all, to you we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

2.  For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light,  Refrain

3.  For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild,  Refrain

4.  For each perfect gift sublime
to our race so freely given,
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven,  Refrain

5. PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Mysterious God, tickle the places deep inside us when we receive the words of scripture. Stir our understanding with deep delight. Empower us to receive your good news with openness and wonder, as we ponder the secret of timeless realities. May your message become our hope. In the name of the One who is Infinite Love. Amen.
     Used with permission from Gathering: Pentecost 2; 2025: Laura J. Turnbull

6. SCRIPTURE LESSON
Deuteronomy 26: 1 - 11
Give the Lord the First Part of Your Harvest
Moses said to Israel:
26 The Lord is giving you the land, and soon you will conquer it, settle down, 2 and plant crops. And when you begin harvesting each of your crops, the very first things you pick must be put in a basket. Take them to the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped, 3 and tell the priest, “Long ago the Lord our God promised our ancestors that he would give us this land. And today, I thank him for keeping his promise and giving me a share of the land.” 4 The priest will take the basket and set it in front of the Lord's altar. 5 Then, standing there in front of the place of worship, you must pray: My ancestor was homeless, an Aramean who went to live in Egypt. There were only a few in his family then, but they became great and powerful, a nation of many people. 6 The Egyptians were cruel and had no pity on us. They mistreated our people and forced us into slavery. 7 We called out for help to you, the Lord God of our ancestors. You heard our cries; you knew we were in trouble and abused.8 Then you terrified the Egyptians with your mighty miracles and rescued us from Egypt. 9 You brought us here and gave us this land rich with milk and honey. 10 Now, Lord, I bring to you the best of the crops that you have given me. After you say these things, place the basket in front of the Lord's altar and bow down to worship him.11 Then you and your family must celebrate by eating a meal at the place of worship to thank the Lord your God for giving you such a good harvest. And remember to invite the Levites and the foreigners who live in your town.

Responsive Psalm 100 VU page 824
REFRAIN: 2 “Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, give thanks, and sing.”
Shout to God, all the earth:
worship with gladness and joy.
Come before God with laughter,
our maker to whom we belong.
To the Shepherd who tends us like sheep,
let us raise our voices in song.
Come to God's gates with thanks;
Praise and bless God's name.
'Truly you are good: you are always gracious,
and faithful age after age.'  REFRAIN

7. REFLECTION:

8. HYMN: VU 516 “Come, you thankful people, come”
1.  Come, you thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
safe before the storms begin;
God, our maker, does provide
for our needs to be supplied:
come to God's own temple,
come, raise the song of harvest home!

2.  All the world is God's own field,
harvests for God's praise to yield;
wheat and weeds together sown,
here for joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade, and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear:
Harvest-giver, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

3.  For our God, one day, shall come,
and shall take this harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offences purge away;
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the weeds to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

4.  Even so, God, quickly come
to your final harvest home!
Gather all your people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin;
there forever purified,
in your presence to abide:
come, with all your angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

9.  SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
Philippians 4: 4 - 9
4 Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. 5 Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6 Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. 8 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. 9 You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.

The Gospel of John 6: 25 - 35
25 They found him on the west side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles,[a] but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so. ” 28 “What exactly does God want us to do?” the people asked. 29 Jesus answered, “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent.” 30 They replied, “What miracle will you work, so that we can have faith in you? What will you do? 31 For example, when our ancestors were in the desert, they were given manna[b] to eat. It happened just as the Scriptures say, 'God gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” 32 Jesus then told them, “I tell you for certain that Moses wasn't the one who gave you bread from heaven. My Father is the one who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 And the bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world.”
34 The people said, “Sir, give us this bread and don't ever stop!”
35 Jesus replied: “I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.”

10.  REFLECTION:

11. HYMN: VU 466 “Eat this bread”
Eat this bread, drink this cup;
come to me and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup;
trust in me and you will not thirst.

12.  PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
There are moments, O God, when we are very much aware of how blessed and privileged, we are to live in this place at this time. For the most part, our lives are incomparably easier than the lives of those who have gone before us. Overall, we live with a degree of affluence and security beyond the reach of many of our fellow citizens in this country and on this planet. And yet, these moments of gratitude are often overbalanced by forgetfulness and self-pity. There are times when we can only notice what we do not have and we complain endlessly how bad things are. Having convinced ourselves that we are impoverished and beleaguered, we become resentful and fearful. We do not trust you to provide; we tell ourselves and anyone who will listen that we are entirely self-made. O God, forgive us. Open our minds and our hearts to understand who we really are and how we came to be here. We pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; John Moses

13.  WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
God has provided us: relief for our guilt, freedom from the weight of sin, peace that never wavers, second chances without limit, hope in all circumstances, and God's presence with us for eternity. Through the generous gift of Jesus, our Saviour, be assured your sins are forgiven today. Live with thanksgiving always.
Thanks be to God!
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Elaine Bidgood Sveet

14.  SUNG RESPONSE: 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!
O 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?
re we tempted to despair?
Jesus' strength will shield our weakness,
and we'll find new courage there.

15.  PASSING OF THE PEACE:
Take a slow, deep breath. Hold the air in your lungs and savor the oxygen you need to survive. Exhale the air, recognizing that every molecule is shared with everyone else here. Use the breath you share to speak words of peace and life to one another.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission.

16.  INVITATION TO OFFERING:
Everything we have is a gift from God, so we in return we offer some of these gifts back to God, in gratitude. Our offering will now be received.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Phyllis Fleming

17. OFFERTORY VU 538 “For the Gift of Creation”
For the gift of creation, the gift of your love, and the gift of the Spirit by which we live, we thank you and give you the fruit of our hands. May your grace be proclaimed by the gifts that we give.

18.  OFFERING PRAYER:
Baker of the bread of life, like desert wanderers of old, we seek your manna. We bring our gifts and offerings this day, that the hope of the bread of heaven might be manifested for all. Ground us in the power of the eternal now and satiate the physical, emotional, and spiritual hunger within us.  Amen.
     From the Abingdon Worship Annual 2025.
     Copyright @2024 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission.

19. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER:

20. HYMN: 424 VU  “May the God of Hope Go with Us”
1.  May the God of hope go with us every day,
filling all our lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of justice speed us on our way,
bringing light and hope to every land and race.
Refrain: Praying, let us work for peace,
singing, share our joy with all,
working for a world that's new,
faithful when we hear Christ's call.

2.  May the God of healing free the earth from fear,
freeing us for peace, both treasured and pursued.
May the God of love keep our commitment clear
to a world restored, to human life renewed.  Refrain

21.  BLESSING:
Go into our world, following Jesus and seeking his Way. Go into our world aware of the challenges that are present. Live this Thanksgiving holiday, today and every day, allowing thanksgiving to shape and grow your life by the grace of God.
May it be so.
     Used with permission Pentecost 2 Gathering 2025; Bill Perry

22. THREE FOLD AMEN

Next Sunday:  Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
        October 19, 2025:
         Jeremiah 31:27-34;   Psalm 119:97-104;
         2 Timothy 3: 14 - 4: 5;  Luke 18:1-8.

1. SUNDAY, October 12, 2025  “EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST / THANKSGIVING SUNDAY”   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”   ALL ARE WELCOME!


2. TUESDAY, October 14, 2025  Jubilation Handbell Ringers   If you are interested in ringing some bells, come out and give it a try;   6:30pm in the Choir Room.


3. TUESDAY, October 14, 2025  “YOUTH ACTIVITY CLUB (YAC)”  7:00 - 9:00 PM.  Logie hall GYM  All Youth 12 years and older are welcome


4. SUNDAY, October 19, 2025  “WORLD FOOD SUNDAY / NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST”   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “SPECIAL MUSIC BY JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS”   ALL ARE WELCOME!


5. SUNDAY, October 19, 2025  “SUNDAY BRUNCH”  11:30 AM - 1:00 PM  ALL ARE WELCOME!
   SEE POSTER ON “HAPPENINGS” TAB FOR SUNDAY BRUNCH DATES


6. TUESDAY, October 21, 2025  Jubilation Handbell Ringers   If you are interested in ringing some bells, come out and give it a try;   6:30pm in the Choir Room.


7. TUESDAY, October 21, 2025  “YOUTH ACTIVITY CLUB (YAC)”  7:00 - 9:00 PM.  Logie hall GYM  All Youth 12 years and older are welcome


8. WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2025  “SPEERS UNITED CHURCH FALL SUPPER”  5:00 - 7:00 PM
   COME AND ENJOY THE BOUNTY OF HARVEST
   WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
   [ SEE POSTER ON “HAPPENINGS” TAB FOR FULL DETAILS ]


9. SUNDAY, October 26, 2025  “ROAST BEEF FALL SUPPER”   5:00 - 7:00 PM   Take Out Meals Available by Pre-Order Only  “Phone: 306-445-8171”   ALL ARE WELCOME!
   [ SEE POSTER ON “HAPPENINGS” TAB FOR FULL DETAILS ]