ST. COLUMBA
ANGLICAN-UNITED CHURCH
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 25, 2024
United Church Gathering
Mission Statement
As followers of Jesus Christ, our church is a community called to love, honour, worship, and serve God. We invite others to share our Christian journey as we grow in faith and engage in ministry in our town and mission in our world.
9190 Granville Street
PO Box 1260, Port Hardy, BC V0N 2P0
Office Phone: 250-949-6247
E-mail: admin@stcolumbaporthardy.ca
Wardens: Robert Fyles and Heather Jones
Treasurer: Judy Fyles
Music Ministry: Roldan Yuipco
Video: Ammie Yuipco
Community Partner: Cathie Wilson
www.stcolumbaporthardy.ca
~Leader: regular font
~ All: bold font
~ Sung words: bold italics
~ Asterix* stand as you are able
Welcome and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement & Prayer for the Holy Land
THE COMMUNITY GATHERS BEFORE GOD
Call to Worship
We find you when we are at home, loving God.
We find you as we support a family member.
We find you when we are at work, loving God.
We find you as we welcome a newcomer and as challenges are faced and overcome.
We find you in our leisure time.
We find you in the joy of meeting new friends and in the insights of fresh learning.
And we find you here in church.
We find you as we sing and pray and as your Word is revealed in scripture.
There are no limits to your loving presence.
There are no limits or boundaries to your love.
*Hymn: VU 220 Praise to the Lord
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, who rules all creation;
O my soul, praise him, at all times your health and salvation.
Come, all who hear,
brothers and sisters draw near,
joining in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, above all things so mightily reigning,
keeping us safe at his side, and so gently sustaining.
Have you not seen,
how all you needed has been
met by God's gracious ordaining?
Praise to the Lord, who will prosper our work and defend us;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend us:
ponder anew
what the Almighty can do
who out of love will befriend us.
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen
sound from God's people again:
gladly with praise we adore him.
Opening Prayer
THE STORY OF FAITH IS PROCLAIMED
Hutłilala's! Listen deeply as Scripture is proclaimed.
Hebrew Scripture: 1 Kings 8 (1-6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84 VU 800
Refrain: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts, to me.
How lovely is your dwelling place, God of hosts! My soul longs, even faints for the courts of God;
my heart and my flesh cry for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a house, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young,
at your altars, God of hosts, my sovereign, my God.
R: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts, to me.
Happy are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise.
Happy are those whose strength is in you, who have set their heart on pilgrimage.
Going through the valley of Baca they find a spring from which also to drink;
the early rain also covers it with pools of water.
They go from strength to strength,
to appear before God in Zion.
R: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts, to me.
O God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob.
Behold, O God, our shield, look on the face of your anointed.
Truly a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For you, God, are a sun and shield, you will give grace and honour. No good things will you withhold from those who live the upright life.
O God of hosts, happy are those who put their trust in you.
R: How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts, to me.
Epistle: Ephesians 6: 10-20
*Hymn: VU 603 In Loving Partnership We Come
In loving partnership we come,
seeking, O God, your will to do.
Our prayers and actions now receive;
we freely offer them to you.
We are the hands and feet of Christ,
serving by grace each other's need.
We dare to risk and sacrifice
with truthful word and faithful deed.
Loving community we seek;
your hope and strength within us move.
The poor and rich, the strong and weak
are brought together in your love.
In loving partnership, O God,
help us your future to proclaim.
Justice and peace be our desire,
we humbly pray in Jesus' name.
Words and music: Jim Strathdee
*Gospel: John 6: 56-69
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon Reflection
Prayers of the People
Minute for Mission/ PWRDF
We will face the challenges unafraid,
for the Spirit Goes with us.
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, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Peace
The peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.
*Hymn: VU 227 For the Fruit of All Creation
For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
For the gifts to every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth's safekeeping,
thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labour,
God's will is done.
In the help we give our neighbour,
God's will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God's will is done.
For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.
Words: Fred Pratt Green; Music: Welsh folk melody.
*Response: 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.
Prayer over the Gifts
We rejoice in this faith community, loving God.
Here, prayers and praise find a voice. Here we find spiritual strength. Here we know the support of friends.
We rejoice in this faith community, loving God.
Here we are aware of God’s eternal goodness. Here our talents are valued and put to good use. Here our gifts are tokens of all we offer to God.
God receives and blesses our offering.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Commissioning
You give us all we need to faithfully serve you, living God.
You give us the truth and the will to continue to search for it. You give us the faithful way and the willingness to follow it. You give us the good news of peace and the desire to be peacemakers. You give us the hope of salvation and the resolve to be among those you save. You give us the Word and the urgent need to share that Word.
You are ambassadors for Jesus Christ in this time and place. God will go with you!
Thanks be to God. Amen! Gilakas’la!
*Hymn: VU 651 Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell's destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to thee
I will ever give to thee.
*Three-fold Amen
Announcements
Canned and dried food are always appreciated.
Mission Focus: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Events
Liturgical resources:
Gathering: Resources for Worship Planning: Pentecost 1, 2024 Year B ©2024 The United Church of Canada
Responsive Prayers for Every Week of the Church Year: Year B Copyright © 2020 David Sparks
Prayers for All Seasons: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary Copyright ©Woodlake Publishing
Music Copyright:
Words for hymns reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 or CCLI License # 11033010. All rights reserved.
Voices United 220 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty Words: Joachim Neander 1860, English translation Catherine Winkworth, 1863; Music: Stralsund Gesangbuch 1665. Words, English Translation, Music: Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 800 Psalm 84 Refrain Adapted from Johann Michael Haydn, 1806. Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 603 In Loving Partnership We Come Words and music: Jim Strathdee, 1982. Words and music copyright © 1983 Desert Flower Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (117686). All rights reserved.
Voices United 227 For the Fruit of All Creation Words: Fred Pratt Green, 1970; Music: Welsh folk melody, ca. 1784. Words copyright © 1970 Hope Publishing Company. Music: Public Domain. Words reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#30684) or CCLI License # 11033010 (5072547). All rights reserved.
Voices United 540 Grant Us, God, the Grace Words: anonymous; Music: attributed Christian F. Witt, P, Psalmodia Sacra, 1715; adaptation Henry John Gauntlett, 1861. Words and music copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 651 Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah Words: William Williams, 1745; English trans. Peter Williams and William Williams 1771. Music: John Hughes, 1905. Copyright: Public domain.
