ST. COLUMBA
ANGLICAN UNITED CHURCH
Lent 3
United Church Service of the Word
March 23, 2025
Worship leader: Rev. Bob Gilbert
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
Ministers: Rev. Sheila Cook
(250)-230-7433 scook@bc.anglican.ca
and Rev. Bob Gilbert (250) 686-5695
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
~ Asterisk* stand as you are able
Welcome and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement
THE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY
Call To Worship
Seek the Lord while God may be found. Call upon God who is near.
We will return to the Lord our God.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God’s ways are not our ways.
We come, seeking new paths to follow.
As the heavens are higher than the earth so are God’s ways higher than ours.
We come as pilgrims on the journey, praising God along the way.
Let us worship God with thankful hearts!
*Hymn: VU 222 Come, Let Us Sing
Come, let us sing to the Lord our song,
we have stood silently too long;
surely the Lord deserves our praise,
so joyfully thank God for our days.
O thirsty soul, come drink at the well;
God's living waters will never fail.
Surely the Lord will help you to stand,
strengthened and comforted by God's hand.
You dwell among us and cause us to pray,
and walk with each other following your way;
our precious brothers and sisters will grow
in the fulfilling love they know.
Deserts shall bloom and mountains shall sing
to the desire of all living things.
Come, all you creatures, high and low,
let your praises endlessly flow.
Words and music: Jim Strathdee
Opening Prayer
God, our Creator and Sustainer, in you we live and move and have our being.
In your depths we find meaning; in your heights we find light and joy. You are the source of peace and hope for all who turn to you.
You alone have been our help and our guide,
You give us strength and courage when we face challenges.
In you we find rest and welcome along the way.
We praise you, O God, for your steadfast love.
Draw near to us once more in this time of worship.
Reveal your purposes for us and prepare us for the days ahead.
May our lives witness to your mercy and grace as we follow Jesus. Amen.
Lenten Candle Liturgy Lent 3 – The Candle of Joy
(four candles plus the Christ candle are lit.)
On the third Sunday of Advent, we lit a candle to acknowledge the joy that runs through our veins and reigns in our hearts.
We rest in the glow of that candle now. (a moment of silence)
As we consider this idea of joy, it can ring false in our present times and can cause us to feel that it is not right to reveal how joyful we are truly feeling or to reach out to someone who might be struggling to find happiness in their own lives.
As we gaze upon this pink candle, representing joy, our hearts may find it hard to rejoice in our present climate. So much is going wrong. So much suffering is happening in the lives of so many, how can we feel good in the midst of it?
As the shadows of Lent draw nearer, we extinguish our candle of joy, just for today, as we seek to comfort and be comforted in times of trial.
Hymn VU 108 Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights (verse 1)
Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way,
where, meeting Christ, our guide and light,
we live in hope till Easter Day.
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
Hutlilala’s! Listen deeply as Scripture is proclaimed.
Prayer of Illumination
Isaiah 55:1-9
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 63:1-8 VU 781
Refrain 2: My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.
You are my God, I long for you from early morning. My whole being desires you like a dry, worn, waterless land. My soul thirsts for you.
In the sanctuary let me see how mighty are your works; your constant love is better than life itself, and so I will praise you.
R2: My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.
I will give thanks as long as I live; I raise my hands in prayer.
My soul will feast and be filled, and I will sing and praise you.
R2: My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.
As I lie in bed, I remember you, O God; I think of you all night long, for you are my constant help.
In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. I cling to you; your hand keeps me safe.
R2: My soul is thirsting for you, O God, my God.
Music: Michel Guimont.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
*Hymn: VU 663 My Faith Looks Up to Thee
My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary, Saviour divine.
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away.
O let me from this day be wholly thine.
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread, be thou my guide,
bid darkness turn to day; wipe sorrow’s tears away;
nor let me ever stray from thee aside.
May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire.
As thou hast died for me, O may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be, a living fire.
*The Gospel
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 13:1-9
This is the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Prayer of Confession
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Prayers of the People
Prayer leader: Loving God,
Response: turn our hearts to you.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
The Peace
The peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.
(We share a sign of peace with one another)
Invitation to the Offering
*Hymn: VU 356 Seek Ye First the Kingdom
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and God’s righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Hallelu, hallelujah.
Ask and it shall be given unto you;
seek and you shall find;
knock and the door shall be opened unto you.
Hallelu, hallelujah.
We do not live by bread alone,
but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Hallelu, hallelujah.
Words and Music: Karen Lafferty
*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
Hymn: VU 274 Your Hand, O God, Has Guided (verses.1-4)
Your hand, O God, has guided
your flock from age to age;
the wondrous tale is written,
full clear, on every page.
Our forebears owned your goodness,
and we their deeds record;
and both of this bear witness:
one church, one faith, one Lord.
Your heralds brought glad tidings
to greatest as to least;
they bade them rise, and hasten
to share the heavenly feast.
And this was all their teaching,
in every deed and word,
to all alike proclaiming:
one church, one faith, one Lord.
Through many days of darkness,
through many scenes of strife,
the faithful few fought bravely
to guard your people's life.
Their gospel of redemption,
sin pardoned, earth restored,
was all in this enfolded:
one church, one faith, one Lord.
And we, shall we be faithless?
Shall hearts fail, hands hang down?
Shall we evade the conflict
and cast away our crown?
Not so: in God's deep counsels
some better thing is stored;
we will maintain, unflinching,
one church, one faith, one Lord.
Commissioning and Benediction
*Three-fold Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God! Gilakas’la!
Announcements
Coffee following the service!
Canned and dried food are always appreciated
Mission Focus: Camp Spirit Lenten Study Tuesdays at 2:00 PM
April 14-17 & 19th Holy Week Worship 11:00 AM In person and via Zoom at St. John’s Port Alice
Liturgical Resources:
Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, Invitation to the Offering, Prayer Over the Gifts, Prayers of the People, Commissioning and Benediction adapted from Presbyterian Church in Canada Worship Resources – March 23, 2025.
Prayer of Confession – Anglican Book of Common Prayer
Sermon Resources:
“Crooked little heart”, by The Rev. Rob Gieselmann in
https://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2013/02/11/3-lent-c-2013/ March 3, 2013.
“Beyond What’s Fair” by The Rev. Dr. Robert Dunham in http://day1.org/1758-beyond_what’s_fair March 7, 2010.
“The Sermon – An Approach” by Richard L. Thulin in Word & Witness, Vol. 98:2 (Year C), p. 76 Editor: Paul Scott Wilson. Liturgical Publications Inc. New Berlin, WI. 1998.
“Luke 13:1-9” in Emphasis, Volume 27, Number 6, p. 25. Editorial Director: Teresa Rhoads.
CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Lima, Ohio. March-April 1998.
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 222 Come Let Us Sing Words: Jim Strathdee, 1976; Music: Jim Strathdee, 1976; piano arrangement Jean Strathdee, 1976. Words, Music, Arrangement copyright © 1977 Desert Flower Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#60010) or CCLI License #11033010 (7068569). All rights reserved.
Voices United 108 Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights Words: James Gertmenian; Music: Musikalisches Handbuch, Hamburg 1690; arr. W. H. Havergal 1864. Words copyright © 1993 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#12108). All rights reserved.
Voices United 781 Psalm 63 Refrain 2 Words: Public domain. Music: © 1985 Michel Guimont. All rights reserved. Permission for all use on file via email from Michel Guimont. All rights reserved.
Voices United 663 My Faith Looks Up to Thee Words: Ray Palmer, 1830; Music: Lowell Mason, 1831. Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 356 Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God Words and Music: Karen Lafferty 1972. Words, Music, Descant: © 1972 Maranatha! Music (copyright now held by CCCM Music, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.). International copyright secured. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under CCLI License # 11033010 (1352) or reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#400 reprint only). 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 274 Your Hand, O God, Has Guided Words: Edward H Plumtree, 1864; Music: Basil Harwood, 1898; descant William Renwick, 1991. Words copyright: Public domain. Music by permission of Executors of the late Dr. Basil Harwood. Copyright, now public domain. Descant copyright © William Renwick. [Descant never sung or played.] All rights reserved.
