ST. COLUMBA
ANGLICAN UNITED CHURCH
Easter
United Church Communion
April 20, 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: Judy Fyles
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
THE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY
Lighting the Christ Candle
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
(John 1:5) (the Christ Candle is lit)
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Hymn: VU 155 Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Jesus Christ is risen today, hallelujah!
our triumphant holy day, hallelujah!
who did once, upon the cross, hallelujah!
suffer to redeem our loss. Hallelujah!
Hymns of praise then let us sing hallelujah!
unto Christ, our heavenly King, hallelujah!
who endured the cross and grave, hallelujah!
sinners to redeem and save. Hallelujah!
But the pains which he endured, hallelujah!
our salvation have procured; hallelujah!
now above the sky he’s King, hallelujah!
where the angels ever sing. Hallelujah!
Sing we to our God above, hallelujah!
praise eternal as God's love; hallelujah!
praise our God, ye heavenly host, hallelujah!
praise the Son and Holy Ghost. Hallelujah!
Welcome and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement
Call To Worship
After nights of deep darkness,
we come in the bright light of this Easter morning.
We come in search of something.
We come in search of the living.
We come in search of the Living One,
the Resurrected One.
We come with eyes open to the dark emptiness of the tomb.
We come with ears tuned to hear the angel proclamation:
Christ is not here, for he is risen.
Christ is risen indeed!
Opening Prayer
God of resurrection, you have rolled the stone away,
and the tomb of our world has been opened wide.
With the dawn has come a new creation.
Let our celebration today:
empty our tombs, renew our lives, and release your power, through the risen Christ we pray. Amen.
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
Hutlilala’s! Listen deeply as Scripture is proclaimed.
Prayer of Illumination
Isaiah 65:17-25
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 VU 837 Parts One, Two, Three
Refrain: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Let Israel now say:
'God's love endures for ever.'
Let the house of Aaron say:
'God's love endures for ever.'
Let those who fear God say:
'God's love endures for ever.'
R: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God is my strength and my song; God has become my salvation.
There are shouts of joy and deliverance in the tents of the righteous.
The right hand of God does mighty things; the right hand of God raises up.
The right hand of God does mighty things.
I shall not die, but live; and I shall proclaim what God has done.
God indeed punished me, but did not give me over to death.
R: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Open to me the gates of the temple, that I may enter and give thanks to God.
This is the gate of God; through it the righteous shall enter.
I thank you for you have answered me; you have become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
This is God's doing, marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
R: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God
Hymn: MV 121 Hey Now! Singing Hallelujah!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Jesus loved people and he made them friends.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
He called to the children and the women and men.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Jesus healed people and he helped them be well.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
He taught about God in the stories he’d tell.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Jesus loved people and they said he was a king.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
He turned all the tables on everything.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Jesus had power and they took him away.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
They nailed him to a cross and they killed him one day.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Jesus loves people and he lives again!
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Calls us disciples and he calls us his friends.
Hey now, the tomb was empty.
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
Hey now! The morning has come!
Hey now! Singing hallelujah!
The tomb was empty at the rising sun.
Words and music: Linnea Good.
The Gospel
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
John 20:1-18
This is the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
Prayers of the People
Presider: Resurrecting God
Response: hear our prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (sung VU 960)
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 them that 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.
(We share a sign of peace with one another)
Invitation to the Offering
Hymn: VU 468 Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ
Let us talents and tongues employ,
reaching out with a shout of joy:
bread is broken, the wine is poured,
Christ is spoken and seen and heard.
Jesus lives again,
earth can breathe again,
pass the Word around:
loaves abound! (repeat refrain)
Christ is able to make us one,
at the table he set the tone,
teaching people to live to bless,
love in word and in deed express.
Jesus lives again,
earth can breathe again,
pass the Word around:
loaves abound! (repeat refrain)
Jesus calls us in, sends us out,
bearing fruit in a world of doubt,
gives us love to tell, bread to share:
God (Immanuel) everywhere!
Jesus lives again,
earth can breathe again,
pass the Word around:
loaves abound! (repeat refrain)
Words: Fred Kaan
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
THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Invitation
The Great Thanksgiving
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to God most holy.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Hallelujah, thanks and praise, ever-living God, worker of wonders, maker of miracles, author of all life and giver of life eternal! Out of chaos and fear you bring beauty and hope. Out of despair and death you create courage and new life.
And so, with the risen Christ, who makes all things new by the power of his resurrection, we rejoice with Mary at the tomb in the song of a new day, to sing your praise: (VU 932)
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of power and might; heaven and earth are filled with your glory. Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in your name. Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!
On the night before Jesus died, he had supper with his disciples. He took bread, thanked you as we have thanked you, broke the bread and gave it to his friends saying, “Take this, all of you, and eat it. This is my body given for you. Each time you eat this bread, remember me.”
After supper he took the wine, thanked you for it, and passed a cup of wine to his friends, saying, “This cup is the new promise God has made with you in my blood. Each time you drink from this cup, remember me.”
In the bread broken and the cup poured, we proclaim the good news of Christ which restores to memory and hope those who are broken and unremembered. We long for the bread of tomorrow and the wine of the age to come. Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we say:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Come, life-giving Spirit of God, bring us together in unity at your table. Shower us with your grace that we may know, in the depths of our being, that each one of us is dearly loved. May these gifts of life be a sign of your grace to us. Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever.
Amen.
Sharing the Bread and the Cup
Prayer after Communion
Hymn: VU 173 Thine Is the Glory
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son:
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment
rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes
where the body lay.
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
Lo, Jesus meets us,
risen from the tomb!
lovingly he greets us,
scatters fear and gloom.
Let the church with gladness
hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord now liveth:
death hath lost its sting.
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
No more we doubt thee,
glorious Prince of life;
Life is nought without thee:
aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors,
through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan
to thy home above.
Thine is the glory,
risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory
thou o’er death hast won.
Commissioning and Benediction
Go now as God’s faithful people.
We go now as faithful followers of the Risen Christ.
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Be exceedingly glad.
We rejoice in his salvation.
May God raise you from all that would entomb you; May Christ Jesus call you by name and go ahead of you; And may the Holy Spirit empower you for all that is good.
Three-fold Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God! Amen! Gilakas’la!
Announcements
- Refreshments and fellowship following the service!
- Canned and dried food are always appreciated for our blessing box
- Mission Focus: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls & Red Dress Day local events
- April 25 10:00 AM Church Council meeting
- April 27 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon worship with Rev. Sheila Cook
Liturgical Resources:
Call To Worship – from ‘Spacious Faith’ – Worship Liturgy and other Writings from Joanna Harader
Opening Prayer – from Voices United 174 by Joan McMurtry 1991
Prayers of the People – adapted from The Presbyterian Church in Canada Worship Planner – 2025
Communion Liturgy – United Church unknown source
Sermon Resources:
“Resurrected, Not Rescued” by R. Craig MacCreary in Pulpit Digest, March/April 1999, pp. 55-59. Editor: David Albert Farmer. Logos Productions Inc. Inver Grove Heights MN.
“Is There Any Hope?” by the Rev. Dr. William L. Self in http://day1.org/1037-is_there_any_hope April 8, 2007.
“The Sermon” by The Rev. Dr. Laura Smit in Preaching – Word and Witness, Vol. 01:3 (Year C), pp. 51-52. Editors: Paul Scott Wilson and John M. Rottman. Liturgical Publications Inc. New Berlin, WI. 2001.
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 155 Jesus Christ is Risen Today Words and Music: Lyra Davidica 1708. Words, Music copyright: Public domain. [Descant © Derek Holman (1931-2019) Descant never played or sung].
Voices United 837 Psalm 118 Refrain Albert Ham ca. 1900. Public domain.
More Voices 121 Hey Now, Singing Hallelujah! Words and music: Linnea Good, 1998. Words and music copyright © 1998 Borealis Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#97084) or CCLI License # 11033010 (3128156). All rights reserved.
Voices United 960 The Lord’s Prayer Adaptation Richard Langdon 1730-1803. Copyright: Public domain.
Voices United 468 Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ Words: Fred Kaan; Music: Jamaican folk song, adapt. Doreen Potter. Words and music adaptation copyright © 1975 Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted, streamed and/or podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#95156) or CCLI License # 11033010 (178577). 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 932 Holy, Holy, Holy (Sanctus and Benedictus) Setting: Marty Haugen. Music copyright © 1990 G.I.A. Publications Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-720359 (#G3488H). All rights reserved.
Voices United 173 Thine Is the Glory Words: Edmond Louis Budry 1884; translation Richard Birch Hoyle 1923; Music: Harmonia Sacra ca. 1753; arrangement from George Frederic Handel 1747. Words and music copyright: Public domain.
