Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 1, 2017
WORLD-WIDE COMMUNION
Dorchester United Church
Wherever you are, whoever you are, Join us in our Journey!
WE GATHER TO PRAISE GOD
TO PONDER:
There is a tendency to complain about almost anything that causes us
displeasure. Can it be that God is the one with whom we are dissatisfied?
MUSIC PRELUDE
HYMN:
"We Gather Here" V.U. 469
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Our ancestors told us all that God has done.
We will tell it to our children and to our children's children.
God's glorious deeds and wonderful acts will not be forgotten.
In reverence and humility we come before God.
God has brought us into this place to equip us for service.
We will praise the Name of God as the Spirit gives us utterance.
OPENING PRAYER
From eternity, O God, You have cared for creation. Yet You have not
forsaken us, Your children. You tend to the earth and watch over its
harvest. You graciously provide for our journey. In this hour of praise and
thanksgiving, we rejoice in the new day You have given us. We entrust to
Your care the worries that have overcome us. Thirsting for Your Word, we
worship Jesus who is living water. We pray in His name. AMEN
HYMN:
"One Bread, One Body" V.U. 467
TIME WITH THE CHILDREN
SERVICE OF LIGHTING THE CANDLE
The light of a new day has illumined our path.
We will no longer stumble in the darkness.
ANTHEM
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Families gather around the dinner table to share a meal. As the global
family of Christians gathers around God's table today, many are missing.
Many of us squabble with each other. We confess the brokenness of the
Christian family. As a family that spans the world, we too often embody the
worst aspects of family life. Our daily quarrels have shattered world
peace. God, have mercy upon the members of this broken family. Forgive us
when we fail to treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. AMEN
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
God in Christ forgives us for dwelling in isolation. In the cross there is
reconciliation for all the members of the human family.
WE HEAR GOD'S LOVING WORD FOR US
RESPONSIVE PSALM:
Psalm 78, parts one and two (V.U. 792)
RESPONSE: V.U. 400
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord, send your Spirit in this place,
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Send us love, send us power, send us grace.
HYMN:
"Draw the Circle wide" M.V. 145
GOD'S WORD ENACTED FOR US
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
God has broken down the walls that make us strangers to one another.
We are the body of Christ. We enact our faith around this table.
Christ's broken body is restored to wholeness. His blood poured out brings
healing to our world.
PASSING THE PEACE
OFFERING INVITATION
OFFERTORY RESPONSE:
For food in a world where many walk in hunger, for friends in a world where
many walk alone, for faith in a world where many walk in fear, we give you
thanks,
O God. V.U.552
OFFERTORY PRAYER
May the God who transformed water into wine transform our very lives.
May that same power be upon these gifts that the ordinary in our lives
become extraordinary. We ask your blessing in Jesus' Name.
THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
We long, O God, for community but often forget our dreams in the morning.
Your everlasting arms surround us as You call us by name reminding us
that we are Your people.
We stretch out our arms to embrace the alien and the stranger in our midst.
New friends and forgotten dreams tell of your body broken and Your
blood poured out to transform our living and renew our vision.
ake us whole again by Your Spirit that we may receive in the bread that we
eat and the cup that we drink the mystery of true communion.
THE WORDS OF THE INSTITUTION
FRACTION
DISTRIBUTION
POST COMMUNION PRAYER
For the bread we have eaten and the wine we have tasted, we give you
thanks, Holy God. May what we have said and done here so put its mark upon
us that we may become mature Christians. AMEN
WE RESPOND TO GOD'S WORD IN FAITH AND ACTION
HYMN:
"Jesu, Jesu, Fill us with Your Love" V.U. 593
