The
Congregations of St. Mark’s and St. David’s
United
Church of Canada
Port
Hawkesbury/Port Hastings, NS
Office:
625-2229, Fax 625-3597, e-mail: stmarksuc@gmail.com
Blog:
http://ourcontactonline.blogspot.com/
Presbytery
Website: inverguyunited.ca
Ministers:
The Whole People of God Minister: Nan Corrigan D. M.
Minister
of Music: Al Fougere
January
10th, 2016-Baptism of Jesus
Announcements The
Work of Church and Community
WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD
Greeting
One:
The peace of Christ be with you. All: And with your spirit
*Introit
Responsive reading from A
Song of Faith
Sung
Response: Out of Deep... VU
453 Refrain only
There
is water in the river
bringing
life to tree and plant.
Let
creation praise its giver:
there
is water in the font.
To
point to the presence of the holy in the world,
the
church receives, consecrates, and shares
visible
signs of the grace of God.
In
company with the churches
of
the Reformed and Methodist traditions,
we
celebrate two sacraments as gifts of Christ:
baptism
and holy communion.
In
these sacraments the ordinary things of life
—water,
bread, wine—
point
beyond themselves to God and God’s love,
teaching
us to be alert
to
the sacred in the midst of life.
Before
conscious thought or action on our part,
we
are born into the brokenness of this world.
Before
conscious thought or action on our part,
we
are surrounded by God’s redeeming love.
Baptism
by water in the name of the Holy Trinity
is
the means by which we are received, at any age,
into
the covenanted community of the church.
It
is the ritual that signifies our rebirth in faith
and
cleansing by the power of God.
Baptism
signifies the nurturing, sustaining,
and
transforming power of God’s love
and
our grateful response to that grace.
Responsive
Reading excerpted from A Song of Faith:
A Statement
of Faith of the United Church of Canada
Sung
Response: There is water in
the river
bringing
life to tree and plant.
Let
creation praise its giver:
there
is water in the font.
*Call
to Worship
One: The
Spirit of God danced over the waters of creation,
All:
shaping love from chaos.
One: The
Spirit of God parted the waters of the sea,
All:
revealing love’s power to free us.
One: The
Spirit of God hovered over Jordan’s waters,
All:
declaring a love that has no limits.
One: The
Spirit of God comes to us in the gift of water,
All:
proclaiming, “You are my beloved.”
One: The
Spirit of God asks this day, and always, that you would simply allow
yourself to be loved.
All:
Come let us worship the Spirit of Love.
Opening
Prayer
Creator
God, the baptismal waters remind us of creation
and
we remember you have created us as your people.
This
is good news!
You
sent your son, Jesus Christ, to be the presence of love among us and
to show us how to be more loving.
This
is good news!
You
send your Spirit to teach us how to follow in your Way with our words
and actions.
This
is good news! As we receive your good news, help us to be good news
for others. Amen.
*Hymn God,
We Pray at This Beginning VU 443
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
Isaiah
43:1–7 When you pass through the
waters, I’ll be with you.
One:
Herein is Wisdom. All: Thanks be to God.
Psalm
29 God’s
voice is over the waters.
VU 756
*
Hymn Sing Praise to God, Who Has Shaped VU 221
Opening
the Word & The Lord’s Prayer
Gospel
Acclamation
Luke
3:15-18, 21-22 Jesus is baptized by
John.
One:
Herein is Good News. All: Praise be to God.
Opening
the Word 2 Meditation on Water
*The
community is invited to come up to the bowl, dip fingers into the
water and offer their own silent prayers of thanks for baptism and
the gift of water.
WE
RESPOND IN FAITH
*Affirmation
of Faith A New Creed VU 918
*
Hymn Breathe On Me, Breath of God
VU 382
Minute
for Mission & Offering Our Gifts to God
*
Offering Prayer
One:
El Shaddai, Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai: your name is music and meaning.
You have named us as well, and our names not only identify us, but
hold the key to our true identities.
All:
Help us to be worthy of the name you have given us: beloved, be love,
Christ followers, God’s children. May our small gifts do your work
of love throughout our community and the world. Amen.
Prayers
of Thanksgiving and Intercession
WE GO TO SERVE GOD
*
Hymn Be Not Afraid Printed
Commissioning
and Benediction
Let
us depart, beloved of God,
showered
in abundant blessings,
seeking
the reflection of Christ in all we meet,
and
being a reflection of Christ to all we greet.
*
Choral Amen
