Bulletin – Sunday, October 26, 2025 – 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, October 26, 2025
20th Sunday after Pentecost
We Gather as People of Faith
Welcome
Announcements
Lighting the Christ Candle
Christ is the light that brings hope into the darkness of the world. Wisdom that burns bright in our hearts. That provides comfort to our brokenness and balm to our wounds. And keep us walking the good road with joy in our hearts on the journey of life.
Call to Worship
Come let us open our hearts to the warm embrace of the loving Mother. Let our minds be attuned to the wisdom of God the Father. Let our souls be transformed by the embodied spirit of God. Incarnate in the risen Christ alive among us.
Please join in the singing of the hymn – “Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom” (More Voices #10)
Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,
She who danced with earth was new.
Follow closely what she teachers,
For her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path to justice,
Showing us what love must do.
Listen to the voice of Wisdom,
Crying in the marketplace.
Hear the Word made flesh among us,
Full of glory, truth, and grace.
When the word takes root and ripens,
Peace and righteousness embrace.
Sister Wisdom, come, assist us;
Nurture all who seek rebirth.
Spirit-guide and close companion,
Bring to light our sacred worth.
Free us to become your people,
Holy friends of God and earth.
Prayer of Approach and Confession
All: God we go east:
One: You call us into being in the light as we journey towards You. Let this light be in our lives, the brilliant sun of justice.
All: God, we go north:
One: You turn our faces inward to make the darkness and coldness of our hearts. Melt the ice that encases our minds. Unseal the frostiness of our struggling hearts.
All: God, we go south:
One: You open to us the lightsome paths of wisdom. Teach us to choose well, To befriend the spirit of choice.
All: God, we go west:
One: You point again to the Scriptures where we meet Your word. On the highways and byways of Life. Open our eyes to the flashing forth of these brilliant rays of light.
All: Go with each of us: as we each go with you.
(Seeking the Ways of God: Praying with the Women Mystics: Inspired by Hildegarde Bingen)
Words of Assurance
God incarnate – Sophia wisdom, together you created the universe in love and compassion. God incarnate – Jesus the wisdom way. We trust your guidance and your voice in the wilderness. Show us the path of your generosity and the way to love one another as you love us.
Sung Response – “Glory to the Creator” (Then Let Us Sing #4)
Glory to the creator,
And the Christ and the Spirit so near,
As it was from the start so it shall be-
Forever one God always here.
Glory to the creator,
And the Christ and the Spirit so near,
As it was from the start so it shall be-
Forever one God always here.
One God, always here,
One God, always here.
A Time for All Ages “Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes.”
(Wab Kinew, Author / Joe Morse, Illustrator)
We Hear God’s Word
Please join in the singing of the hymn “We Long to Know Her” (Then Let Us Sing #56)
We long to know her, the maker of heaven,
Knitter of sinews and planter of grains,
Guardian of sheep and the founder of vineyards:
She is the strong-hold who gently sustains.
She is the sculptor who carved earth from darkness,
Architect building creation from dust.
She is the potter who formed us and made us,
Gave us her breath, and now years for our trust.
We long to hear her, bold thunder of heaven:
Voice among voices that summon the soul;
Without her presence, there is no completeness;
With her unheard, heaven cannot be whole.
We know her laughter is piecing the cosmos;
We know she judges injustice on earth.
Shelter and shield of the hopeless and helpless,
From her we learn of our infinite worth.
We long to see you, veiled wonder of heaven:
Hidden from view, be revealed in the light.
Open our eyes to your wisdom around us;
Author of beauty, enliven our sight.
Heart of the holy and hands of the sacred,
God-head uniting compassion and might:
Bearing your likeness, impatient to greet you,
We come to worship in awe and delight!
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 8:1-34
22 “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. 24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, 29 when he gave the sea its boundary, so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
32 “Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. 34 Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
Scripture Reading: Wisdom 7:26-8:1-11
26 She’s the brightness that shines forth from eternal light. She’s a mirror that flawlessly reflects God’s activity. She’s the perfect image of God’s goodness.27 She can do anything, since she’s one and undivided. She never changes, and yet she makes everything new. Generation after generation, she enters souls and shapes them into God’s friends and prophets. 28 God doesn’t love anything as much as people who make their home with Wisdom. 29 She’s more splendid than the sun and more wonderful than the arrangement of the stars. She’s even brighter than sunlight, 30 for night follows day, but evil can never overcome Wisdom.
1 She stands strong from one end of the world to the other. She is a marvelous governor over everything in between. 2 From my youth, I loved her and sought her out. I sought to make her my bride. I burned within for her beauty. 3 She honors her dignified birth by sharing her life with God. The master of all loves her. 4 She knows God’s secret ways and is a partner in God’s works. 5 If wealth is a possession to be desired with all one’s heart, what could be wealthier than Wisdom, who has given form to everything? 6 If thoughtful planning accomplishes things, who could possibly be wiser than she who designed everything that is? 7 If anyone loves to do what is right, laboring with Wisdom will produce every virtue. She trains persons to learn moderation and practical wisdom. She teaches them what is right and how to exercise courage. Nothing is more advantageous than these when it comes to human existence. 8 If someone wants to gain experience, she’s the one to teach it: She knows what has been from the beginning and sees what is yet to come. She can figure out puzzles of language and resolve riddles. She knows beforehand what signs and wonders point to. She knows what will happen in time and during the seasons of the year.
9 For these reasons, I decided to bring her to live with me. I knew that she would be a good counselor. I knew that she would be able to offer me advice when there were concerns or suffering. 10 I knew that crowds would honor me because of her and that my elders would esteem me, even though I was just a young man. 11 I knew that people would say that I had good judgment because of her. I knew that other leaders would admire me.
May God speak to us through these readings of scripture.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Sophia Wisdom: The Mystical God embodied in Jesus the Christ”
Anthem “Song of Fellowship”
We are here this day to share God’s love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place we are bound as one
In this fellowship we share.
Whether weak or strong, whether old or young,
When we’re feeling lost and alone,
There is comfort here in this family of God
Where love and friendship grow.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
There fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
May the peace of God be with us all
To guide our hearts and minds,
And help us reach beyond these walls
To share the friendship we find.
Blest be the tie that binds.
We Respond to God’s Word
Invitation to Share
Offering Sung Response – “Grant Us, God, the Grace of Giving” (Voices United #540)
Grant Us, God, the Grace of Giving,
With a spirit large and free,
That ourselves and all our living
We may offer faithfully.
Offering Prayer
What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to the Son of God fourteen hundred years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born.
Let these gifts we offer today be midwives to the work of love, mercy, and justice that God calls us to. So that we can show how to love one another and our neighbours as God loves us.
(adapted from Meister Eckhart)
Prayers of the People
A Creed by Hildegard Bingen
One: Spirit of life, bless us as we enter this new time, And as we bless one another in peace. In this time of hope we wish to affirm life for all.
All: We commit ourselves again to bring your hope of freedom to all who suffer despair. Fill us with a thirst for Your Justice and teach us to move beyond reliance on empty promise and false hopes.
One: Spirit of life, renew our vision of a different possibility, a different world. Open the eyes of those who are fed to the cries of the hungry. Move the hearts of those who are whole to offer healing to those who suffer. Turn our eyes inward and outward to the beauties within and without.
All: Help us to care for your presence in the sap-filled plants, in the soaring birds, in the murmuring ocean, in the gurgling streams with the families of fish, and in our own hearts, often broken, sometimes healed.
One: Spirit of life, renew our dreams. Help us to attend to Your voice and to know your call amid all the others. Repair our dreams for the future when they have become ragged.
All: Bless all for the future, and grant them loving and listening friends and family. Open for them a way of peace that their children and their children’s children may receive an inheritance of womanly grace and hope. Amen we pray. Amen.
(New Beginnings)
Passing of the Peace
The Prayer Jesus Taught Us:
One: Please join me in praying as Jesus taught us: Our Creator who is like
All: Our Mother and our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, now ever and forever. Amen.
We Go Into God’s World
Please join in the singing of the hymn – “Who will Speak a Word of Warning” (Then Let Us Sing #130)
Who will speak a word of warning
To a world whose wealth expands,
As the growing wealth is gathered
Into ever fewer hands?
Christ, you speak a word of warning
For the church to know and tell:
Greed is death and life is giving;
Hands that give receive as well.
Who will speak a word of wisdom
To a world where truth gives way,
As the claims of pow’r and priv’lege
Shift and shape the truth each day?
Christ, you speak a word of wisdom
For the church to heed and share:
Truth is not the claims of power!
Truth is hurt and hope and prayer.
Who will speak a word of welcome
To the greatest and the least,
Calling those with pow’r to service,
Calling all to share the feast?
Christ, you speak a word of welcome
For the church to tell and live:
All who hunger, come, be seated;
Take what Christ is here to give.
Commissioning
As Proverbs reminds us: “Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways seek wisdom, and she will make your paths straight and guide you on your way.”
Benediction
Let us go out into the world where the abundance of creation, reveals the wisdom and compassion of God. Let by the Holy Spirit let us be guardians of justice and makers of peace. That all may know the light of Christ for the world, Amen.
Sung Response – “Called as Partners in Christ’s Service” (verse 1)
Called as partners in Christ’s service,
Called to ministries of grace,
We respond with deep commitment
Fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing,
Side by side and friend with friend,
Equal partners in our caring
To fulfill God’s chosen end.
