Bulletin – Sunday, October 10, 2021

Sunday, October 10, 2021
Thanksgiving Sunday

Approach

Lighting the Candle

As we light this candle today, we are called to be people of thanksgiving, aware of the blessings in our lives, aware of the blessing of this community, aware of blessing of family and friends. As we gather within the glow of this candle, we are thankful for the presence of God in Jesus with us this day and every day. Let us give thanks and live as people of thanksgiving.

Call to Worship

One:   In deep gratitude we come to worship God.
All:      We recognize God as the source of all goodness.

One:   All good gifts come from the Spirit of God:
All:      love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness are all of God.

One:   We come with grateful hearts, not for things, but for who God is.
All:      We gather to show our gratitude in song and prayer.

One:   We gather in worship on this day of Thanksgiving.
All:      We gather in worship to offer our thanks.

Hymn – “We Praise You, O God”

We praise you, O God, our Redeemer, Creator,
In grateful devotion our tribute we bring.
We lay it before you, we kneel and adore you;
We bless your holy name, glad praises we sing.

We worship you, God of our mothers and fathers,
Through trial and tempest, companion and guide.
When perils o’ertake us, you will not forsake us,
But faithful to your promise, you walk by our side.

With voices united our praises we offer
And gladly our songs of thanksgiving we raise.
Our sins now confessing, we pray for your blessing,
To you, our great Redeemer, forever be praise!

Prayer of Approach and Confession

God, on this Thanksgiving we know enough to give thanks. Our prayers often begin. “Thank you God for…” and then we make a list. The list is longer today, because it’s Thanksgiving. But when we make those lists quite often it is all about us. What we need, what we want, what is good in our lives. Those lists become about us.

But what if thankfulness has nothing to do with lists? What if thankfulness is more like the difference between night and day, the difference between being shut in and being free, the difference between holding on and reaching out? What if thankfulness is not something to be grasped, not something that can be simply said, not some thing at all?

What if thankfulness is transformation? What if thankfulness is a re-centering, from ourselves to your Son. A blossoming, from bud to flower, all the way to the ripe red apple. A movement from life to death, and beyond the grave to resurrection. What if Thanksgiving is Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter all rolled into one.

When we are tempted to simply list our thanks, or give our thanks, show us the wider horizon, where we are the extravagant gesture, pressed down, shaken together, running over—thankful people made in your image. Amen.

(adapted from Carol Penner)

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “A New Creed”

We are not alone,
We live in God’s world,
We believe in God,
Who has created and is creating,
Who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
To reconcile and make new,
Who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church,
To celebrate God’s presence,
To live with respect in Creation,
To love and serve others,
To seek justice and resist evil,
To proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
Our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.

Time for All Ages

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Job 2:21-27

²¹ Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!
²² Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
²³ O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before.
²⁴ The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵ I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you.
²⁶ You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
²⁷ You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Scripture Reading:           Matthew 6:25-33

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “What are We Thankful For?”

Anthem – “Grateful”

The Response

Prayers of the People

One:   God, like the Israelites in the wilderness, we too have known Your love, and experienced Your care and provision. You invite us to extend that love to the world around us—to care for others as deeply as we care for ourselves. And so, we bring the needs of our world before You now. And so, we bring the needs of our world before You now. We also lift up those in this community whom we hope feel your presence with them this day…In Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.

One:   We pray for the many who do not have enough: enough food to eat, or shelter to keep warm; enough employment, or money to pay their bills; enough medicine or medical are. In Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.

One:   We also pray for those who have more than enough, but who still struggle to find meaning and purpose in life, who indulge in dangerous or self-serving activities to dull their pain or loneliness. In Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.

One:   God, Your grace reaches out to all of us. You call us to live as citizens of heaven, working together with one heart and mind. Strengthen us to live in a manner worthy of the Good News we have received, offering our lives in service of Your kingdom, where the last are first, and the first are last, and there is grace enough for all. In Your mercy,
All:      hear our prayer.

One:   Hear us as we continue to pray in the words that Jesus taught us;
All:      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 those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Hymn – “As Those of Old Their First-Fruits Brought”

As those of old their first-fruits brought of vineyard, flock, and field
To God, the giver of all good, the source of bounteous yield;
So we today our first-fruits bring: the wealth of this good land,
Of farm and market, shop and home, of mind and heart and hand.

A world in need now summons us to labour, love, and give,
To make our life an offering to God, that all may live.
The church of Christ is calling us to make the dream come true:
A world redeemed, by Christ-like love, all life in Christ made new.

With gratitude and humble trust we bring our best to you,
Not just to serve your cause, but share your love with neighbours too.
O God, who gave yourself to us in Jesus Christ, your son,
Help us to give ourselves each day until life’s work is done.

Benediction

As we go into this coming week may we always walk gently upon the Earth, in right relationship, nurtured by your love, open to the wind of the Spirit, taking only what we need, always open to the needs of others, making choices that bring wellbeing, living with generosity, striving for justice, honouring all with reverence, reconciling and peacemaking, mindful of those who will come after, recognizing our proper place as part of your creation.

Grant us the strength and courage, Loving God, for such a radical transformation into your Kingdom. Amen.

Response

Amen, amen, amen.