Fourth Sunday of Lent 15 March 2026

HYBRID WORSHIP

Fourth Sunday of Lent

15 March 2026

Minister: Mona Smart

Music: Frances Armstrong

 

We acknowledge that these lands upon which we worship are the

traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw

First Nation. Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Words for Worship

Words of response are in bold & italics

 

 

Prelude

 

Gathering Words

On this fourth Sunday of Lent, we continue to take up this season’s invitation to fully open our hearts to the Word and love of God.

 

To fully enter into the Lenten journey is to become aware of what separates us from the Holy to whom we belong, that we may be drawn into the very heart of all that is Holy.

 

In today’s gospel story from John, Jesus restores a blind man’s sight. Through Jesus, the man was touched by God’s grace. Grace always leaves its holy mark on the body in ways that are sometimes visible and sometimes invisible.

 

Acknowledgement of the Land

We prayerfully acknowledge with thanksgiving that we

gather on the unceded territories of the Snuneymuxw people. Gracious God, help us to seek a new relationship with the first peoples here, one based in honour and respect. Amen.

 

Call to Worship or The Collect               Contemporary Anglican Collects, 2019

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Sprit, be with you all.

And also with you.

Discerner of hearts,

you look beneath our outward appearance

and see your image in each of us.

Banish in us the blindness

that prevents us from recognizing truth,

so we may see the world through your eyes,

and with the compassion of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Lighting of Candle (candle is lit)                    United Church Gatherings Resource

We light the Christ Candle fully aware of our vulnerability and need.

            The light of Christ’s love breaks in to fill our lives with love.

Come, light of Christ, come into our lives, make us one in heart and mind.

 

Opening Hymn: O Praise the Gracious Power                   VU #397

 

 

Prayer of Forgiveness                    adapted from UCC, Celebrate God’s Presence

We acknowledge our errors and transgressions, our anxieties and fears. We do this so that we may come to better know ourselves, grow in spiritual strength and move toward our own transformation. Let us pray, putting our trust in the accepting grace and the transforming love of Christ.

 

Prayer for Illumination and Grace adapted from UCC, Celebrate God’s Presence

God, you challenge us but also encourage us.

God, you confront us also accept us.

God you know us completely to bestow all your pardon, peace, and love on us.

 

Peace of Christ

May the peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

Let us share the peace of Christ with one another.

 

Prayer Before the Reading of Scripture                     ACC & UCC Sources

O God, your Word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.

Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love.

 

Psalm 23 (sung refrain)                                                            VU #749

Refrain: My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want.

 

God is my shepherd,

There is nothing I shall lack.

You, God, make me lie down in green pastures,

You lead me beside peaceful waters;

You revive my spirit,

You guide me in right pathways for your name's sake. R

 

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me,

Your rod and your staff are my comfort.

You spread a table for me in the sight of my enemies.,

You anoint mt head with oil, my cup is overflowing,

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in God's house my whole life long. R

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-1 (NRSV)             Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce

David Anointed as King

 

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a

king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

 

This is the Word of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Reading: John 9: 1-17 (NRSV)           Reader: Nancy Hetherington Peirce

As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel.

 

God be with you.

And also with you

The Good News according to John

Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

 

 

 

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

 

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

 

This is the Gospel of Christ.

Thanks be to God

 

Word: Jesus Heals a Blind Man

 

Hymn of Response: Holy Spirit, Truth Divine                      VU #368

 

Life & Work of the Church

 

Prayers of the People                                                           Betty Schultze                                                                                                     

Loving God,

            Hear our Prayers.

 

 

 

 

 

Lords Prayer (to be sung)                                                        VU #959

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and forever.

Amen.

 

Offering (offering now to be collected)

 

Offering Prayer                                            ACC, Alternative Prayer over Gifts

God our provider, you nourish us with bread and with words of grace and life. Bless us and these your gifts, which we receive from your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn: God Be with You till We Meet Again          VU #423

 

Blessing & Sending                       adapted from ACC Book of Alternative Services

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. May the God of peace help us to work every size and kind of goodness through Jesus Christ. The Lord’s grace shines on us as we go out to live our call in the world.

 

Postlude

______________