Hybrid Worship 22ND SUNDAY OF PENTECOST,25 OCTOBER 2026, Minister: Mona Smart Music: Ian Cox

        “You shall love the Lord your God with all

  your heart, with all your soul, and with all

 your mind. You shall love your neighbours as yourself. On these two commandments hang  

  all the law and prophets.”    Matthew 22: 37-40

 

Hybrid Worship

22^ND SUNDAY OF PENTECOST

25 OCTOBER 2026

Minister: Mona Smart

Music: Ian Cox

 

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

We thank you, God, that you have again brought us together to praise you for your goodness and to ask for your blessing. Give us grace to see your hand in the week that is past, and your purpose in the week to come.

 

We have gathered to pray and worship together to refresh our spiritual wellspring of joy, hope, and wisdom that flows from God, so that we may remain resilient and wise as our best response to the world as we find it.

 

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                                                               2 Corinthians 13:14

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.

 

Lighting of Candle                                                                                   John 8:12

Jesus said, I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

 

Lighting of candle

 

Opening Hymn: Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom        MV #10

 

Prayer of Forgiveness                                                                        ACC-UCC

Most merciful God,

In your compassion, forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and left undone; and so uphold us by your Spirit that we may live and serve you in the newness of life. Amen

 

Prayer for Illumination and Grace                                           ACC-UCC

Gracious God,

You have heard the prayers of your faithful people; and know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking. Grant us our requests as may be best for us. We put our whole trust in you. AMEN.

Affirmation of Faith                                                                       (UCC)

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.

 

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

Prepare our hearts as we listen to your Word and discern your call within us.

 

Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (NRSVUE)                    Reader: Betty Schultze

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired, and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended. Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him, and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

 

This is the Word of God

Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Reading                                                               Reader: Betty Schultze

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 of Jesus the Christ according to Matthew.

Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

 

Matthew 22: 34-36 (NRSVUE)

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? “If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

 

This is the Gospel of Christ.

Thanks be to God.

 

Word: A Reflection

 

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

 

Life & Work of the Church

 

Prayers of the People                                                  Catherine Woodward                                                                                                  

Loving God,

            Hear our Prayers.

 

Offering (offering is now collected)

Offering Prayer

In the name and in the spirit of Jesus, we bring our gifts to you, O God. Help us to give with them a ready mind, a willing spirit, and a joyful heart.

Amen.

 

Holy Communion

 

Invitation                                                               ACC Liturgies for the Islands

Here is the table of the Lord.

We joyfully gather at the Lord’s table, open to all.

 

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

God be with you all.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts;

We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks to God!

It is right to our thanks and praise.

 

Holy and eternal One, in whom we live and move and have our being.

You are our origin and our fulfillment; we praise and thank you for drawing us to this sacred meal.

 

From the ocean of your primal love, you fashioned the marvel of creation, and beauty of human life.

From this land of towering forests and mist laden coastlines, you humble us and affirm the sacred gift of all creation, calling us to care for everything given and received.

 

From the earliest days the peoples of these islands and inlets learned their dependence on your provision, salmon and deer, song and ceremony, dance and painted cedar, hallowed these sacred relationships with all life.

 

In Jesus Christ, you came into our world to reveal your glory, reconcile all peoples to yourself, and make all things new in him. Now, gathered from many places, and joining with the saints of every time and place, we raise our thankful voices in unending praise.

 

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.

 

Breaking of the Bread

Loving God,

as we break bread and share the cup,

we give thanks for the bread and the wine,

fruits of your earth and of our labour.

We commit ourselves to your service

and that our lives may proclaim the mystery of faith.

 

On the night he was betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ took bread;

And after giving thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to his disciples.

And said, “Take, eat: this is my body which is given to you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

 

After supper he took the cup of wine;

And after giving thanks, gave it to them, and said,

“Drink this, all of you: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for all for the forgiveness of sin.

Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.”

 

Sharing of the Bread and Cup

We offer you, O God, this bread and this wine.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts,

that all who eat and drink at this table may be one body, one holy people.

 

The Gifts of God for the People of God.

 

(Bread and wine to be served)

 

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God,

May our participation in the sacramental gifts transform us that we may live lives of thanksgiving and be faithful to your will.

 

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

 

Dismissal

Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

Thanks be to God.         

 

Postlude