Hybrid Worship PENTECOST XVII,20 September 2026, Minister: Mona Smart Music: Eli Bender

Hybrid Worship

PENTECOST XVII

20 September 2026

Minister: Mona Smart

Music: Eli Bender

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

In the Parable of the Vineyard, Jesus holds before us a new reality, a vision of God’s alternative household, an alternative social order.

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                                                                               Traditional

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                                                                           Iona Worship Book

We light this candle as we draw near to God and to one another.

(candle is lit)

     As we worship together,

     may God’s love bring joy to each and to all of us;

may the refreshing wind of God’s Holy Spirit renew us;

may the love of Jesus Christ give us courage and strength to fully live each day.

Opening Hymn: We Are One                                                           VU #402

Prayer of Forgiveness                                                                  United Church

Gracious God,

As people called to be your presence in the world, we search our hearts, and ask your forgiveness:

     For opportunities not taken, for care not given.

Forgive us we pray.

For sorrow not shared, for joy not celebrated,

Forgive us, we pray.

For love not offered, forgiveness not extended,

Forgive us, we pray.

For those failings we cannot speak aloud.

     Forgive us, we pray.

Prayer for Illumination and Grace

We take comfort in the assurance that even those things that are hidden from memory, or are too deep for our words, are not beyond God’s forgiving love. God, who knows us completely, bestows pardon and peace. Amen.

Affirmation of Faith                                                                                      United Church

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.

Holy God,                                                     Episcopal Church Contemporary Resources

You call us to righteousness and light.
Teach us the undivided law of love that we may love one another as you love us; that we may love You with all our will and strength and mind; that we may find our freedom in this blessed service as we hear your Word and witness your deeds in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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                         Episcopal Church, Mona Smart

O Holy One, thank you for coming to us anew this day.

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

Psalm 145:1-8                                                                                                                  Mona Smart

Every day, we will bless you

and praise your name forever.

     O God, you are great and highly to be praised,

your greatness is beyond all measure.

One generation shall praise your works to another,

and declare your marvellous deeds.

I will speak of your splendour and glory,

and all your wonderful works.

You, God, are righteous in all your ways,

and loving in all your deeds.

You are near to all who call to you,

to all who call on you in truth.

You fulfill the desire of those who revere you;

you hear their cry and you save them.

You watch over all who love you,

you abound in mercy and steadfast love.

My mouth will speak your praise, O God.

Let every creature bless your holy name forever. Amen.

Scripture: Jonah 3:10-4:11 (NRSV)                                Reader: Betty Schultze

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a

night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”

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 20:1-16 (NRSV)

The Laborers in the Vineyard

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

This is the Gospel of Christ.

Thanks be to God

Word: A Reflection on Matthew

Hymn of Response: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise               VU #264

Life & Work of the Church

Prayers of the People                                                                   Paddy Waymark

Your Spirit abides in us…

     Hear our Prayers.

The Lord’s Prayer (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

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.

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

Blessing & Sending                            Episcopal Church Contemporary Resources

The peace of Christ be with you always.

     And also with you.

Dear God, we come before You with hearts full of gratitude for the time we have spent in Your presence. As we prepare to leave this place, we ask that You fill our hearts with Your perfect peace.

May the Holy Spirit,                                                                                          United Church

go before us to show us the way;

go above us to watch over us;

go behind us to push us into places we might not go ourselves;

go beneath us to uphold and uplift us;

go beside us to be our strong and constant companion;

dwell within us to remind us that we are not alone;

Amen.

 

Postlude