7 February 2026, HYBRID WORSHIP Epiphany V

 

Epiphany V

8 February 2026

HYBRID WORSHIP

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

Call to Worship

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

And also with you

Opening Prayer                                                             Based on the Gospel

We have been called the salt of the earth.

Let us live with a zestfulness for life.

We have been called the light of the world.

Let us shine brightly in the midst of pain and confusion.

We have been called a city set on a hill.

Let us, like Jerusalem, lift our gates, lift our hearts,

lift our voices to the world.

We have come to open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

We have come to offer up the seasons and the turnings of our lives, and to ask God’s help in our learning and growing.
Amen.

Hymn: Come, My Way, My Truth                                              VU #628

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.

Lighting of Candle

We are here. God is here.

This space is holy ground.

 

Perfect Light of revelation,
as you shone in the life of Jesus,
whose epiphany we celebrate,
so shine in us and through us,
that we may become beacons of truth and compassion,
enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy.

Amen.

Prayer of Forgiveness

Merciful God,

We confess that we have sinned against you,

in thought, word and deed,

by what we have done and what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, mind, and strength.

We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.

Forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are,

and direct what we shall be, that we may delight in your will

and walk in your ways.

Amen

Words of Assurance

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

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.                                  3

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9 (NRSVUE)                Reader: Angela Nutter

False and True Worship

 

Shout out; do not hold back!
    Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
    and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
    they want God on their side.
“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day
    and oppress all your workers.
You fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
    will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”

This is the Word of God

We give thanks for this word today.  

Gospel Reading                                                          Reader: Angela Nutter

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 5:13-20 (NRSVUE)

Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have co me not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is the Gospel of Christ.

We give thanks for Good News today!

Word: We are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World

Hymn of Response: Long Before the Night                            VU #282

Life & Work of the Church

Prayers of the People                                                         Paddy Waymark

Holy Spirit,               

            Hear our Prayers.          

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours now and for ever.

Amen.

Offering

Prayer Praise God the Source of life and birth,

Praise God the Word, who came to earth.

Praise God the Spirit, holy flame.

All Glory, honour to God’s name.

Holy Communion

Invitation

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 give God our thanks and praise!

It is indeed right that we should praise you, Gracious God, for you created all things.

You formed us in your own image:

male and female you created us.

You made a covenant with Israel,

and through your servants Abraham and Sarah

gave the promise to a blessing to all nations.

Through Moses you led your people from bondage to freedom. Through the prophets you renewed your promise of salvation. Therefore, we give you thanks.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, (sung)                                          VU #942

God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Holy God, source of life and goodness,

all creation rightly gives you praise.

In the fullness of time, you sent your child Jesus Christ.

He healed the sick and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners; He opened the eyes of the blind and proclaimed the Good News to the poor and to those in need. In all things, he fulfilled your will.

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 many 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.

(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.

Hymn: Lord, Speak to Me                                                          VU #589

Blessing & Sending

May the God of hope fill us with all joy

and guide and comfort us in the disruptions

and turnings of our life,

so that we may abound

in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.        

Postlude

_____________________

In Time Like Air, by May Sarton

Consider the mysterious salt: In water it must disappear.

It has no self. It knows no fault. Not even sight may apprehend it.

No one may gather it or spend it. It is dissolved and everywhere.

But, out of water into air, it must resolve into a presence,

Precise and tangible and here. Faultlessly pure, faultlessly white,

It crystallizes in our sight, and has defined itself to essence.