June 7, 2026
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
COMMUNION SUNDAY
A Service of Prayer, of Song, of Welcoming, and of Worshiping Together
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” (Helen Keller)
Lead Minister: The Rev. Jope Langejans
Music Director: Cody Obst
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Gerry Scharff
Honorary Associate Ministers: Rev. Clint Mooney & Rev. Kelley Warner
Licensed Lay Worship Leaders: Bob Gibbenus & Fiona Hayes
Chair of Council: Vacant
Reader: Elizabeth Wegg
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
PRELUDE
OPENING INTROIT MV# 12 “Come Touch Our Hearts”
WELCOMING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING of the CHRIST CANDLE
Rev. Jope: We light this simple candle as a symbol of all our intentions to be ever so open and attentive to the presence of God as we spend this time in worship together. May it burn brightly throughout the service to remind us that the Holy One is present.
ACKNOWLEDGING OUR TERRITORY
Rev. Jope: Here at Lakeview United Church, we recognize that we all share this land with the first inhabitants of this area, all our Indigenous brothers and sisters of Treaty # 7 and our Metis peoples, with whom we seek to live in harmony with this land and all its inhabitants. May we know that we are all treaty people.
*OPENING HYMN VU # 716 “My Life Flows On”
CALL TO WORSHIP (Coming Together) (Utilizing MV #14)
“Where Two or Three Are Gathered”
“Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there, I am there” (sung twice)
Rev. Jope: We gather in this sacred place life-giving God, members of your church, children of your blessing. Here we rejoice in you and praise your name.
ALL: We gather together to say thank-you: thank-you for the spring which we enjoy which soon will turn into summer, the gift of the sun warming our skin, the joy of our children playing in clean water, the delight of restful mornings, cool evenings, and the knowledge that when we gather together, no matter where we are, you are with us.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there, I am there.” (sung twice)
Rev. Jope: We gather to say thank-you: thank-you for being with us in uncertain times of life; when our minds are overwhelmed, our plates are too full, our options limited. Thank you for walking with us on the road of life reminding us that we are never alone, for when we gather you are with us.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there, I am there.” (sung twice)
ALL: We gather together to say thank-you; thank-you for offering us this gift of faith and the freedom we have to express it; thank-you for calling us to this time of worship, that we might lift our prayers of deep gratitude; thank-you for moving among us reminding us that you are our God and that whenever we gather together, you are there.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there, I am there.” (sung twice)
OPENING PRAYER (Unison)
ALL: Upon this communion Sunday, may we all be mindful of the Spirits’ movement in this community of faith and in ourselves. You call each of us to ministry and many of us have heeded this call. We have given of time, of talents, of energy, of prayer, of compassion to others, and a constant yearning to know more about how to act as children of you. We have heard something, O God, something that makes us curious, inspires us; even excites us. Away from the centres of power, in our less noticed neighbourhoods, you are bringing something world-changing into being. We come today with our curiosity, our inspiration, our excitement; we come with our gifts, our wisdom, and our hunger to experience your power and your life and to be changed….radically…Amen.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Rev. Jope: God’s specialty is to always lighten our load when we’ve been burdened by the weight of the world. Let us all be mindful that forgiveness is a gift given freely so let us celebrate this wonderful gift which gives us a light heart. Amen.
*HYMN MV # 79 “Spirit, Open My Heart”
Engaging
(Reader: Elizabeth Wegg)
FIRST SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
GENESIS 12:1-9 (8) Call of Abraham…
SECOND PASSAGE
PSALM 33:1-12 (440) Sing a new song to God…
HYMN of ILLUMINATION MV # 157 “I Am a Child of God”
GOSPEL PASSAGE
MATTHEW 9:9-13, 18-26 (790) Call of Matthew; girl restored to life; woman healed…
MESSAGE “UNEXPECTED GIFTS OF GRACE”
Responding
Rev. Jope: Spirit Song, you dance with and through us, inspiring possibility and hope. Enliven our faith and embolden our justice. This morning and through other ways we give, we bring our gifts to be infused with your blessing. May they inspire possibility and hope. The offering will now be received…
OFFERTORY MUSIC “Ose Shalom (The One Who Makes Peace)” by John Leavitt
OFFERING DEDICATION PRAYER (Rev. Jope)
Holy Communion
Thanksgiving
Leader: Gracious God, we praise you and give you thanks.
ALL: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Leader: For the love we name Creator God, and all that is. For the one we name Jesus Christ and his message of peace, justice, and inclusiveness that is the realm of God. For the renewing strength and freedom of the Spirit always present on the breath of life.
ALL: We give thanks for the presence of God in the midst of life.
The Celebration
Leader: We remember the stories…
All: How Jesus gathered with friends, strangers, and those who resisted him, to tell them of a re-imagined way of living and being.
Leader: A way that did not conform to the standards of the Roman Empire or any other system of governance, that suppressed people until starvation and deprivation resulted in death.
ALL: In this way, Jesus empowered people then, and empowers us now, to imagine alternatives, and to live them out in new relationships and new communities.
Bread and the Wine
Leader: So, in our time and in this place, with today’s issues before us, let us continue the tradition: to break bread together.
ALL: We remember what that tradition says, how, at the end of a journey, among friends, gathered round a table…
Leader: Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his friends:
ALL: “This bread is broken, as my body will be. Eat this bread and become my body, for Love’s sake in a broken world.”
(Bread is broken)
Leader: We remember, too, how Jesus poured a cup of wine, offered thanks for it, and gave it to his friends:
ALL: “This wine is poured out, as my life will be. As you drink, give thanks for all I have given.”
(The cup is filled)
Leader: Sharing this bread and this cup with his friends, Jesus invited them to eat and drink with thanksgiving:
ALL: “Remember all that I have been to you.”
Leader: Bread….the very stuff of life, in which is gathered up warm sun, rich soil, gentle rain, human labour, and knowledge and skill….and the filled cup….fruit of the vine, nurtured, tended, harvested, and pressed out for us to drink.
ALL: May the Spirit of Love within us be a source of healing and consolation. May the Spirit of Love among us strengthen us when we feel weak, warm us when we are cold-hearted, bend us when we are stubborn, move us when we are uncaring, guide us in the way of love. May the Spirit of Love surrounding us shine in all we do….Amen.
Communion
Leader: Come for all is ready…the gifts of God, for all of us, the people of God…
Blessing
SUNDAY’S REFLECTION of the HEART (Unison):
ALL: If we enter into relationship with a lonely or suffering person we will discover something else; that it is us who are being healed. The broken person will reveal to us our own hurt and the hardness of our heart, but also how much we are loved. Thus, the one we came to heal becomes our healer. If we let ourselves be molded thus by the cry of the poor and accept their healing friendship, then they may guide our footsteps into community and lead us into a new vision of humanity, a new world order, not governed by power and fear but where the poor and weak are at the centre. They will lead us into the kingdom Jesus speaks of….may we recognize our own frailty as a potential source of healing for others; may we learn not to fear it but to let it make us more compassionate. In the knowledge that our human frailty is a gift from you, O God: open our minds to greater understandings of each other and of you…open our hearts to greater wisdom in our prayers and in our actions…remove from us the fear that keeps us closed to new encounters…release us from the pain of all that we have done and failed to do…for we are your people, O God, and we seek to do your will…and now we share together in the words which have been prayed for centuries…
THE LORD’S PRAYER (unison)
*COMMISSIONING (unison)
As we go now, remember, even in the world, you are on holy ground. Rejoice, persevere, contribute, extend hospitality, bless, live in harmony with one another, with the support of the Holy Spirit, by and for the love of Jesus Christ…Amen.
*CLOSING HYMN VU # 245 “Praise the Lord with the Sound of Trumpet”
*BENEDICTION (Rev. Jope)
RECESSIONAL & POSTLUDE MUSIC
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES for SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2026
GENESIS 18:1-15; (21:1-17)
PSALM 116:1-12, 12-19
ROMANS 5:1-8
MATTHEW 9:35 – 10:8, (9-23)