September 13, 2026
PENTECOST #16
A Service of Prayer, of Song, of Listening,
and of Being Immersed in Creation
COMMUNION SUNDAY
The quote for today goes something like this:
“People were created to be loved, and things were created to be used. The reason why the world may be sometimes in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.”
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: Fiona Hayes
Chair of Council: Vacant
Scripture Reader: Nancy Gillean
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
Prelude
Welcoming & Announcements
Land Acknowledgement (Unison)
“As we gather today as the faith community of Lakeview United Church, we are reminded to acknowledge and honour the land upon which we come together as the historic and the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples. We thank the Blackfoot Nation, the Blood, the Nakoda Stoney, Siksika and our neighbouring TsuuT’Ina Nation for their stewardship of the land on which they reside. May we also continue this stewardship…together.”
Introit “Called by Earth and Sky” MV # 135 (Emphasis on Verse #2…)
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Rev. Jope: We light this Christ Candle as a reminder to all of us of the sacredness of God’s creation and how Christ offered to us a new way of living and loving.
Call to Worship
Rev. Jope: On this second week in the month of September, we move away from the normal liturgy of the year, and we enter a new liturgical time for six weeks – “Creation Time.”
ALL: And we ask ourselves the question, ‘What time might that be?’ and ‘What does this have to do with me?’
Rev. Jope: Well, as we look around at the changing colours from green to yellow and oranges and leaves falling, we know that we are in change.
ALL: Oh, so this is what ‘Creation Time’ is…when life takes on a brand-new rhythm and when our attention shifts to new adventures.
Rev. Jope: Yes…this is what ‘Creation Time’ is and how we live in unity with our environment and all of God’s creation – including all of God’s people.
ALL: May we now open our hearts and our minds to the urgings of God as we worship in the Spirit of Creation.
Rev. Jope: Now in that Spirit, let us worship in the presence of holiness as we sing our first hymn….
*Opening Hymn “It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker” MV # 30
Opening Prayer (Unison):
(taken from ‘Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation’, John Muir – 1838-1914)
O God of Creation, the world, we are told, was made specifically for humankind – a presumption not supported by all the facts…
Why should humankind value him or herself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that you have taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit – the cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without humankind; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest trans microscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceited eyes and knowledge and may breathe the same air as us. From the dust of the earth, from the common elementary fund, you have made homo sapiens. From the same material you have made every other creature, however noxious and insignificant to us. They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals, and it is during this ‘Creation Time’ where we pay attention…Amen.
Affirmation of Our Faith (Unison)
We believe in the God who made lakes and mountains, who shaped the sky and the sea and produced air for all of us to breathe.
We believe in Christ whose life and death and resurrection were all necessary to remind us of the presence of the Creator in all that is.
We believe in the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of all God’s people and moves us towards love and joy in our lives.
We believe in the church and its ministry to the world, making way for the Triune God to be more real in people’s lives.
We believe in the importance of worship for reminding us of all these things and enabling us to recenter our lives in the midst of the people of God. Amen.
(Taken from “Enter Every Trembling Heart – Prayers for Christian Worship,
pg. 41, Abingdon Press, Nashville, USA. John Killinger)
*Hymn “Spirit God, Be Our Breath” MV # 150
Engaging
Reader: Nancy Gillean
Old Testament Passage
EXODUS 14: 19-21 God parts the sea for the Hebrew people….
Epistle Passage
ROMANS 14: 1-12 Whether we live or die, we belong to God…
Hymn of Illumination: “Teach Me, God, to Wonder” VU # 299
Gospel Passage
MATTHEW 18: 21-25 How many times must I forgive?
Message: “Creation Week # 1 – AIR
Responding
Presentation of Our Offerings
(Invitation – Leader)
So, in this moment, we offer blessings upon the gifts which we’ve given to the work of your church…for the encouragement of your people…and with the love of Christ in our hearts…may these offerings be a blessing in their giving and in their utilization of sharing in the message of peace and of love…
Choir’s Selection of Music
Prayer of Dedication (Rev. Jope)
sacrament of holy Communion
Thanksgiving
Rev. Jope: Gracious God, we praise you and give you thanks.
ALL: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Rev. Jope: 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
Rev. Jope: 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.
Rev. Jope: 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
Rev. Jope: 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…
Rev. Jope: 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)
Rev. Jope: 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)
Rev. Jope: 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.”
Rev. Jope: 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 Rev. Jope: Come for all is ready…the gifts of God,
for all of us, the people of God…
Sunday’s Reflective Prayer (Rev. Jope)
Comforting God, unclench our spirits and open our hearts to others. Open our senses to notice….
Thank you for teaching us your prayer which guides our way, and so we pray to the One who is both our Mother….and…
(Lord’s Prayer)
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
*Hymn “Yahweh Be Praised” MV # 51
Blessing
*Commissioning (unison): Go from this place, let your anxious worries cease. May the lilies of the field and the birds of the air inspire you to see God in all you do. May the great, vulnerable, life-giving Spirit guide your every coming and your every going that you may act justly, love kindly, and walk humbly as God’s friend and companion on this lovely, lively planet. “…smile on each other and love one another, right now”…Amen.
Benediction
Postlude