May 31, 2026
TRINITY SUNDAY
Service of Prayer, of Song, of Welcoming, and of Experiencing the Triune God
TRINITY SUNDAY follows the Christian doctrine of three Persons of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Trinity Sunday is the Sunday following Pentecost, 8 weeks after Easter Sunday… The earliest possible date is May 17, as in 1818 and 2285…The latest possible date is June 20, as in 1943 and 2038 (that would be 12 years from now)…
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: Nancy Gillean
Special Guest - Gary Mak (MRU Chaplain Ministry)
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
*OPENING INTROIT
MV # 30 “It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker”
WELCOMING & ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIGHTING of the CANDLE of the HOLY TRINITY
Rev. Jope: The Christ Candle is now to be lit. We honour this candle with our diversity, some of us are young – some of us are older. Some of us may be downhearted, some may be joyful. Some of us may be of a differing gender than others and opens us up to a rainbow of genders, each of us differently abled. This candle is lit for us all, and in the light of the Holy Trinity, we light the candle and our service begins.
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 of its inhabitants. May we know that we are all treaty people.
*OPENING HYMN: VU # 268 “Bring Many Names”
OPENING CALL TO WORSHIP (Coming Together)
Rev. Jope: In the beginning, the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep. Then, God created everything!
ALL: In the act of creation, the Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters like a wind; it brooded like a bird. It was as if God said, “Lights!” and, in an instant, light appeared!
Rev. Jope: We come now to embrace the wonder of God’s inspiration, creativity, and understanding. On the day of Pentecost, which we celebrated last Sunday, the Holy Spirit brought together the church.
ALL: Over 100 years ago, the Holy Spirit brought together The United Church of Canada…Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Union churches.
Rev. Jope: And, later, the Evangelical United Brethren…and, before and after, other congregations of like-minded disciples of Jesus Christ.
ALL: So, we come together. God’s people. Christ’s people. People of the Spirit Alive! People of Lakeview United Church,
Rev. Jope: to sing and to serve, to live and to love,
ALL: to pray and to play, and today, to acknowledge the importance of Campus Ministry. We now offer ourselves in prayer and in grateful thanksgiving as we centre ourselves with these words to the Triune God:
OPENING PRAYER (Unison)
O Three in One – One in Three, as people of the Sabbath, we open inward eyes and prepare room for the Divine to raise life in us anew. We celebrate your presence among us, within each of us, and all around us. We give thanks for your steadfast love which surrounds us as the ocean surrounds the land. We celebrate the living presence of Christ, whose face we have seen in the faces of friend and stranger. And we rejoice in your enlivening Spirit that sweeps through us as a breeze sways the tops of the trees, making their leaves twirl and dance. Gracious God, you have called us to be your church, the living, breathing body of Christ in this country for over 100 years and in Lakeview for over 65 years. You have given us gifts to be shared and used in your service: gifts of money and property, gifts of time and energy, gifts of talent and ability. Encourage and enable us to use these gifts for the good of all.
Sweep through us once again as you did with your followers on the day of Pentecost, until we are the hands and feet of Christ in this world and this community of faith which you love so much.
Amen.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Rev. Jope: Jesus invited us in, saying, “Make yourselves home in my love.” This love emanated from God’s love and that love is always a promise that we are forgiven people. And through the Holy Spirit, we live our days in joyful celebration of being set free to share in that love. Amen.
*HYMN VU # 316 “Praise Our Maker”
Engaging
(Reader: Nancy Gillean)
FIRST SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
GENESIS 1:1 – 2:4a (Taken from The Message) The first story of creation
SECOND PASSAGE
2 CORINTHIANS 13:11-13 (944) Agree with one another; live in peace; trinity
HYMN of ILLUMINATION MV # 43 “The Play of the Godhead”
GOSPEL PASSAGE
MATTHEW 28:16-20 (812) To be disciples in all the world!
MESSAGE Gary Mak - Mount Royal University Chaplain
Responding
Rev. Jope: Spirit Song, you dance with and through us, inspiring possibility and hope. Enliven our faith and embolden our justice. Blessed Trinity, we bring our gifts to be infused with your blessing. May they inspire possibility and hope. The offering will now be received…
OFFERTORY MUSIC “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” Arr. Mark Hayes
OFFERING DEDICATION PRAYER (Rev. Jope)
SUNDAY’S REFLECTION of the HEART (Unison):
(…this is a blessing for the earth, and it comes to us from Edward P. Echlin from England.)
That we, and all fellow creatures entrusted to our care may praise you, we ask for your blessings, O God of all. Bless our houseplants and possible window-boxes, our birdfeeders and our animal companions. For some of us it is especially through these that we praise you. Bless those of us who, through Christ, in the power of your living Spirit, serve you and our fellow human creatures in hamlets, villages, towns, and cities. Bless our rivers and rain, the barrels in which we harvest the rain. Bless our compost which returns to the soil and rises again to new life as a symbol of resurrection. Bless our parks and gardens, the living soil communities with which we praise you, and within which we too are organisms. Bless our newly planted fields as they sprout forth. Bless our flowers, our vegetables, our fruit, our grain, as they praise you in their beauty. Through nurturing them, we enable your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We contribute to biodiversity and to right relationships among all creatures. Bless our efforts to share earth’s beauty, its fruits, and life. These are yours, which you share with us, and entrust to our subordinate rule, that we too may share with your other creatures. For you love all that you have created and said it was good. Bless us as we offer the praise of all creation to you, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit…
LORD’S PRAYER
Blessing
*COMMISSIONING (unison)
And now, as we leave our time together, let us keep in mind the thought of the hymn writer: “This is God’s wondrous world… [and] though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” In confidence and hope, let us leave this time and place of worship that we might be God’s kindness, God’s hope, God’s care and love, God’s hands and feet in the work of justice and of peace, in all the places life calls us to be….Amen.
*CLOSING HYMN VU # 321 “Maker, in Whom We Live”
BENEDICTION (Rev. Jope)
RECESSIONAL & POSTLUDE MUSIC
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES for SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2026
COMMUNION SUNDAY
GENESIS12:1-9
PSALM 33:1-12
ROMANS 4:13-25
MATTHEW 9:9-13, 18-26