September 6, 2026
15th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
The FINAL SUMMER WORSHIP ON THE LAWN!
A Service of Prayer, of Song, of Listening, and of Being & Doing.
The quote for today goes something like this:
“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter…to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” (John Burroughs)
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: Heather Mayers
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
Prelude
Welcoming and Announcements
Land Acknowledgement (Unison)
“May we all be mindful today that we are worshiping and coming together on Treaty 7 land. We acknowledge with respect the history, the spirituality, and the culture of the peoples with whom Treaty 7 was signed and the territory wherein Lakeview United Church resides, and our responsibility as treaty members to the Blackfoot Nations, the Blood, the Stoney, Siksika and our neighbouring TsuuT’Ina Nation.
Hey, Hey!”
Introit “We Are One” VU # 402
Call to Worship
Rev. Jope: In this time together, we set aside the worries of the week, the stresses which abide in us, and allow ourselves to breathe deeply in the love and compassion of our Creator.
ALL: We join with the earth and with each other:
To bring new life to the land
To restore the waters
To refresh the air
Rev. Jope: As we soon enter the Sunday’s of ‘Creation Time’, the six coming Sunday’s will be focusing on the elements of our earth. May we understand the significance of them.
ALL: We join with the earth and with each other:
To renew the forests
To care for the plants
To protect the creatures
Rev. Jope: May we all join together in our love of all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it.
ALL: We join with the earth and with each other:
To celebrate the seas
To rejoice in the sunlight
To sing the song of the stars
Rev. Jope: We come today to perceive the divine mystery in all things and to breathe ever so deeply of true life
ALL: We join with the earth and with each other:
To recreate the human community
To promote justice and peace
To remember our children of the earth.
Rev. Jope: We all join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of all life. Let us now centre ourselves in prayer-conversation with our God:
Opening Prayer (Unison):
O Creative Force of all that was and is and will be, we come to speak to you this morning, speak to you of words which come from the depths of our hearts…we have countries who are exchanging dangerous rhetoric and clearer minds need to exist. The air is not calm and peaceful, it is filled with the language of confrontation and bridges need to be built, not hateful walls. Hurricanes and floods and tsunamis are wreaking havoc on your earth, and your people are crying out in voices laced with fear. Your forests are being burned to the ground, and the air is not invisible but is quite often filled with the blue of the smoke. The ashes fall from the sky, and your people are crying out for rain. Your icepack is slowly melting and there’s an air of uncertainty where this may be heading. Your people know that we all must be very wary of how we treat your atmosphere and what we fill it with. May it contain love for each other, fresh breezes of hope, and wafts of justice for all creatures upon your earth. May the winds be gentle and may your air fill our lungs with life and with a joy unbounding…Amen
*Opening Hymn “Worship the Lord” VU # 401
Affirmation of Our Faith (Unison)
We believe in God, who put music in the universe, so that the birds and the wind, the animals and insects, and the very stars in their courses are the makers of melody.
We believe in Christ, whose message of love and grace enables us to sing from the depths of our being, praising God for our deliverance and for the recovery of all who put their trust in him.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who touches the strings of our life the way a master musician touches the strings of a harp, causing us to produce beautiful resonance in the lives of others.
We believe in worship, not because it’s reasonable or sometimes sensible, but because we absolutely love to worship together.
Our heart sings in response to our faith! Amen.
(Taken from “Enter Every Trembling Heart – Prayers for Christian Worship,
pg. 41, Abingdon Press, Nashville, USA. John Killinger)
*Hymn “Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness” VU # 375
Engaging
Reader: Heather Mayers
Old Testament Passage
EXODUS 12: 1-14 Instructions for the first Passover….
Epistle Passage
ROMANS 13: 8-14 Owe no one anything but love…
Hymn of Illumination: “Where Two or Three Are Gathered”
(Words taken from MV # 14)
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there….I am there.” (Sung through 3X’s)
Gospel Passage
MATTHEW 18: 15-20 Where two or three are gathered in my name…
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there….I am there.” (Sung through 3X’s)
Message: “It’s What Inside That Counts!”
*Hymn “I’ve Got Peace like a River” VU # 577
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…
Prayer of Dedication (Rev. Jope)
Sunday’s Reflective Prayer (Unison)
O God, whose grace is known to us in the beauty of this summer morning, when the mists from the Glenmore Dam rise in the cool air and the leaves on the tress begin their colouring, we thank you for the other evidences of your grace as well: for the smell of coffee perking in the kitchen; for the taste of fresh milk; for the smiles of children and the sounds of scampering feet; for the voices of loved ones and the embraces of friends. We give you thanks, O God, for all these gifts and the countless others which fill our lives. May you also teach us to live together in love and let your holy will settle upon our entire world as the blue-sky bends upon the earth from shore to shore and from pole to pole. And as we raise these words to you, may we together share in the timeless prayer which was taught to us from countless generations before us:
(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 “May the God of Hope Go with Us” VU # 424
Blessing
*Commissioning (unison): We are not alone, for we live in God’s world. As we go forth from this place and out of this holy time, we are called to be the church in our daily lives. Let us never forget that we are beloved children of God and that we go forth to live the Gospel of peace…Amen.
Benediction & Postlude