Grace United Church | United Church in Thornbury, ON

Grace United Church is live

September 21, 2025: Creation Time 3, Proper 20

Phyllis Fleming

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Chat

Service and Hymns

Playlist

Loading chat...

September 21, 2025

Creation Time 3, Proper 20

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Worship Leader: Phyllis Fleming
Music Director: Dr. Christopher Burton
Lay Leader: Candy Yeandle

Leader: regular font ~ All: bold font ~ Sung words: bold italics
Asterisk * Indicates when the congregation may stand if able.

We Gather

PRELUDE: A few favourite hymns

GREETING (2 Cor. 13:13)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all!
And also with you!

A Stewardship Second
Faithful in small things, faithful in all things.

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

LIGHTING the CHRIST CANDLE
When we turn on a lamp as evening falls, the light chases away the shadows.
When we turn to God in sad times or happy times, the light of love brightens us up, inside and out!
We light the Christ candle as a symbol of that love.

(the candle is lit)

Thanks be to God for this everlasting love.

SONG: “Jesus Bids Us Shine” - VU #585, v. 1
Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light,
like a little candle burning in the night.
In this world is darkness, so let us shine,
you in your small corner, and I in mine.

OUR COMMITMENT to SAFE SPACE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of the LAND
We believe all people are made in the image of God and are entitled to dignity and respect. At Grace United Church we try to offer a safer, inclusive and generous space for all who are seeking a faith community. We offer full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, all races, ages and abilities in the life and work of the ministry.
Grace United Church is situated on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. We acknowledge that they are the first stewards of this land and we respect their histories and past and present cultures. We will work to recognize and remove barriers to reconciliation.

CALL to WORSHIP
Welcome, people of God! Welcome to this time of prayer, reflection, and song.
It is good to come together to pray, reflect, and sing.
On this last day of summer, we rejoice in the beauty of God’s wonderful creation.
It is good to come together to offer praise for all of God’s marvellous works.
Come, let us worship God!

*OPENING HYMN: MV #30 –“It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker”
1. It’s a song of praise to the Maker
the thrush sings high in the tree.
It’s a song of praise to the Maker,
The gray whale sings in the sea,
Refrain:
And by the Spirit
you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

2. It’s a call of life to the Giver
when waves and waterfalls roar.
It’s a call of life to the Giver
when high tides break on the shore,
Refrain:
And by the Spirit
you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

3. It’s a hymn of love to the Lover;
the bumblebees hum along.
It’s a hymn of love to the Lover,
the summer breeze joins the song,
Refrain:
And by the Spirit
you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

4. It’s the chorus of all creation;
it’s sung by all living things.
It’s the chorus of all creation;
a song the universe sings,
Refrain:
And by the Spirit
you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
and sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

OPENING PRAYER (AAW)
Heavenly Creator of us all, receive our prayers brought to you this morning. We pray for wisdom when we care for creation. Help us to make the right decisions to ensure your beautiful world is appropriately tended and nourished. We pray for the wisdom of our municipal, provincial, and federal leaders that they too will make the best decisions that will hold your creation in the highest regard and respect. We pray that, as disciples of Jesus who seek to live with respect in creation, we may be like the sun shining on a cloudless dawn, the sun that makes the grass sparkle after a rain. We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen.

We Listen

ANTHEM: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” - R. W. Thygerson

Theme Conversation

*CHORUS: “God’s Zoo”
God made me too, different than you,
God made me just who I am.
Strange it may seem, yet in God's scheme
I'm just a part of the plan.
Feathers fur and fins, even me and you,
special and unique, part of God's great big zoo!

PRAYER of CONFESSION
O Great Source of Love,
we long to share your love with the world,
but sometimes we forget that your love is for everyone, even for those who have wounded us.
O God, forgive us when we forget.
O Great Creator,
we experience all that is around us in Creation and are blessed by beauty, but sometimes we forget to be good stewards of the earth.
O God, forgive us when we forget.
O Eternal Spirit,
we want to follow the way of Jesus, but sometimes we forget to pay attention to your presence, and our actions may not reflect our best selves.
O God, forgive us when we forget.
In silence, we think of times that we have forgotten these things.

(a time of silent prayer)

And together, the people of God say Amen.

WORDS of ASSURANCE
Friends, receive this good news: The God who loved us into being loves us still and will always love us, even when we forget about God or God’s creation. We are loved and we are forgiven, through God’s grace!
Thanks be to God.

PRAYER for ILLUMINATION
O God, may these words from Scripture enter our minds and affect our hearts. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Psalm 79 VU #793 (Responsive)
O God, the nations have entered your domain,
defiled your holy temple and laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have left your servants’ bodies for
scavenging birds,
the flesh of your faithful ones for wild beasts.
Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem,
with none to bury them.
We have become the taunt of our neighbours,
mocked and scorned by those around us.
How long, O God? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
Refrain:
Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name.

Pour out your rage on the nations that do not acknowledge you,
on the realms that will not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob
and desolated Israel’s home.
Do not hold the sins of past generations against us;
let your compassion come swiftly to meet us,
for we are sunk very low.
Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name.
Deliver us and forgive our sin,
for the honour of your name.
Refrain:
Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name.

First Timothy 2:1-7 - reading from The Message
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us -Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.

Luke 16:1-13 - reading from Contemporary English Version
A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.” The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job.”
Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?
“A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write ‘50.’ ”
The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand sacks of wheat,” the man replied.
The manager said, “Take your bill and write ‘800.’ ”
The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.
My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own? You cannot be the slave of two masters. You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.

RESPONSE
These words from scripture are meant to guide us, nurture us, and teach us.
Thanks be to God!

MESSAGE

We Respond

*HYMN: VU #608 – “Dear God, Who Loves All Humankind”

1. Dear God, who loves all humankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind;
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.

2. In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up, and follow thee.

3. O sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!

4. Drop thy still dews of quietness
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.

5. Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire:
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!

*PROFESSION OF FAITH A New Creed

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.

INVITATION to the OFFERING
We pray for our daily bread, we pray to be forgiven, we pray to be free from temptation. Today I invite you to share your gifts as if you are an answer to another’s prayer. Because you are. When we share ourselves—time, money, skill, and more—we are creating a more generous world. Our gifts help lay a foundation to a kin(g)dom where all have enough.

PRAYER of DEDICATION for OUR OFFERINGS
Generous God, help us to be wise stewards of your gifts. In our sharing and in our spending, may we strive to advance your kin(g)dom. Amen.

Donate online: www.graceunitedthornbury.ca, select “DONATE”
or contact the office by email: accounting@graceunitedthornbury.ca
or phone: 519-599-2438 to arrange a cheque pick-up, or an e-transfer
Mail: Grace UC, 140 Bruce St. S. PO Box 219, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0
or Offering Plate at the back of the sanctuary.

Tap your debit card at the door of the church, and Donate to Grace United Church through CanadaHelps.org. Our account is set up with them now and it is easy to register. Tax receipts are given automatically at the time of giving.

Care, Prayer, Share

PRAYERS of the PEOPLE (JM & CGP)

THE LORD’S PRAYER (VU 910)

PASSING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
The Peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
We share the peace of Christ by typing in the chat box.
You may also think of one person with whom you would like to share the peace of Christ.

WHAT’S UP AT GRACE?

We Go Out

*HYMN: VU #312 – “Praise with Joy the World’s Creator”
1. Praise with joy the world’s Creator,
God of justice, love, and peace,
source and end of human knowledge,
God whose grace shall never cease.
Celebrate the Maker’s glory,
power to rescue and release.

2. Praise to Christ who feeds the hungry,
frees the captive, finds the lost,
heals the sick, upsets religion,
fearless both of fate and cost.
Celebrate Christ’s constant presence:
friend and stranger, guest and host.

3. Praise the Spirit sent among us,
liberating truth from pride,
forging bonds where race or gender,
age or nation dare divide.
Celebrate the Spirit’s treasure:
foolishness none dare deride.

4. Praise the Maker, Christ, and Spirit,
one God in community,
calling Christians to embody
oneness and diversity.
This the world shall see reflected:
God is One and One in Three.

*COMMISSIONING
As we leave this time of worship,
let us go forth with a renewed appreciation of God’s wonderful creation.
Let us choose to serve God in everything we do.
And let us spread God’s love everywhere we can.

*BENEDICTION

* SUNG BLESSING Go Now in Peace
Go now in peace. Never be afraid.
God will go with you each hour of every day.
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true,
Know God will guide you in all you do.
Go now in love, and show you believe.
Reach out to others so all the world can see.
God will be there, * within, around, above.
Go now in peace, in faith and in love.
Amen, amen, amen.