Grace United Church | United Church in Thornbury, ON

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October 19, 2025: Anniversary Sunday Service

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Sunday, October 19, 2025

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Service and Hymns

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October 19, 2025

Celebrating 145 years

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Worship Leader: Orleen Anderson
Director of Music: Dr. Christopher Burton
Guest Musician: Karen James
Lay Readers: Elizabeth McKinlay, Shirley Woolner

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

We Gather

PRELUDE

A Stewardship Second: God asks us over and over again to listen to the people asking us for help, and to respond in faith and gratitude for what we have been given.

WELCOME

LIGHTING the CHRIST CANDLE
Lighting the Christ candle each Sunday reminds us
The Light guides us
The Light supports us
The Light surrounds us
The Light leads us forward.
Amen.

*CALL TO WORSHIP IN SONG: VU# 395 “Come In, Come In and Sit Down”
(Refrain) Come in, come in and sit down
you are a part of the family,
We are lost and we are found,
and we are a part of the family.

You know the reason why you came,
yet no reason can explain,
so share in the laughter
and cry in the pain,
for we are a part of the family.

(Refrain) Come in, come in and sit down
you are a part of the family,
We are lost and we are found,
and we are a part of the family.

OUR COMMITMENT to SAFER 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.
I am reading from Richard Wagamese’s book – EMBERS, One Ojibway’s meditations
Born into the Ojibwe Wabaseemoong First nation in northern Ontario.
It has been proven in my life that when your prayers are about gratitude for what is already here, Creator and the universe ALWAYS send more. Always. When you pray for what you WANT, Creator and the universe only hear the wanting, and that’s what you create – more wanting. Be thankful, offer prayers of gratitude for the blessings already in your life, whether health, prosperity or productivity, and more blessings will come.

MEMORY

OPENING PRAYER: (AH)
Creator God,
We give thanks for the traditions and faithfulness of all who have gone before us, that provide good soil for us to grow deep roots.
We give thanks for the creative energy of new ideas and unfamiliar ways, that push us to grow in unexpected (and sometimes uncomfortable!) directions.
As we lean into Deep Spirituality, engaging with new ideas and unleashing our creative spirit, may we not rush to throw out everything old, but have the wisdom to value existing ways that continue to serve us well.
As we step into Bold Discipleship, seeking to follow Jesus’ invitation to go and share the good news, may we do so humbly and with compassion, seeking to be in relationship with - not over - one another and all of creation.
As we strive toward Daring Justice, may those of us with power and privilege have the courage and compassion to not only stand in solidarity with those of us who are oppressed, but to dismantle the systems of oppression in which we participate.
May it be so. Amen.

We Listen

HISTORY MOMENT

*HYMN: “The Church in the Wildwood”
1. There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood,
No lovelier spot in the dale;
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.
Chorus: Oh, come, come, come, come
Come to the church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the church in the vale;
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.

2. Oh, come to the church in the wildwood,
To the trees where the wild flowers bloom;
Where the parting hymn will be chanted,
We will weep by the side of the tomb.
Chorus
Oh, come, come, come, come
Come to the church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the church in the vale;
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.

3. How sweet on a clear Sunday morning,
To list to the clear ringing bell:
Its tones so sweetly are calling,
Oh, come to the church in the vale.
Chorus
Oh, come, come, come, come
Come to the church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the church in the vale;
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale.

MEMORIES

SPECIAL MUSIC

MEMORY

ANTHEM: “Not the Building, but the People”

HISTORY MOMENT

*SCRIPTURE IN SONG: VU #820 Psalm 100 “Make a Joyful Noise”
Refrain: Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship you God with gladness
Make a joyful noise all the earth
Come to this place with a song!

1. Know that your God has made you.
Know it’s to God we belong.
And come to this place with joyfulness and praise.
Worship your God with a song!
Refrain: Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship you God with gladness
Make a joyful noise all the earth
Come to this place with a song!

2. Enter these gates, thanks giving.
Enter these courts with praise.
Sing thanks to you God and bless the holy Name.
Worship you God with a song!
Refrain: Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship you God with gladness
Make a joyful noise all the earth
Come to this place with a song!

3. Ages through endless ages,
Seasons of endless years,
The love of our Maker ever shall endure.
Worship your God with a song!
Refrain: Make a joyful noise all the earth!
Worship you God with gladness
Make a joyful noise all the earth
Come to this place with a song!

Matthew 18 verse 20: MV #14 “Where Two or Three are Gathered”
Where two or three are gathered in my name.
I am there, I am there.
(Sing once together and twice as a round)

HISTORY MOMENT

MEMORY

HISTORY MOMENT

We Respond

*HYMN: VU # 579 “The Church is Wherever God’s People”
1. The church is wherever God’s People are praising,
singing God’s goodness for joy of this day.
The church is wherever disciples of Jesus
remember his story and walk in his way.

2. The church is wherever God’s people are helping,
caring for neighbours in sickness and need.
The church is wherever God’s people are sharing
the words of the Bible in gift and in deed.

INVITATION to the OFFERING
Faith is a journey. Grace United Church respects each individual journey. Today as we worship and celebrate this building and the generations of people that have entered, may we also celebrate the generosity of each person...It could be time, wisdom, care, a listening ear, a meal delivered...It matters not how we give...giving is love and respect.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of OUR OFFERINGS
Dear and wonderful Creator ….thank you for the generations of people that have given their time, shared their faith and reached deep into their faith to walk the many individual and shared paths. As we follow in their footsteps, please accept our offerings of time, talent and treasure. In Jesus’s name, 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, or Donate to Grace United Church Thornbury 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

THE LORD’S PRAYER (Spoken, traditional words, VU 910)
And as a child turns to a loving caregiver who watches over them, we turn in prayer to you O God, who are our heavenly parent, our mother,
Our Father, who art in heaven…

What’s up at Grace?

MEMORY

We Go Out

MEMORIES

*HYMN: VU # 703 “In the Bulb There Is a Flower”
1. In the bulb there is a flower,
in the seed, an apple tree,
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

2. There’s a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody,
there’s a dawn in every darkness,
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

MEMORY

*HYMN: “Not the Building, but the People” v4
4. Nourished here by Word and Table,
voicing thanks in song and prayer,
we are strengthened to be people
formed by faith and called to care.
Trusting in the Spirit’s guidance,
(gifts bestowed without reserve),
mindful of the world around us,
we go forth to love and serve.

*COMMISSIONING

*CHORAL SENDING: “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.

*alternate words: watching from above

POSTLUDE

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