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March 8, 2026: Third Sunday in Lent

Rev Brian Goodings

Sunday, March 8, 2026

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March 8, 2026

Third Sunday in Lent

Find this service at www.graceunitedthornbury.ca/live

Leading us today in Worship:
Minister: Rev. Dr. Brian Goodings
Director of Music: Dr. Christopher Burton
Lay Reader: Jim Oliver

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

Scripture for meditation:
A Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” John 4:7

We Gather

PRELUDE: Selected Hymns for Lent

A Stewardship Second
Sharing what we have—our time, our energy, our money, our belongings—spreads water on a world thirsting for justice.

WELCOME

Extinguishing Third Candle of Lent
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

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.
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.

LENTEN PRAYER of CONFESSION
(inspired by prayers of Ted Loder)
As the clouds hide the stars;
so my hedge of self-interest obscures the needs of my neighbours
As the call for sharing rings from our worship service;
so my own wealth is put under stronger lock and key
As the darkness comes at night;
so my prejudices refuse to turn to the light
As my heart aches for your presence;
my own dishonest prayers keep you at bay
As I fall and stumble in the dry desert of my sins;
so I am dying of thirst for you. AMEN

WORDS of ASSURANCE

*OPENING HYMN: VU #766
“As the Deer Pants for the Water” (from Psalm 42)
1. As the deer pants for the water,
so my soul longs after you;
you alone are my heart’s desire
and I long to worship you.
You alone are my strength, my shield
to you alone may my spirit yield;
you alone are my heart’s desire,
and I long to worship you.

2. I want you more than gold or silver,
only you can satisfy;
you alone are the real joy-giver
and the apple of my eye.
You alone are my strength, my shield
to you alone may my spirit yield;
you alone are my heart’s desire,
and I long to worship you.

3. You’re my friend and you are my brother,
even though you are a king;
I love you more than any other,
so much more than anything!
You alone are my strength, my shield
to you alone may my spirit yield;
you alone are my heart’s desire,
and I long to worship you.

Lighting the Children’s Lantern

Theme Conversation: Water

We Listen

SCRIPTURE READING: John 4: 5-42 (Jesus and the woman at the well)
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.Youworship what youdo not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”They left the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.And many more believed because of his word.
They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

RESPONSE: VU #635 “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me) (v.1)
All the way my Saviour leads me;
what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt his tender mercy
who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
here by faith in him to dwell,
for I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

ANTHEM: “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” - Temple/arr. M. Barnard

SERMON: “Eroding Prejudices” Rev Brian Goodings

PASTORAL & LORD’S PRAYER

*HYMN: VU #600 “When I Needed a Neighbour”
1. When I needed a neighbour, were you there,
were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?

2. I was hungry and thirsty, were you there,
were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?

3. I was cold, I was naked, were you there,
were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?

4. When I needed a healer, were you there,
were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?

5. Wherever you travel I’ll be there,
I’ll be there,
wherever you travel I’ll be there.
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
I’ll be there.

We Respond

INVITATION to the OFFERING
We live in a world who thirsts—for justice, for compassion, for love. We are invited to share our gifts with faith that they will serve as living water: quenching thirst, nurturing growth, healing the world. Let us offer our gifts for the work of this congregation, and nationally and globally through Mission and Service.

PRAYER of DEDICATION of OUR OFFERINGS
Like the water from the rock that Moses struck in the wilderness, O God, let these gifts spill out and nourish your people. May our generosity be a blessing to both friends and strangers—to all who may be struggling in their own wilderness. We offer ourselves and these gifts with faithful hearts, sustained with your abiding love. 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

DEDICATION HYMN: VU #579 (v.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.

What’s up at Grace?

We Go Out

*HYMN: VU #651 “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”
1. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.

2. Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield,
be thou still my strength and shield.

3. When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death, and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side:
songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.

*COMMISSIONING

*BENEDICTION

*HYMN: VU #424 “May the God of Hope Go with Us”
1. May the God of hope go with us every day,
filling all our lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of justice speed us on our way,
bringing light and hope to every land and race.
Praying, let us work for peace,
singing, share our joy with all,
working for a world that’s new,
faithful when we hear Christ’s call.

2. May the God of healing free the earth from fear,
freeing us for peace, both treasured and pursued.
May the God of love keep our commitment clear
to a world restored, to human life renewed.
Praying, let us work for peace,
singing, share our joy with all,
working for a world that’s new,
faithful when we hear Christ’s call.