Sunday Worship Bulletin, Oct 5 2025

Veradale United Church of Christ

An Open & Affirming Congregation

Worshiping God in Christ – Welcoming All – Working for Justice & Peace

“No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!”

October 5, 2025

World Communion and St. Francis Sunday

We meet outside is the weather is good.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

10:20 Gathering and Prelude

10:30am    Worship begins

We worship on the unceded traditional territory of the Spokane, Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Coeur d’Alene, and other tribes. We acknowledge the history of indigenous genocide, removal, and erasure that continues to this day.  We recognize the role that Christian communities played in these injustices, and we recommit ourselves to seeking more peaceful, just, and neighborly ways of sharing this land with all who call it home.

Community Affirmation

God dwells within us ...all the time!  All the time...God dwells within us!

Service and Fellowship Opportunities 

Next Sunday: Standing Faithfully before God

Bible Study, Monday 7pm "The Four Agreements"

Silent Prayer, Tuesday 9:00 to 9:30am

String-A-Lings practice Wednesday, 5:30pm 

Sing-A-Lings practice starts Wednesday, Sept 6:30pm

 Community giving: Animal Shelter Supplies

Welcoming the Light of Christ

Hymn: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” 31 (NCH)

 Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
Our dear God made them all.

1. Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
and made their tiny wings. Refrain 

2.The purple-headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky. Refrain 

3.The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them every one. Refrain

Community Prayer

NCH 769

Hear our prayer, O God, hear our prayer, O God: incline your ear to us, and grant us your peace.

Prayers of Gratitude

Refrain

Prayers of Concern

Refrain

Silent Prayer

Refrain

 The Lord’s Prayer use the translation which is meaningful to you or

 Our Father (Creator) 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, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Response: “Amen, amen, amen.” 812 (NCH)

A Time of Offering

 An Invitation to Share 

Dedication Hymn: Eat this bread. Drink this cup. Come to me and never be hungry. Eat this bread. Drink this cup. Come to me and you shall not thirst.

Dedication prayer: Just and Compassionate God, pour out your blessing upon all the time, talent, and treasure that we offer. May the abundance of your loving kindness be known through our witness in this time and place. Amen

Listening for God

Psalm 37:1-9 NRSVUE translation¹ Do not fret because of the wicked;    do not be envious of wrongdoers,² for they will soon fade like the grass    and wither like the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;    live in the land and enjoy security.⁴ Take delight in the Lord,    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;    trust in him, and he will act.⁶ He will make your vindication shine like the light    and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;    do not fret over those who prosper in their way,    over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸ Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.    Do not fret—it leads only to evil.⁹ For the wicked shall be cut off,    but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

Luke 17:5-10 The Message Translation

⁵ The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”

⁶ But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.

^7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

Message: Trust in the Lord and do good

Sharing Holy Communion

Hand sanitizer passed around.

Pastor: Friends in Christ, we gather at our many tables mindful of the presence of God’s Spirit that is here with us.  We seek to honor the request of Jesus given in the scripture.  Of all the teachings Jesus gave to our ancestors, this he asked them and us to do for him to remember him. 

When Jesus and his friends sat together at a Passover meal, Jesus took bread; giving God thanks and praise, he broke the bread.  He gave it to his friends saying, “Take this all of you and eat of it.  This is my body that is broken for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”

After the meal had ended, Jesus poured out the cup and again he gave God thanks and praise.  He gave the cup to his friends and said, “Take this all of you and drink from it.  This is the cup of the new covenant.  Do this as often as you drink of it in remembrance of me.”

Let us pray.

All: Loving God, you are with us in questioning and learning.  We thank you with humble hearts. Let your presence be felt among us.  Come, Holy Spirit come.  Bless this bread and this cup and all who have gathered in your Spirit.  Refresh us and renew us as Christ’s body in the world today.  In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Silence as all who want to receive come forward. We will break bread and share a common cup or you can receive the packaged bread and drink,

Blessing of the Animals

While we are still sharing our communion tables, we share in this blessing)

Beloved Creator, you have made all creatures beautiful in your sight. Brother Francis recognized every animal as our true siblings. We thank you with humble hearts. By the power of your love, help each of these pets to live as companions and friends. Help us who love them to show your kindness and compassion to them all the days of their lives. We pray in the power of your Spirit. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Pastor: Let us pray. We thank you, God, for this loving community. As we share this meal and these blessings, we are humbled. You are beyond our understanding and within everyone and everything everywhere and in all creation. Bless us now to more fully live as your people in respect and love for all your creation through Jesus Christ whose way we follow.  Amen.

Meditation in Music

Announcement Reminder

Our Light moves into the World God Loves

Closing Hymn: “God Reigns o’er all the Earth” 21 (NCH) vs. 1 and 4

God reigns o’er all the earth! Green hills and valley’s low, the farms and towns in golds and browns God’s grace and beauty show.  God reigns o’er all the earth! Stone banks and spreading plains, in rainbow hues - reds, yellows, blues - of stream and country lanes.

God reigns! Emmanuel! God with us every day, in all our past and to the last, our comfort and our stay. God reigns! Emmanuel! Let praise to Christ be sung! God’s presence here makes all things dear. Let joyful bells be rung!

Benediction 

Communal Blessing

Be Yourself.

Grow in Christ.

Live with Compassion