Sunday, October 10, 2021, Thanksgiving Sunday

Blessings on this Thanksgiving weekend! 

 Hymn      Come You Thankful People Come #516VU

Prayer: Creator God, we praise you for bright, crisp mornings, for leaves crackling under foot, and wisps of cloud in a pale sky. 

We praise you for the night-time rain, for the wind buffeting the city and street lamps reflected in wet pavements. 

We praise you for the season’s labours, for the smell of new-turned earth, and smoking bonfires.

  We praise you for the season’s gifts, for fruitfulness beyond measure and time to reflect and remember. 

Creator God, we praise you. Amen. (A prayer by Cally Booker and published in the Iona Community’s Acorns and Archangels.) 

Scripture Lessons:     Joel 2:21-27

                                   Psalm 126 p.850VU

                                   Matthew 6:25-33

Hymn       We Plough the Fields and Scatter #520VU

Meditation 

Prayer To wake from sleep into day,….is gift enough for thanks. 

To hear a child’s delight in laughter—- is gift enough for thanks. 

To sip a glass of clean, cold water—- is gift enough for thanks. 

To watch the sunset paint the sky—— is gift enough for thanks. 

To share a moment with a friend—- is gift enough for thanks. 

To smell the fragrance of moist soil—- is gift enough for thanks. 

To feel the comfort of clean clothing—- is gift enough for thanks. 

To form the words that make a prayer—- is gift enough for thanks. Amen. 

( A prayer by Keri Wehlander and published in Joy is our Banquet.) 

Hymn.      Now. Thank We All Our God #236VU

Congratulations to the recipients of the Howden-Templeton bursaries which will be awarded on Sunday. These include Randy Chisholm, Ryan Chisholm, Lindsay Gruer, Kevin Macfarlane, William Orr, Kailyn  Sylvester, and Kelsey Sylvester. Best wishes to you in your studies! 

On Sunday afternoon we will be celebrating the sacrament of baptism in Howick for Rylee Rose, daughter of Karlina Bustamante and Jordan McArthur. Welcome to the family, Rylee! 

Howick’s Stewards will be meeting this week on Wednesday, October 13th at 7pm in the church basement. 

Howick United Church will hold its annual meeting on Sunday October 24th in combination with the 11am worship service. Both members and adherents are welcome. Please let us know if you would like to receive a copy of the annual report before the meeting. 

We continue to hold the family of Ruth Graham Petch in our thoughts and prayers following the memorial service held on Saturday in Ormstown. 

Congratulations to Lily-Catherine and Noah, George and Matilda who welcomed a new member to their family last month. We look forward to getting to know Gwendolyn in the future. 

St Paul’s United Church will be holding a Thanksgiving Sunday service, both inside and out. We will be setting up the FM transmitter so people who are uncomfortable taking part in the service in the sanctuary can tune in on their car radios at 87.7 on the FM band and share in the service that way. We will also be doing a food collection for La Bouffe Additionelle that Sunday, collecting both fresh seasonal produce and  non-perishable food items.