Prayer: For all the saints: who went before us; who have spoken to our hearts; and touched us with your fire, we praise you, O God.
For all the saints: who live beside us; whose weaknesses and strengths are woven with our own, we praise you, O God.
For all the saints: who live beyond us; who challenge us to change the world with them, we praise you, O God. Amen. ( a prayer written by Janet Morley of England and printed in Bread of Tomorrow, edited by Janet Morley.)
Scripture Lessons: Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6p. 805VU
I Thessalonians 2:1-8
Meditation
Prayer: God, for all the saints I give you thanks— for grandparents and godparents, for doctors and teachers, for coaches and pastors.
God, for all the saints I give you thanks— for authors of books that have moved me, for friends whose advice has guided me, for strangers who proved an example, for my children and the children of others who have given me courage.
God, for all the saints I give you thanks— for those nearest and farthest away, for those who have died, and those who are living, for those who knew they made a difference and those who never will.
God, for all the saints I give you thanks. Amen. ( a prayer written by Maren Tirabassi and printed in Before the Amen, edited by Maren C. Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirabassi.)
Hymn For All the Saints #705VU
This week there will be a combined service held in Franklin United Church at 11:00, preceded by a fellowship time, beginning about 10:30. All welcome.
We hold the family and friends of Bill Lawrence, formerly of Ormstown, who died last week. We also continue to hold the family and friends of Melissa Evans, Marie-Paule Hodgson who have also died this month.
Next Sunday will be Remembrance Sunday in Ormstown and Howick. In Ormstown we will welcome members of the Legion to our 9:30 service. (There will also be a Cenotaph service held in Ormstown on Saturday, November 11th beginning at around 10:30.)
In Howick, there will be a community service held at Georgetown Presbyterian Church, beginning at 10:30am.
The Howden-Templeton Bursaries will once again be awarded to CEGEP or university or vocational level students who are associated with Howick United Church. Applicants can receive the bursary a maximum of three times. The deadline for applications is November 12th with the bursaries being presented at the 11am service at Howick United Church on November 26th. Applications can be found at the Howick United Church website or in the back of the church and can be given to Debbi Templeton, Scott Templeton, Brent Tolhurst, or Marlene Stuckey or mailed to the church at 2 Rue Bridge, Howick, QC, J0S 1G0.
FYI: after the congregational meeting in Howick last weekend, it has been decided to repair the elevator, despite the cost, to ensure that the church is accessible, particularly as we will be holding more services in the hall in the basement. This will be funded in part through the Memorial Fund, the Trustees, and any donations that may be received for this project. It was also decided to apply for Faithful Footprints to make the church building more sustainable. A plan with estimates is now being prepared by a committee. Assistance and advice would be appreciated.
Franklin United Church will be holding a Joint Board meeting Wednesday, November 1st in the church office, at 1:30pm.
This week the United Church, along with other organizations, observed a Day of Prayer for peace in the Middle East. In some churches this Sunday is also known as Peace Sunday. As we approach Remembrance Day, we continue to pray for peace.
Hymn Jesus Calls Us #562VU
Prayer: Two peoples, one land
Three faiths, one root,
One earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,
One broken heart
One God.
We pray to you:
Grant us a vision of unity
May we see the many in the one and the one in many.
May you, life of all the Worlds,
Source of all Amazing Differences,
Help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other,
Towards peace. Amen. ( a prayer of Rabbi Sheila Weinberg, Jewish Community of Amherst, MA.)
Scripture Lessons: I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Psalm 99 p.819VU
Matthew 22:15-22
Meditation
Prayer: God of comfort, send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine. You are the Advocate of the oppressed and the One whose eye is on the sparrow. Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression. Let hearts mourn rather than militarize.
God of Justice, give strength to those whose long work for a just peace might seem fruitless now. Strengthen their resolve. Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work and bolster their courage. Guide religious leaders to model unity and reconciliation across lines of division. Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it. Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence.
God of Love, we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures. War is a monster that consumes everything in its path. Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies. Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries. We beg for love and compassion to prevail on all your holy mountains.
God of Hope, we lift up the cities of the region: Garza City and Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Ba’ath and Sderot, so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity. Come again to breathe peace on your peoples that all may recognize you.
God of Mercy, even now work on the hearts of combatants to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation, restoration over destruction. Help us resist antisemitism in all its forms, especially in our own churches. All people, Israelis and Palestinians, deserve to live I. Peace and unafraid, with a right to determine their future together.
God of the Nations, let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency. Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit vulnerability for their own distorted ends. Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace. Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all. Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets. Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.
Strengthen our faith in you, O God of all Flesh, even when we don’t have clear answers, so that we may still offer ourselves nonviolently for the cause of peace. Amen. ( a prayer by Rose Marie Berger, printed in the Sojourners magazine and distributed by Convergence.)
Hymn. O Master Let Me Walk withThee #560VU
This week there will be services in both Franklin (9:30) and Howick (11:00). Immediately following the 11:00 service in Howick there will be a congregational meeting to discuss emerging issues such as applying for Faithful Footprints funding and possible repairs to the elevator in Howick. Sandwiches and coffee will be provided for those staying for the meeting.
We hold in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of Melissa Evans following her unexpected death this month.
We also hold in our prayers the family and friends of Marie-Paule Hodgson who died this past week. A service of remembrance and thanksgiving for her life will be held Saturday morning at the Village Church in Ormstown.
We are continuing our campaign to support the Canadian FoodGrains Bank. Envelopes are available in our churches or donations may be made online at foodgrainsbank.ca.
St Paul’s Stewards will meet on Wednesday, October 25th at 7:30pm in the hall.
St Andrew’s United Church in Chateauguay and St Edward’s Presbyterian Churches will be holding an anniversary Musical Celebration this evening, October 22nd at 7pm at St Andrew’s United Church 46 DuPont West in Chateauguay. A free will offering will be taken to be given to the local food bank and the celebration will be followed by a fellowship time featuring many apple desserts.
Next Sunday there will be a combined service in Franklin United Church, to be held at 11:00. There will be a fellowship time to begin at 10:30.
The time has come for CEGEP and university students associated with Howick United Church to apply for the Howden-Templeton bursaries. The deadline for applying is November 12th, and the bursaries will be presented November 26th at the 11:00 service. The application is available on the church website or in the church. Applications may be given to Debbi Templeton, Scott Templeton, Brent Tolhurst or Marlene Stuckey, or they may be mailed to the church, 2 Bridge, Howick QC, J0S 1G0. Bursaries may only be received up to a limit of three years.
We will be holding Remembrance Sunday services on November 5th. In Ormstown the service will be held in the church at 9:30am. In Howick a combined service with Georgetown Presbyterian Church will be held in Georgetown, beginning at 10:30am.
Tomorrow is World Food Day so today is World Food Sunday. We will be launching our fundraising campaign for the Canadian Food Grains Bank. Envelopes will be available in our churches.
Hymn Joyful Joyful We Adore You #232
Scripture Lessons: Philippians 4:1-9
Psalm 23 p.749VU
Matthew 22:1-14
Meditation
Prayer: Lord of the harvest, we rejoice in the bounty of your world; we thank you for the rich harvests it produces. As we do so, we remember those who do not have enough, the thousands who are daily dying of hunger. We pray for those who have more than they require, for ourselves and our churches.
Show us what needs to be done, and how to share the world’s harvest more fairly. Teach us to value people more than things. Above all, help us to set our hearts on your kingdom of love and justice, and to seek to do your will here on earth, as servants of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (from the Canadian Food Grains Bank website, foodgrainsbank.ca/resources)
Hymn I Sing the Mighty Power of God #231
This Sunday there will be services at 9:30 in Howick and 11:00 in Ormstown. Following the early service in Howick there will be a craft/ family activity time beginning about 11:00, with plans to decorate pumpkins and preparing mini-pizzas for lunch. All welcome to come and participate. Wilene would appreciate if you could let her know if you are planning to attend, so we can ensure we have enough supplies for everyone.
Congratulations to Kristina Countouris and Shawn Woodward who were married in Howick on Friday.
This will be a Communion Sunday in Ormstown. (Ooops! I am told that I announced that the Communion celebration would be the 22nd, but it is in fact this Sunday.)
Many thanks to all who donated food to the food drive in Ormstown. It was greatly appreciated.
For those who would like to make a donation to the CFGB online, the website is: foodgrainsbank.ca.
Next Sunday there will be a congregational meeting following the 11:00 service. The Board of Stewards wish to inform the congregation about their plans to apply for Faithful Footprints funding for the church. We may also discuss the elevator.
St Andrew’s United Church and St Edward’s Presbyterian Church are planning a Musical Celebration to mark their anniversaries. It will be held Sunday, October 22nd at 7pm, in the St Andrew’s United Church at 46 DuPont W. It will include lots of singing and be followed by a a reception with coffee, tea, and lots of apple desserts. A free will offering will be taken to be given to the local food bank. For more information, there is a poster in our churches.
There will be a combined service for our three congregation on Sunday, October 29th in the Franklin United Church at 11:00. We will begin at 10:30 with a fellowship time.
Howick United Church will be sharing a Remembrance Sunday service with Georgetown Presbyterian Church. The service will be held at 10:30am in the Georgetown Presbyterian Church.
This is the final Sunday of the season of creation. As this season comes to an end, let us rejoice in the wonderful gifts and blessings that God provides to us in God’s wonderful world.
Hymn. Come You Thankful People Come #516VU
Prayer: Creator of the world, and all that is in it, you crown the year with your goodness. May we who have been blessed give thanks always, sharing from God’s abundance. In all the earth, May we recognize your gifts and treat them with reverence. So be it! Amen. ( from the United Church’s worship resource)
Scripture Lessons: Deuteronomy 8: 7-18
Psalm 65
Luke 17:11-19
Hymn. We Plough the Fields and Scatter #520
Meditation
Prayer: In your presence, O God, we make our prayer of thanksgiving.
We begin with the simple things of our days: fresh air to breathe,
Cool water to drink,
The taste of food,
The protection of houses and clothes,
The comforts of home.
For all these we make an act of Thanksgiving this day!
We bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that we have known:
Our mothers’ arms,
The strength of our fathers,
The playmates of our childhood,
The wonderful stories brought to us from the lives of many who talked of days gone by,
The tears we have shed, the tears we have seen;
The excitement of laughter and the twinkle in the eye with its reminder that life is good.
The love freely accepted, genuinely offered, and mutually elected,
For all these we make an act of Thanksgiving this day. Amen. ( a prayer of Howard Thurman)
Hymn. Now Thank We All our God #236
After consultation, the Franklin United Church has cancelled their service for Sunday, as many people cannot attend. There will be services in both Howick and Ormstown at 11:00. Ormstown will also collect food for the food bank as well. Howick United church will be welcoming Tad and Muriel to the service. Coffee and munchies will be available from about 10:00.
St Paul’s in Ormstown will be holding their fall communion celebration on Sunday, October 22nd at 11:00. This is also World Food Sunday.
Many thanks to all who planned and took part in the craft activity Sunday last Sunday in Ormstown.
St Paul’s United Church Session will meet on Wednesday October 11th at 7:30pm in the hall.
St Paul’s Stewards will delay their meeting until Wednesday, October 25th at 7:30pm in the hall.
Howick United Church will be holding a family activity day following the 9:30 Sunday service on October 15th. This will include decorating mini-pumpkins and preparing mini-pizzas for lunch. (This is a change of date from what was originally discussed. Please make note!) If you are planning on attending, please let Wilene Cullen know so we can make sure we have enough materials for everyone.
Howick will also be holding a congregational meeting following the 11:00 Sunday service on Sunday October 22nd to discuss plans for applying for Faithful Footprints funding to make the church more sustainable and also possibly to discuss the expenses for repairing the elevator in the church. Sandwiches and coffee will be available.
St Andrew’s United Church, Chateauguay, and St Edwards’s Presbyterian Church in Beauharnois will be holding a special anniversary musical celebration at St Andrew’s United Church, 46 DuPont West on Sunday, October 22nd at 7pm. This will include lots of singing and be followed by tea, coffee, and apple desserts. The free will offering taken will be donated to the local food bank.
There will be a combined Sunday service for our three congregations on Sunday, October 29th at 11:00 in Franklin United Church. There will be a time of fellowship beginning about 10:30 am.
