Service Sunday July 19, 2026
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
All are Welcome!
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
Watch a video recording of the whole service using YouTube below
HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH
Minden, Ontario
SUNDAY, July 19, 2026
All are Welcome!
(For a Printer Friendly PDF version click this link)
(For Rev. Peter’s Musings PDF version click this link)
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward
Music Director: Melissa Stephens
THE GATHERING
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
FOCUSING ON THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERRITORY In Unison
Here at Highland Hills United Church, we recognize that we share this land with the first inhabitants of this area, the Anishnabek peoples and the Metis peoples, with whom we seek to live in harmony with this land and all of its inhabitants. We are all treaty people.
Written by Beth W Johnston, Collaborative Ministry, River Philip and Springhill, N.S. Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.37. Used with permission.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Taking care…
All: of one another.
One: Taking care…
All: of the world.
One: Taking care…
All: with each other.
One: Taking care…
All: with the Word.
One: We are stewards of all God’s things.
We are stewards of all God’s gifts.
We are stewards of all God’s Creation.
All: So we must take care.
One: In our living,
In our sharing,
In our acting,
In our caring…
All: we worship God.
Written by Richard Bott, Grace U.C., Burlington, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.39. Used with permission.
HYMN: “For the Healing of the Nations” VU #678
1 For the healing of the nations,
God, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.
2 Lead us forward into freedom,
from despair your world release;
that, redeemed from war and hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
fear will die and hope increase.
3 All that kills abundant living,
let it from the earth be banned:
pride of status, race or schooling,
dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
may we hallow life's brief span.
4 You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness
bring the life of Christ to mind;
that, by our response and service,
earth its destiny may find.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT: Spoken in Unison
Highland Hills is an inclusive and supportive community of faith that follows the ways and teachings of Jesus Christ. We offer worship, education, pastoral care and outreach for all. With a belief in God, we strive to include people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, differing abilities, colour, ethnicity, cultural identity, and economic circumstances, participating in all aspects in the life of the church. As a community of faith, we publicly declare a commitment to social justice initiatives, care for the earth, and equity for everyone. We will be intentional and explicit in welcoming and providing a safe space for all.
MINISTRY OF MUSIC
LEARNING TOGETHER
HYMN: “My Lord, What a Morning” VU# 708
Refrain My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning
when the stars begin to fall.
1 You'll hear the trumpet sound
to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
Refrain My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning
when the stars begin to fall.
2 You'll hear the sinner cry
to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
3 You'll hear the Christian shout
to wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God's right hand
when the stars begin to fall. Refrain
THE WORD
Scripture: Matthew 13:24 - 30, 36 - 43
Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.
ALL: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE
“Seeds & Weeds”
Listen to an audio recording of the Message below or read it at the bottom of this page.
OUR RESPONSE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and
THE LORD’S PRAYER: sung VU#960
HYMN: “Come, You Thankful People, Come” VU #516
1 Come, you thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
safe before the storms begin;
God, our maker, does provide
for our needs to be supplied:
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home!
2 All the world is God's own field,
harvests for God's praise to yield;
wheat and weeds together sown,
here for joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade, and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear:
Harvest-giver, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.
3 For our God, one day, shall come,
and shall take this harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offences purge away;
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the weeds to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.
4 Even so, God, quickly come
to your final harvest home!
Gather all your people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin;
there for ever purified,
in your presence to abide:
come, with all your angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
YOUR GENEROSITY MATTERS
OFFERTORY PRAYER: In Unison
Risen One, bless these offerings given in person and online. May these givings connect us with each other and with your powerful imagination of what this world may be. May our commitment to giving strengthen our faith and shape us more in your image. Amen.
Written by Elaine Bidgood Sveet, Zion Lutheran Church, Minot, North Dakota
Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.49. Used with permission.
SUNG BLESSING MV #150 vs 4
4 Spirit God: be our breath, be our song.
Blow through us, bringing strength to move on.
Through change, through challenge, we’ll greet the new dawn…
Spirit God, be our song.
SENDING FORTH:
A TIME OF FELLOWSHIP
© Music Reproduced with permission under License number A-605748,
Valid for: 26/10/2025 - 25/10/2026; One License - Copyright Cleared Music for Churches.
Sermon 19 July 2026
“Seeds & Weeds”
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
Gracious God, be with us today in this place, in the Scriptures and in our words.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts praise your Holy name. Amen.
Today is a special day because we are going to be learning a little about the M&S fund.
To start off today, I need a brave volunteer to help me with a little, no rehearsal dialogue!
Don’t worry, it is nothing like the usual dialogue between a Priest, a Rabbi and a Mulla in a bar!
This little dialogue will help us understand the M&S fund a little better before I begin rambling on.
M&S Is a Unified Fund (SKIT)
One: Someone at church today called the Mission and Service Fund a unified fund.
Two: That’s right.
Always has been.
One: (looking around) I didn’t want to sound uninformed at church today, but what does “unified fund” mean?
Two: It’s a very simple idea, really.
All the money raised for The United Church of Canada, the whole United Church, goes into one pot.
Then decisions are made about how we divide up the money.
One: You mean all the money for M&S is lumped together so I can’t give my money to a specific thing?
Two: That’s right.
One: Why do we have a unified fund and who decides how to spend it?
Two: The unified fund dates back to the 1928 General Council and before.
Our members decided that there should be a cooperative and unified fund for financing all the work of the church.
It shows that the church is unified “in a core of shared belief.”
As far as spending the money, YOU decide.
Or I should say, WE decide.
United Church members decide through their representatives on the General Council and through volunteers on many committees.
Each project we fund represents a ministry that has been tested and is a faithful expression of our call to serve others.
One: Don’t you want to see exactly where your gifts to M&S go?
I can’t see why we chose this way of doing things.
Two: Well to answer the second part first, a unified fund is the most flexible way of serving others.
It’s the fairest, most economical, and most effective way.
It also means that we can budget and our partners can budget—just like we do here in our own congregation.
Now as far as seeing where my gifts go—I can do that by listening to these Your Generosity Matters, by looking at the website.
There are lots of ways to learn about our united work.
And I know I am participating in all the work, not having to choose between needs and people.
One: I think I get it. United work, United fund, United Church.
[END]
Thanks so much to our brave volunteer!
Like I was saying earlier, today is a special day because we are going to be learning a little about the M&S fund.
I have really enjoyed researching about the M&S fund because I have learned so much and I thought I already knew quite a bit about it.
It is the goal of our Outreach committee to focus on keeping our members aware of the different ministries of the M&S fund and the status of our givings compared with our objective.
Our announcement page shows us some numbers on occasion and encourages us as the year progresses.
Our hope is that by encouraging and highlighting the M&S fund, we will all be inspired to give and meet our objective.
Talking about objectives and dollars is not enough to stimulate me or to help me understand the value and importance of the M&S fund.
It is the stories about the M&S fund that make an impact on me.
We hear these stories once a month in our Your Generosity Matters.
I wish that I could simply read to you ALL the stories of the different ministries that receive funds from our M&S givings.
But there simply isn’t time.
Jesus loved to tell stories to help everyday people understand what he was talking about.
He taught people lessons about life by using the things of everyday life in his stories.
Today, Jesus is talking about the wheat and the thistles growing up together.
It made me think of my own garden.
This year, my hollyhocks are so beautiful and growing tall.
Unfortunately, all the weeds have also been growing very well this year too.
Jesus tries to explain his story about the wheat and the thistles as best he can to the disciples.
The field represents the world, the wheat represents subjects of the kingdom and the thistles represent subjects of the Tempter!
What does any of this have to do with anything, especially the M&S Fund?
Well, the way I see it, Jesus gives us a mission to love and serve others in this world.
So, our world is the field, here and now.
We all know that there are problems in this world; you could even call them subjects of evil or the Tempter if that helps.
We have the opportunity to be the good seed; the wheat of the world.
Our Mission and Service fund provides a way for us to do just that.
I want to tell you a little bit about the M&S fund and Emergency Appeals.
What is the connection between the M&S Fund and special appeals for emergencies like hurricane relief, earthquake relief etc.?
Each year emergency funds are allocated in the budget from the Mission and Service Fund for response to emergency needs in countries of the global South.
Having such a fund on hand enables the Untied Church to respond rapidly when needs are critical.
In addition to the Mission and Service Fund “emergencies” budget, we also regularly draw on United Church equity in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to respond to critical food needs in other countries.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a Christian-based food aid and development organization that collect donations of grain, cash, and other agricultural commodities for distribution to the world’s hungry.
It is owned by 13 Canadian church members, including the United Church, that work with international partners.
Sometimes because of an extraordinary crisis we call on church members to give an extra gift for a particular emergency.
These are called “supragifts,” and do not go into the Mission and Service Fund.
Because the gift goes straight to the appeal, the congregation is not given credit for these gifts as M&S Fund gifts.
This does not mean that there is no connection between M&S and supragifts.
Without M&S we could not ask for or accept and deliver supragifts.
The M&S Fund allows us to have staff to confer with partners, to ask for, and to process gifts.
All administration costs for emergency appeals are paid for by M&S.
Unlike other large agencies whose primary work is emergency relief, The United Church of Canada does not usually deploy personnel to accompany or monitor the relief effort.
Instead, we rely on expertise and reports from global partner organizations to assess the situation and ensure effective use of funds, with priority given to assisting indigenous organizations to respond themselves.
They are able to put in place programs that not only respond to the emergency but assist in development and reconstruction.
These partnerships are created thanks to M&S.
Here is an example of the importance of M&S in the Earthquake that hit Haiti.
Soon after the Earthquake struck, United Church staff were in communication with several of the United Church’s partners in the affected region to express our concern and sympathy and to offer support.
Some partners requested immediate assistance, and some looked ahead to long-term needs of reconstruction.
Assurances were made about United Church commitment for the long term through M&S.
$20,000 from the Mission and Service Fund was immediately applied to earthquake relief.
An appeal was launched soon after.
M&S absorbed the staffing and administration costs of processing emergency donations.
M&S funded staff applied to the federal government for matching grants and were ultimately successful in their bid.
Our members have given over $3,000,000 to Haitian relief!
How do we know about emergencies?
The United Church receives appeals and requests for emergency assistance directly from global partners in the countries affected, or from the Geneva-based organization Action by Churches Together (ACT).
ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
It is based with the World Council of Churches.
The United Church is a long-standing member of the World Council of Churches and a partner of ACT.
Through ACT we offer assistance to victims of natural disasters as well as of emergencies caused by war and civil conflict.
Although we occasionally need to respond to emergencies through special designated gifts, it is the steady, faithful gifts to the Mission and Service Fund that support our partnerships with organizations like ACT, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and our global partnerships around the world.
Through M&S we can respond immediately to emergencies and, perhaps more importantly, we are able to walk alongside partners in the long term development and reconstruction that is needed.
There is so much more that we can learn about the M&S fund.
May what we have learned today be like good seed planted in this world.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
