Service Sunday August 2, 2026

HIGHLAND HILLS UNITED CHURCH

Minden, Ontario

SUNDAY, August 2, 2026

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, August 2, 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

        For thousands of years, Indigenous people have walked this territory.

We acknowledge the traditional territory of the Mississauga and the Ojibwe Anishnabek peoples and their stewardship of this territory throughout the ages.  May we also walk here with respect.

THE APPROACH

CALL TO WORSHIP:   

One:      May God’s love and acceptance fall upon us today.

ALL:    May it fill our hearts with joy.

One:      We gather together now to praise the One who designed and created us.

ALL:    How can our hearts stop from singing!

One:      They can’t and they shouldn’t! This time together as a community of song, Word, and prayer will strengthen us for the week ahead.

ALL:    We are children of the God of kindness – each one of us inside and outside these walls. May the love of God shine through us so all may experience the loving-kindness of God.

One:      This is the day the Lord has made. This is the day the Lord has given us. Come, let us worship God.

                                Written by Rosemary Godin, Sydney, N.S.

                                Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.40.  Used with permission.

HYMN:     “This Is the Day”  VU# 412   

1,4       This is the day, this is the day

                        that our God has made, that our God has made;

            we will rejoice, we will rejoice,

                        and be glad in it, and be glad in it.

            This is the day that our God has made,

                        we will rejoice and be glad in it.

            This is the day, this is the day

                        that our God has made.

2          Open to us, open to us

                        your gates, O God, your gates, O God;

            we will go in, we will go in,

                        to your holy place, to your holy place.

            Open to us your gates, O God,

                        we will go in to your holy place.

            Open to us, open to us

                        your gates, O God.

3          You are our God, you are our God,

                        we will praise your name, we will praise your name;

            we will give thanks, we will give thanks,

                        for your faithfulness, for your faithfulness.

            You are our God, we will praise your name,

                        we will give thanks for your faithfulness.

            You are our God, you are our God,

                        we will praise your name.

A NEW CREED:                            Spoken in Unison

We are not alone; we live in God’s world.

We believe in God: who has created and is creating,

who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,

to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the church: to celebrate God’s presence,

to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others,

to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,

our judge and our hope.  In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.  We are not alone. Thanks be to God.

MINISTRY OF MUSIC

LEARNING TOGETHER

HYMN: “Lord, Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary” MV #18 – Three times

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,

       pure and holy tried and true;

       with thanksgiving,

       I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.

THE WORD

‍ ‍‍Scripture:          Matthew 14: 13 - 21   

Leader:       Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.

ALL:          Thanks be to God.

MESSAGE

“Being Blessed, Broken, and Given”

OUR RESPONSE

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and

THE LORD’S PRAYER: sung VU#960

HYMN: “There’s Enough for All” TLUS #60  Repeat 4 times

There’s enough for all if we learn to share it,

there’s enough for all, oh, help us to believe.

There’s enough for all.  Let’s bring our loaves and fishes, and offer them to Jesus.

There’s more than enough for you and me.

PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS

AFFIRMING MOMENT

OFFERTORY PRAYER:         In Unison

Jesus, once, in a lonely place, you offered the compelling vision of what it is like when God shows up in the neighbourhood and all are fed with your goodness.

Holy One, sometimes we feel inadequate in what we have to share. Take now our hesitancy. Take our fear at our insufficiencies.

And by the Spirit, invest what we offer, creating a community that is healthier and a congregation that contributes to a shared experience of well-being.

Take our humble offerings, bless them, and accomplish your will. Amen.

      Written by Jeff Werner, Trinity U.C., Acton, Ont. and Ebenezer U.C., Milton, Ont.

                          Gathering, Pentecost 1 2026, p.48.  Used with permission.

SUNG BLESSING  Christ Has No Body Now but Yours

MV #171 vs 4           

Refrain         

Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours.

Here on this earth, yours is the work,

to serve with the joy of compassion.

Through ev’ry gift, give back to those in need;

as Christ has blessed, so now be his blessing,

with ev’ry gift a benediction, be to the people of God.   Refrain

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.