“We are journeying together in God’s love . . .
to discover, nurture and share our gifts.”
November 19, 2006
Baptism & Membership Sunday
The gifts Hannah brings to community, first in her persistent trust and then in her child Samuel, are enormous. What of ourselves do we entrust to the care and keeping of community?
If you would like to stay seated for any or all of the “standing” parts of the service, please feel free to do so.
We Gather To Worship God
Prelude An Assortment of Lullaby’s
A time of silent preparation—Lighting the Christ Candle
Call to Worship (Responsive)
One: In worship, we who are called “Christian” gather to express our unity with God and with each other.
All: We are a community which spans the centuries, bound together by a covenant whose signature is baptism.
One: We have inherited this covenant of baptism from those in ages past who bequeathed to us their faith and their faithfulness.
All: In our worship today we renew our commitment to live in this covenant and we draw together a wider community of believers, including those who bore witness at our baptism.
One: As faithful women and men have done for years, let us worship.
May we open our hearts in love today. May we open the doors of our churches and homes and welcome all into our midst. For in love we are made one with God, with each other and with the world. Amen.
Jr. Choir: “Joyful Sounds” by Cristi Cary Miller and Kathlyn Reynolds
Hymn #644 “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” vs 1-3
(During the singing of this hymn – those sharing in the service of Baptism please join on the Chancel.)
Lesley Berg: On behalf of the Board of Westminster United Church, I present the following child for initiation into the body of Christ through Baptism:
Blair Albert Foster
Son of
Derek Foster & Tammy Hermanson
You come to this place bringing your child. You speak for him. His care and nurture is entrusted to you. You bring him here to commit both him and yourselves to a life of faith, a journey with ever new experiences and challenges.
Do you see the act of baptism as a symbol of our celebration of the life of your child, filled as he already is with the spirit of the Divine? If so, please say, “I do.”
I do.
Do you believe that as we share the stories of life, yours, ours, those of your children and those of people of wisdom and faith who have gone before us, as we share those stories, we come to know the Divine more fully? If so, please say “I do.”
I do.
Do you commit yourself and your child to a journey of the spirit with this community of faith, seeking to find and nurture the wholeness within yourself, your child and the world? If so, please say “I do.”
I do.
Baptismal Promises of the Congregation (Please stand)
We gather at this font to celebrate the Spirit of Life that connects us all and through which we come to love ourselves, one another, and the whole of creation.
This font and the water in it, are our symbols of community and our common need for the refreshing waters of the Spirit.
Through water we are born, of water we are made, by water we are sustained. Each of you, whole and loved, yet knows the need for support and care upon the spiritual journey. As these individuals gather to commit to the journey through baptism, let us
pledge our care to them.
We stand as witnesses to the commitment these people make to the journey of faith and pledge ourselves, through the symbol of this water, to their love, support, and care as they discover the ways that the Spirit unfolds for them.
(Please be seated)
Let us Pray
May we be thankful for the gift of life, and, within it, the gift of water. Over its unshaped promise Spirit hovered at creation; by water comes the growth of the earth. Through water the children of Israel were led to freedom; in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus, was baptised. May this water be a sign for all of new life. Amen.
Lesley pours the water.
The Baptism (All relatives and friends of Blair are asked to stand where they are seated in the pew).
Blair Albert, “I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. You are baptised in the name of love: its beginning and its end, its commitment and its challenge, its peace and its power.”
Laying on of Hands
(The family and minister place their hands on Blair to indicate the action of the Holy Spirit.)
Blair Albert, “may the Spirit work within you, that being born of water and Spirit, you may be a faithful witness of Jesus.”
People Respond: “Amen.”
In the name of Jesus, who was baptised as you are now, you are welcomed into the household of faith with joy and thanksgiving.
Hymn #644 “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” vs 4-7
The Sunday School & Youth leave for their classes.
Prayer for Transformation & Assurance of Pardon
We long for security amid a changing world: the terrorists strike, the towers fall, the civilized order is threatened. We long for security, in a changing family situation: the ties of marriage are strained, addictions are acquired early, debt is easy to come by. We long for security in a changing church: the old tunes and traditions are replaced, patterns of worship are new, there is a different level of commitment. We long for security, in a changing faith: questioning and doubt are front and center, the person of Jesus is debated, the scriptures are probed. (Time of Reflection…)
Assurance of Pardon (One)
We Listen For God’s Word
Biblical Notes
Hannah and Eli
Other lessons: 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25; & Mark 13:1-8.
Hymn #340 “Jesus, Friend of Little Children”
“I celebrate children” excerpt from: Balloons Belong in Church by Ann Weems
Hymn #593 “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
Mission Moment Marilynn Piotrowski
We Respond In Giving And Gratitude
Offertory “Third Gymnopédie” by Erik Satie
Hymn #703 “In the Bulb There Is a Flower”
Commissioning (One)
Let us greet the world as children, rejoicing in its wonders, sharing its goodness with our sisters and brothers. And may the vision and reality of peace make this world a happy home for all the human family.
Choral Amen
#884 “You Shall Go Out With Joy” (x2)
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
the mountains and the hills will break forth before you;
there'll be shouts of joy, and all the trees of the field
will clap, will clap their hands!
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands, (clap, clap)
the trees of the field will clap their hands, (clap, clap)
the trees of the field will clap their hands (clap, clap)
while you go out with joy.
Postlude “Bouree” by Telemann
The Life And Work Of The Congregation
This Week at Westminster (November 19 - 25)
Sun. Trustees 9:00 a.m. Shalom Room
Worship 10:25 a.m. Sanctuary
Jr. Choir Singing
Tues. Meditation Group 7:00 p.m. Adoption 2000
Wed. Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Nursery
Confirmation Class 7:00 p.m. James’ Office
Thurs. Senior Choir Practice 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary
Next Week at Westminster (November 26 - December 2)
Sun. Christian Development 9:00 a.m. Lounge
Worship 10:25 a.m. Sanctuary
Jr. Choir Practice after worship Lounge
Tues. Staff Meeting 9:00 a.m. Lounge
Meditation Group 7:00 p.m. Adoption 2000
Wed. Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Nursery
Confirmation Class 7:00 p.m. James’ Office
Thurs. Senior Choir Practice 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary
Westminster welcomes Dub & Gwen Henderson into membership this morning.
Thank you to everyone who helped with the Poinsettia Tartan Tea yesterday.
Friendship Rosters: Please sign the Friendship Roster this morning. It is a helpful record of your worship presence and a way to share special concerns (ie. Prayer requests, name tag requests, etc.)
Nursery volunteers are needed to help on Sundays during worship. Please contact Tanya Hoffarth at 526-7570; also wanted for the Nursery, gently used interactive toys that may be brought to the nursery or church office. Thank you!
A new year of Bible Study has begun and all are welcome. We meet Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. in the Nursery.
P.A.R. (Pre-Authorized Remittance) application forms can be picked up &
returned to the church office or call Donna Scharf at 526-1555. On PAR your giving’s are constant and paid only once monthly.
Organ Concert November 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Fifth Avenue Memorial. Tickets
available at St. Paul Lutheran Church or F.A.M.
Congregational Car Rally, November 26 @ 3:00 p.m. Potluck supper to follow, $5.00 per car: Have you got a team together yet?
Christmas decorating for the Sanctuary will take place on Thursday, November 30 at 10:00 a.m. All who are able to come that day are welcome!
“Christmas Card 2006” – December 5th & 6th at 7:30 p.m. at Fifth Avenue Memorial. For more information see the office or call Evan Tonin at 527-3621.
The Blue Christmas Service will be hosted this year by Fifth Avenue Memorial. Again we shall gather on the second Sunday of Advent, Sunday December 10 at 2:00 p.m.
Celebrations This Week
Birthdays: Alice Brehmer, Joel Carlson, Carol Dureault, Sloan Dykema, Sara Harrison, Orrin Hungerford, Andrea Judge, Hayden Klaiber, John Leask, Helen MacPhail, Edith Mitchell, Jackie Schlenker, David Stillar, & Grace Wallace.
Anniversaries: Brenda & Phelim Denning.
Our thoughts & prayers are with Clare Crews & family following the passing of her husband, Bob, this past week. Our thoughts & prayers are also with the Bergstreser family on the passing of Vivian’s mother.
Flowers are placed in the Sanctuary this morning
in memory of
Flo Dale, Jo Fawns & Lucy Renner
by
Edythe Hewitt UCW unit
South Alberta Presbytery
Your prayers this week are requested for The Bissell Centre, Edmonton.
Sunday School Co-ordinator....................................... Tara Johnson
Greeters & Ushers................................. Larry & Vera Henderson,
Kim Sherring and Rae Wahl
Nursery Attendant................................................... Kira Gerhardt
Coffee Hosts.......... Ken & Bev Empey and Anne & Gordon Bruins
Scripture Reader....................................................... Boyd Alcock
Cantor..................................................................... Grace Alcock
Elder-in-Charge............................................................ Lana Blatz
Stewardship Thought For Today
When it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of pain.
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