Order of Worship

August 30, 2026

ORDER OF WORSHIP
August 30, 2026
Continuing God’s Story Together“ Let this little message be but a reminder,
and I will continue with the story.”
2 Maccabees 6:17

Worship Participants

Deacon: Grace & Peter Tilden

Welcomers: Midge Horn, Noel Gray

Reader: Kristie Orr

Announcer: Diane Ranney

Prelude

Welcome

Song The Kingdom Is Yours

Blessed are the ones

who do not bury

All the broken

pieces of their heart

Blessed are the tears

of all the weary

Pouring like a sky

of falling stars

Blessed are the wounded ones

in mourning

Brave enough to show

the Lord their scars

Blessed are the hurts

that are not hidden

Open to the healing touch of God

The Kingdom is yours

Hold on a little more

this is not the end

Hope is in the Lord

keep your eyes on Him

Blessed are the ones

who walk in kindness

Even in the face

of great abuse

Blessed are the deeds

that go unnoticed

Serving with unguarded gratitude

Blessed are the ones

who fight for justice

Longing for the coming

day of peace

Blessed is the soul

that thirsts for righteousness

Welcoming the last

the lost the least

Blessed are the ones

who suffer violence

And still have strength

to love their enemies

Blessed is the faith

of those who persevere

Though they fall

they'll never know defeat

Hold on a little more

this is not the end

Hope is in the Lord

Keep your eyes on Him

Opening Prayer (unison) Deacon

Speak to us, Giver of Life, and make us new.

We thirst for the waters of your flowing love,

we yearn to know ourselves as Resurrection People.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,

and create in us your new heaven and new earth.

Speak to us words of comfort and hope,

words of challenge and courage.

Come; move among us, we pray. Amen.

Song You Hold It All Together

You come at the right time

When I least expect it

never behind

So why would I be surprised

When You deliver

every time

On mountaintops

You stay the same

In valleys low

You never change

And I believe

that I will see

The goodness of the Lord

I'm confident

as seasons change

Your faithfulness remains

You go You go before me

To prepare a blessing

You make a way

It's more than I could imagine

More than I can fathom

Or comprehend

God of my present

God of my future

You write my story

You hold it all together

Scripture: Revelation 21-22 (NRSVUE)

Today’s reading is a selection of verses from Revelation 21 and 22.

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home[a] of God is among mortals.
He will dwell[b] with them;
they will be his peoples,[c]
and God himself will be with them and be their God;[d]
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for[e] the first things have passed away.”

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

The rest of chapter 21 speaks of the new city – what it will look like, who will be there, and God’s presence there. Chapter 22 continues…

22 Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

May God bless this reading and our understanding. Amen

God’s Stories Rev. Jennie Valentine

Sacrament of BaptismMargaret Marino

Invitation
Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: Dear friends, as we come to this font of the living water, let us recall the meaning of baptism. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

People: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Rev. Jennie Valentine: Story of Jesus’ baptism

Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: The sacrament of baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. Inasmuch as the promise of the gospel is not only to us but also to our children, baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is the mark of their acceptance into the care of Christ’s church. In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the Spirit, and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people always.

Questions of the Candidates

Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: Parents, do you desire to have your child baptized into the faith and family of Jesus Christ?
Parents: We do

Rev. Jennie Valentine: (To Parents and Godparents) Will you with God’s help to guide and encourage Maggie by counsel and example, in prayer and with love?Parents & God parents: We will

Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: (To Parents and Godparents): Do you promise to seek out our still speaking God at work all around you in the beauty of nature, in the love of family and friends, in the wonder of the ways God’s love saves us from hopelessness, and restores us to our true and authentic selves, and to show love and justice to others? If so, say we will with the help of God.
Parents and Godparents: We will, with the help of God

Rev. Jennie Valentine:(To Parents and God parents): Do you promise, through the grace of God, to seek and live as a follower of the Christ, to show love to all people and to work for justice, and to witness as best as you are able to the work and word of the Christ? If so, say we will with the help of God.
Parents and Godparents: We will with the help of God.

*Congregational Assent
Rev. Tina Walker-Morin: Jesus Christ calls us to make disciples of all nations and to offer them the gift of grace in baptism. Do you, who witness and celebrate this sacrament, promise your love, support and care to the one about to be baptized, as she lives and grows in Christ?
People: We promise our love, support and care.

Blessing Baptism Water

Rev. Jennie Valentine: Bless by your Holy Spirit, gracious God this living water, which flowed through the streams of your world coming to the town of Sandwich.
By your Holy Spirit watch over those who come in the name of Jesus Christ. Create new life in the one baptized this day that they may rise in Christ. Glory to you, eternal God, the one who was, and is, and shall always be, Amen.

Act of Baptism

Prayer For the Baptized

Gracious God, you have filled the world with joy by giving us the gift of Jesus. Bless Maggie; may she be filled with joy; may she grow in faith and curiosity. Give her strength for life’s journey, courage in time of suffering, the joy of faith, the freedom of love, and the hope of new life; through Jesus Christ, who makes us one. Amen.

Song Come to the Water

Here’s a life

so new and small

You knew this child

before the call

Before first breath

before first cry

You wrote this name

beneath the sky

And I am Yours forevermore

Come to the water

and find me there

Washed in a love

and a mercy rare

In my mother’s womb

and in the open air

Come to the water

and find me there

We hold this child

with open hands

And lay them down

in Your commands

Surround these years

with Your embrace

And let them grow

in wonder and in grace

I am not my yesterday

I am not the chains I wore

You called me by a holy name

And I am Yours forevermore

Sermon Rev. Jennie Valentine

Song Holy, Holy, Holy (God With Us)

Holy holy holy

Lord God Almighty

Early in the morning

Our song shall rise to Thee