Sunday April 12, 2026
Rev. Bonnie Kelly
As we gather to worship, let’s respectfully pause to remember we live and love, and work and worship on lands that are, the unceded territory of the original peoples, the Anishinabek. May we live with respect on this land, and live in peace and in friendship with its people.
Lighting the Christ Candle: The disciples of Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, struggled to identify him when he appeared to them. He was different, yet there. He walked through locked doors and ate fish and bread. Mary thought he was the gardener. Yet, they came to believe in his presence.
We light this Christ candle as the symbol of the resurrected Jesus we believe in and seek to follow.
Call to Worship: Come into this space for Holy Humour Sunday.
Are you declaring that we are allowed to laugh? We are free to giggle at life’s contradictions?
Absolutely! We need a sense of humour as part of life’s balance.
Well, that must be true
Indeed, since we are created in God’s image, humour is woven into the very fabric of our being.
Then let’s get on with it. Let’s embrace irony and grin wryly at life’s foibles because of our faith.
Let us pray: Loving God, we often despair at the world’s complexity. We long for simpler times, and yet we rely on complex technology. Open our hearts for your joy—a joy that bubbles into life by the Spirit’s movement. Amen.
Opening Prayer: With joy and in celebration, let us open our hearts to God in prayer:
Surprising Spirit, we just want to let loose with abandon. We want to unburden ourselves of all our worries, grief, anxieties. Dance with us, teaching us the transformative pattern of the faith journey. Zip along with us as our hair streams behind us in the freedom of becoming. Breathe into us the sweet, refreshing atmosphere of new life. Sing with us as we lift our spirits in praise and in awe. Amen.
Opening Hymn: VU 213 Rejoice the Lord is King
Prayer of Confession: Sometimes we believe we live in a room with no window, no door, no light, and no love.
Sometimes we act like the world has no sky, no way out, no light, and no hope.
Turn our broken, tender, and vulnerable hearts to the window of your eternal compassion, the door leading into your kingdom of justice and hope guided by the light of your love. We ask in hope. Amen.
Words of Assurance: Now receive the good news! God breaks down the tentative nature of our generosity, and the partial nature of our commitment, and the fragile nature of our hope, through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For this and for all God’s mercies to us, thanks be to God!
Children’s Hymn: Hosanna ( Praise is Rising)
Children’s Time: Pat Smith
Prayer of Illumination: We come with words of prayer:
May your word be a lamp to light our path.
May your word spill from us in compassion.
May your word be the foundation of our lives.
May your word live in our hearts, that we may receive and obey the spark of divine renewal. Amen.
Scripture Readings: Sandy Rawn
Acts 2: 14a, 22-32
Psalm 16 ( VU 737-738)
1 Peter 1: 3-9
John 20: 19-31
Sermon: ”The Wonderful Story of Thomas”
Sermon Hymn: VU 409 Morning Has Broken
Pastoral Prayer
Offertory: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise God, all creatures high and low, give thanks to God in love made know. Creator, Word and Spirit One.
We reach out to our neighbours, nearby and around the world, as we present this offering, this return of the gifts you have given us. Use this money, and use us in your service, that all may know your love, your compassion, your comfort, and your strength, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Community Sharing:
Closing Hymn: VU 509 Here I am Lord
Commissioning: We leave this faith community with hope, prepared to search for God’s friends in a troubled world; ready to overcome the challenge of apathy and avoidance; rejoicing in the faith community that supports and strengthens us, always, thankful for Jesus Christ our inspiration and guide.
Benediction
Three Fold Amen
Rev. Bonnie Kelly
As we gather to worship, let’s respectfully pause to remember we live and love, and work and worship on lands that are, the unceded territory of the original peoples, the Anishinabek. May we live with respect on this land, and live in peace and in friendship with its people.
Lighting the Christ Candle: The disciples of Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, struggled to identify him when he appeared to them. He was different, yet there. He walked through locked doors and ate fish and bread. Mary thought he was the gardener. Yet, they came to believe in his presence.
We light this Christ candle as the symbol of the resurrected Jesus we believe in and seek to follow.
Call to Worship: Come into this space for Holy Humour Sunday.
Are you declaring that we are allowed to laugh? We are free to giggle at life’s contradictions?
Absolutely! We need a sense of humour as part of life’s balance.
Well, that must be true
Indeed, since we are created in God’s image, humour is woven into the very fabric of our being.
Then let’s get on with it. Let’s embrace irony and grin wryly at life’s foibles because of our faith.
Let us pray: Loving God, we often despair at the world’s complexity. We long for simpler times, and yet we rely on complex technology. Open our hearts for your joy—a joy that bubbles into life by the Spirit’s movement. Amen.
Opening Prayer: With joy and in celebration, let us open our hearts to God in prayer:
Surprising Spirit, we just want to let loose with abandon. We want to unburden ourselves of all our worries, grief, anxieties. Dance with us, teaching us the transformative pattern of the faith journey. Zip along with us as our hair streams behind us in the freedom of becoming. Breathe into us the sweet, refreshing atmosphere of new life. Sing with us as we lift our spirits in praise and in awe. Amen.
Opening Hymn: VU 213 Rejoice the Lord is King
Prayer of Confession: Sometimes we believe we live in a room with no window, no door, no light, and no love.
Sometimes we act like the world has no sky, no way out, no light, and no hope.
Turn our broken, tender, and vulnerable hearts to the window of your eternal compassion, the door leading into your kingdom of justice and hope guided by the light of your love. We ask in hope. Amen.
Words of Assurance: Now receive the good news! God breaks down the tentative nature of our generosity, and the partial nature of our commitment, and the fragile nature of our hope, through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For this and for all God’s mercies to us, thanks be to God!
Children’s Hymn: Hosanna ( Praise is Rising)
Children’s Time: Pat Smith
Prayer of Illumination: We come with words of prayer:
May your word be a lamp to light our path.
May your word spill from us in compassion.
May your word be the foundation of our lives.
May your word live in our hearts, that we may receive and obey the spark of divine renewal. Amen.
Scripture Readings: Sandy Rawn
Acts 2: 14a, 22-32
Psalm 16 ( VU 737-738)
1 Peter 1: 3-9
John 20: 19-31
Sermon: ”The Wonderful Story of Thomas”
Sermon Hymn: VU 409 Morning Has Broken
Pastoral Prayer
Offertory: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise God, all creatures high and low, give thanks to God in love made know. Creator, Word and Spirit One.
We reach out to our neighbours, nearby and around the world, as we present this offering, this return of the gifts you have given us. Use this money, and use us in your service, that all may know your love, your compassion, your comfort, and your strength, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Community Sharing:
Closing Hymn: VU 509 Here I am Lord
Commissioning: We leave this faith community with hope, prepared to search for God’s friends in a troubled world; ready to overcome the challenge of apathy and avoidance; rejoicing in the faith community that supports and strengthens us, always, thankful for Jesus Christ our inspiration and guide.
Benediction
Three Fold Amen
