“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:14 (NRSV)
Here is the link for Sunday, September 28, 2025 worship service: https://youtu.be/8nEVSIxZ-Ec
Sunday, October 5, 2025 – Worship 10:45 a.m. Communion.
Big Question: 9:00 a.m. in person in church office and on Zoom – we will be discussing an article on Truth and Reconciliation – please contact Irma if you wish to receive the article.
SCRIPTURE TO PONDER
THE WEEK OF WORLD COMMUNION
Scriptures this week: Lamentations 1:1‒6; Lamentations 3:19‒26 or Habakkuk 1:1‒4; 2:1‒4; Psalm 137 or Psalm 37:1‒9; 2 Timothy 1:1‒14; Luke 17:5‒10
To Ponder – Lamentations 3:19–26 and Luke 17:5–10
A brief reflection
Friends, this coming Sunday is World Communion Sunday. Across time zones and languages, in cathedrals and chapels, in village roads and city streets, people gather at one Table. Bread is broken, the cup is lifted, and we remember: we belong to one body in Christ.
Yet we do not come to this Table unaware of the world around us. Wars devastate Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan. Families flee violence and famine. Climate change scorches the earth with wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. Closer to home, communities wrestle with division, racism, poverty, and loneliness.
It can feel like the cry of Lamentations: “wormwood and gall, bitterness and despair.”
But the prophet dares to speak hope:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” — Lamentations 3:22–23
Hope rises in the rubble.
The Table is not a hiding place from suffering—it is where the brokenness of the world is named and held in Christ. Here we remember that we are part of a global family.
The bread we break connects us to wheat fields in Ukraine, to rice paddies in Asia, to maize fields in Africa, and to gardens in our own neighborhoods. The cup reminds us that creation itself participates in communion.
When we eat, we pledge not only to love one another but also to love God’s creation—because creation sustains the sacrament itself. Without soil, rain, and labor, there is no bread, no wine, no communion.
A Question to Ponder
Where is God calling me to plant a “mustard seed of faith” this week—an act of love, peace, or care for creation—that will help nurture hope in a world of crisis?
A Prayer
Gracious God,
as we gather at your Table this week, open our eyes to the pain of the world and open our hearts to the hope you offer. In broken bread and poured-out cup, remind us that we are one body in Christ—bound together across nations, languages, and cultures.
Strengthen our faith, even when it feels as small as a mustard seed. Teach us to serve humbly, to love deeply, and to live in harmony with one another and with your creation. Renew in us each morning the assurance of your steadfast love, and send us forth as people of hope, peace, and compassion.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Trinity United Church 