CANDLE LITURGY:  Lent 5 (2 candles are lit before the service) Greg & Cece Corcoran
Conversations and consolation; a situation without hope. Or is it?
God summons us beyond the here and now. The redeeming love of God reaches into the depths.
Let us journey through the shadows toward the light.
(1 candle is extinguished.)
     Used with permission from Gathering Lent/Easter 2014; Cindy Randall

Sung Response: VU 108 “Throughout these Lenten Days and Nights”  Verse 5
5.  So let us choose the path of One who wore, for us, the crown of thorn,
and slept in death that we might wake to life on Resurrection Morn!

1. CALL TO WORSHIP:
L.  Along the Lenten way , may our loving God
P.  give us calm reflection.
L.  Along the Lenten way , may our loving God
P.  give us purpose faithful friends.
L.  Along the Lenten way , may our loving God
P.  give us purpose and direction.
L.  Along the Lenten way , may our loving God
P.  bring us closer to Jesus Christ.
L.  Along the Lenten way, we worship God.
     Used with permission from Gathering Lent/Easter 2023, David Sparks

2. HYMN VU 703 “In the Bulb There Is a Flower”
1.  In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

2.  There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
there's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what is holds, a mystery.
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

3.  In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

3. PRAYER OF APPROACH:
Gracious God, we praise you and lift our hearts to you. Thank you for the life of Jesus, for his teachings and his time among us. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that lives in us, revealing to us your presence here on earth. May we always be attentive to the Spirit's voice and transforming guidance. May we be worthy of your love. Holy Spirit, help us to find the words in our hearts to express our love and gratitude for you. May we bring glory to your name, O God, in all that we do. In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.
     Used with permission from gathering Lent/Easter, 2023, Carol Frost

4. JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS:  “"Dry Bones"” by Hart Morris
- guests Greg Corcoran & Ruth Kachmarski

5. THEME TIME: “Life- Giving Wind”

6. HYMN: VU 381 “Spirit of Life”  Sing 2X
1.  Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; move in the hand,
giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close;
wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.

7. SCRIPTURE LESSON
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14
Dry Bones Live Again
37 Some time later, I felt the LORD's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. 2 The LORD showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out. 3 He said, “Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?” I replied, “LORD God, only you can answer that.” 4 He then told me to say: Dry bones, listen to what the LORD is saying to you, 5 “I, the LORD God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. 6 I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” 7 I did what the LORD said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling noise. The bones were coming together! 8 I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no life in them. 9 The LORD said: Ezekiel, now say to the wind,[a] “The LORD God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into these dead bodies, so they can live again.”
10 As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies, and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a large army. 11 The LORD said: Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the future. 12 So tell them, “I, the LORD God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to Israel, 13 and when that happens, you will realize that I am the LORD. 14 My Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

EPISTLE READING: Romans 8: 6 - 11
6 If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. 7 Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws. 8 If we follow our desires, we cannot please God. 9 You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him. 10 But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. 11 Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit.

8. HYMN: VU 108 “Throughout These Lenten Days and Nights”
1.  Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way,
where, meeting Christ, our guide and light,
we live in hope till Easter Day.

2.  The pilgrim Christ, the Lamb of God,
who found in weakness greater power,
embraces us, though lost and flawed,
and leads us to his Rising Hour.

3.  We bear the silence, cross and pain
of human burdens, human strife,
while sisters, brothers help sustain
our courage till the Feast of Life.

4.  And though the road is hard and steep,
the Spirit ever calls us on
through Calvary's dying, dark and deep,
until we see the coming Dawn.

5.  So let us choose the path of One
who wore, for us, the crown of thorn,
and slept in death that we might wake
to life on Resurrection Morn!

6.  Rejoice, O sons and daughters! Sing
and shout hosannas! Raise the strain!
For Christ, whose death Good Friday brings
on Easter Day will rise again!

9. GOSPEL READING:
John 11: 1 - 7
The Death of Lazarus
11 1-2 A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord's head and wiped his feet with her hair. 3 The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick. 4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “His sickness won't end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. 6 But he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 Then he said to his disciples, “Now we will go back to Judea.”

John 11: 17 - 27
Jesus Brings Lazarus to Life
17 When Jesus got to Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was less than three kilometers from Jerusalem, 19 and many people had come from the city to comfort Martha and Mary because their brother had died.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Yet even now I know that God will do anything you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will live again!” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will be raised to life on the last day,[a] when all the dead are raised.”
25 Jesus then said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord!” she replied. “I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.”

John 11: 32 - 45
32 Mary went to where Jesus was. Then as soon as she saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset 34 and asked, “Where have you put his body?” They replied, “Lord, come and you will see.” 35 Jesus started crying, 36 and the people said, “See how much he loved Lazarus.” 37 Some of them said, “He gives sight to the blind. Why couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus was still terribly upset. So he went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone rolled against the entrance. 39 Then he told the people to roll the stone away. But Martha said,“ Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.” 40 Jesus replied, “Didn't I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?” 41 After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42 I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so the people here would believe you sent me.” 43 When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”44 The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, “Untie him and let him go.”

The Plot To Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw the things Jesus did, and they put their faith in him.

10.  REFLECTION

11.  HYMN: “Spirit of Gentleness”  VU 375
Refrain: Spirit, Spirit of gentleness,
blow thro' the wilderness calling and free,
Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness,
Wind, Wind on the sea.

1.  You moved on the waters, you called to the deep,
then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep;
and over the eons you called to each thing:
wake from your slumbers and rise on your wings.  Refrain

2.  You swept thro' the desert, you stung with the sand,
and you goaded your people with a law and a land;
and when they were blinded with their idols and lies,
then you spoke thro' your prophets to open their eyes.   Refrain

3.  You sang in a stable, you cried from a hill,
then you whispered in silence when the whole world was still;
and down in the city you called once again,
when you blew thro' your people on the rush of the wind.   Refrain

4.  You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes,
from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams,
our women see visions, our men clear their eyes,
with bold new decisions your people arise.  Refrain

11.  OFFERING & OFFERTORY HYMN: VU 149, verse 4
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

12.   PRAYER OF DEDICATION:  (in unison)
God of life, you have given us our very existence. With grateful hearts we offer you our gifts, our service, ourselves. Accept our offerings, O God. Breathe into us and bless us with your grace and love.  Amen.

13.  JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS:
“Were You There?” arranged by Karissa Dennis

14. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND LORD'S PRAYER:

15. HYMN   586 VU  “We Shall Go Out With Hope of Resurrection”
1.  We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We'll sing songs of wrongs that can be righted;
we'll dream our dreams of hurts that can be healed;
we'll weave a cloth of all the world united
within the vision of new life in Christ.

2.  We'll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we'll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we'll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We'll share our joy with those who still are weeping,
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we'll leap and dance the resurrection story,
including all in circles of our love.

16.  COMMISSIONING & BENEDICTION:

17. THREE FOLD AMEN

Next Sunday:  Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
        March 29, 2026:
         Isaiah 50: 4 - 9a1   Psalm 118: 1- 2, 19 - 29;
         Philippians 2: 5 - 11;  Matthew 21: 1 - 11.

1. SUNDAY, March 22, 2026  Fifth Sunday in Lent   10:45 AM   Pulpit Supply: Linda Emberley  “RECOLLECTIONS / JUBILATION HANDBELL RINGERS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!


2. TUESDAY, March 24, 2026  BIBLE STUDY  10:00 AM  Board Room


3. TUESDAY, March 24, 2026  Jubilation Handbell Ringers  If you are interested in ringing some bells, come out and give it a try;   6:30pm in the Choir Room.


4. WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2026, 2026 - LENTEN LUNCH - 12.00 Noon in Wesley Hall  Join us for food and fellowship


5. SUNDAY, March 29, 2026  Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday   10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS”  ALL ARE WELCOME!


6. THURSDAY, April 2nd, 2026 - MONDY THURSDAY SUPPER SERVICE - Wesley Hall  Join us for this sacred meal


7. FRIDAY, April 3rd, 2026  GOOD FRIDAY CHURCH SERVICE  10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS” ALL ARE WELCOME!


8. SUNDAY, April 5th, 2026  EASTER SUNDAY / SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION  10:45 AM   Rev. Jo-Ann Hills  “RECOLLECTIONS ”  ALL ARE WELCOME!
9. SUNDAY, April 19, 2026  SUNDAY BRUNCH   11:30 AM   Wesley Hall  ALL ARE WELCOME!