TRURO PRESBYTERY
Welcome to Truro Presbytery of the United Church of Canada. Founded on August 2, 1786, it is the oldest presbytery in Canada, and it traces its roots to the first Presbyterian ministers who came to our area from Scotland. Today, it oversees 29 pastoral charges, containing 58 separate churches, and extends across much of central Nova Scotia. Its logo on the bulletin cover is dominated by the Celtic Cross, a reminder of our Scottish heritage.
THE ACT OF COVENANTING
This service celebrates and formalizes a covenant between the minister and people, and between the minister and Presbytery. It is the culmination of a process in which Presbytery has provided oversight and played an active part in bringing together the parties to the covenant.
Authorized by a Warrant to Covenant from the Settlement Committee of Maritime Conference, the Presbytery conducts this service, confirms that the appropriate steps have been followed, asks the assent of the various parties to the terms of the covenant, and proclaims the Word to the assembly.
The congregation is active in reading Scripture, presenting symbols to the minister, escorting the minister to the pulpit or communion table, and thus making visible the various parts of the body of the church.
The service marks a new relationship between minister and Presbytery. It is to Presbytery that the minister will now be accountable.
ABOUT THIS SERVICE
Ministers bring to pastoral charges the gifts of Word, Sacrament, and Pastoral Care; and some also a focus on education. We therefore celebrate the coming of those gifts in a service that proclaims the Word, celebrates it at the table, and uses symbols of the pastoral care and interaction that should emerge from the new relationship between minister and people.
As a party to the covenant, Presbytery is acting as bishop-corporate, exercising a ministry of care and oversight that it inherited from individual bishops some 450 years ago. The service thus celebrates ministry of Christ’s church in all its fullness – by clergy, pastoral charge, and presbytery.
TRURO PRESBYTERY
A Covenanting Service Celebrating the Ministry of
Rev. ______with ______Pastoral Charge
[Date]______at ______United Church
Presider: ______Chairperson, Truro Presbytery
Preacher: Rev. ______Pastoral Charge
Organist: ______
WE GATHER IN GOD'S PRESENCE
Words in bold are to be said by all – words in regular type
if not otherwise indicated, are said by the presider
Prelude
Please stand as choir and officers enter the sanctuary
Greeting:
O come, let us sing to the Lord,
Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving,
And show ourselves glad with songs of praise.
Presider: Let us worship God.
Hymn: [Your choice]
Words of Welcome
Presider: Reading of the Warrant to Covenant
Opening Prayer: [Your choice]
Hymn or sung response to prayer: [Your choice]
SERVICE OF THE WORD
Prayer for Illumination: [Your choice]
Hebrew Scripture: [Your choice]
Hymn, anthem, or musical item: [Your choice]
Gospel Lesson: [Chosen in consultation with the speaker]
Sermon
Hymn: [Please consult the speaker on the hymn and Gospel lesson]]
Profession of Faith “A New Creed.”
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death.
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
ACT OF COVENANTING
Presider: I invite ______to present ______to us.
Clerk of Session: We present ______,whose call has been approved by Truro Presbytery to minister with us and among us in this pastoral charge.
We believe ___ to be well qualified, and prayerfully and lawfully selected.
Presider: ______you are called to Christ's ministry in this place. You, the members of this pastoral charge, are called to join ____in this ministry.
We, the Presbytery, will be responsible for the oversight of this ministry.
Let us ask for God's grace as we covenant together.
Let us pray:
Gracious God, by our baptism,
you have called us to Christ's ministry.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us as we commit ourselves
to work together in Christ's name. Amen.
Promises of the new minister:
Presider: ______, do you, in the presence of this congregation, commit yourself to this new trust and responsibility?
Minister: Yes, I do, by the Grace of God.
Presider: Will you accept the discipline of the Presbytery,
and together with its other members,
be responsible for the oversight of the church's life?
Minister: Yes, I will, by the Grace of God.
Promises of the Pastoral Charge:
Presider: I invite the members and adherents of ______Pastoral Charge to stand. Will you join with ______in a ministry of worship, study, prayer and action within this pastoral charge and the world?
Members of the Pastoral Charge: Yes, we will, with God as our Guide.
Presider: Will you support ___as ___serves among you in this ministry?
Members of the Pastoral Charge: Yes, we will, with God as our Guide.
Promises of the Presbytery:
Presider: I invite the members of Truro Presbytery to stand. Will you, as members of Truro Presbytery, join with ______and ______Pastoral Charge, in the ministry that is both theirs and ours?
Members of Presbytery: Yes, we will, by the Grace of God!
Presider: Will you exercise oversight of their work and witness,
and support and encourage them in this ministry?
Members of Presbytery: Yes, we will, by the Grace of God!
Presentation of Symbols of Ministry
The Bible: (______) “Accept this Bible as a symbol of the Word of God present in our midst. May we share in hearing and enacting the word, as we learn and live together in faith.”
Amen.
Baptismal Bowl: (______) “Accept this Bowl as a symbol of the sacrament of Holy Baptism. May we know the grace and the love of God together in this place through the movement of the Spirit.”
Amen.
Bread and Cup: ( ______) “Accept this Bread and this Cup as symbols of the sacrament of Holy Communion. May we work together to nourish and to provide for one another and all God’s creation as we are sustained by Jesus Christ.”
Amen.
Stole: (______) “Accept this Stole as a symbol of leadership and experience. May we be enabled to lead and to follow in the ways of God as we empower one another for the work of Christian ministry.
Amen.
[Additional symbols may be exchanged between minister
and members of the pastoral charge]
Presider: Let these be signs of the ministry that is both yours and ours in this place. Let us celebrate the covenant we have made.
Doxology: ♫ VU 541 “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures high and low;
give thanks to God in love made known:
Creator, Word and Spirit, One.
New Minister’s Prayer: Rev. ______
Musical item or hymn [Your choice]
Prayers of the People: led by ______
SERVICE OF THE TABLE
Invitation: [Words of your choice]
Presider:
The Peace
The peace of Christ be with you
And also with you.
We are one in Spirit with each other and with friends and followers of Jesus at all times and places. Let us stand and greet one another with signs of reconciliation and peace.
Offering our Gifts:
And now as forgiven and reconciled people, let us, with joy, present our gifts at Christ’s table.
Offertory hymn verse: [Your choice]
Prayer of Dedication: [Your choice]
Communion Hymn: [Your choice]
The Great Thanksgiving: with elders ______
God is with you.
God is here among us.
Let us open our hearts to God.
We open them to God and to one another
Let us give thank to God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
[You may use any communion service you wish and serve the elements in the pews or with people coming forward to receive, according to your custom]
Prayer after Communion: [Your choice]
Hymn: [Your choice]
Commissioning: [Your choice]
Benediction and Amen: [Your choice]
The offering received at this service goes
toward the work of Truro Presbytery. Thank you.
You are all invited to join us
for the reception that follows the service.