Hampstead Congregational Church
April 12, 2026
Second Sunday of
Easter
with Communion
& Sunday School
No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s
Journey,
You are Welcome Here!
Prelude Herb Tardiff
Greetings and Announcements
Call to Worship (responsive) Rick Little
Leader: Easter people, we gather today as people who spent the week inundated with news reports, social media posts, and reels that inundated us with information, worry, and stress.
People: Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we carry the weight of being overwhelmed and anxious, wondering who we can believe.
Leader: We gather as people who long for peace, for God to break through and bring us clarity and hope once again.
People: Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we don’t always recognize when the Risen One comes alongside us, showing us the way where there seems to be no way.
Leader: We gather as people hoping to catch a glimmer of Resurrection, ready for our hearts to burn with the truth of the resurrected Christ.
People: Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we open our hearts to the possibility that God’s Resurrection life is closer than we think. Alleluia!
Leader: Easter people, God knows the burdens we carry, and God is faithful to meet us where we are with good news.
People: May the good news of the Resurrection astound us today as we come to worship God! Alleluia!
Invocation (unison) Rick Little
Living God, you are the fire that burns within us. You open our hearts to your presence, revealed in word and song, in hospitality and friendship, in sacrament and presence. Open our minds again so that we may recognize you when you meet us in unexpected moments. Let us encounter you in every phase and movement of worship that we might know you and love you more than before we gathered. And, may that love burn brightly like the sun cutting through the gloom of the storm to inspire us to go on with renewed hope and spirit. Amen.
Passing of the Peace of Christ
(Feel free to pass the peace by shaking hands, offering hugs or waves. Those who would like to share peace without physical contact are invited to place their hands over their hearts in greeting.)
*Opening Hymn:
Scripture Readings: Luke 24: 13-49 (NRSVUE) Rick Little
The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now
on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other
about all these things that had happened. 15 While they
were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but
their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said
to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They
stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name
was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not
know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He
asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of
Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the
people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed
him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But
we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all
this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover,
some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this
morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there they
came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said
that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went
to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see
him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are
and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was
it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then
enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and
all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the
scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While
they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to
them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and
terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He
said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your
hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I
myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see
that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them
his hands and his feet. 41 Yet for all their joy they were
still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything here
to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and
he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Children’s Message
Sermon: "Finding
Jesus on the Way” Rev. Paige
Besse-Rankin
Special Music
Call for Concerns & Celebrations
(Please write joys and concerns on
the papers in the baskets in the pews and pass them to an usher. The Congregational Response is: “Hear Our
Prayers”)
Pastoral Prayer Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be
thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give
us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Call to Offering
*Doxology: NC #17 To You, O God, All Creatures Sing (vs 1)
To you, O God, all creatures sing, and all creation, everything sings your praises, Alleluia! Your burning sun with golden beam, your silver moon with softer gleam Sing your paise, Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
*Prayer of Dedication Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin
Like the disciples at Emmaus, we offer what we have. They offered their company, their table, their bread. We invite you to be with us, Jesus, as we offer you our love, our devotion, these gifts. May our eyes be opened to your holy presence among us, now and always. Amen.
Communion
Hymn: 
Celebration of Holy Communion
Invitation to Communion
Communion Prayer
Words of Institution
Prayer of Consecration
Sharing of the Elements—All are welcome to the table always
Sharing of the Bread (please come forward and eat once
you receive)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
May Spirit renew us at heart and embolden us in soul. Alive and attentive to the Spirit, may our lives confidently express God’s desire for the healing of the nations and the restoration of mother earth as we break bread this day, and celebrate the presence of the risen Christ, here in our very midst. Amen
*Hymn of Going Forth: 
*Benediction Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin
As you go, may
your heart burn
For the love of God to ignite throughout the world
Through acts—great and minute— of compassion, kindness, and community
Through sacrifices—great and minute—for justice, liberation, and restoration
Through commitments—great and minute—to bring good news to every moment,
decision, and interaction.
Go on…enflamed with the hope of peace burning brightly from the heart.
Music Usage permitted through OneLicense HCC License # A-730412 and CCLI License Number 2927783. All rights reserved.
