Worship on Easter Sunday
10:00 am April 05, 2026
Minister: Rev. Brad Childs Music Director: Binu Kapadia
Vocalist: Linda Farrah-Basford Elder: Lynn Vaughan
Reader: Andrea Gartrell
We gather to worship God
Music Prelude
Greeting
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
P: and also with you
Lighting of the Christ candle
Welcome and announcements
Preparation for worship
Call to worship:
L: Christ is risen!
P: He is risen indeed!
L: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death.
P: Hallelujah!
L: This is the Good News – the grave is empty & Christ is risen.
P: Hallelujah!
L: Let us worship God with Easter joy!
Opening praise: He is Lord
We listen for the voice of God
Scripture readings: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; and John 20:1-8
Response: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord
Reading: New Rags for Old (The story ”The Ragman” ©, is adapted from The Ragman by Walter Wangerin Jr.)
Part 1: The Call and the First Exchange
The Ragman comes in down the centre aisle, drops the clean clothes on the steps, but stays at the scripture lectern.
It was just before the dawn on a Friday morning. It smelled a bit like rain, and just a hint of light showed in the distance, like a bubble of slightly brighter-than-grey sky. The street lights had just turned off, but the sun wasn’t quite up to replacing them yet.
There was a very strong-looking, handsome young man who walked through the alleys between the more respectable streets. He held a candle in one hand. It was the only bright light around. Intently, he looked down the street, back at the candle and then to the street again. He blew the light out and placed the candle in his pocket, a dark place to keep it for another day.
The 6-foot-4-inch man, with arms like tree limbs, stood like a tower. But he did not appear intimidating. Nothing about him would cause you pause. His face was like a kindly, well-drawn set of features. Still, there was something different about him. As he walked, he was pulling an old cart filled with new, brand-new clothes. He stood out.
And then he began to speak.
He called out as he walked the streets in a beautiful tenor voice. He called out what could only be described as an unusual sales pitch. And that explained it. He must have been a salesman looking for new customers. Apparently, he didn’t understand he was in a poor part of town. Still, he called out his pitch for all to hear.
(PAUSE)
It wasn’t a shout exactly, just powerful. He called out, saying just one word at first, “Rags,” he’d call.
Then the pitch changed a bit. “New Rags for old rags!” he said. And then “New rags for old rags! I’ll take your tired old rags! Simultaneously the Ragman said this to no one and yet everyone at the same time.
Again, “New rags for old rags! I’ll take your tired old rags!” A strange sales pitch indeed. The streets were lined with a few ramshackle guests, perhaps left over from the night before. A man furrowed his brow in disappointment and annoyance. Two others looked at one another with inquisitive but dismissive smirks.
One man out to get the paper scoffed and mumbled to himself, ragman and then returned to his business again.
“New rags for old rags! I’ll take your tired old rags!” “New ones for old ones”, the Ragman clarified.
Soon, the Ragman came upon a sobbing woman sitting on her back porch. She hadn’t even noticed him until he was right upon her. Her shoulders shook, and her head was buried within her hands (a cloth drenched in tears peeking through from between two fingers). Her heart was breaking. It was obvious. The Ragman stopped his cart and stepped around the litter of tin cans, broken toys and soiled Pampers on the walkway. He quietly walked over to the woman. And then the Ragman sat down next to her and gazed into her eyes, the window to her soul. He stretched out his hand. “Give me your rags, and I’ll give you a brand new one,” he said.
Brad continues:
Confused by the kindly stranger, she paused from her grief for a moment. The Ragman slipped the handkerchief away from her with a smile. She looked up at him just as he laid across her palm a fine linen cloth so clean and new that it seemed to shine. She blinked, wiped a tear away and with that, she stopped crying.
The Ragman walked around the items back to the cart. Down the street he went, cart and all. And as the Ragman pulled his cart away, he put the woman’s handkerchief to his face to collect a tear of his own, and then another and then some more. Just as grievously as she had done, the Ragman’s shoulders now shaking, his fine smile lost to a new expression of overwhelming grief.
And then again, he began to call out now in a more intermittent voice, “Rags! New Rags for old ones!” His sales pitch was now shakier and it was clearer that he had no intention of selling.
Musical Interlude 1: I feel better, so much better since I laid my burden down
3 groups bring their “rags” to the front – throwing them down and picking up new rags… symbolical of being made whole: (1) Vivian and children (2) Maureen & Ron (3) Helga and Dad Michael.
With that, the Ragman came upon a young girl whose head was wrapped in a blood-soaked, makeshift bandage. Broken glass lay all around her, and a small and single line of blood ran off her cheek, uncollected. Now the Ragman looked at her with pity, but those more astute might call compassion or solace. He smiled a bit, though his tears were still falling, and he slowly withdrew from his cart, a lovely yellow bonnet. And once more he said, “Give me your rag, I’ll give you mine.”
The teen gazed up at him while he loosened the bandage from around her head, carefully removed it, and then tied it around his own head. He put the new bonnet on her head, now clean, yellow, and pretty. And the wound went with the bandage. The dark blood ran again, but now it was the Ragman’s.
Prayers of approach and confession
Holy and Eternal God,
perfect in love and endless in grace,
governor of the days and seasons,
creator of all things visible and invisible;
filled with glory, majesty and honour,
on this first day
you began creation,
bringing order and life out of chaos.
On this first day
you began your new creation,
raising Jesus Christ from the powers of death.
On this first day,
we gather to join with all creation
to worship and honour you
as the Creator.
Christ,
and Holy Spirit,
now and always.
As we recall who you are and what you have done, we recall who we are and what we have done. Hear us now as we confess to you our sins:
Gracious God,
our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide and too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips are afraid to name
and what our hearts can no longer bear.
Set us free from a past we cannot change,
open us to a future in which we can be changed
and give us the grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Response: Glory, glory hallelujah
Forgiveness proclaimed
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Dear friends, Christ has laid down his life for us and invites us to love one another as he has loved us. Know that you are forgiven, have the grace to forgive one another and be at peace.
Reading – Part 2: The wounds we carry
The sobbing, bleeding Ragman pressed on as The Ragman cried out, “Rags! Rags! I take old rags!”
And then he met a man leaning against a telephone pole. There, he smiled and asked a question. “Sir, are you on your way to work?” he asked.
The man scoffed at him. “Are you crazy?” And then he pulled away from the pole he had been leaning on, revealing the lifeless sleeve of his jacket stuffed into the front pocket because he had no arm.
With a quiet authority, the Ragman said: “Give me your jacket, and I’ll give you mine.” It was a fine, clean jacket for an old, tattered one. And so, with that, the one-armed man, looking at the brand-new, beautiful jacket, thought this a wonderful idea. The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Rag Man. And the Ragman’s arm… it stayed with his sleeve.
When the man with no job put it on, he had two good arms again. But the Ragman had but one.
After that, he found an older lady on drugs, lying unconscious beneath a torn army blanket. Without a word, the Ragman took the blanket off the hunched, shriveled, and sick older man. In the silence of the dawn, he wrapped it around himself, but for the unconscious man, he left new clothes. And put a warm new blanket in its place.
(Ragman leaves)
Song: What wonderous love is this 242
We respond to serve God
Our time of giving
Prayer of gratitude, and for others and ourselves
God of power and possibility,
you broke open the tomb that held our Lord.
Now break into your church where your people are distracted
by old quarrels, discouraging results,
or unhelpful divisions about mission and service.
Resurrect, renew and revive your church!
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of resurrection and new life,
you broke into the hearts of Jesus’ fearful friends.
Now break into our relationships with one another.
Where they are vibrant and life-giving, nurture them.
Where they are strained by old hurts and misunderstandings,
or carelessly taken for granted,
mend them.
Resurrect, renew and revive our life together!
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of might and mercy,
you broke the schemes of those who stood in the way of your love.
Now break into the governing systems of your world.
Stir the minds and hearts of leaders to work for justice and equitable sharing.
Where laws are corrupt, or people suffer under harsh rule,
call them to account.
Resurrect, renew and revive the leaders of the world!
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of healing and hope,
you broke the bonds of death that tried to shackle new life.
Now break into situations of illness, pain, grief, and loss.
Wherever people are sick in body, mind, or spirit,
wherever someone mourns the loss of any relationship or dream,
bring your healing grace.
Resurrect, renew and revive our lives!
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of Easter Renewal and Resurrection,
you have broken into our lives again this day.
We give you thanks for the power of your love to remake every situation
that brings us challenge or choice.
Break into all our moments of celebration and joy, too.
Give us gratitude, the impulse to share, and a spirit of grace and understanding.
Resurrect, renew and revive your people!
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
To carry this idea of the Ragman exchanging our burdens and giving praise into our daily lives, please select a square of quilt fabric or “a rag” and bring it forward to exchange for the communion meal. For those at home, someone will also bring rags forward for you. Later, these rags will be used to construct a prayer quilt with pockets to carry prayer request.
Invitation
On this resurrection day, we come to the table to remember our future with our Risen Lord.
Jesus declared that people will come from east and west and north and south to sit at table in God’s kingdom.
Remember – the Risen Christ has spread this joyful feast for you.
The gifts we bring to his table are for all those who love him
and for all who want to love him more.
All who belong to the body of Christ are welcome to share his gifts on this joyful Easter day.
Taste and see that God is good.
Song: One bread, one body (all vrs) 540
The Communion Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Risen Savior and Living Bread, on this glorious Easter day I come to Your table with joy and wonder.
You who conquered death and the grave, You who broke the chains of sin, come now into my heart once again. As I receive Your Body and Blood, fill me with the power of Your Resurrection.
May this Holy Communion renew my life as You renewed the world. Let the light of Easter shine in me, driving away all darkness, doubt, and fear.
Risen Lord, make me a witness of Your victory. Help me live as one who has been raised with You— full of hope, overflowing with love, and eager to share the Good News.
Thank You for the gift of this Easter Eucharist, the foretaste of the heavenly banquet where we will feast with You forever.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen.
The Lord’s prayer (sung 469)
Reading – Part 3: He Died for Us
The Ragman was weeping uncontrollably, bleeding freely from his forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, clumsily stumbling around and yet, he skidded through the alley still, until he came to the city limits. Sickly looking now, unrecognizable, the people threw garbage at him, and so the Ragman came to the landfill. There, he climbed the garbage hill with great labour, cleared a little space inside a hole, and lay down. He formed for himself from the handkerchief and the jacket, a dirty, lumpy pillow on which to rest his head. He covered his tired, shaking, and bleeding body with the Army blanket, and there he died.
many were appalled at him—
His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, – familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
despised and held in low esteem.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
4 he took up the pain of others
and bore our suffering,
stricken, and afflicted.
5 pierced for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and it was laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He took this willingly; he gave up life by his own will: The Christ, The Messiah, The Substitution for us, The Saviour, The Ragman, The candle of his light snuffed out and stored away in a dark place.
THE CANDLE IS SNUFFED HERE
Brad: But this is Easter Sunday. Death does not get the last word.
Action: Light the Christ Candle AGAIN!
Brad: The Ragman rose. The rags became robes. The wounds became glory. And today he offers every one of us the same exchange: Give me your rags… and I will give you mine.
Response: Behold the Lamb of God
Sharing of the Bread and Wine/and
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Bringing of Rags
Musical offering: the congregation sings the refrain: Because he lives
Prayer after Communion
Risen Lord, through this holy Communion you have fed us with your body and blood, and renewed in us the life of your resurrection. Strengthen our faith, that we may walk in your victory over sin and death, and bear witness to your love in word and deed. Fill our hearts with joy and hope, that the new life you give may shine through us to others. Keep us united with Christ and one another until we share the eternal banquet in your Kingdom. Amen.
Song: Lord of the dance 250
Sending out with God’s blessing
Go now, with wonder at the empty tomb to amaze you,
with the joy Mary felt in the garden to lift your hearts,
and with the disciples’ hope at the news Jesus had risen to encourage you.
May God’s resurrecting love open the future for you,
empowered by the Spirit and embraced by Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.
Response: He is Lord 252
Music postlude
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Numbers in brackets after a song/hymn indicate that it is from the 1997 Book of Praise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Those and other songs are being used in accordance with the specifications of Dayspring’s licensing with One License (3095377) and CLC (A735555).
The Rev. Brad Childs retains the copyright (© 2026) on all original material in this service. As far as Brad Childs is aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is his own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.