Prelude: Organ Voluntary
The Processional Hymn: 432, Praise ye, the Lord!, Bulletin, Page 18
The Lighting of the Advent Candles
The Advent candles will be lit by Mickey Burns and Edwina Martin.
Last Sunday we lit the candle of love. We light it and the candles of hope and peace again as we remember that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, will come again to fulfill all of God's promises and bring us everlasting peace and joy. Today we light the candle of joy.
(Light the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th candles)
Father, all-powerful God, your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice which announces his glory and open our minds to receive the Spirit who prepares us for his coming. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Opening Acclamation
The Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
The Kyries: Schubert
The Liturgy of the Word
The First Lesson: Micah 5: 2-5a
You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Canticle: The Song of Mary, Magnificat, Canticle 15
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in /God my /Savior; * for he has looked with /favor on his /lowly /servant.
From this day all generations will /call me /blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and /holy /is His /Name.
He has mercy on /those who /fear him * in /every /gener-/ation.
He has shown the /strength of his/ arm, * he has scattered the /proud in /their con-/ceit.
He has cast down the mighty /from their /thrones, * and has /lifted /up the /lowly.
He has filled the hungry with /good /things, * and the /rich he has /sent a-/way empty.
He has come to the help of his /servant /Israel, *
for he has re-/membered his /promise of /mercy,
The promise he /made to our /fathers, * to Abraham /and his /children for /ever.
The Second Lesson: Hebrews 10: 5-10
When Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."
When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Sequence Hymn: 278, Sing we of the Blessed Mother, Bulletin, Page 19-20
The Gospel: Luke 1: 39-55
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the pride in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon: The Rev. Hank Tuell
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, Eternally begotten of the Father.
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of the People
In peace, we pray to you Lord God.
Silence
For all people in their daily life and work;
For our families, friends, and neighbours, and for those who are alone.
For this community, the nations, and the world;
For all who work for justice, freedom and peace.
For the just and proper use of your creation;
For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice and oppression.
For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble;
For those who minister to the sick, the friendless and the needy.
For the peace and unity of the Church of God;
For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.
For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially we pray for Brian Orlick, John Owens, Lynn Phimister, Bartholomew Pollack, Robert Ross, Dale Smith, Jennifer Sprosty, and James Sutler
Silence
Hear us, Lord;
For your mercy is great.
We thank you for all the blessing of this life, today we especially give thanks for all who support St. John's with their time, treasure, and talents.
Silence
We will exalt you, O God our King;
And praise your Name for ever and ever.
We pray for all who have died, that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom; We pray for the repose of the soul of Mother Rhoda Treherne-Thomas.
Silence
Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon them;
Who put their trust in you.
Silence
The Concluding Collect
Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Confession
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbour.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.
Amen.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
The Announcements
Offertory Hymn: 454, Jesus came adored by angels, Bulletin, Page 21
The Great Thanksgiving - B
The Sursum Corda
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
Here a Proper Preface is sung or said on all Sundays, and on other occasions as appointed.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:
The Sanctus & Benedictus: S-130, Schubert
Please kneel, as you are able.
We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.
On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."
Therefore, according to his command, O Father,
We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;
And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all; presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.
We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant. Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with John and all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation.
By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever
Amen.
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
The Presider breaks the consecrated Bread. A period of silence is kept.
The Fraction Anthem: S-164, Schubert
The Invitation
The gifts of God for the people of God.
The Communion
Note: As mandated by The Bishop, only the Celebrant will administer Communion (Bread Only). The Clergy’s hands have been properly washed and sanitized. Please wait to be directed.
Communion Hymn: 67, Comfort, comfort ye my people, Bulletin, Page 22
The Post Communion Prayer
Let us pray.
Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Blessing
The Presider gives a blessing. At the conclusion, the people respond Amen.
Recessional: We’re Marching to Zion, Bulletin, Page 22-23
The Dismissal
Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
Thanks be to God.
The Postlude: Organ Voluntary