May 17, 2020: Sixth Sunday of Easter

Morning Prayer, Rite II

The service printed here is from The Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

Hymn 405 “All things bright and beautiful” Royal Oak

Refrain: All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings. Refrain

The purple-headed mountain, the river running by, the sunset, and the morning that brightens up the sky. Refrain

The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun, the ripe fruits in the garden, he made them every one. Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well. Refrain

Opening Acclamation
Celebrant:  Alleluia. Christ is risen.
People:  The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia.

The Confession of Sin
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 neighbors 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.

The Absolution
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.

Officiant:  Lord, open our lips.
People:  And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
All:  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

Pascha Nostrum (Hymnal S 47) chanted by the cantor; setting by Wm. Henry Walter

Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him. The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So also consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gloria Patri. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 66:7-18  Anglican chant; chanted by the cantor

Bless our God, you peoples;  make the voice of his praise to be heard; Who holds our souls in life, and will not allow our feet to slip. For you, O God, have proved us; you have tried us just as silver is tried. You brought us into the snare; you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.  You let enemies ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.  I will enter your house with burnt-offerings and will pay you my vows, which I promised with my lips and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.  I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts with the smoke of rams; I will give you oxen and goats.  Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.  I called out to him with my mouth, and his praise was on my tongue.  If I had found evil in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me;  But in truth God has heard me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.  Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld his love from me. Gloria Patri.

The First Lesson  Acts 17:22-31

Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him– though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Reader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God.

Canticle 8  Cantemus Domino; sung by all to the tune Kingsfold

The Lord I sing, uplifted, high, and powerful to save; He hurled the rider and his horse beneath the Red Sea’s wave. My strength, my refuge, Savior, Lord, the God whom I acclaim, A warrior strong, my people’s God, and Yahweh is his Name.
 
The chariots of Pharoah has He hurled into the sea; The finest arms and army all lie drowned while we walk free. The deep has overwhelmed them all, they sank down like a stone; Your right hand, Lord, is glorious; the foe is overthrown.
 
What gods can be compared with you in holiness and dread? When you stretch forth your mighty arm your enemies fall dead. Yet with your constant love you led the people you redeemed And brought them safely to the land of which our fathers dreamed.
 
And you will bring them, plant them on the mountain called your own, The sanctuary, resting place, which you have made alone. Forever now our God will reign the Lord whom we adore; All glory to the Father, Son, and Spirit evermore.

The Second Lesson 1 Peter 3:13-22

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you– not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Reader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God.

Canticle 7   Te Deum laudamus; chanted by the cantor; Anglican chant setting by Thomas Norris

We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. The glorious company of the apostles praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee. The noble army of martyrs praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee, the Father, of an infinite majesty, thine adorable, true, and only Son, also the Holy Ghost the Comforter. Thou art the King of glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst humble thyself to be born of a Virgin. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge. We, therefore, pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy saints, in glory everlasting.

The Third Lesson  John 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

The Homily   The Rev. Sallie Schisler

Announcements

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
 
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers

The Salutation
Officiant: The Lord be with you.
People:      And also with you.
Officiant:   Let us pray.
 
The Lord’s Prayer  Traditional
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.

Suffrages A
Officiant:     Show us your mercy, O Lord;
People:        And grant us your salvation.
Officiant:    Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
People:       Let your people sing with joy.
Officiant:    Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
People:       For only in you can we live in safety.
Officiant:    Lord, keep this nation under your care;
People:       And guide us in the way of justice and truth. 
Officiant:    Let your way be known upon earth;
People:       Your saving health among all nations.
Officiant:    Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
People:       Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Officiant:    Create in us clean hearts, O God;
People:       And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

The Collect of the Day
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Office Hymn L87 “More love to thee, O Christ”

More love to thee, O Christ, More love to thee! Hear thou the prayer I make On bended knee; This is my earnest plea; More love, O Christ, to Thee, More love to thee, More love to thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, Sought peace and rest; Now thee alone I seek, Give what is best; This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to Thee, More love to thee, More love to thee!

Then shall my every breath Sing out your praise; This be the only song My heart shall raise; This still my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to Thee, More love to thee, More love to thee!

The General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
 
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
 
The Dismissal and Grace
   Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
   People:    Thanks be to God.

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All Saints' Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, OH