The Holy Eucharist
6th Sunday After Epiphany (Year C)
February 13, 2022
Watch the Livestream at www.Facebook.com/StMattSav/Live/
Sunday, February 13, at 9:30 a.m. (or anytime afterward)
The desert between Jerusalem and Jericho.
The Holy Eucharist: Rite II
The Word of God
Hymn #447: The Christ Who Died But Rose Again
[Verses 1-4]
1 The Christ who died but rose again triumphant from the grave,
Now pleased our cause at God's right hand all powerful to save.
2 What now can separate us from the love of Christ our Lord?
Can persecution, nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
3 The troubles that are ours to bear are trials we cannot flee;
Ye he who loved us from the first ensures our victory.
4 Thus nothing in the heights or depths, no power earth can afford,
Will separate us from the love of Jesus Christ our Lord
Words: Granton Douglas Hay, alt., based on Paraphrases (1781), para. of Romans 8:34-39 © 1982 Australian Hymn Book Co. Music: St. Magnus, harm. William Henry Monk, after John Pyke Hullah, Public Domain. All rights reserved.
The Opening Sentence
[BCP, p. 355]
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
And blessed be God's kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
A Collect for Purity
[BCP, p. 355]
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn S-280: Glory to God
[See also BCP, p. 356]
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Words: Public Domain. Music: Robert Powell © 1985, Church Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #28331. All rights reserved.
The Collect of the Day
[BCP, p. 357, 216]
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (17:5-10)
Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 1
[BCP, p. 585]
Read responsively by half-verse (at the asterisk).
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, * nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, * and they meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; * they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, * nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, * but the way of the wicked is doomed.
A Reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (15:12-20)
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The People stand for the reading of the Gospel.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Luke (6:17-26)
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets." "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon
"A Tree Planted By Water" by The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda
Some of you know that when I was in college, I studied abroad for a semester in Jerusalem, Israel. One of the classes I took was about the physical geography and landscape of the places featured in the Bible. We touched on archeology and history in that course too, but a lot of it was about the literal shape of the land, the weather patterns, the plants and animals that live there, and how all of that affects human civilization. Learning about the land and place where most writers of the Bible lived helped me understand what they wrote by placing it in context.
Guillermo in the desert between Jerusalem and Jericho (September 19, 2010).
A lot of times when I read a Bible passage now, I notice where they say something took place. For example, Jerusalem is hilly and rocky and has a very dry climate. But Galilee, where Jesus grew up and did a lot of his ministry, was wetter and greener. It was easier to grow food and find water there than in other places in that part of the world.
All of this got me thinking about Jeremiah’s words for us this morning. Jeremiah was a prophet from a small town in the land of Benjamin, called Anathoth. This was not far from Jerusalem and had a similar landscape and climate. Jeremiah also spent most of his adult ministry, the years when he was prophesying and writing, in Jerusalem. So that’s the context from where he tries to teach the people about trusting in the Lord.
Jeremiah starts by saying that “those who trust in mere mortals … shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land” (Jeremiah 17:5-6). Then he says that “those who trust in the Lord … shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). He’s talking about real life plants that still live in that part of the world!
My semester abroad was based out of a school in Jerusalem. That area is hilly, sandy, dusty, and in August, when I arrived, just about everything was brown or sand colored. The heat and lack of rain tend to kill most every plant in that climate. One of our first field trips took us outside the city on the road leading to Jericho. When we got out of the bus to walk, I noticed hilly desert in every direction. The small shrubs I could see were all brown and shriveled up. They could not survive the arid climate, at least not in the summer months. In the online program, I included a photo I took of those shrubs in the desert.
Shrubs in the desert.
But then, we got a little closer to Jericho. Jericho was established as a city because there is an oasis there, an underground spring of water in the middle of the desert. There is enough water in that spot to support human life — eventually enough for hundreds and thousands of people. And as we got closer to that oasis, I started to notice some green plants. There were larger bushes (that you might call trees). They hadn’t lost their color. They hadn’t died in the heat and drought of the desert. They survived into early September. They had tapped into that water, something life-giving that enabled them to survive and even thrive when the going got tough. Again, on the online program, there is a photo of those green trees along the path to the oasis.
Trees growing despite the drought.
That’s what Jeremiah was talking about when he called on the people of Judah to trust in the Lord. It’s not just moralism and finger-wagging. It’s not that God is a mean, old parent or teacher just trying to get you to fall in line. It’s much more kind, gracious, and loving than that. God wants what is best for you. And God knows that this life is really hard. None of us will make it through unscathed. We will have to pass through “parched place” and “uninhabited salt land” (17:6). And if we go it alone, or simply on the advice of other people, we might not make it. But with trust in God’s love, justice, and mercy, we can survive the “heat” and “drought” when, not if, it comes (17:8).
Now trusting the Lord doesn’t mean conforming to the way church is or following everything I or other clergy say. In church there is a thin line between trusting God and trusting in mere mortals. Trusting in the Lord is something much deeper. It requires us to tap into the love that holds the universe together. It requires us to recognize deep down in our bones, in our souls, that God really does love us. You are beloved and precious just as you are, not only when you behave and sit quietly during a service (or whatever else you think you need to do to be accepted).
And out of that belovedness, we work together on loving one another, helping each other to tap into God’s life-giving love. We work together to grow our roots deeper, closer to the oasis of God’s love and mercy that will help us thrive even in the desert times and places. So we gather to pray, to laugh, to eat together, to encourage each other, even when times are tough. That’s what church is supposed to be about. That’s our purpose. We might fall short of that, but by God’s grace, we’ll try again and trust that God will give us life again. Then we’ll be “like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8). Amen.
Hymn #665: All My Hope On God in Founded
[Verses 1-5]
1 All my hope on God is founded;
he doth still my trust renew,
me through change and chance he guideth,
only good and only true.
God unknown, he alone
calls my heart to be his own.
2 Mortal pride and earthly glory,
sword and crown betray our trust;
though with care and toil we build them,
tower and temple fall to dust.
But God's power, hour by hour,
is my temple and my tower.
3 God's great goodness e'er endureth,
deep his wisdom, passing thought:
splendor, light and life attend him,
beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore from his store
newborn worlds rise and adore.
4 Daily doth the almighty Giver
bounteous gifts on us bestow;
his desire our soul delighteth,
pleasure leads us where we go.
Love doth stand at his hand;
joy doth wait on his command.
5 Still from earth to God eternal
sacrifice of praise be done,
high above all praises praising
for the gift of Christ, his Son.
Christ doth call one and all:
ye who follow shall not fall.
Words: Robert Seymour Bridges, alt., after Joachim Neander, Public Domain. Music: Michael, Herbert Howells © 1938, 1968 Novello & Company Ltd. Reprinted with permission under ONELICENSE #74780. All rights reserved.
The Nicene Creed
[BCP, p. 358]
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 worshiped 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.
The Prayers of the People
[Adapted from http://www.rickmorley.com/archives/1355]
Let us pray to God, who is made manifest in Jesus Christ.
As the prophet Isaiah rang out, “Arise, shine; for your light has come”; empower your Church, O God, to ring out the Good News of the Light of your son Jesus, which pierces even the deepest darkness.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
As a star rose high into the nighttime sky to draw the nations to the Christ-child; send your blessing, O God, on this nation, and every nation, and draw the whole world to your peace and truth.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
As John the Baptist guided crowds of people to the edge of the wilderness and baptized Jesus in the River Jordan, we pray that you would guide our country and our leaders to the ways of justice and righteousness.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Like the Magi who traveled from afar to bring gifts and celebrate the Savior’s birth; we pray for this community: for Jaden Ward (2/13) on their birthday, and all those celebrating wedding anniversaries.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
As Jesus climbed the mountaintop, and proclaimed blessings on the people of the world; we pray for the sick and the distressed, the poor and the lame. We pray for those on our Parish Prayer List: Martha Avery, Mary Bonaparte, Christine Brown, Jacqueline Bryant, Lazola Cope, Aaron Duplechien Jr., Annie Bell Greer, Loretta Harmond, Marva Harris, Whitney Kennedy, Sada Maxwell, Craig Maxwell, Bette Milledge, Helen Scroggins, and Paulette Sibert.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
As Jesus called his disciples to leave their nets and boats, and follow him; we pray for the departed whom we love and have answered your call to follow Jesus to your Heavenly Kingdom... Give them your peace.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
The Celebrant prays:
Lord Jesus, Light of the World, hear our prayers, and make us reflections of your Light, that the places of darkness in our world would be pierced by your Light, and that all nations would be drawn to you and be overwhelmed with joy. Amen.
The Confession of Sin
[BCP, p. 360]
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
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 Bishop, when present, or the Priest, stands and says
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
[BCP, p. 360]
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Parish Announcements
A. Ash Wednesday on 3/2/22 at 7:00 AM: Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of preparation for Easter. This year, Ash Wednesday will be on March 2, 2022.
We will hold an in-person worship service with ashes, music, and Holy Communion at 7:00 AM. This service will also be live-streamed to our Facebook page.
There will be a short second in-person service with no music, no Communion, and no live-stream at 6:00 PM for those who prefer to attend in the evening.
B. 2021 Giving Statements Available Now: The Bookkeeper, Rector, and Parish Administrator worked this week to compile 2021 Giving Statements for all donors to St. Matthew's in the year 2021. Following IRS guidelines, we are providing statements only to individuals or families whose gifts totaled at least $250.00, so some donors may not have a statement.
You can collect your statement in person this Sunday, February 6, or wait for this statement to arrive by mail next week. If you prefer to receive your statement by email, please contact Fr. Arboleda at FrGAA@StMattSav.org or contact the Parish Administrator at Office@StMattSav.org.
If you notice a discrepancy between your giving statement and your own giving records, please contact our Bookkeeper, Pat Lanchester, at Bookkeeper@StMattSav.org.
C. CORR on 2/20 at St. Thomas’ Church: Conversations on Relationships and Race (CORR) is a joint Christian Education course with St. Matthew’s, St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Isle of Hope United Methodist Church, and Asbury United Methodist Church. In January, we will continue to read How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. You may purchase it from any major bookstore (such as Amazon).
Our next CORR meeting is scheduled to be in person on Sunday, February 20, 2022, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church (2 St Thomas Ave, Savannah, GA 31406). Please read Chapters 3-5 of Kendi’s book before the meeting.
D. JUST Rethinking Justice Workshop 3/12:
E. Epiphany Chalk Blessings: Following an ancient tradition, we are providing a way to bless all of the homes in our parish in the new year and the Epiphany Season. We will provide blessed chalk for you to bring home and mark the front door to your home. Traditionally, the chalking is done above the lintel and takes this form: 20+C+M+B+22 - The letters are the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "Christus mansionem benedicat" - "Christ bless this house" (A second meaning and mnemonic device is Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar traditional names for the Magi). The + signs represent the cross, and 20-22 is the year.
Blessed chalk will be available at church until the end of Epiphany Season on Shrove Tuesday (March 1, 2022). If you would like us to mail or drop off chalk to your home, please contact Fr. Arboleda or another member of the church.
E. T/W/Th Evening Prayer: On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, St. Matthew's invites you to pray Evening Prayer over Zoom. The video will continue to stream to Facebook Live at 5:00 PM. Please join the Zoom call by 4:55 PM. Otherwise, watch the prayer service as you have been on Facebook Live.
For security purposes, below is the Meeting ID only; please check your St. Matthew's e-Newsletter for the password (or email FrGAA@StMattSav.org to request it).
Topic: Zoom Evening Prayer
Time: 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Join Zoom Meeting: See e-Newsletter
Meeting ID: 991 8577 8541
Passcode: See e-Newsletter
Dial by your location: +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
Meeting ID: 991 8577 8541
Passcode: See e-Newsletter
F. Revised COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for In-Person Worship: On June 21, the Vestry authorized revised COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for in-person worship at St. Matthew's. At the October Vestry meeting, they reaffirmed the use of these guidelines and the maintenance of this temporary Sunday worship schedule.
All people in attendance are still required to wear masks that cover the nose and mouth at all times and maintain social distancing in their assigned seating areas. Click here to read the Vestry's June 2021 COVID-19 Safety Guidelines in their entirety.
The Offertory
[BCP, p. 377]
Giving to St. Matthew's: We know that many people are feeling the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The church is feeling it too. We still need your support to pay our staff, pay our bills, and provide for these online live streams. There are several ways to give, but the simplest are these:
Mail us a check or money order at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1401 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd, Savannah, GA 31415; OR
Make a secure online gift to St. Matthew’s and/or automate future gifts at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now; OR
Text “stmattsav” to 73256 to make a secure online donation through your phone.
NOTE: Donations made online (#2 or #3) through Realm incur a processing fee of about 2.5%. Please consider adding an additional 2.5% to your online gift to cover these costs.
“From the rising of the sun to its setting my Name shall be great among the nations, and in every place incense shall be offered to my Name, and a pure offering: for my Name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” [Malachi 1:11]
Give online at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now
LEV #193: I Will Trust in the Lord
[Verses 1-5]
1 I will trust in the Lord,
I will trust in the Lord,
I will trust in the Lord ’til I die;
I will trust in the Lord,
I will trust in the Lord,
I will trust in the Lord ’til I die.
2 Sister will you trust in the Lord,
Sister will you trust in the Lord,
Sister will you trust in the Lord ’til you die;
Sister will you trust in the Lord,
Sister will you trust in the Lord,
Sister will you trust in the Lord ’til you die.
3 Brother will you trust in the Lord,
Brother will you trust in the Lord,
Brother will you trust in the Lord ’til you die;
Brother will you trust in the Lord,
Brother will you trust in the Lord,
Brother will you trust in the Lord ’til you die.
4 I’m gonna treat my neighbor right,
I’m gonna treat my neighbor right,
I’m gonna treat my neighbor right ’til I die;
I’m gonna treat my neighbor right,
I’m gonna treat my neighbor right,
I’m gonna treat my neighbor right 'til I die.
5 I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand,
I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand,
I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand ’til I die;
I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand,
I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand,
I’m gonna hold my savior’s hand ’til I die.
Words: Traditional, Public Domain. Music: Negro Spiritual, Public Domain; arr. Carl Haywood © 1992 Church Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #87497. All rights reserved.
AAHH #651: Doxology
[See also Hymn # 380, v. 3]
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
Words: Thomas Ken, Public Domain. Music: Old 100th, attributed to Louis Bourgeois, Public Domain. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #84260. All rights reserved.
Eucharistic Prayer B
[BCP, p. 367]
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. …
Preface of the Epiphany [BCP, p. 378]:
Because in the mystery of the Word made flesh, you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of your glory in the face of your son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:
LEV #254:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
[Word: Public Domain. Music: Carl Maultsby, The Saint Mary Mass, © 1989 Malted Milk Music. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #00004C1989. All rights reserved.]
The people stand or kneel.
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,
LEV #260:
We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;
We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;
[Word: Public Domain. Music: Hezekiah Brinson, Jr. © 1990 Hezekiah Brinson, Jr. All rights reserved.]
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 Blessed Matthew our Patron, Blessed Mary the Mother of Jesus, 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.
The Lord’s Prayer
[BCP, p. 364]
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 Fraction Anthem
[BCP, p. 364, 407]
Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!
This Far By Faith (1999) #36:
O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy and grant us peace,
we pray, O Lamb of God.
[Words: Public Domain. Music: Grayson Warren Brown, arr. Larry Adams © 1979 Grayson Warren Brown, admin. by OCP Publications. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #81590. All rights reserved.]
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The Gifts of God for the people of God.
Hymn #663: The Lord My God My Shepherd Is
[Verses 1-5]
1 The Lord my God my shepherd is;
how could I want or need?
in pastures green, by streams serene,
he safely doth me lead.
2 To wholeness he restores my soul
and doth in mercy bless
and helps me take for his Name's sake
the paths of righteousness.
3 Yea, even when I must pass through
the valley of death's shade,
I will not fear, for thou art here,
to comfort and to aid.
4 Thou hast in grace my table spread
secure in all alarms,
and filled my cup, and borne me up
in everlasting arms.
5 Then surely I can trust thy love
for all the days to come,
that I may tell thy praise, and dwell
forever in thy home.
Words: F. Bland Tucker, paraphrase of Psalm 23 © 1985, Church Publishing, Inc. Music: Crimond, melody Jesse Seymour Irvine, harm. The Hymnal 1982, Public Domain. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #78535. All rights reserved.
The Post-Communion Prayer
[Enriching our Worship 2 [2000], pp. 56-57]
Let us pray.
For In-Person Worshippers:
Faithful God,
in the wonder of your wisdom and love
you fed your people in the wilderness with the bread of angels,
and you sent Jesus to be the bread of life.
We thank you for feeding us with this bread.
May it strengthen us
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may embody your desire
and be renewed for your service
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
For Online Worshippers and Those Receiving Spiritual Communion:
Faithful God,
in the wonder of your wisdom and love
you fed your people in the wilderness with the bread of angels,
and you sent Jesus to be the bread of life.
Though we cannot consume now these gifts of bread [and wine],
we thank you that we have received the sacrament of Christ’s presence,
the forgiveness of sins, and all other benefits of Christ’s passion.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
may we embody your desire
and be renewed for your service
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
The Blessing of the People
[The Book of Occasional Services 2018, p. 10]
May Christ, the Son of God, be manifest in you, that your lives may be a light to the world; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.
The Dismissal
[BCP, p. 366]
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
Thanks be to God!
The Parish Prayer List
Prayer List: Martha Avery, Mary Bonaparte, Christine Brown, Jacqueline Bryant, Lazola Cope, Aaron Duplechien Jr., Annie Bell Greer, Loretta Harmond, Marva Harris, Whitney Kennedy, Sada Maxwell, Craig Maxwell, Bette Milledge, Helen Scroggins, and Paulette Sibert
Birthdays: Jaden Ward (2/13)
Wedding Anniversaries: N/A
Recent Deaths: N/A
May the souls of all the departed rest in peace; and may light perpetual shine upon them. Amen.
Note: This service is reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer 1979 (BCP), The Hymnal 1982 (Hymn), Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal (LEV), African American Heritage Hymnal (AAHH), Wonder Love and Praise (WLP), and other sources cited. The Scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.
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