The Holy Eucharist: The Liturgy of the Word
14th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 18, Year A) September 6, 2020
Watch the Livestream at www.Facebook.com/StMattSav/Live/
Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (or anytime afterward)
Preface
I am posting this worship service online because we at St. Matthew's Church in Savannah are unable to gather together in person this week. Due to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak, public health officials recommend avoiding large gatherings of people to avoid spreading the illness to more vulnerable people. Therefore, under the guidance of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, the Vestry has decided to keep our church building closed to all in-person gatherings.
At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, I will broadcast the following worship service using Facebook Live at www.Facebook.com/StMattSav. After the service concludes, you can re-watch it at any time.
Today's service is the Liturgy of the Word (or the first part of the Holy Eucharist service we use on normal Sundays). This is for use at home while watching the live stream or reading the prayers when you cannot physically attend worship. Lay people may read the entirety of this service as printed.
May God protect you from this virus and protect the most vulnerable among us. May we be God’s hands and feet of compassion and service to all in need during this time. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda
The Word of God
Hymn #400: All Creatures of Our God and King
1 All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voices, let us sing:
alleluia, alleluia!
Bright burning sun with golden beams,
Pale silver moon that gently gleams,
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
4 Dear mother earth, you day by day
unfold your blessings on our way;
O praise him, Alleluia!
All flowers and fruits that in you grow,
let them his glory also show:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
5 All you with mercy in your heart,
forgiving others, take your part,
O sing now: Alleluia!
All you that pain and sorrow bear,
praise God, and cast on him your care:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
6 And even you, most gentle death,
waiting to hush our final breath,
O praise him, Alleluia!
You lead back home the child of God,
for Christ our Lord that way has trod:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
7 Let all things their creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Praise God the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Words: Francis of Assisi, trans. William H. Draper, alt., Public Domain.
Music: Lasst uns erfreuen; adapt. Ralph Vaughn Williams, Public Domain.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #80362. All rights reserved.
Opening Sentences
[BCP, p. 355]
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
The 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 in the Highest
[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 #77081. All rights reserved.
The Collect of the Day
[BCP, p. 357, 233]
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Reading from Ezekiel (33:7-11)
You, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 119:33-40
[BCP, p. 766]
Read responsively by half-verse (at the asterisk).
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, * and I shall keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; * I shall keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me go in the path of your commandments, * for that is my desire.
36 Incline my heart to your decrees * and not to unjust gain.
37 Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; * give me life in your ways.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, * which you make to those who fear you.
39 Turn away the reproach which I dread, * because your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for your commandments; * in your righteousness preserve my life.
A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans (13:8-14)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
LEV #76: Jesus in the Morning
1 Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus in the morning
Jesus in the noontime;
Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus when the sun goes down!
2 Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise Him in the morning
Praise Him in the noontime;
Praise Him, Praise Him,
Praise Him when the sun goes down!
3 Love Him, Love Him,
Love Him in the morning
Love Him in the noontime;
Love Him, Love Him,
Love Him when the sun goes down!
4 Serve Him, Serve Him,
Serve Him in the morning
Serve Him in the noontime;
Serve Him, Serve Him,
Serve Him when the sun goes down!
5 Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus in the morning
Jesus in the noontime;
Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus when the sun goes down!
Words: Traditional, Public Domain
Music: Negro Spiritual, Public Domain.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #83429. All rights reserved.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Matthew (18:15-20)
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon
“Truth and Conflict” by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda
What do you do when someone hurts you? How do you respond? Who do you turn to for support?
What do you do when your spouse does that thing you hate for the millionth time? What do you do when your child talks back at you with that unmistakable eye roll? What do you do when someone laughs just a little too hard at a mistake you made at school or at work? What do you do when a friend betrays your trust? What do you do when you get a bogus traffic ticket? What do you do when someone abuses their authority as your employer or a doctor or a police officer or a priest?
The scenarios I just presented got increasingly complex. You may have resonated with some and not so much with others. But they all point back to the questions we started with: What do you do when someone hurts you? How do you respond? Who do you turn to for support? These are the questions at the heart of Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel passage.
I remember learning about this passage in church many times. And every time we talked about it, it felt like a formula for conflict resolution. That sort of message went something like this: If somebody sins, you tell them directly, alone. If they don’t listen, bring backup. If they still won’t listen take it to the church community. If they still won’t listen, dismiss them. Apply this all the time in any situation. It will work because Jesus said it would!
On the surface, it’s not bad advice. But the problem is that human relationships are a lot messier than that.
I’ve tried really hard at different times in my life to follow Jesus’ “step one.” As much as I can, when I’m upset with someone, I try to avoid gossiping and complaining to other people about it. I try to go talk to them directly about it. That’s usually beneficial for the individual relationship and for the health of the wider community. And I’m all for that.
But steps two and three are much harder to pull off well. I’ve very rarely been in scenarios where bringing other people into a conflict helped to alleviate it (like an intervention). And I have never seen a parish church hold a makeshift trial where somebody publicly accuses someone else of an offense. I imagine a courtroom drama where the camera zooms in on the witness who slams her fist and yells, “I invoke Matthew 18!” That could go sideways in so many different ways. In fact, it strikes me as having more potential for abuse of authority and groupthink than for genuine accountability.
So am I saying that Jesus is wrong and that we shouldn’t follow his teaching? No. What I’m saying is that we need a more nuanced approach. We need to consider his teaching more carefully in its context and apply it more selectively in our own contexts.
First of all, Jesus rarely gives us immovable principles and formulas for human behavior. Of course we have some Thou shall’s and Thou shall not’s, but overall life is more of an art than a science.
Second, and more importantly, the conditional phrase at the beginning of verse 15 matters. The NRSV says, “If another member of the church sins against you,” but the Greek is simpler: “But if your brother should sin against you” (author’s translation; cf. RSV, NIV, KJV). Maybe it’s a distinction without difference, but to be a brother (or sister) seems closer to me than dealing with just any other member of your church. To be a brother or sister is to have a pre-established relationship of trust and intimacy. Moreover, the sibling relationship (both in the 1st century and today) implies some equality of social status. This is a conflict between equals who are sharing a difficult truth with one another.
When dealing with a situation like that, Jesus’ counsel here is absolutely one of the wisest approaches. Speak directly to the person involved, bring others to support you if that doesn’t work, and consult the whole community if that doesn’t work. In significant ways, our disciplinary processes for clergy in The Episcopal Church reflect the last two steps in Jesus’s model. Disciplinary boards aim to mediate conflicts and address potential wrongdoing as “one or two others” or as “the church.”
But of course, not all human conflicts work like that. In many cases, we aren’t dealing with conflicts between social equals. That means you need to take into account the concrete social divides in whatever culture(s) you are operating within. That means addressing conflict in the 21st century in the USA requires us to consider social dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, wealth, age, physical or mental ability, language, immigration status, employment status and rank, and a plethora of other factors. If you try to treat everybody the same with some rigid formula you may end up doing more harm than good because everyone’s life experience is not the same.
The relationship of “brother to brother” that Jesus addresses in this passage is not the same as “parent to child” or “employer to employee” or “priest to parishioner” or “police officer to civilian” or often “man to woman,” “white person to black person,” or “middle-class person to poor person.” The people on either side of these relationships don’t have shared understandings of the world. When speaking across social divides, you often don’t share the same perspective of the truth of what happened, the truth of who sinned, the truth of who ought to apologize and for what.
This is the hard work of loving your neighbor as yourself. In St. Paul’s words, our call is that “Love does no wrong to a neighbor” (Romans 15:10). Obviously we can’t just stop sinning, or completely cease doing wrong to one another. But if love does no wrong to a neighbor, then it’s our responsibility as Christians to pay attention to the wrongs we do and the wrongs that others have done to them.
Sometimes my wrong seems small, but it is part of a complex web of wrongs committed against a neighbor due to the ways our culture ranks and classifies people. If someone has been told that her voice doesn’t matter for her whole life because of her gender, race, ethnicity, or accent, then a seemingly small thing like interrupting her in conversation can “do wrong” to her. When someone with more melanin sees people who look like them being harassed and killed by law enforcement and tries to speak up and demand equal treatment, it “does wrong” to deny their experience of fear, pain, and violence. Each of us must listen with the ears of Jesus to the real pain.
So what is the church to do? In his book, Holy Currencies, the Rev. Dr. Eric Law talks about the relationship between relationships, truth, and wellness. He argues that a community cannot achieve wellness without shared understandings of the truth and that you cannot arrive at the truth without trusting relationships across social divides. We cannot build those relationships without gracious leadership practices. A key skill for gracious leadership is to prioritize the voices and opinions of the historically marginalized and disempowered. This allows those who are perceived as more powerful to listen and learn, to challenge their own assumptions about what is true.
These conversations between the powerless and the powerful do not happen by accident. We arrive at truth through intentional practices of grace.
One way is through Dr. Law’s RESPECTful Communication Guidelines. By establishing norms for how we talk with one another, we ensure that we are not going to try to yell, argue, or dominate in church conversations, but rather listen and seek understanding (even if we still disagree). Over the last few years, St. Matthew’s Vestry has begun each meeting with these RESPECT guidelines and they have helped us to make almost all of our decisions by unanimous votes. Shared boundaries and guidelines about our speech prepare us to treat one another as brothers or sisters.
We can also encourage listening and sharing truth through Dr. Law’s Mutual Invitation. I used this practice with 4th and 5th graders during this summer’s virtual Vacation Bible School, and they loved it. Mutual Invitation simply involves inviting one another to speak during a conversation, one at a time. Everyone gets invited, no one interrupts, and everyone is given the same amount of time. Even if someone chooses not to speak, they are still honored with the chance to invite the next person to share. This helps to mitigate the various power imbalances that can be present in a group and empower others to speak honestly from their experience, sharing their truth. Again, this practice of mutual invitation prepares us to treat one another as brothers or sisters when we sin against one another.
Conflict in the church is inevitable. People are going to be people and we’re going to butt heads. But it doesn’t have to mean our communities fall apart, and it should not mean that the victimized and vulnerable just go along to get along. Church can be a center for gracious leadership, relationship building, truth sharing, and ultimately peace and wellness. But it requires all of us to take time to listen to others, especially people who are different from us. It requires every Christian to elevate the marginalized over the powerful and ensure that their truth is heard too. For, in St. Mary’s words, our God “has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:52; BCP, p. 119).
So pay attention to how you respond next time someone hurts you. Pay attention to who you turn to for support. Remember that your context and social position matters in a conflict. It may be that God is calling you to support someone else as they struggle for their voice to be heard too.
Amen.
Bibliography
Law, Eric H. F. Holy Currencies: 6 Blessings for Sustainable Missional Ministries. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2013.
West, Audrey. “Commentary on Matthew 18:15-20.” Working Preacher. Accessed 1 September 2020. https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4558.
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 & Confession of Sin
[Adapted from Form VI, BCP, p. 392]
In peace, we pray to you, Lord God.
Silence, about 5 seconds.
For all people in their daily life and work;
For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.
For Donald, our president; Brian, our governor; Van, our mayor; Al, the chair of our County Commission; Ann, the Superintendent of our Public Schools, and all other civic officials; For this community, the nation, 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 all the churches in Savannah, that we may be one as you are one with the Son, and the Holy Spirit; For the peace and unity of the Church of God;
For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.
For Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Frank, our Bishop; Guillermo our Priest; and for all bishops and other ministers;
For all who serve God in his Church.
For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially for our Day Care’s staff, students, and families, and for those on our Parish Prayer List: Martha Avery, Zavier Bradley, Raleigh Bryant, Christine Brown, Mark Case, Genella Chamberlain, Annie Colbert, Lazola Cope, Alice Dailey, Beryl Dandy, Mark Dashiell, Brittany Dawson, Imani Ferguson, Ruby Fernandez, Harry Frazier, Gary Gordon, Loretta Harmond, Marva Harris, Enoch Henderson, Charles E. Hines, Kenneth Howard, Terri Howard, Dale Hundley, Jared Hundley, Tracy Hundley, Milinda James, Alvin Jenkins, Dana Jenkins, Frances T. Jones, Lori Jones, Robert L. Jones, Sr., Ronald Jones, Tonya Jones, Whitney Kennedy, Leonard Law, Jr., Ryan Lovett, Tammie Lovett, Joan Maty, Craig Maxwell, Sada Maxwell, Carmelita Maynard, Viola Maynard, Bette Milledge, Hollie Moultrie, Patricia Murry, Russell Nails, Dorothy Neal, Glenzy Payne, Robert Payne, Dison Washington Slaughter, James Small, Gwendolyn Smith, Willie Stephens, Gisele Walton, Lori Ward, Gertrude Washington, Noel Wheeler, and Dean Williams; and those we remember now…
Silence. The People may add their own petitions.
Hear us, Lord;
For your mercy is great.
We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life, especially for Kathy Robinson (9/6) and Liam Clemons (9/7) on their birthdays; for General and Lazola Cope (9/6) on their wedding anniversary; and other blessings we remember now.
Silence. The People may add their own thanksgivings.
We will exalt you, O God our King;
And praise your Name for ever and ever.
We pray for all who have died, [especially _____,] that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom, and those we remember now.
Silence. The People may add their own petitions.
Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon them;
Who put their trust in you.
We pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins.
Silence may be kept.
Leader and People:
Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; in your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and left undone; and so uphold us by your Spirit that we may live and serve you in newness of life, to the honor and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Celebrant concludes with an absolution or a suitable Collect.
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.
Announcements
A. Fall 2020 Virtual Christian Education Survey: Help Fr. Arboleda plan for the Fall 2020 Virtual Christian Education offerings! Take the survey here!
These meetings will take place over video or phone conferencing (Google Meet or Zoom), not in-person, in order to protect the health and safety of all participants. They will last no longer than one hour. If you need help using video conferencing technology from home, we are happy to coach you through it!
Please answer as honestly as you can about your interest and availability to attend Christian Education this fall.
B. 9/20 - St. Matthew's Day & 165th Parish Anniversary: Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 20, 2020. We will celebrate St. Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist, our patron saint, and the 165th Parish Anniversary of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church! Join us on Facebook Live at 9:30 AM for a special worship service to honor the occasion.
Our church is named after Saint Matthew, the Apostle and Evangelist. He is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. He is the former tax collector who left his post when Jesus called, "Follow me" (Matthew 9:9). St. Matthew is also remembered as the author of the Gospel According to St. Matthew. The Episcopal Church celebrates St. Matthew with a “Major Feast” (a holiday) every year on September 21.
Our church was founded on September 24, 1943 through the merger of St. Stephen’s Church (founded 1855) and St. Augustine’s Church (founded 1872), both in Savannah. Because the merger was completed so close to St. Matthew's Day, the Vestries adopted him as their new patron. We celebrate our anniversary, dating to the founding of St. Stephen’s in 1855. every year on the Sunday closest to St. Matthew’s Day.
C. Bookkeeper to Resign: Mrs. Donna Garrison, who has served as our Parish Bookkeeper for over two years, will resign from her post effective in mid-September (Date TBD). Her husband, the Rev. Jeff Garrison, has accepted a new call to two yoked Presbyterian churches in southwestern Virginia. (He has been the pastor of Skidaway Presbyterian for several years.) The Garrisons will move in mid-September.
The Rector and Vestry will release a job description for a replacement bookkeeper soon. If you know someone (who is not a member of St. Matthew's) who you think will be a good fit for this part-time job, please share her/his name with Fr. Arboleda.
In the meantime, you may send a note of thanks to Mrs. Garrison by email (since they are moving homes over the next few weeks).
D. (Re-)Watch The Voter Education Seminar: On Wednesday, September 2, St. Matthew's held a voter education seminar with Sharyl Sutton, Voter Education Coordinator for the Georgia Office of the Secretary of State. Feel free to watch or re-watch it any time to learn critical information about the upcoming General Election! https://www.facebook.com/stmattsav/videos/354012282670839
E. Virtual Coffee Hour 9/13: We will hold a virtual "Coffee Hour" over Zoom today (August 30), and again on every other Sunday at 10:30 AM. (Thank you to Mrs. Rachael Blue-Jones who is donating a professional Zoom login to the church for our use.)
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: St. Matthew's Coffee Hour
Time: Sep 13, 2020 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 825 7251 1175
Passcode: SEE e-NEWSLETTER
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 825 7251 1175
Passcode: SEE e-NEWSLETTER
F. Weekly Worship Schedule: St. Matthew's Church building remains closed to in-person worship and all non-essential activities due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Vestry will monitor the public health data to determine when is the appropriate time to begin the Diocesan Phase 1 Re-Gathering Plan. We will maintain online worship options for the foreseeable future on Facebook Live video and in writing on our Blog. Many other updates are available via the Facebook page.
The worship schedule is as follows:
Sundays - 9:30 Worship (You can find all of the upcoming Sunday and Holiday readings at http://www.lectionarypage.net.)
Tuesdays - 5:00 Evening Prayer
Wednesdays - 5:00 Evening Prayer
Thursdays - 5:00 Evening Prayer
G. New Parish e-Newsletter: Check your email and read it if you haven't yet. If you did not receive it, then please go to our homepage (www.stmattsav.org) and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you can enter your email to sign up. The e-Newsletter includes our preliminary financial reports for the first two quarters of 2020 (January 1 - June 30). They are available via our new e-Newsletter.
H. Become a Video Reader or Singer: St. Matthew's is pre-recording Sunday services to ensure higher quality video and audio for our worshippers at home. This provides a new opportunity for church members to be a part of the service! Mrs. Pearson and I will reach out to parishioners about recording themselves reading Scripture lessons and/or the Prayers of the People for use in these Sunday videos. If you want to get involved, please email me about your interest at FrGAA@StMattSav.org.
I. Giving to St. Matthew's: Many people are feeling the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including the church. We still need your support to pay our staff, pay our bills, and provide for these online live streams. If you pledged a donation in 2020 and are able, please continue making those contributions. If you have not pledged, please consider donating to St. Matthew’s now and in the future. 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.
The Offertory
[BCP, p. 377]
“Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2)
Give online at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now
AAHH #565: More About Jesus
1 More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show,
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
Refrain:
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
2 More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my Teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me. [Refrain]
3 More about Jesus in His Word,
Holding communion with my Lord,
Hearing His voice in ev'ry line,
Making each faithful saying mine. [Refrain]
4 More about Jesus on His throne,
Riches in glory all His own,
More of His kingdom's sure increase;
More of His coming: Prince of peace. [Refrain]
Words: Eliza E. Hewitt, Public Domain.
Music: John R. Sweney, Public Domain.
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 Blessing & Dismissal
[Enriching Our Worship 1, p. 71; BCP, p 366]
Live without fear: your Creator has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Go in peace to follow the good road and may God’s blessing be with you always. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord!
Thanks be to God!
Permissions: 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) and other sources cited. Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture readings and quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible
Cover Image: Cycle of Blessings by Eric Law, featured in Holy Currencies, p. 5; https://www.alpinelutheran.com/summit-issue-13-monday-july-10-2017/#iLightbox[gallery3673]/0.