the twenty-Second sunday after pentecost
Order of service
Sunday 10AM Outdoor Worship with Holy Communion if weather permits. If it snows or rains, the outdoor service will not take place. ECMN regulations do not allow us to use the church building for indoor worship. Whether you choose to attend in person, or use our online resources, we encourage you to join us in worship every Sunday.
Some General Points to Note:
Attendance at this outdoor service is voluntary. While gathering outdoors is less risky than meeting indoors, everyone should decide what is the best course of action for themselves and their household. We will continue to prepare and send out the Order of Service for Use at Home and Church. The weekly Gospel and sermon will still be posted on our website www.stalbansedina.org
If you are able, please print out a copy of the Order of Service and bring it (or your tablet/electronic device) to follow along. A limited number of printed service bulletins will be available for those who cannot do this.
Please dress appropriately for the weather and for your comfort.
The service will not take place if it rains or snows, or if the forecast indicates that precipitation is likely. (We cannot use the church as backup due to current restrictions).
Please bring and wear a face mask.
Please plan to arrive no later than 9:50AM, in order that we can find our places to sit.
Please bring a lawn chair, and maintain social distancing (the 6 foot rule).
Even though we are outdoors, we want to create a setting of reverent preparation for worship. You are encouraged to use the time before the service to pray quietly or meditate in silence.
References to hymns in the bulletin are for home use only. Unfortunately, we cannot have singing or physical touch, but we can express our love for God and one another with words and acts of kindness.
Holy Communion will be administered in both kinds (i.e., the consecrated Bread and Wine) hygienically, using individual single-use cups for the administration of the Wine.
I know that these instructions may sound restrictive, but they are necessary to comply with current state and ECMN regulations. I encourage us all to focus on the positive aspect of this new phase of church life, and to rejoice that we can come together again as the Body of Christ at St. Alban’s!
See you in the parking lot at Church!
Rev. John Peters, Rector
AN ORDER OF SERVICE FOR USE AT HOME AND CHURCH
The Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church
October 25, 2020
THE WORD OF GOD
Opening Hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God #687
The Opening Acclamation BCP p. 355 (stand)
Presider: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be His kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.
Collect for Purity BCP p. 355
Song of Praise All Glory Be To God On High #421
“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name,” Words and harmonization © The Church Pension Fund.
Used by permission. CCLI License # 2996776.
The Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise,
make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
First Reading Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18 (sit)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Psalm 1
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.
Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
Hymn O Love Of God, How Strong And True #455
The Holy Gospel Matthew 22:34-46
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Hymn O Christ, The Word Incarnate #632
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all of God’s creation.
We pray for the unity of your church. Reveal our unity as the Body of Christ, graciously receiving his life and boldly offering it to a world in need.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for the renewal of creation: for a shared, plentiful harvest; for lands unable to bear fruit; for what is neglected or destroyed by our hand;
and for the earth’s advocates. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for all nations of the world: for leaders of villages, cities, states, and nations, for lawmakers and judges, for teachers and students,
and for all who work for peace. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for those who seek refuge and strength: refugees, the imprisoned, and those bound by addictions or burdened by guild. We pray for the ill or injured,
especially Tom, Peter, Shane, Anne, Ahmet, Donn, Laurie, and others? (pause) Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for continual reformation in this and every congregation. In new beginnings, impart wisdom. In established traditions, inspire creativity.
In all ministries, revive our hope in the One who makes all things new. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We give thanks for our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world. Unite us with them in our common baptism,
and deepen our faith in your promises of eternal life. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting the power of Christ and the gifts of the Spirit.
Amen.
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]
THE HOLY COMMUNION
(for Sunday 10AM Worship at Church)
The Great Thanksgiving - Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
The Communion of the People
All baptized Christians are welcome to receive at the Lord’s table.
[A Prayer for Spiritual Communion When We Cannot Receive The Sacrament]
Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion.
I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,
I ask you to come at least spiritually into my heart.
As I trust that you have already come,
I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you.
Never let me be separated from you,
that I may love and serve you with all my being,
and at the last day, be welcomed into your kingdom.
Amen
The Post Communion Prayer
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.
Closing Hymn O God, Our Help In Ages Past #680
The Blessing
May the peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,
and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and may the blessing of God Almighty:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be with us all, evermore.
Amen.
The Dismissal
Presider: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Additional Prayers for Personal Use:
Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work, or watch, or weep (this night),
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick Lord Christ;
give rest to the weary, bless the dying,
soothe the suffering, comfort the afflicted, shield the joyous,
and all for your love’s sake. Amen.
O God, we have made us in your image
and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:
Look with compassion on the whole human family;
take away the arrogance and hatred that infects our hearts;
break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love;
and work through our struggle and confusion
to accomplish your purposes on earth;
that in your good time,
all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Heavenly Father, you have bound us together in community
as one nation under God:
Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth,
to speak to one another without hatred or bitterness,
and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect
for the common good and the wellbeing of all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
