St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

10:30 am St. Stephen’s Church, Chester

The Reign of Christ

22 November 2020

 

Our mission is to worship God and care for

God’s people in the spirit of Christ.

 

Archdeacon Ian Wissler, Rector 902.275.8627 ian.wissler@gmail.com

Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Paul Booth, Honorary Assistant        

 Wardens:  Mary Casavant  902.275.7992  rickmarycasavant@gmail.com                                                                                  

 Jon Waddell   902.275.4630    jwaddell@bellaliant.net

Choir Director: Dawn Harwood-Jones

Organist: Margaret Machum

ststephensparish@ns.sympatico.ca

saintstephenschester.ca

Parish Office Hours:  Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

54 Regent Street Chester NS B0J 1J0      902.275.3804 

 

 

 

 

HOLY EUCHARIST

(Book of Alternative Services)

 

Collect:  Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King, grant that the peoples of the earth, now divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his gentle and loving rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Reading:                                      Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

 

 

Psalm:                     100

Refrain:  We are God's people, the sheep of his pasture.

Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. R

Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. R

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his name. R

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age. R

 

 

 

 

Second Reading:                    Ephesians 1:15-23

 

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

 

 

Gospel:                                   Matthew 25:31-46

 

Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

 

 

 

 

 

Nicene Creed:                         p. 188 

 

 

Prayers of the People:           p. 128  

                                                                     

Prayer over the Gifts:  Eternal God, by your grace you have raised us up and enthroned us with Christ in the heavenly realms. Receive all we offer you this day, and lead us in those good works for which you have created us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen                                                

Eucharistic Prayer:                                    # 3 (p.198)

Preface for the Reign of Christ    Said by the Priest alone

Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of heaven and earth; we give you thanks and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. You exalted him as Lord of all creation that he might present to you an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. Therefore at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow as heaven and earth proclaim the glory of your name.  

 

 

Breaking of Bread:                             # 1 (p. 212)                  

 

Prayer after Communion:

Almighty God, you have made us a royal priesthood in the kingdom of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Make known his victory through us, we pray, that all the world may see his light. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen

 

Doxology:                                                        (p. 214)

 

The Blessing:

 

 

Announcements:

 

Dismissal:

 

Announcements

 

Advanced Care Planning and Personal Directives Workshops

A free workshop offered by the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), is available, and will be running for the coming months.  Learn about how to write your personal directive for healthcare. They will be offered every month until March, and are free!  For anyone thinking about their health, wellness and getting their personal affairs in order, this is a wonderful tool.

Advance Care Planning and Personal Directives – INSPIRED Program, NSHA

Explore what advance care planning is and what to include when creating a personal directive. To register, please call Andrew Comstock at (902) 483-8943
• Tuesday, November 24th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (online via Zoom for Healthcare)
• Tuesday, December 8th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (online via Zoom for Healthcare)

Flu Shots: Just a reminder as we approach flu season to plan on getting your flu shot as a way of advancing the public health of our families, friends, and community.

Rector's Discretionary Fund - Our Parish maintains the Rector's Discretionary Fund, for the relief and assistance of both parishioners and members of the broader Chester Municipality Community, should they have a material difficulty which we may be able to alleviate. In addition to your alms to the general ministry of the Parish of St. Stephen, you may also donate directly to it. All donations should be identified as being for the Rector's Discretionary Fund, while all cheques for that purpose need to be made to St. Stephen's Parish, Chester, with "Rector's Discretionary Fund" in the memo line.                             

Missions to Seafarers Shoe Box Campaign 2020

It is again time for the Shoe Box Campaign at the Mission To Seafarers .

Shoe Boxes can be picked up at the back of the church if you would like to participate. There is a list of suggested items but you are welcome to put together whatever you see fit.

ITEMS: mittens/gloves, scarves/toques, socks, tooth brush and paste, shaving foam/disposable razors, nail clippers, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, soap/facecloth, lip balm/hand lotion, playing cards/game, pen/pencil, Nova Scotia/Canada souvenir, post card/signed Christmas card, small unbreakable ornament, bagged candy (no chocolate).

*Please Note these will delivered to Halifax November 30^th, please return by November 29^th Latest!!

PWRDF Update -As the Saint Stephen’s Church PWRDF representative, I participated in a virtual Diocesan meeting of parish representatives. We had excellent presentations by two staff members of PWRDF. We learned that PWRDF spent $6.6 million on Development last year throughout Canada and the world. The Federal Government has given PWRDF $1.9 million as an extension of the All Mothers and Children Count campaign to buy PPE”S and other equipment to ensure their partners in Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Mozambique are able to keep their health clinics safely open during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Any donation to this programme is matched 6:1 by the Government of Canada. If you go the the webpage, pwrdf.org, you can see how to donate the this very worthwhile programme.

We also learned that PWRDF is ranked in the top 100 of Canadian charities. They manage their resources very well with only 10% of their budget going to staff expenses and fundraising efforts. With this mind, I hope you will join me in using the World of Gifts to give very meaningful gifts to family and friends especially over the Christmas season. Some of the larger items  are suitable for a group or organization to consider as a fund raising project. Details of the World of Gifts were sent out with the Anglican Journal and are available at pwrdf.org. Of course donations can be made to PWRDF through their website or through the special church envelopes.

 

Hiya Field (hiyafield@gmail.com)