The Worship Bulletin for Sunday morning, the Third Sunday of Advent  We hope  you find this helpful in following along with the service. You are encouraged to respond in the appropriate places. The service is taken from the Book of Common Prayer. If you do not have a copy, you can access it at either https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/BCP.pdf  or    http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/.

 

St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

10:30 am St. Stephen’s On-line Service, Chester

Third Sunday of Advent

13 December 2020

 

  

 

Our mission is to worship God and care for

God’s people in the spirit of Christ….

 

 

 

 

 

MORNING PRAYER

(Book of Common Prayer – The “Red” Book)

 

The Lighting of the Advent Wreath

The Penitential Rite:                          p. 4

Responsory:                                        p. 5

Venite:                                                 p. 6

 

The Proclamation of the Word

 

Psalm                                       126       p. 500                               

 

Lesson:                                   Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion - to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

 

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

Te Deum:                                            p. 7

 

Epistle:                                   1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

 

Benedictus:                                        p. 9

 

Gospel Lesson:                            John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

 

Reflection:

Apostles’ Creed:                                 p. 10

The Lord's Prayer and Versicles and Responses - p. 11

 

Collect of the Day

God of power and mercy, you call us once again to celebrate the coming of your Son. Remove those things which hinder love of you, that when he comes, he may find us waiting in awe and wonder for him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

The Collects for Peace & Grace - p. 11

The Prayer for All in Authority & for the Clergy & People - p. 13

The Prayer for All Conditions - p. 14

A General Thanksgiving, A Prayer of St. Chrysostom, & The Grace - p. 15

 

 

 

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Announcements

 

** Early this week, the Rector and Wardens will be assessing our ability to reasonably safely come to together for worship. Please watch for further announcements on this

 

Advent Program!

 

**If you missed the first session this past week, and still wish to join in, please feel free to contact us!

Our Advent Program continues this week. If you would like to join in, you may do so!

Please email the Rector at ian.wissler@gmail.com or call the Parish Office before Tuesday morning if you would like an invitation which will enable you to participate.

 

About the Advent Program: Four sessions will be held, each Tuesday through the 22nd of December, at 1:30 p.m. Each session will last an hour.

JOURNEYING THE WAY OF LOVE:

ADVENT CURRICULUM

For the season of Advent, Journeying the Way of Love offers four sessions to be explored as we await the coming of Christ by moving through the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke

Luke’s gospel provides a pattern for understanding how we can live the Way of Love as individuals, as families and friends, as a community, and out in the world.

Contents

• Advent One: The Annunciation: Saying “Yes” to the Journey

• Advent Two: Mary and Elizabeth: Journeying with Family and Friends

• Advent Three: The Birth of John the Baptist: Journeying with Community

• Advent Four: The Birth of Jesus: Journeying with the World

Participants are encouraged to read and reflect on these passages in Luke throughout the season of Advent and “try on” the spiritual practices of the Way of Love.

We pray that you will be able to join in!

 

Christmas Eve at St. Stephen's:

Just a reminder that reservations for in-person attendance for our 7 p.m. service at St. Stephen's, Chester on Christmas Eve are required. Please contact our parish office as soon as possible that you will be attending, with how many will be attending with you. Calls for a place at worship must be received by our Parish Office not later than Tuesday, 22 December, at 1 p.m. Please be aware, though, that making such a reservation does not guarantee a spot in either the Church or Parish Hall, as space is limited due to COVID-19 public health restrictions. Every effort will be made to accommodate everyone, however. If it should regrettably turn out that we are unable to make it possible for you to attend, we will contact you not later than the 23rd of December. 

 

A member of our refugee family, Mohammed Al Ali, is looking for furniture for his apartment in Western Shore. He needs a small table and chairs, sofa or love-seat. Any donations would be appreciated. Please contact our parish office if you have anything available, and we can pass that on.He has a truck and can pick up.

 

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.                             

 

 

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)