St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

On- Line Bulletin 

10:30 St. Stephens Comm. Ctr

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

7 February 2021

Our mission is to worship God and care for

God’s people in the spirit of Christ.

 

The Rev. Ian Wissler, Rector (902.275.8627)

Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Paul Booth, Priest-in-Charge (902.277.1960)

Wardens:  Mary Casavant, Jon Waddell

Choir Director: Dawn Harwood-Jones

Organist: Margaret Machum

ststephensparish@ns.sympatico.ca

saintstephenschester.ca

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

54 Regent St. Chester NS B0J 1J0      902-275-3804 

 

 

 

The Holy Eucharist
The Gathering of the Community

All stand. The presiding celebrant greets the community

Celebrant The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

People  And also with you.

Celebrant Almighty God,
All to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden. 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.

Glory to God

Celebrant Glory to God in the highest,
All 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.

Kyrie Eleison Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day

Celebrant Let us pray.
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

The Proclamation of the Word

 

The Readings

Isaiah 40:21-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;

who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?

He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;

because he is great in strength,
mighty in power, 
not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,

"My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

The Psalm

Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

Laudate Dominum

1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!

2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.

4 He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.

6 The Lord lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.

8 He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;

9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.

10 He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.

11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;

12 But the Lord has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor.

21 Hallelujah!

The Epistle

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

After which, All stand for the Gospel.

The Lord be with you. And also with you. The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

At the conclusion of the Gospel, the reader says, The Gospel of Christ. People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon

The Apostles’ Creed

Celebrant Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we say, I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers of the People – Response “Lord, have mercy.”

Confession and Absolution

Celebrant  Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy; he welcomes sinners
and invites them to his table.
Let us confess our sins,
confident in God’s forgiveness.

All 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 neighbours 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.

Almighty God have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Peace : The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.

The Prayer over the Gifts

Loving God,
before the world began you called us.
Make holy all we offer you this day,
and strengthen us in that calling.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.

 

Great Thanksgiving 

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 our thanks and praise.

The Preface is read by the Celebrant

All: 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.

Celebrant continues with the Prayer of Consecration to the Proclamation:  Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Celebrant concludes the Prayer of Consecration:

All join in saying “Amen”.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant: “I am the bread of life,” says the Lord. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry;  whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

All: Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him!

The Communion

Prayer after Communion

Gracious God,
our hands have taken holy things;
our lives have been nourished by the body of your Son. May we who have eaten at this holy table
be strengthened for service in your world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.

Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.

 

 

 

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Announcements

 

It’s a new month!! Spring is around the corner!  we look forward to getting back to as normal as we can, carefully and safely of course! and in Church Worship is wonderful!

 

For those who cannot attend in person, we are pleased to remind folks that along with mail in and pre authorized withdrawal; we can accept e-transfers that make it simple to send your weekly offerings! So easy and so kindly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Here are the steps

 

1.       From your Accounts page, select Transfers.

2.       Select Interac e-Transfer.

3.       Select Send money.

4.       Select a contact to send money to    ststephensparish@ns.sympatico.ca

5.       Select the account you want to send money from.

6.       Enter the amount of your transfer.

7.       Enter a security question and answer, and then select Continue

 

 

Parish Council will meet this Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Tuck Hall.

 

The Annual Meeting of St. Stephen’s congregation will follow the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, 28th February.