St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

On- Line Bulletin 

10:30 St. Stephens Comm. Ctr

The Last Sunday after Epiphany

14 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.
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Proclamation of the Word

 

The Readings

2 Kings 2:1-12

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

 

 

 

The Psalm

Psalm 50:1-6

Deus deorum

REFRAIN God reveals himself in glory.

 

The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken; he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

 

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory. R

 

Our God will come and will not keep silence; before him there is a consuming flame, and round about him a raging storm.

 

He calls the heavens and the earth from above to witness the judgement of his people. R

 

"Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice."

 

Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; for God himself is judge. R

 The Epistle

2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-6

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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.

Mark 9:2-9
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
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

Holy God, receive all we offer you this day, and bring us to that radiant glory which we see in the transfigured face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

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

Holy God, we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. May we who are partakers of his table

reflect his life in word and deed, that all the world may know his power to change and save. We ask this in his name.

Dismissal

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

 

 

 

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Announcements

 

Ash Wednesday

 

There will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, with the Imposition of Ashes, this Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in Tuck Hall. The service will be followed by the first in a series of Lenten Studies, “In Real Life: Living Our Baptismal Covenant”, lead by Karan Manuel. All are, of course, welcome.

 

First Sunday in Lent

 

There will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. in Tuck Hall.

 

 

 

 

It’s mid 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

 

 

 

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