St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

On- Line Bulletin 

10:30 St. Stephens Comm. Ctr

The First Sunday in Lent

21 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 

 

Imposition of Ashes, after Ash Wednesday and The Holy Eucharist

The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray.

The community prays in silence; then follows the Collect of the Day.

Almighty and everlasting God, you despise nothing you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our brokenness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Readings Joel 2.1–2, 12–17; Psalm 103.8–18 Refrain The Lord remembers that we are but dust. 1Peter3:18-22

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

Sermon

After the sermon all stand, and the celebrant or minister addresses the congregation, saying,

Dear friends in Christ,
every year at the time of the Christian Passover we celebrate our redemption
through the death and resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season
by remembering our need for repentance,
and for the mercy and forgiveness
proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes, an ancient sign, speaking of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marking the penitence of the community as a whole.

I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent
by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God. Let us kneel before our Creator and Redeemer.

Silence is then kept for reflection.
Psalm 51.1–18 is said.
Refrain Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Litany of Penitence

The celebrant and people say together,

Most holy and merciful Father,
we confess to you, to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.

The celebrant continues,

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives, We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, We confess to you, Lord.

 

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgements, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbours, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, Accept our repentance, Lord.  

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great.  

Almighty God,
from the dust of the earth you have created us. May these ashes be for us a sign
of our mortality and penitence,
and a reminder that only by your gracious gift are we given eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Ashes are applied to the forehead of each person with the following words. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

After all who desire ashes have received them, the celebrant leads the congregation in the conclusion of the confession.

Accomplish in us, O God,
the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son, our Lord, Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.

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

The Prayer over the Gifts: God our refuge and our strength,
receive all we offer you this day and through the death and resurrection of your Son transform us to his likeness. We ask this in his name.

Great Thanksgiving  - Eucharistic Prayer 3

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 for Lent is read by the Celebrant, followed by the Acclamation  -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.

The Celebrant continues with the Prayer of Consecration to the Proclamation:  Therefore, Father, according to his command,

We remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection, we await his coming in glory.

The Celebrant concludes the Prayer of Consecration: All join in saying “Amen” and The Lord’s Prayer.

The Breaking of the Bread: Celebrant We break this bread,

All Communion in Christ’ s body once broken. Celebrant Let your Church be the wheat which bears its fruit in dying. All If we have died with him, we shall live with him; If we hold firm, we shall reign with him.

The Communion

Prayer after Communion. Faithful God, in this holy bread you increase our faith and hope and love. Lead us in the path of Christ who is your Word of life. We ask this in his name.

Dismissal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Announcements

 

Wednesday Lenten Services and Study. Beginning this week, 24^th February, there will be a simple act of worship, followed by study, each Wednesday, in Tuck Hall, St. Stephen’s. The Study will be led by Karan Manuel.

 

In Real Life: Living Our Baptismal Covenant

 

Over five Wednesdays in Lent we will…

 

·       Explore how being Christians makes a difference in the way we live our lives

·       At how periodic renewal of our baptismal vows impacts real life in our church and community

·       The challenges we meet in being true to our faith convictions

·       How our faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ and commitment to the church finds expression in the various settings in which we live

 

…as is stated in the baptismal covenant found in the Book of Alternative Services.

 

Next Sunday, the Second Sunday in Lent, 28^th February, there will be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 10:30, followed by immediately the Annual Meeting.