St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

9:00 am St. George’s,  East River

10:30 am St. Stephen’s, Chester

7:00 pm All Saints Church, Canaan

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost                                                                           

16 August 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.co                                                                                                                                    

 Jon Waddell   902.275.4630   jwadell@bellaliant.net

 Choir Director: Dawn Harwood-Jones

Organist: Margaret Machum

ststephensparish@ns.sympatico.ca

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

54 Regent Street Chester NS B0J 1J0      902.275.3804 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gathering of the Community

The Penitential Rite

 

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 Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People His mercy endures for ever.

 

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.

 

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

 

Celebrant Most merciful God,

All 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.

 

The Priest then pronounces “Absolution”

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.

All: 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.

 

All Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

The Collect of the Day

Celebrant Let us pray. God of the nations,

All: all are invited to your table, for in your family no one is a stranger. Satisfy our hunger and mercifully extend to all people the joy of salvation and faith. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Proclamation of the Word

1st Lesson – Genesis 45:1-15                                                                                                                  Reader: A reading from the Book of Genesis                                                                                                                                

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.                               Reader: The Word of the Lord                                                                                                                          

All: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 133                                                                                                                                                

Presider: How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!                                 

 All: It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.                                                                             

 Presider: It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.                                                                                                    

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.                                                                  

 All: As it was the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

2^nd Lesson – Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32                                                                                                 Reader: A reading from The Letter of Paul to the Romans

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

After the reading, the reader says,                                                                                                        Reader: The Word of the Lord                                                                                                                      

All: Thanks be to God.

 The Proclamation of the Gospel                                                                                                     Reader The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.

Reader The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. (15:10-28)

People Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.            At the conclusion of the Gospel the reader says:                                                                                          The Gospel of Christ.                                                                                                                                       People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The Homily – The Rector

 

The Nicene Creed                                                                                                                           Celebrant Let us confess our faith, as we say,

All We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from        heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became  incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.                                                           

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.           We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

The Prayers of the People

(In peace let us pray to the Lord, saying, “R: Lord, have mercy.”)

Presider: For peace from on high and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord. R

Presider: For the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the holy Church of God, especially this Parish of St. Stephen (and this community of St. George’s/All Saints’), and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For those administering our Diocese, for those standing election for Bishop of our Diocese, for all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For Elizabeth our Queen, for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority throughout our world, that there will justice and peace for all, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For this (community of East River/Canaan/Village of Chester), and for all communities in our municipality, for every city and community, and for those who live in them in faith, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For good weather, for rain, and for abundant harvests of the sea and land for all to share, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For those who travel by land, water, or air, for the sick and the suffering (especially . . . ), for prisoners and captives, and for their safety, health, and salvation, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: For our deliverance from all affliction, strife, and need, let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider:  For all who have died (especially . . . ), let us pray to the Lord. R

 

Presider: Remembering St. Stephen (and St. George), all the saints, we commit ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ our God.

All: To you, O Lord. 

Celebrant And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

All Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Exchange of Peace, Blessing,& Dismissal

Celebrant The peace of the Lord be always with you. 

People And also with you.                                             

The People may exchange the peace, safely!!!

 

The Priest pronounces the blessing.

 

Presider: Let us go forth into the world in peace.

All: Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

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Announcements

 

PWRDF Pledges $25,000 to Beirut

Explosion Response

PWRDF stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, and we pray for all who are responding to this disaster. Many people are still missing and tens of thousands have lost their properties. Hospitals, schools, universities and clinics have been badly damaged. The explosion has added to the already present trauma of economic and political challenges, and the impact of COVID-19. PWRDF has been in contact with partner the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) to express our sorrow, solidarity and prayers. PWRDF is pledging $25,000 to the ACT Alliance appeal for Beirut. ACT is in contact with

their implementing members on the ground in Lebanon to determine how best to respond. 

 

Please support PWRDF’s response to the Beirut Crisis!

 

 

Donations can be made in the following ways:

Online
Please visit our online donation page at https://pwrdf.org/give-today/and make your gift in Emergency Response, indicating Beirut Explosion in the message box.​

 

By Phone
Call 1-866-308-7973 toll-free (please leave a message and we will return your call), or 416-822-9083 to speak immediately with someone who can process your donation over the phone. Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.

By Mail
Please make cheques payable to PWRDF,

Beirut Explosion and send to:

 

The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario  M4Y 3G2

PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator 
Naba Gurung
416-924-9192 ext. 321
ngurung@pwrdf.org

Anglicans in Canada are praying, acting and giving

 to those affected by the Beirut crisis.

Please watch for updates on PWRDF’s response to the

situation at www.pwrdf.org.

 

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.