The Worship Bulletin for Sunday morning, the Twenty-Fourth
Sunday after Pentecost 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
Twenty-Fourth
Sunday after Pentecost
15 November 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.com
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
MORNING PRAYER
(Book of Common
Prayer)
*A Note from the
Rector about Morning Prayer. - The Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer
are some of the treasures of our Book of Common Prayer. In “saying” the Office,
any person can read the prayers, especially in the privacy of their own home,
without the presence of a priest – with the exception of the Prayer of
Absolution, which normally follows the Confession at the start of the service.
Everything else can be led by any Christian person. And so, if you are praying
this service, YOU are the “Officiant”, or “Minister”, and can even read those
parts that say “Priest”. I would encourage you to read the “Mutual Salutations”
(“The Lord be with you”. “And with thy spirit.”) as a reminder that, even if
you are praying this service physically alone, you are praying in unity with
your whole parish family, and the whole family of Christ’s Church on earth.
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: let the whole earth stand
in awe of him.
Psalm 96. 9.
Prayer of
Confession
Officiant: ALMIGHTY
and most merciful Father, We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost
sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We
have offended against thy holy laws, We have left undone those things which we
ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have
done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
Restore thou them that are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto
mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his
sake, That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the
glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
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 them that 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.
Minister. O Lord, open thou our
lips;
People. And our mouth shall
show forth thy praise.
Minister. O God, make speed
to save us;
People. O Lord, make haste
to help us.
Minister: GLORY be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
People. As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Minister. Praise ye the
Lord;
People. The Lord’s Name be
praised.
“Venite” (Psalm
95)
O COME, let us
sing unto the LORD: / let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, / and show ourselves glad in
him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, / and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are all the corners of the earth: / and the strength of the hills
is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: / and his hands prepared the dry land.
O
COME, let us worship, and fall down, / and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For he is the Lord our God; / and we are the people of his pasture, and
the sheep of his hand.
TO-DAY, O that ye would hear his voice: / ‘Harden not your hearts as in
the Provocation, and as in the day of Temptation in the wilderness;
When your fathers tempted me, / proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, and said, / “It is a
people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways”;
Unto whom I sware in my wrath, / that they should not enter into my rest.’
GLORY
be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end.
Amen.
The Proclamation
of the Word
Psalm: Psalm 123
Refrain - Our eyes look to the Lord our
God, until he shows us his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes, to you enthroned in the
heavens.
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their
masters, and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he show us
his mercy. R
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, for we have
had more than enough of contempt,
Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, and of the
derision of the proud. R
Lesson:
Judges
4:1-7
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of
Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived
in Haroshethhagoiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he
had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly
twenty years. At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was
judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and
Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for
judgement. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali,
and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, 'Go, take
position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and
the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to
meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give
him into your hand.”
The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
“Te Deum”
WE praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee;
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee;
The noble army of Martyrs praise thee;
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
The Father, of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
THOU art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s
womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of
heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy
precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, in glory everlasting.
Epistle:
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Now concerning the times
and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written
to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security,"
then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a
pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in
darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children
of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So
then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober;
for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of
faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us
not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who
died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are
doing.
The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
“Benedictus”
BLESSED be the Lord
God of Israel; / for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, / in the house of his servant
David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, / which have been since the
world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies, / and from the hands of all that hate
us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, / and to remember his holy
covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, / that he would
grant us
That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies / might serve him
without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, / all the days of our life.
AND thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: /
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people / for the remission of their
sins;
Through the tender mercy of our God; / whereby the day-spring from on high hath
visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, / and
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end.
Amen.
Gospel
Lesson:
Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus said, "For it is as if a man, going on a
journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave
five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.
Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once
and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who
had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one
talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After
a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more
talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made
five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy
slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of
many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two
talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents;
see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good
and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put
you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one
who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that
you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you
did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the
ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master replied, 'You wicked and
lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather
where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the
bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For
to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but
from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for
this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God
Apostles’ Creed
I BELIEVE in God the
Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius
Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day
he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right
hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic
Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the
body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Minister: The Lord be with you;
People. And with thy
spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
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 them that trespass against
us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Priest: O Lord, show thy mercy upon us;
People. And grant us thy salvation.
Priest. O Lord, save the Queen;
People. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Priest. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness;
People. And make thy chosen people joyful.
Priest. O Lord, save thy people;
People. And bless thine inheritance.
Priest. Give peace in our time, O Lord;
People. And evermore mightily defend us.
Priest. O God, make clean our hearts within us;
People. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
Collect of the
Day:
O God, from whose abundance all gifts and skills are
lavishly bestowed: give us courage to use our talents as generously as you have
given them, so that, being faithful to your purpose, we may share in your
glory; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen
All:
Amen.
Collect for Peace
O GOD, who
art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our
eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us thy humble servants
in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may
not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Collect for Grace
O LORD our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast
safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy
mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any
kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do
always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the Queen
O LORD God Almighty, who rulest the nations
of the earth, we humbly beseech thee with thy favour to behold our Sovereign
Lady, Queen ELIZABETH, that in all things she may be led by thy guidance and
protected by thy power. We pray thee also to bless and all the Royal Family.
Endue with wisdom the Governor-General of this Dominion, the
Lieutanant-Governors of the Provinces, the Legislators of the Commonwealth and
Empire, and all who are set in authority; that all things may be so ordered and
settled by their endeavours upon the best and surest foundations, that peace
and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among
us for all generations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the Clergy and People
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom
cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon Ronald our Archbishop,
all Clergy, and all Congregations
committed to their charge, and especially this Parish of St. Stephen, Chester (with
this community of St. George’s/All Saints) the healthful Spirit of thy
grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of
thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator,
Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Prayer for All Conditions
O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all,
we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of humanity; that thou
wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto
all nations. More especially we pray for the good estate of the Catholic
Church; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who
profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and
hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness
of life. Finally we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those, who are any
ways afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or estate; [*name here
any who are in your heart and on your mind who stand in need of God’s help] that it may
please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities,
giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their
afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake. Amen.
The General Thanksgiving
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, We
thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks For all thy
goodness and loving-kindness To us and to all people; [*Name here any
particular thanks you have to offer to the Lord.] We bless thee for our
creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; But above all for
thine inestimable love In the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
For the means of grace, And for the hope of glory. And we beseech thee, give us
that due sense of all thy mercies, That our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,
And that we show forth thy praise, Not only with our lips, but in our lives; By
giving up ourselves to thy service, And by walking before thee in holiness and
righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, To whom, with thee
and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace
at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and
dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt
grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy
servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world
knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
The Grace
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all
evermore. Amen.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Announcements
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
Advanced
Care Planning and Personal Directives Workshops
A free workshop offered by the Nova
Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), is available, and will be running for the
coming months. Learn about how to write your personal directive for
healthcare. They will be offered every month until March, and are
free! For anyone thinking about their health, wellness and getting their
personal affairs in order, this is a wonderful tool.
Advance Care Planning and Personal
Directives – INSPIRED Program, NSHA
Explore what advance care planning is and what to include when
creating a personal directive. To register, please call Andrew Comstock at
(902) 483-8943
• Tuesday, November 24th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (online via Zoom for Healthcare)
• Tuesday, December 8th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (online via Zoom for Healthcare)
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.
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.
Missions to Seafarers Shoe Box
Campaign 2020
It is again time for the Shoe Box
Campaign at the Mission To Seafarers .
Shoe
Boxes can be picked up at the back of the church if you would like to
participate. There is a list of suggested items but you are welcome to put
together whatever you see fit.
We
will deliver the boxes on Dec.1 so would like to have them in before that date.
ITEMS:
mittens/gloves, scarves/toques, socks, tooth brush and paste, shaving
foam/disposable razors, nail clippers, deodorant, shampoo, body wash,
soap/facecloth, lip balm/hand lotion, playing cards/game, pen/pencil, Nova
Scotia/Canada souvenir, post card/signed Christmas card, small unbreakable
ornament, bagged candy (no chocolate).
*Please
Note these will delivered to Halifax November 30th, please return by November 29th
Latest!!
