St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish

On- Line Bulletin 

10:30 St. Stephens Community Centre

The Second Sunday in Lent

28 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, Honorary Assistant

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.

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

The Collect of the Day

Celebrant Let us pray.
Almighty God, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross, give us faith to perceive his glory, that being strengthened by his grace we may be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word

The Readings

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."  The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

The Psalm

Psalm 22:22-30

Deus deorum

REFRAIN All the ends of the earth shall turn to the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.

For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them. R

My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: "May your heart live for ever!"

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow before him. R

For kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules over the nations.

To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him. R

My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the Lord's for ever.

They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done. R  

 

 

The Epistle

Romans 4:13-25

The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. The Word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God.

 

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. (8:31-38)
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
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

God of wisdom, may the light of the eternal Word, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, guide us to your glory. We ask this in his name. 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

Celebrant All your works praise you, O Lord.

All And your faithful servants bless you. Gracious God we thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. May we, who share his body, live his risen life; we, who drink his cup, bring life to others; we, whom the Spirit lights, give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so that we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dismissal

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

 

 

 

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Announcements

 

 

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

 

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, 10:30 am The Study will be led by Karan Manuel.