Monday, September 29, 2014

A Celebration of the Feast of Saint Faith (5 October 2014)

On Sunday Saint Faith's Celebrates our Matronal festival.

Feast of Saint Faith
5 October 2014

The Gathering of the Community

Entrance Hymn

‘Wind upon the Waters’  Common Praise #408 vv. 1, 2, 3

Greeting

We praise you, O God;
you are the Lord:  we acclaim you;
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Come then, Lord, and help your people
and bring us with all your saints to glory everlasting.

Canticle

‘Glory to God’  Common Praise #702

Collect of the Day

Let us pray.

Almighty God,
who gave your servant Faith courage
to confess Jesus Christ
and to die for this faith,
may we always be ready
to give a reason for the hope that is in us,
and to suffer gladly for his sake;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

The Proclamation of the Word of God

The First Reading

A Reading from Isaiah (44.1-8).

         But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!  Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you:  Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.  For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.  They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like willows by flowing streams.  This one will say, “I am the Lord’s,” another will be called by the name of Jacob, yet another will write on the hand, “The Lord’s,” and adopt the name of Israel. 

         Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:  I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.  Who is like me?  Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me.  Who has announced from of old the things to come?  Let them tell us what is yet to be.  Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?  You are my witnesses!  Is there any god besides me?  There is no other rock; I know not one.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

The Psalm of the Day

Psalm 87 with the refrain from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):  Glorious things are sung for you, O Holy One!

1 On the holy mountain *
         stands the city God has founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion
         more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

Refrain:  Glorious things are sung for you, O Holy One!

3 Glorious things are spoken of you, *
         O city of our God.
4 I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me; *
         behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia:  in Zion were they born.
5 Of Zion it shall be said, ”Everyone was born in there, *
         and the Most High shall sustain it.”

Refrain:  Glorious things are sung for you, O Holy One!

6 The Lord will record as the peoples are enrolled, *
         “These also were born there.”
7 The singers and the dancers will say, *
         “All my fresh springs are in you.”

Refrain:  Glorious things are sung for you, O Holy One!


The Second Reading

A Reading from the First Letter of Peter (2.4-10).

         Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

         For it stands in scripture:  “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.”  They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

         But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

         Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.

Hymn before the Gospel

‘You Have Passed By’  Common Praise #510

The Gospel

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (17.6-19).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

         [Jesus continued to pray to God, saying,] “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.  They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.  All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.  And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me.  I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.  They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

The Apostles’ Creed

Joining with blessed Faith and all those who, by their lives, have given witness to Christ, let us proclaim the faith of our baptism:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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. [1]

The Prayers of the Community

The Prayers of the People

The Exchange of the Peace

May the peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

The Holy Communion

Offertory Hymn

‘Accept, O Lord, the Gifts We Bring’ Evangelical Lutheran Worship #691

The Prayer over the Gifts

Let us pray.

God of faithfulness,
your servant Faith praised you in her death.
Receive all we offer you this day,
and give us the strength of will
to proclaim your righteousness and love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.

The Thanksgiving at the Table

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.

We give you thanks and praise, almighty God,
through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
our Saviour and Redeemer.
He is your living Word
through whom you have created all things.

By the power of the Holy Spirit
he took flesh of the Virgin Mary
and shared our human nature.
He lived and died as one of us,
to reconcile us to you,
the God and Father of all.

In fulfillment of your will
he stretched out his hands in suffering,
to bring release to those who place their hope in you,
and so he won for you a holy people.

He chose to bear our griefs and sorrows,
and to give us his life on the cross,
so that he might shatter the chains of evil and death,
and banish the darkness of sin and despair.
By his resurrection
he brings us into the light of your presence.

Now with all creation we raise our voices
to proclaim the glory of your name.

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. [i]

Holy and gracious God,
accept our praise,
through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ;
who on the night he was handed over
to suffering and death,
took bread and gave you thanks,
saying, “Take, and eat:
this is my body which is broken for you.”
In the same way he took the cup,
saying, “This is my blood which is shed for you.
When you do this, you do it in memory of me.”

Remembering, therefore, his death and resurrection,
we offer you this bread and this cup,
giving thanks that you have made us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.

We ask you to send your Holy Spirit
upon the offering of your holy Church.
Gather into one
all who share in these sacred mysteries,
filling them with the Holy Spirit
and confirming their faith in the truth,
that together we may praise you
and give you glory
through your Servant, Jesus Christ.

All glory and honour are yours,
Father and Son,
with the Holy Spirit
in the holy Church,
now and for ever.  Amen. [ii]

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.  Amen. [iii]

The Breaking of the Bread

“I am the bread which has come down from heaven,”
says the Lord.
Give us this bread for ever.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
May we dwell in Christ, as he dwells in us. [iv]

The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.

Communion

Hymn after Communion

‘Let There Be Light’  Common Praise #572

The Sending Forth of the Community

Stewardship Reflection

The Prayer after Communion

Let us pray.

God of courage,
we give thanks for this holy food,
and we praise you for your martyr Faith,
who ran with perseverance
the race that you set before her
and won the victor’s wreath that does not fade;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine. 
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever.  Amen.

Closing Hymn

‘Wind upon the Waters’  Common Praise #726 vv. 4, 5

The Dismissal

The Deacon sends the People forth with a Dismissal for the occasion.




[1] ‘The Apostles’ Creed’ (CCT version) as printed in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 105.



[i] Common Praise #726.

[ii] ‘Eucharistic Prayer 2’ in The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 196-197.

[iii] ‘Our Father in Heaven’, Common Praise #744.

[iv] The Book of Alternative Services (1985), 212 alt.

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