9.26.21 National Cathedral Sunday Online Service

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so hmm [Music] ah [Music] oh bye [Music] oh [Music] [Music] so [Music] to be a sanctuary [Music] thanks [Music] foreign [Music] hey [Music] lord prepare me to be a saint you [Music] and when thanksgiving [Music] i'll be [Music] for you [Music] changed [Music] oh i don't have a perfect record i still [Music] i don't have much worth without you i am good because you are take this lump of clay and build yourself a place [Music] make a cathedral heart of me make a cathedral out of me make a cathedral out of me oh god [Music] i feel small just talking to you are there when i am lost and i don't have too much to say and you still listen anyway so take this lump of clay and make yourself an instrument and make a cathedral heart of me make a cathedral out of me god now make a cathedral out of me make a cathedral out of me oh god you see the light in the dark you make a temple inside of my heart and you see the saint inside every sinner i take [Music] make a cathedral out of me make a cathedral out of me oh god [Music] welcome to washington national cathedral my name is randy hollarth i am the dean of the cathedral and on behalf of marianne buddy the bishop of the diocese of washington and all of us who serve this cathedral thank you for being with us on this very special day this is essentially the cathedral's birthday that we celebrate every year when we not only give god thanks for this incredible space but we also remember and lift up all those whose hard work and dedication and love of wanting to create something beautiful and something holy all those who have come before us in this place and at the same time it's when we remind ourselves of what we're all about here and what all of us need to be about in the world so it's a special day so thank you for coming to be with us how many folks are visiting the cathedral today raise your hand if you're visiting welcome we're so glad that you're here on any given sunday we're blessed to have folks from around the country and around the world with us both in person and online and i want to welcome all of our all of our cathedral family who are worshiping at home and joining us by way of the internet we're so glad that you all are with us as always and all of you are a part of our cathedral family we are a house of prayer for all people and you are always welcome here so i hope if you're visiting that you will come back and see us often now let us prepare ourselves for worship take a deep breath let it out slowly center ourselves and calm ourselves and know that with the burdens we carry and the tasks that we bear that our lord is here and with us and that this is a good place to lay them down so thank you for being with us oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i was glad when they said to me this is none other than the house of god bless be god father son and holy spirit praying together almighty god to you all hearts are open all desires known and from you know secrets are hid 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 [Music] great things is [Music] praise the lord is [Music] [Music] the lord be with you let us pray almighty god to his glory we celebrate the dedication of this house of prayer we give thanks for the fellowship of those who have worshipped in this place and we pray that all who seek you here may find you be filled with your joy and peace through jesus christ our lord who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god now and forever amen almighty god whose blessed apostles peter and paul glorified you by their martyrdom grant that your church instructed by their teaching and example and knit together in unity by your spirit may ever stand firm upon the one foundation which is jesus christ our lord who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god now and forever amen a reading from the book of genesis jacob left bashir ba and went toward haran he came to a certain place and stayed there for the night because the sun had set taking one of the stones of the place he put it under his head and laid down in that place and he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth the top of it reaching to heaven and the angels of god were ascending and descending from it and the lord stood beside him and said i am the lord the god of abraham your father and the god of isaac the land on which you lie i will give to you and to your offspring and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south and all the families of earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring know that i am with you and will keep with you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land for i will not leave you until i have done what i have promised you then jacob woke from his sleep and said surely the lord is in this place and i did not know it and he was afraid and said how awesome is this place this is none other than the house of god and this is the gate of heaven the word of the lord how [Music] of the lord [Music] [Music] i [Music] is [Music] and my god [Music] [Music] is [Music] is foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] a reading from the first letter of saint peter rid yourselves therefore of all malice and all guile in insincerity envy and all slander like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow into salvation if indeed you have tasted that the lord is good 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 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 the word of the lord [Music] there's a sweet sweet spirit in this [Music] on each [Music] place is [Music] foreign [Music] when we shall leave this [Music] jesus temple jesus to allow jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers in the seats of those who sold doves he said to them it is written my house shall be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he cured them but when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did and heard the children crying out in the temple hosanna to the son of david they became angry and said to him do you hear what these are saying jesus said to them yes have you never read out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself the gospel of the lord [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen 114 years ago on september 29 1907 president teddy roosevelt and a crowd of 10 000 laid the cornerstone of this cathedral every year since on the sunday closest to that date we've celebrated cathedral day a day when we not only give thanks to god for this magnificent place but more importantly a day when we remind ourselves of the work god is calling us to do a day when we remind ourselves about why this cathedral exists in the first place and how it and all of us can make a difference in the building of god's kingdom it's a little strange to be celebrating cathedral day after more than 565 days of pandemic during which this magnificent building sat empty much of the time we are in a different place now than we were two years ago all of us are our world has changed and the truth is we are still in the midst of pandemic it isn't over moreover we are only in the beginning stages of making sense of what we have experienced as we move forward into an unknown future at the same time i am immensely proud of what this cathedral has been able to contribute during these days of pandemic purely by god's grace we were perfectly situated with our new video capabilities to reach out beyond our walls and to come directly into people's homes during a time when being at home was just about all any of us could do truth be told i had always dreamed about building a digital cathedral and this dream was part of our long-range plan but it was a plan that i thought would take us five years not a plan that we would need to hatch in five weeks but through the efforts of the amazing people who serve on the staff of this cathedral we were able to do just that to pivot this place from being a cathedral where the building was often central into a place where what is coming out of this building is central and i cannot tell you what it has meant to me and to all of us at the cathedral to receive the many emails and letters from people around the country and around the world thanking us for this ministry which we are so pleased to be able to provide thanking us for helping them make it through these days of pandemic thanking us for providing daily spiritual nourishment and programmatic enrichment it has been and continues to be our honor to serve in this way and now that we are back open again it is a joy to see so many of you in person every sunday since we reopened on july 4th i've had the honor of meeting and speaking with people who found the cathedral during the tough days of lockdown and now feel compelled to come be with us in person these are people we have who have never physically been in the cathedral before and who have come from kansas and california and michigan and maine and so many other places just to be here for sunday service it's such a pleasure to meet all these folks all of these members of our online cathedral family and we are humbled by their presence so where do we go from here as this cathedral celebrates its 114th birthday what is it being called to do what are we being called to do many americans don't know what to make of a cathedral like this that's because there aren't many of them in this country far more common throughout europe the great cathedrals of the world by their very size and reach have the capacity to appeal to so many different constituencies whether it's 1500 people spread throughout this nave taking part in a special yoga class or hundreds of people walking around the nave that's filled with beautiful origami doves and bathed in colored light or thousands of others gathered here for a state funeral or interfaith voices all praising god in a beautiful collage of their very faith traditions or the singing of the exalted as the light of christ breaks through the darkness during the easter vigil cathedrals have a unique and a special role to play and this cathedral in particular situated in our nation's capital at the intersection of what i call the sacred and the civic we have as our programmatic focus the essential work of contributing to the healing of the soul of this nation of trying to stand up and speak out for what is good and right and holy trying to bridge the divides that separate us all the while welcoming people of all faiths and no faith to be as the former dean gary hall once said a cathedral oriented to the world proclaiming the gospel in the public square we seek to gather together the faithful and the skeptics the spiritual but not religious the curious folks who might never consider entering a parish church but who can find here the space and the room to encounter the holy in their own time and in their own way we seek to confront the issues that drive us apart as a nation the issues that diminish us as human beings the issues that wound us as god's beloved children our announcements in recent days of elie wiesel's likeness being permanently added to the iconography of the human rights porch and the artist carrie james marshall and elizabeth alexander being chosen to create the new windows that will adorn this but space in place of the lee and jackson windows are two examples of the work that we feel called to do now in our lesson from genesis for this morning jacob has a vision where god tells him that he is blessed and that he will be the father of a great nation a great people and that he and his people will be a blessing to others indeed to the whole world he's told i find these verses so powerful not only because of what they tell us about jacob but more importantly because of what they tell us about god and all of us you must remember that the jacob being blessed in this passage the jacob chosen by god to be the father of a great people this jacob was a very imperfect human being in fact he was a cheat and a sneak and a liar as frederick beekner once wrote about jacob quote twice he cheated his lame brain brother esau out of what was coming to him at least once he took advantage of the blindness of his old father isaac and played him for a sucker he out did his double-crossing father-in-law laban by conning him out of most of his livestock and later on when laban was looking the other way by sneaking off not only with both the man's daughters but just about everything else that wasn't nailed down end quote jacob jacob was an imperfect person to say the least but god still chose him still believed in him still called him to do such an important thing despite all his faults and his failings jacob was chosen by god along with his descendants after him to be a blessing to others the truth is throughout the bible god often picks the most unlikely people to do his work god uses the most fallible of human beings to complete god's plans and this fact always gives me great comfort as i think about how imperfect i am how imperfect this place is how imperfect all of us are and yet how we are still all of us called to be instruments of god's goodness in the world the great saints of the church aren't saints because they were such good people no they are saints because they said yes to god my friends the truth is like jacob we too are being called both as an institution and as individuals i think to be in the way we live our lives a blessing to others in spite of our own faults and failings if we are people of faith if this cathedral is truly a house of prayer for all people then we have a responsibility to answer god's call to be the hands and feet of god in the world to be built into a spiritual house as peter reminds us to proclaim the god who calls us out of darkness into light our political divides our cultural divides our economic divides the wound of racism that still lies unhealed and festering in this nation all these issues and so many more are calling to be addressed and who better than people of faith whatever that faith may be people who believe in a god of justice and peace people who believe in the reconciling and healing power of love what better than those people to do this work if we don't do it who will if we understand anything we must understand that this place can't just be a beautiful building full of nice people who come to pray we have to be kingdom builders builders of god's kingdom and a blessing to others in closing on the cornerstone that was laid here in 1907 under what is now the altar of bethlehem chapel below us a verse was inscribed in the stone from the gospel of john and the word became flesh and dwelt among us it refers of course to john's description of the birth of jesus when the very word of god that was there at the instant of creation and brought the heavens and the earth out of nothingness when that word became incarnate in a very finite and vulnerable child born in a stable in bethlehem but i believe that verse i believe that it is a verse that points to the task placed in front of us a task placed in front of us and this cathedral to always make sure that the word continues to dwell among us by inflecting it ourselves putting this cathedral and our very lives on the line proclaiming and living out the way the only way that can bring about hope and healing and reconciliation which is the way of love shown to us by jesus christ yes this is a special place and yes this is a day worth celebrating god has blessed the work of this cathedral for 114 years and it is my prayer that god will bless us for many years to come so let's celebrate but only for a little while because there is still so much of god's work left to be done amen let us affirm our faith in the words of the nicene creed 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 m was made men 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 and the son with the father and the son he is worshiped 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 almighty god through the ages you have moved your people to build houses of prayer and praise and to set apart places for the ministry of holy word and sacraments as we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of this cathedral church graciously receive our thanks for this place and accept the work of our hands offered to your honor and glory for the church universal of which this building is a visible symbol with grateful hearts for your presence whenever two or three have gathered together in your name with grateful hearts for this place where we may be still and know that you are god with grateful hearts for making us your children by adoption and grace and refreshing us day by day with the bread of life with grateful hearts for the knowledge of your will and the grace to perform it with grateful hearts for all who minister to those affected by recent natural disasters and those involved in recovery efforts for the sick and suffering and suffering especially those with covet that they may be comforted by god's presence with grateful hearts for the fulfilling of the desires and petitions of our hearts as you see best for us with grateful hearts with a pardon of our sins which restores us to the company of your faithful people with grateful hearts for the faith of those who have gone before us and for our encouragement by their perseverance with grateful hearts for the fellowship of the apostles peter and paul our patrons and all your saints with grateful hearts we pray using the words of those gathered on the 50th anniversary of the dedication of this cathedral church almighty god who has been our help from one generation to another and in whom standeth our hope for years to come we bless thy holy name for the love and sacrifice of thy faithful servants who in the past have built and sustained the work of thy church in this place grant we pray thee that inspired by their steadfastness and loyalty we may press forward toward the fulfillment of their vision until in thine own good time we and those who come after us may by thy mercy attain that fair city whose foundations are justice and peace and whose builder and maker thou art in the name of him who is the beginning and the ending the day spring from on high and the desire of nations thy son our savior jesus christ amen the peace of the lord be always with you once again welcome to the cathedral thank you for being with us today i have a couple of announcements to share so today because it is cathedral day we're having a picnic following the service and uh it'll be in the amphitheater that's located below uh to the left below the cathedral we'll have our own cathedral band there playing some music and we have bbq and uh we you can buy tickets at the door if you'd like to come and be with us and then also this afternoon at two o'clock our very own tom sheehan who is our cathedral organist will be giving a really wonderful organ recital inspired by cathedrals from around the world and it'll be in person here in the building so you can come and be here or watch it online and then please don't forget one of the favorite services every year on sunday october 3rd at 2 p.m just in front of the cathedral we'll be having our service for the blessing of the animals so bring all those four-legged creatures and two-legged creatures and eight-legged creatures and uh come on and bring them all whatever you've got at home and let's celebrate god's creation and the blessing that they are in our lives so i hope you'll join us for that please know that everyone is welcome to receive communion today it does not matter your church affiliation or lack thereof if you desire to know jesus christ then come forward and be fed we have gluten-free bread available if you need it so just ask we will not be using the chalice today so no wine just because of covid we're just sharing the bread if you'd rather not receive communion that's perfectly fine but we hope you'll come forward when others do and cross your arms over your chest like this that way we'll know you'd rather not receive communion and we can just offer you a prayer and a blessing so we hope that you'll take advantage of that finally if you were able to support us in the work of this place we would be most appreciative as we always remind the folks please support your own parish family first and foremost but then if you can support the work of the cathedral we'd be most grateful we are not passing the plate today due to covid but there are two boxes on either side of the doors as you leave the cathedral and if you'd like to help us in our work we would be most grateful and my thanks to all of you online who give online and for all the support you have given the cathedral over these years now walk in love as christ loved us and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to god [Music] i will not off unto the lord that which costs me nothing [Music] i will not offer unto the lord that which costs me nothing [Music] i will not offer unto the lord that which costs [Music] that which cost me nothing [Music] oh for him my time for him my sacrifice [Applause] [Music] i will not offer unto the lord that which costs me nothing nothing [Music] that which costs me nothing oh nothing [Music] my time sacrifice [Applause] he's [Music] is [Music] [Music] said my god he is [Music] praise my god worthy he's worthy he's worthy he's worthy he's worthy he's worth that he's worthy he's worthy he's worthy of everything so i'll offer him he's worthy my god is worthy but my god is worthy of everything i have oh he's for they were they worthy [Music] the lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god it is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you father almighty creator of heaven and earth and now we give you thanks for your blessing on this house of prayer where through your grace we offer you the sacrifice of praise and are built by your spirit into a temple made without hands even the body of your son jesus christ therefore we praise you joining our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your name [Music] [Applause] you [Music] [Music] we give thanks to you o god for the goodness and love which you've made known to us in creation in the calling of israel to be your people in your words spoken through the prophets and above all in the word made flesh jesus your son for in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the virgin mary to be the savior and redeemer of the world in him you've delivered us from evil and made us worthy to stand before you in him you've brought us out of error into truth out of sin into righteousness out of death into life on the night before he died for us our lord jesus christ took bread and when he had given thanks to you he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said take eat this is my body which is given for you do this for the remembrance of me after supper he took the cup of wine and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and said drink this all of you this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins whenever you drink it do this for the remembrance of me therefore according to his commando father we remember his death we proclaim his resurrection we await his coming and glory and we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you o lord of all presenting to you from your creation this bread in this wine we pray you gracious god to send your holy spirit upon these gifts that they may be the sacrament of the body of christ and his blood of the new covenant unite us to your son in the sacrifice that we may be acceptable through him being sanctified by the holy spirit in the fullness of time put all things in subjection under christ and bring us to that heavenly country where with our patrons the apostles peter and paul and all your saints we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters through jesus christ our lord the firstborn of all creation the head of the church and the author of our salvation by him and with him and in him in the unity of the holy spirit all honor and glory is yours almighty father now and forever amen and now as our savior christ has taught us we are bold to say 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 to temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever amen [Music] foreign is [Music] so [Music] the gifts of god for the people of god take them in remembrance that christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] us [Music] my [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] um [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] so praying together father in heaven whose church on earth is a sign of your heavenly peace an image of the new and eternal jerusalem grant to us in the days of our pilgrimage that fed with the living bread of heaven and united in the body of your son we may be the temple of your presence the place of your glory on earth and a sign of your peace in the world through jesus christ our lord amen the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you this day and remain with you always amen [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] like living stones precious in his sight go and proclaim the mighty acts of god thanks be to god [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: Washington National Cathedral

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Length: 93min 0sec (5580 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021