Ash Wednesday Liturgy - First Day of Lent

foreign [Music] is [Music] so [Music] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] oh uh [Music] [Music] so a blessed good night to all and welcome to our ash wednesday evening service as we begin the season of lent we come as a family of god a community of believers to remind ourselves of our purpose here on earth and in doing so to commit ourselves anew to service to our god as we begin this service i ask that we stand as we say together prayer 14 as found on page 79 we also take this opportunity to welcome those worshipping online and pray that our god will speak to you through this media the lord be with you r us pray almighty and ever living god ruler of all things in heaven and on earth [Music] please remain standing as the choir enters during the organ voluntary followed by opening him [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] easy [Music] [Music] so [Music] m ten one one zero [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] from [Music] [Music] so the liturgy begins on page 200 and eight the sacrifice of god is a troubled spirit a broken and contrite heart oh god you will not despise blessed be god father son and holy spirit alleluia alleluia let us pray almighty god to you all hearts are open i lord have mercy christ have mercy lord have mercy almighty and everlasting god you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness may obtain of you the god of all mercy perfect remission and forgiveness through jesus christ our lord who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit one god now and forever almighty and holy god your son in obedience to the spirit fasted 40 days in the desert give us grace to discipline ourselves that we may press on towards easter with eager faith and love through jesus christ our lord amen please be seated for the reading of holy scripture a reading from the book of isaiah chapter 58 verses 1 to 12. 12 isaiah chapter 58 verses 1 to 12. shout out do not hold back lift up your voice like a trumpet announce to my people the rebellion to the house of jacob their sins yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their god they asked me righteous judgments they delight to draw an ear to god why do we fast but you do not see why humble yourselves but you do not notice look you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers look you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high is such the fast that i choose a day to humble oneself is it to bow down the head like a bullrush and to lie in sackcloth and ashes will you call this a fast day a day acceptable to the lord is this is not this the fast that i choose to lose the bonds of injustice to undo the thongs of the yolk to let their breasts go free and to break every yolk is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the naked to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up quickly your vindicator shall go before you the glory of the lord shall be your regard then you shall call and the lord will answer you shall cry for help and he will say here i am if you remove the yoke from among you the pointing of the finger the speaking of evil if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday the lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden like a spring of water whose waters never fail your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt you shall raise up the foundations of many generations you shall be called the repairer of the bridge the restorer of streets to live in the word of the lord psalm 103. chanted by the choir [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] friends [Music] is yes [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] ah [Music] a reading from the 2nd corinthians chapter 5 verses 20 b to 6 verses 10. ii corinthians chapter 5 verses 20 b to chapter 6 verse 10. we entreat you on behalf of christ to be reconciled to god for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of god as we work together with him we urge you also not to accept the grace of god in vain for he says at an acceptable time i have listened to you and on a day of salvation i have helped you see now is the acceptable time see now is the day of salvation we are putting no obstacle in anyone's way so no fault may be found with our ministry but as servants of god we have recommend we have commanded ourselves in every way through great endurance in afflictions hardships calamities beatings imprisonments riots labors sleepless nights hunger by purity knowledge patience kindness holiness of spirit genuine love truthful speech and the power of god with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left in honor and dishonor in ill-repute and good repute we are treated as imposters and yet are true as unknown and yet are well known as dying and see we are alive as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing everything the word of the lord please stand as we sing him 114 for the gradual [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] uh [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the lord be with you a reading of the holy gospel according to matthew the sixth chapter beginning at the first verse jesus said beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them for then you have no reward from your father in heaven so whenever you give arms do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may be praised by others truly i tell you they have received their reward but when you give arms do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your arms may be done in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you and whenever you pray do not be like the hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogue and at the street corners so that they may be seen by others truly i tell you they have received their reward but whenever you pray go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who sees in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you and whenever you fast do not look dismal like the hypocrites for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting truly i tell you they have received their reward but when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you do not store treasu up treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven when neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also this is the gospel of christ jesus said beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them i speak to you in the name of god who is father son and holy spirit amen beware of practicing your piety before others every year the christian church the world round the same thing happens we know the church [Music] liturgy we know the church rhythm we know the church's season sometimes better than the priest and we're not afraid of telling them that we know it but tonight as we begin our journey to easter as we once again celebrate the ash wednesday liturgy i want to say to you it is not about knowing the liturgy it is about knowing god it is about allowing god to speak to you the liturgy and the rhythm of the church's life is intended not to be in and of itself the end the be all and end all the liturgy of the church is about us drawing deeper and closer to god it is about us understanding god and ourselves and living that godly manner in community every year we come to lent an ash wednesday and we begin to list off what we are denying what we are forsaking what we will change in our lives for 40 days and we come to 40 days somewhere in on that journey we ask even when will the 40 days be over because it has become burdensome because the practices we have adopted the changes we have made are not applied to our lives and we seek to go back to business as usual unfortunately the typical decisions made during the season of lent the 40 days of fasting leading up to easter sunday which begins for the christian church at ash wednesday today tonight this holy time when we set our faces to jerusalem and beyond so that god may speak to us and renew himself in us so that we may live in community putting ashes on our forehead is the first sign and symbol of this journey in normal or regular times we would have come to this or some other place early in the morning and perhaps go through the whole day some of us watching may have go through the whole day with our ash on our forehead and when asked about it we are quick to say oh it is ash wednesday failing to use it as a teachable moment when we can say we put ashes on our head as part of the christian community not to say that it is about me but to remind me that i am a sinner remembering that from dust i was made and to dust i will return this my friends is where i want us to focus our life and our living ash wednesday easter and all of the other churches occasions call us to focus on god not ourselves calls us to think about our commitment to god sadly the idea of penance the idea of prayer even the idea of god's ultimate sacrifice on the cross seemed to be lost during lent my friends ask yourself or my friends we often ask ourselves and others what is it that you are giving up for lent almost as if it is a competition or as if we are recalling last year's holiday where did you go last summer how was it what will you be doing this year will it be any different that is how our typical lengthened conversation goals it is never about what do you expect from god in your life how will you deepen your commitment to him through these 40 days what devotional material have you found and how may it be helpful to someone else what is it that you expect god to do through you this season and part of the reason maybe the secularization of lent lent like all of the other christian holy days and seasons are no longer about the church or about god it is about fitting in to the wider society it has become involved to speak about fast pray give when in our lives we are not committed to these and to god in doing them the secularization of lent calls us to celebrate the season because others are doing it yet failing to teach the disciplines of the church in our lives and to others failing to see it as a chance to get our lives in tune with god quite the opposite for many of us lent has become the time to redeem ourselves for what we did not do in our new year's resolutions we have promised that we're going to change our eating habits we have promised that we are going to walk more we have promised that we are going to do all sorts of things at new year's and somehow we got off track and here comes this church's season called lent which is a good time to get ourselves back on track we give ourselves a list of things to do failing to recognize the spiritual connotation and the spiritual meaning of this journey the idea of giving up something meaningful is meant to inspire people to seek god more and more not just to serve ourselves and our own self of good feelings and good will giving up social media giving up food drink whatever it is we have on our list means nothing if we do not replace them with things of god and not just for a season replacing them is meant to encourage and inspire us throughout life beyond easter if we find ourselves wanting to return to them even tonight if you wish a piece of chocolate or a chocolate cake or coke go ahead and do it if you will not replace that time with prayer if you will not replace that time and that money that you would have spent on doing the things of god is about commitment it is about committing ourselves to god and not just a list of to do things that we quickly forget about when easter comes and so as we think about our commitment during this lenten season i want us to think about what we can realistically do as believers and how do we hope to impact our lives and the community around us i want to give us a few thoughts for consideration as we journey to easter on how we can make ourselves a better christian and when i say better christian i meant i mean someone who is able to see god and show god in all circumstances none of us are perfect but we should work and strive each day to be a little more godlike in our demeanor and actions our commitment ought to cause us to realize that a commitment to god is more than just going to church it is more than just quoting scriptures it is more than just talking about what we have given up for god it is doing for god it involves carrying out god's will daily and in all circumstances the obvious we begin with the obvious fasting when have we last considered a true fast a fast where we spend time with the word of god in prayer in supplication when last have we given up of ourselves and our time so that god will be revealed in and through us fasting is yes the obvious the food the drink the other incidentals of life but fasting also is the time we spend before god when last have we come to this church or another church and sat quietly and listened to the voice of god sat before the altar and allowed god to permeate our being when massive we sat peaceably and said here i am lord not asking for anything but offering myself to you that is what fasting we ought to undertake lent ought to be a time when we seek to draw closer to god through giving up of ourselves for christians length and fasting ought to take a special meaning it recalled the time that christ suffered and died to reveal to redeem humanity lent reminds us of jesus when he fasted in the garden lent reminds us when jesus when he fasted all those mornings we see him early before god praying lent reminds us of jesus even at the point of death not thinking about himself about but about others are we prepared to walk that journey are we prepared to have god speak to us in our lives during this lenten season i pray that we truly fast before god read the isaiah passage again and see what the fast is that god demands of us and ask ourselves am i willing am i prepared am i committed to god these 40 days because we are reminded in matthew 9 15 the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and then they will fast that is the period that we are in now we do not see our lord face to face indeed some of us have been unable to receive the blessed sacrament for two years others of us have only received it in one kind for two years but have we seriously considered whilst we may not have the blood and some of us who are housebound or still unwilling to come out have we used that time to allow god to speak to us or have we been so anxious so overly concerned to return to normal that we failed and miss the opportunity to fast before god and as we fast and give up it also requires length also requires for us to do be specially committed to our god allowing things greater things to take place in our lives self-denial should be a positive act for going the secular activities during lent to make time for reading for studying for meditating for helping others through church and charitable organ activities when last have we considered those among us and went out and did something for them when rasa we used our resources so that god's name will be praised and lifted up in our community not ourselves but god that is what we ought to consider during this period of lent and our fasting remember jesus says if you want to be my disciple my follower you must deny yourselves take up your cross and follow me following christ means commitment to him not when it's convenient or when we like the one doing the guiding or we see benefits in it for ourselves following christ means thy way not mine it means that as jesus says to others or to the disciples it means taking up your cross daily it means suffering it means shame it means scorn this season we have omitted the alleluias and that is so that we focus not on the alleluias but on the humility of christ who humbled himself and became obedient unto death though he was in the form of god thought it not robbery but gave up are we giving up for christ or are we still stuck on the old familiar ways along with the fasting and the special commitment to do more for god [Music] we also have the good deeds and the arms giving the self-sacrifice to serve and benefit others christ and his apostles spent their lives serving others caring for the sick confronting the friendless and the afflicted and christ instructed his followers to do the same for spiritual rewards not for human recognition i truly pray that this season this lengthened season we make it about christ not our human comforts our wants and our needs we have drifted too far from god and become too self-centered even in this church in this parish there are those who do things only in their time and at their convenience and at their leisure not thinking about the benefit of god and his people and the bigger picture this lens i trust that we truly look at ourselves and give up ourselves for christ as we heard in the gospel beware of practicing your piety before others to be seen by them for then you have no reward from your father in heaven ian didn't say that and i'm sure ian is not the first priest you hear to say that and i guarantee you he is not the last priest you will hear say it the word of the lord says beware of practicing your piety before men that means when we come to this place and go into the community it is always about god are we prepared to offer ourselves to him in service are we prepared to continue the work that we have promised to him but before we get to the physical work that we have promised or pledged ourselves to what is our spiritual life like how is our spiritual walk are we teachable can god speak to us through the child and children among us through the strangers who come to visit us to those whom god lends to us for a while are we willing to hear from them thus says the lord or are we content with business as usual are we happy with the state of our lives what will god say to us about his spirit or our spiritual our involvement with his spirit in our lives we have to be willing to move forward in faith we have to open our ears and our lives to the voice of god speaking to us the opportunities are many but far too often we are quick to shut the door to turn our backs and say i know it all some of us mentally others of us in reality unteachable unwilling to hear from god this lent calls for us to be different and to allow god to speak to us but he can only do that through our prayer life through our reflections through our making our communion with each other and feeding on him i have heard persons in this church say it is not about the church per se it is about being good people to one another that is not what god demands of us if you will be my follower take up your cross shut your mouth listen to me and let's move forward by faith god says our lives ought to be a reflection of god in the world but far too often we allow ourselves to be seen when god should be the one who is speaking our prayer life means examining our physical life when last have we picked up a spiritual book and read not just because we have a presentation to make but because we have a genuine yearning in our hearts to hear thus says the lord because we truly want to be all that god can have us to be this is what length is all about and this is what our commitment ought to be reflected as lent offers us an opportunity to withdraw from the busy world to pray and to reflect again from this evening's gospel but whenever you pray go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret for your father who sees in secret will reward you i don't know what that reward is but i suspect that it's a spiritual reward it is a higher enlightenment it is drawing near to god and he drawing near to you it is allowing god to give you that glimpse of the eternal kingdom that we will share with him and each other and this is done through christian study it means reading god's word and seeing how he changed the lives of all those heroes of saints that we read and saints that we read of from the old testament and the new including the apocryphas when we see how god teaches us to obtain wisdom and apply it to our hearts studying christ's life and death can bring new meaning and relevance to events that may seem distant from today's world my friends our length and commitment ought to cause us and our study of god to draw closer to him and we as followers of christ ought not to be complacent with our faith we ought not to take it for granted but actively pursue it ask and it shall be given to you seek and you will find knock and the door will be opened for you matthew 7 7 says to us this active pursuit of god and his equally active response to us is shown in our lives and ought to be evident in our christian activities in our church life in special worship services during lent and holy week but many of us have become content to stay away content to allow the world to dictate to us and fear to restrict us in our involvement in our church the time is now for us to return to full worship yes we follow the protocols yes the procedures are there for a reason but our christian life we are reminded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves of course this is done within reason of course we read in scripture where christ himself says you fast at certain times and you celebrate at others and this my friends is it once again the time for us as christians to celebrate to avail ourselves of the opportunities given to us to worship in communion with one another our bible studies the men's fellowship devotion the stations of the cross the other sunday sunday and other services that will be held in this church we must once again involve ourselves in the life and witness of god in this world and we must do so willingly humbly allowing god to use us it is not returning to business as usual it is not acting as it was in the past so shall it be world without end because that world has ended and a new order is on our doorstep but we must be committed to christ and embrace the change that he brings to us this that is what this land is all about it is about us worshiping and involving the whole christian community it is about becoming what god wants us to be across this diocese and several other dioceses in the province we begin our intentional study of baptism so that we can gain a greater understanding of what this all means what this means to us all for all sessions here i invited a particular member of the parish to speak about their baptismal experience and at least she was honest she said you know father i haven't really considered my baptism because i was baptized a very long time ago in another denomination what do you mean by my baptismal experience my response was your christian journey because all of us by virtue of our baptism are christians how has you what does it mean to you as a christian to live in the community what does it mean for you who who are who have been baptized in water in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit what does it mean for you to look at your brothers and sisters around and interact with them that is your baptismal experience no more no less your baptismal experience is your christian experience and sharing of god in the world it is showing christ's presence in your life that is what the waters of the baptism baptismal font says to us as believers but many of us have walked away from the font and forgotten many of us have went through the back the confirmation classes and have forgotten many of us are still content to key to continue in that understanding of gentle jesus meek and mild many of us are content to continue jesus loves me this i know for the bible tells me so the bible also tells us to love those who abuse us forgive those who misuse us to show christ in all that we do the bible also tells us when i was a child i spoke as a child but when i grew up baptism is about us growing up in christ our commitment is when we show to the world what christ means to us that my friends is what length ought to do for us it ought to bring the presence of christ of god more nearer to us in the world and show him to those around and we cannot do this in isolation it is imperative that we begin the work that we have committed ourselves to so that means i need to see more of the altar service returning to church and to worship that means the choirs need to practice and be prepared on sunday mornings not not to be fumbling around delaying the service it means that we who are lactose ashes doing any small thing in the church commitment means that this lent reminds us that we have said to god i will and therefore i must this lent our commitment ought to cause us to persevere to keep our hope and faith in easter the easter promises alive all year long every year we must realize that the christians of every age have experienced the same things that we are experiencing and god has revealed himself to be real in their lives and will do the same in ours length is not just a journey to this temporal easter it is a journey to the eternal easter where we will meet our god and hopefully our brothers and sisters after the time of testing after the time of trial after the disappointments and this despair that we experience in the world lent reminds us that our lord himself suffered holy week reminds us that our lord himself died and lent is our time to follow him in that journey and so we hear in the gospel do not fast like the gentiles do because they have received their reward and so as we think about our length and journey it is not about a new diet a new exercise plan it is about us becoming better people and lent is a reminder not about becoming a thinner version of ourselves but about becoming about increasing our relationship with god and others this lent as we fast this lent as we pray this lent as we deny ourselves this length as we commit ourselves more to christ to god and his service through special activities and intimate involvement i pray that we allow god to speak to us so that when the difficult time comes we can say not my will but thine o lord we can say not me but you o lord we can say or rather we will have him say to us well done thou good and faithful servant that is what lent is ultimately all about it is about us showing the goodness of god in our lives and allowing others to see him in us as god who is father son and holy spirit amen please stand dear friends in christ at the time of the christian passover every year at the time of the christian passover we celebrate our remembrance through the life death and resurrection of our lord jesus christ lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery we begin this holy season by remembering our needs for repentance and for mercy for the mercy forgiveness and grace proclaimed in the gospel of our savior jesus christ we begin this journey to easter with a sign of ashes the ancient signs speaking of the frailty and uncertainty of human life and the marking of the penitence of the community as a whole let us ask our father to bless these ashes to become a symbol of our intention they have been made with the palms from which we greeted christ our king with joy last palm sunday they are a sign that we intend to prepare ourselves with penitence for easter let us pray lord bless these ashes to our youth and grant that they may remind us of our mortality and for our need of repentance that we may keep length faithfully and prepare the victory and the joy of easter we act this in the name of christ our lord the blessed in the name of the father son and the holy spirit amen remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return during the singing of hymns please follow the ushers directives as you come forward to receive the ashes if you so intent repent and believe the gospel [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] ah [Applause] [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] more [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] it so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] [Music] return to the lord with all your heart leave the past and ashes and turn to god with tears and fasting for he is slow to anger and ready and ready to forgive please continue seated as we offer the prayers of the church god our father we praise you that you're always ready to forgive the penitent bring us by your spirit to true repentance and the joy of knowing your forgiveness accept through jesus christ our lenten acts of love and sacrifice prepare us to celebrate his passover and to share his risen life lord in your mercy father we pray for your church throughout the world for howard our archbishop and this diocese for michael our bishop ian our priests the clergy and people fear us from dependence on material goods and the worship of power and from all that hinders our union with you lord in your mercy father we pray for our country and all in authority purge our land of all that is contrary to your will bring us all to know christ as the way the truth and the life that we may live in harmony with one another lord in your mercy father we pray for all who suffer and especially for victims of greed and violence make your love known to them and to those who cause suffering lord in your mercy heavenly father we recommend it to your loving care will die during this length bring them and all the departed through the passion and death of your son to share in the glory of his resurrection we offer these prayers in the name of jesus christ our lord if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us if we confess our sins god is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness using form b on page 124 let us therefore confess our sins 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 neighbors as ourselves we have not loved ourselves as we ought we are truly sorry and we humbly repent for the sake of your son jesus christ have mercy on us [Music] 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 life eternal through jesus christ our lord being justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ the peace of the lord be always with you by a nod or wave or some other gesticulation we may share god's peace we then sing the hymn 113. [Music] now [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] for tonight's eucharist we use the offertory prayer b we also use prayer right a and the preface for length father we offer you these gifts which you have given us this bread this wine this money with them we offer ourselves our lives and our work to become through your holy spirit a reasonable holy and lively sacrifice as this bread and wine become the body and blood of christ so may we and all your people become channels of your love through the same christ our lord amen the lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god it is right and the good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give you thanks father almighty everlasting god for you bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast that fervent in prayer and in works of mercy and renewed by your word and sacraments they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you 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 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 right a all holy and the glorious father our creator god we give you thanks because in your loving wisdom you brought all things into being and are truly worthy of praise from every creature you have made again and again we have turned away from you yet in every age your steadfast love has called us to return to live in union with you for it is your eternal purpose to put new life into all things and make them holy through your son jesus christ who took our human nature upon him you have redeemed the world from the bondage of sin by the power of your holy spirit you've gathered a people to yourself to make known in every place his perfect offering which he made to the glory of your name hear us therefore father through your son jesus christ our lord and grant that these gifts of bread and wine may be unto us his body and the blood on the night he was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks to you he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said take this and eat it this is my body which is given for you do this for the remembrance of me [Music] and after supper he took the cup of wine and when he'd 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 [Music] let us proclaim the mystery of our faith christ has died and so heavenly father rejoicing in his holy incarnation his blessed passion and his perfect sacrifice made once for all upon the cross his mighty resurrection from the dead his glorious ascension into heaven and looking for his coming in glory we offer to you this bread and this cup we pray that you will accept the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and grant that all who eat and drink of the body and the blood of your son our great high priest may be renewed by your holy spirit and be one body one spirit in him let faith and love you increase in us unite us with all bishops and all other ministers of your word and sacraments and the whole people of god living and departed whom you have made for yourself confirm us in holiness that we may be found ready to join the company of the blessed virgin mary the holy apostles in all your saints when our lord jesus christ comes again forever giving you thanks and praise through him from whom all good things do come with him and in him and through him by the power of the holy spirit we worship you father almighty with all who stand before you and earth in heaven in songs of everlasting praise blessing and honor and the glory and the power be yours forever and ever amen as our savior has taught us so we pray our father in heaven god of promise you have prepared a banquet for us lamb of god you take away the sin of the world have mercy on us lamb of god you take away the sin of the world the gifts of god for the people of god remember if you are receiving communion please stand to indicate to the ushers your intention and then when invited by them come forward and receive to those of you online we invite you to make your the act of spiritual communion as seen on your screen choir members please stand and i will come to you and the service um [Music] hmm [Music] one [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] brownies [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] my [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] um [Music] oh [Music] my [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] on page 147 we say together the first false communion prayer almighty father we thank you for feeding us with the body and the 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 upon whom your spirit shines give light to the world help us to continue in faithful witness to your word so we and all your children shall be free and the whole earth live to praise your name through christ our lord amen christ give you grace to grow in holiness to deny yourselves take up your cross and follow him and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be among you and remain with you always amen just before our recessional hymn i would like to welcome and give a round of applause to mr emerson arlene who assisted us on the organ tonight thank you very much emerson and to welcome all of you who have came out as we continue our journey to normalcy to worship and begin our lengthen fast together i trust that we would really take to heart the words that i was that i said and that we begin to develop our spiritual beings not based on worldly expectations but on what god says to us as we begin this journey to easter please take a note of the lantern services which are listed in your order of service particular note this friday we begin our stations of the cross it will be led by the men's fellowship and because we say led by the man's fellowship it does not mean men only we have a habit of only coming when it is our organization's time but these services are designed for the whole body so that all of us will receive the spiritual nourishment from them so i hope to see yes the men who will leave the stations what i hope to see more of us celebrating and journeying to easter so fridays will be our stations of the cross mondays during the month of march our men's fellowship will have their devotions online and next wednesday we begin our diocesan wide bible study on the topic of baptism i trust that we avail ourselves of this i am still waiting to hear back from a few persons who i communicated with via email so please it is vital that we indicate our participation and involvement i can deny i can deny is part of our lengthen denial observance and then i can deny we all take a can and we then put in that can whatever change we derive from the denying ourselves a food drink or other substances over the lengthened period and the funds are given to the church and also as i do myself the end of the day or the end of the week whatever spare change you have in your pocket or in your car can also go in those those cats so that we are able to assist our church and its development again the men's fellowship thank all of you who supported them on sunday with their cake sale thank you for coming i love you all and please get home safely we sing the recessional hymn 112. [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a blessed good day to you and thank you for visiting us online i trust that this would have been rewarding for you and that god will bless you if you're looking for a home church or to visit we are located in charnock's christchurch barbados as you follow online please remember to like and subscribe to see future presentations from us god bless you and have a wonderful day i am ian claridge priest in charge

Channel: St. Bartholomew Barbados Youtube Channel

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Id: ZpvI9vP338I

Length: 121min 5sec (7265 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 03 2022