8:00 Service April 17th: Easter Sunday
You will find our live stream on our homepage, on Facebook (where you can interact with others watching with comments), and on Youtube.
Our Mission Welcome to The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, a welcoming and diverse community seeking to walk in the way of Jesus and to reveal Christ’s reconciling love in our city, nation, and world.
Things are different right now. The pandemic means we are keeping things simple, short, and safe. We also now require vaccination, for those who are eligible. You must be free of COVID-related symptoms, close contact, and not have positive tests to attend. There are a few other ground rules. Read our full guidelines here.
Distancing: As much as we wish we could greet one another, out of love for our neighbor we have to stay distanced. Please maintain 6 or more feet from other households at all times. Consider sending a text, a message on Facebook, or even writing a letter or email to someone who could use some peace. A wave, a peace sign, or a “smize” (a smile with your eyes) will do.
Masks: If test positivity rates stay below 3%, masks will be optional for the vaccinated at services with singing. If transmission increases, we will re-institute the mask requirement. Please check with clergy or ushers, or listen for verbal announcements for more details. We thank you for respecting our guidelines and your neighbors in this transitional time.
Communion: All are welcome to receive. When it comes time, please maintain a distance of greater than 6 feet in a single file line up to the front. Please come to the communion minister on the side of the church where you are sitting. Make your way down the side aisle to return to your seat. Wine is not available at this time. If you would prefer not to receive, simply cross your arms across your chest and the minister will give you a blessing. Gluten free wafers are available, on request from the minister.
Donations: We welcome donations to support the work of Holy Communion, whether a payment on a pledge or simply an offering. You can also text GIVE to (833) 864-5384 or give any time on our website holycommunion.net/give
Wheelchair accessibility: Our entrances have auto-open buttons, and our elevator is ADA compliant. Both the downstairs restrooms and one of the upstairs restrooms are accessible.
Hearing Assistance: Hearing assistance devices are available from the welcome table. Just ask an usher.
Get Involved: If you begin by filling out a “Connect Card” at the Welcome Table or online, we’d be glad to keep you up to date with all that goes on here. You can also use the Connect Cards to update your information, request prayers, or to ask a question. Turn them in to the wooden offering box in the entryway. The Rector’s Pilgrimage class will start meeting soon, for new members.
The congregation is invited to say the words together in bold. If you are worshiping with us from home, to prepare for worship, you may want to place a candle or two in the place where you worship, to light during the opening prayer.
Welcome
A priest welcomes the congregation. If you are new to us, consider filling out our “get connected” form, let us get to know you better.
Opening Acclamation
Please rise in body or spirit
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Song of Praise
Dignus es Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13
Enriching Our Worship
Splendor and honor and royal power
are yours by right, O God Most High,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a royal priesthood to serve our God.
And so, to the One who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and for evermore
Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Let us pray.
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lessons
We hear the stories of the experience of God from our spiritual ancestors. Following an ancient pattern originally from Jewish synagogue worship, readings follow a calendar shared by Christians around the globe.
A Reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah Isaiah 65:17-25
Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth: past events won’t be remembered; they won’t come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I’m
creating, because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy and her people as a source of gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad about my people. No one will ever hear the sound of weeping or crying in it again. No more will babies live only a few days, or the old fail to live out their days. The one who dies at a hundred will be like a young person and the one falling short of a hundred will seem cursed. They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They won’t build for others to live in, nor plant for others to eat. Like the days of a tree will be the days of my people; my chosen will make full use of their handiwork. They won’t labor in vain, nor bear children to a world of horrors, because they will be people blessed by the Lord, they along with their descendants. Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. Wolf and lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the snake—its food will be dust. They won’t hurt or destroy at any place on my holy mountain, says the Lord.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 read responsively, by verse
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures for ever.
Let Israel now proclaim,
“His mercy endures for ever.”
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
There is a sound of exultation and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has triumphed!
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me sorely,
but he did not hand me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
“This is the gate of the Lord;
he who is righteous may enter.”
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me
and have become my salvation.
The same stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the Lord has acted;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
2nd Lesson Acts 10:34-43
Peter said, “I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another. Rather, in every nation, whoever worships
him and does what is right is acceptable to him. This is the message of peace he sent to the Israelites by proclaiming the good news through Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all! You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism John preached. You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did, both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him up on the third day and allowed him to be seen, not by everyone but by us. We are witnesses whom God chose beforehand, who ate and drank with him after God raised him from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel John 20: 1-18
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.” Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus
standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon:
Please be seated, at the invitation of the preacher.
The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri
The Nicene Creed Please rise in body or in spirit.
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, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary and became truly human. 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, who with the Father and the Son is
worshiped and glorified, who 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.
The Prayers of the People
The Leader and People pray responsively. Please rise, or kneel, in body or in spirit.
Our Lord lives, for death has no dominion over him. And so we, God’s holy
church, proclaim the resurrection, saying: Christ is risen! Amen, Alleluia!
Created in the image and likeness of God, we pray to see God’s image in one
another. May our lives proclaim: Christ is risen! Amen, Alleluia!
Tested in our faith and strengthened by God’s love, we pray for open hearts,
that we may live to proclaim: Christ is risen! Amen, Alleluia!
Joining with those who share in the passion of Christ through illness,
famine, war, temptation, and trial, we pray for their courage and strength that
those who suffer may proclaim: Christ is risen! Amen, Alleluia!
You are invited to add your own prayers, silently or aloud.
United in our hope that we and all who die may live again, we pray for family
and friends who have died, proclaiming: Christ is risen! Amen, Alleluia!
Living and true God, you raised your son Jesus Christ as the pledge
of our freedom from sin and death, receive our true praise and prayer
through Jesus Christ our Lord, the great Amen and our Alleluia, now and forever. Amen.
The Peace
Alleluia! Christ has been raised from the dead. The peace of Christ be always
with you.
And also with you.
Please do not approach people outside your household. A wave, a peace sign, or a “smize” (a smile with your eyes) will do.
Offering We welcome donations to support the work of Holy Communion, whether a payment on a pledge or simply an offering. Plates will be passed. You can also give on our website or by texting GiveHoCO to (833) 864-5384
Presentation of the Offering
Please rise, in body or in spirit.
All things come of thee, O Lord.
And of thine own have we given thee.
Eucharistic Prayer
The second part of the liturgy moves to the Table. As we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, we gather in a way Christians have for millennia. Please rise, in body or in spirit.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
The presider offers our thanks to God for the grace and mercy made available to us in Christ. In response we say:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
The presider gives thanks to God for the reconciling work of Christ’s passion and resurrection and remembers Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. The people are invited to respond to the words:
The presider concludes with prayer for the coming of God’s reign.
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. AMEN.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray in the way Christ taught us, and in the language of our hearts.
Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo, santificado sea tu Nombre,
venga tu reino,
hágase tu voluntad,
en la tierra como en el cielo.
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día.
Perdona nuestras ofensas,
como también nosotros perdonamos
a los que nos ofenden.
No nos dejes caer en tentación
y líbranos del mal.
Porque tuyo es el reino,
tuyo es el poder, y tuya es la gloria,
ahora y por siempre. Amén
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 into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
Alleluia , Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia
Administration of the Sacrament
All are welcome to receive. When it comes time, please maintain a distance of greater than 6 feet in a single file line up to the front. Please come to the priest on the side of the church where you are sitting. Make your way down the side aisle to return to your seat. Under the bishop’s order, wine is not available at this time. If you would rather receive a blessing, please come forward to the altar rail during communion and cross your arms across your chest. Gluten free wafers are available, on request, from the minister.
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
This prayer of Spiritual Communion is offered in the online bulletin for those who cannot join us in person. It was written by parishioner Bob Lewis.
Gracious and Loving God, on this day we are not able to gather around your table to celebrate your presence in the sacrament of bread and wine. We are not able to share your peace with one another.
Nevertheless, we lift up our hearts, we join with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven as we proclaim you holy and receive you into our hearts by faith.
Strengthen our love for you. Help us offer our sacrifice with all your faithful people, that we may restore health and wholeness to one another and to all your creation. Give us patience and hope as we long for the day when we can gather and break bread together again. Through Christ our Savior. Amen.
Post Communion Prayer
All are invited to rise or to kneel in body or in spirit.
God is with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Eternal God, you have graciously accepted us as living members of our Savior
Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his
Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength
and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Savior. Amen.
The Blessing
Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which
is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted; support
the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people. And the blessing of the Triune
God, Eternal Majesty, Incarnate Word, and Abiding Spirit rest upon you this
day and remain with you forever. Amen.
The Dismissal
Alleluia, Alleluia. Let us go forth in the name of Christ the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Service Leaders
Preacher: The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson
Presider: The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson
Deacon: The Rev. Chester Hines
Assisting: The Rev. Julie Graham
Reader: Donna Baudendistel & Earl Bonds
Usher: Fran Caradonna & Mark Willingham
