8:00 Service March 19, 2023: Fourth Sunday in Lent
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.
Pandemic Precautions Continue: Vaccination is required for everyone eligible. Windows are open. There are a few other recommendations. These recommendations are in the spirit of protecting the most vulnerable members of the congregation.
Distancing: Keeping a distance of six feet or more is one tool to help limit spread.
Masks: Masks are recommended to protect your neighbor. We ask that all members of the congregation respect others’ choices about masking.
Refrain from coming if you are sick: If you are experiencing any new symptoms, if you are currently testing for COVID, or recovering from COVID, we ask that you give yourself time before coming to church in person.
Communion: All are welcome to receive. When it comes time, please follow the directions of the ushers. Walk past the chalice bearer to return to your pew from the other side. If you would like to receive wine you may either “sip” or hand your wafer to the chalice bearer, who will “intinct” (dip) for you. 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” in your pew, or at the Welcome Table, 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 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.
Gathering
The congregation is invited to hold silence before worship.
Procession
The in-person congregation is invited to rise in body or in spirit as the clergy enter and reverence the altar.
Penitential Order
Blessed be the God of our salvation.
Who bears our burdens and forgives our sins. Amen.
Jesus said, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31
The Confession
The Deacon (or other minister) bids the confession:
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence is kept for a time.
God of all mercy, we confess that we have sinned against you, opposing your will in our lives.We have denied your goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world you have created. We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf. Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ, that we may abide in your love and serve only your will. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Absolution
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
The Collect of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; 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 set calendar for what will be read when. The translation used at Holy Communion is the Common English Bible translation.
A Reading from the First Book of Samuel 1 Samuel 16:1-13
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.”
“How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.”
Samuel did what the Lord instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked.
“Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well.
When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the Lord’s anointed right in front.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.”
Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the Lord hasn’t chosen this one.” Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t picked any of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?”
“There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.”
“Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.”
So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The Lord’s spirit came over David from that point forward.
Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Psalm Psalm 23
The Psalm is read in unison
1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
A Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians Ephesians 5:8-14
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light. Light produces fruit that consists of every sort of goodness, justice, and truth. Therefore, test everything to see what’s pleasing to the Lord, and don’t participate in the unfruitful actions of darkness. Instead, you should reveal the truth about them. It’s embarrassing to even talk about what certain persons do in secret. But everything exposed to the light is revealed by the light. Everything that is revealed by the light is light. Therefore, it says, Wake up, sleeper! Get up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel
Please rise in body or in spirit for the reading of the Gospel.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. John 9:1-41
Glory to you, Lord Christ.
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who was blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned so that he was born blind, this man or his parents?”
Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents. This happened so that God’s mighty works might be displayed in him. While it’s daytime, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After he said this, he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smeared the mud on the man’s eyes. Jesus said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (this word means sent). So the man went away and washed. When he returned, he could see.
The man’s neighbors and those who used to see him when he was a beggar said, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is,” and others said, “No, it’s someone who looks like him.”
But the man said, “Yes, it’s me!”
So they asked him, “How are you now able to see?”
He answered, “The man they call Jesus made mud, smeared it on my eyes, and said, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
They asked, “Where is this man?”
He replied, “I don’t know.”
Then they led the man who had been born blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus made the mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes on a Sabbath day. So Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
The man told them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.”
Some Pharisees said, “This man isn’t from God, because he breaks the Sabbath law.” Others said, “How can a sinner do miraculous signs like these?” So they were divided. Some of the Pharisees questioned the man who had been born blind again: “What do you have to say about him, since he healed your eyes?”
He replied, “He’s a prophet.”
The Jewish leaders didn’t believe the man had been blind and received his sight until they called for his parents. The Jewish leaders asked them, “Is this your son? Are you saying he was born blind? How can he now see?”
His parents answered, “We know he is our son. We know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who healed his eyes. Ask him. He’s old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they feared the Jewish authorities. This is because the Jewish authorities had already decided that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough. Ask him.”
Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.”
The man answered, “I don’t know whether he’s a sinner. Here’s what I do know: I was blind and now I see.”
They questioned him: “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?”
He replied, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
They insulted him: “You are his disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man is from.”
The man answered, “This is incredible! You don’t know where he is from, yet he healed my eyes! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. God listens to anyone who is devout and does God’s will. No one has ever heard of a healing of the eyes of someone born blind. If this man wasn’t from God, he couldn’t do this.”
They responded, “You were born completely in sin! How is it that you dare to teach us?” Then they expelled him.
Jesus heard they had expelled the man born blind. Finding him, Jesus said, “Do you believe in the Human One?”
He answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
The man said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Jesus.
Jesus said, “I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don’t see can see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard what he said and asked, “Surely we aren’t blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon:
Please be seated, at the invitation of the preacher.
Rabbi-in-Residence Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
Lenten Statement of Faith Please rise in body or in spirit.
This alternative statement of faith adapts traditional language from the Nicene and Apostle’s creeds alongside the Biblical story. It was composed by the Bishop of Missouri.
As children of God let us rise in body or in spirit and affirm our faith.
We believe in God, creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of our sister Mary; Baptized by John the Baptist, filled with the Holy Spirit: to preach the kingdom of God to the poor, to heal the sick, to receive those who have been cast out, to revive Israel for the salvation of the nations, and to have mercy upon all people.
Jesus 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 God, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.
The Prayers of the People
The Leader and People pray responsively.
In this holy season of Lent, we are called to a journey of self-examination, repentance, and prayer following the example of Jesus our Savior. Let us in our prayers offer to God the yearnings of our hearts.
We pray for the whole church, all leaders and ministers, and all the holy people of God; especially Justin the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael our Presiding Bishop, Deon our Bishop, for all clergy and lay leaders. In the Diocese of Missouri we pray for St. Paul’s in Ironton. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for our nation, for all the nations of the earth, and for all who govern and judge; especially our president, our governor, and our elected representatives. May they learn to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for those who put themselves in harm’s way and places of danger; those who willingly risk their lives; particularly for those serving in emergency services. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for those who hunger, those who thirst, those who cry out for justice, those who live under the threat of terror, and those without a place to lay their head. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for those who are ill, those in pain, those under stress, and those who are lonely; especially those on our prayer list. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray in this season of Lent for those who prepare for baptism and renewal, and we pray that we all might be given the grace and strength to repent and grow closer to you, O God. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for the many milestones in our lives and those who celebrate with us, for celebrations of all kinds especially for Scott Lunte, Kara Cummins, Jack Kelly, Denise Carpenter, Charlotte Gage, Rick Potts, and Donna Robey celebrating birthdays this week. We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
We pray for those who have died and who have entered into the land of eternal Light and your abiding peace.We lift our eyes to the hills, O God.
In you is our help and strength.
You are invited to add your own prayers, silently or aloud. The priest prays the concluding collect:
Lord Jesus, you are the Resurrection and the Life; as we await the celebration of your Resurrection, grant us and the whole world the wondrous gift of your Life, and hear our prayers we offer to you this day and always. Amen.
The Peace
The peace of Christ be always with you.
And also with you.
Please respect your neighbors’ preferences for physical contact/distance as you share a sign of peace.
Welcome & Announcements:
Announcements are shared. You may be seated.
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
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.
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:
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
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, all honor and glory is
yours, Almighty God, now and forever. 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
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
grant us peace.
Administration of the Sacrament
All are welcome to receive. When it comes time, we will make our way by row starting at the side closest to the windows and then process toward the communion minister. If you would like to receive wine you may either “sip” or hand your wafer to the chalice bearer, who will “intinct” (dip) for you. 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.
Post Communion Prayer
Please rise in body or in spirit.
God of abundance, you have fed us
with the bread of life and cup of salvation;
you have united us with Christ and one another;
and you have made us one
with all your people in heaven and on earth.
Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit,
that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world
and continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.
The Blessing
Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; and the blessing of the Triune God be among you, and remain with you always. Amen
Dismissal
Our worship has ended, our service in the world continues.
The Deacon dismisses the congregation:
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Service Leaders
Preacher: Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
Celebrant: The Rev. Julie Graham
Reader: Courtney Dula
Intercessor: Lisa Hummel
Usher : Earl Bonds
Service Notes:
The Form of Worship is Adapted from Enriching Our Worship
The Scripture translation is the Common English Bible
The Psalms come from the Inclusive Language Psalter of the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Prayers of the People are from resources prepared by the office of the Bishop
All texts used by permission.
