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Foundations of Our Faith

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Foundations of Our Faith FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH: AN EXPLAINED EUCHARIST ST. JUDE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH 160 William Street, Oakville, Ontario, L6J 1C5 (T): 905-844-3972 (F): 905-844-3977 www.stjudeschurch.net Welcome to St. Jude’s Anglican Church! To all our worshippers, we wish you every blessing as you encounter the living God in this sacred place; and if you are a newcomer, we are delighted that you have chosen to be with us. We hope this guide will assist you this day in your prayer and your worship of Almighty God. THE EUCHARIST The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek word meaning thanksgiving. That is what we do when we celebrate the Eucharist: we give thanks to God for his Son Jesus Christ, especially his death and resurrection, and for the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit who strengthens, sustains, and renews the Church. There are also other names for the Eucharist. In Anglican churches it is often referred to as Holy Communion, the Lord`s Supper, and the Mass. Since the 1960`s, the Holy Eucharist has been reclaimed as the principle Sunday liturgy in the Anglican Church of Canada and in the Anglican Communion as a whole (a Christian denomination comprised of approximately 70 million members, and spread across 160 countries worldwide). But even though we celebrate the Eucharist every week of the year, it can sometimes look and sound a little different from time to time. The reason for this is that we follow a liturgical calendar, made up of different Church seasons and feast days. The seasons are as follows: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. The feast days are almost too many to list, but mainly consist of commemorations of saints and martyrs. LITURGICAL COLOURS As you sit in church you will notice that the altar (the holy table located at the front of the church), the lectern (right side), and the pulpit (left side) are adorned with hangings. Specific liturgical colours are used for each season of the church year: · Blue for Advent: a colour of hope, expectation, and penitence as we begin the Church`s year and prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas. · White for the seasons of Christmas, Easter, and other important feast days and celebrations: white is the color of purity, resurrection, and joyful celebration. · Green for the seasons of Epiphany and Pentecost (sometimes referred to as Ordinary Time): green is the colour of growth and life. · Purple for Lent, in preparation for the celebration of Easter: this is the color of penitence. · Red for Good Friday, the feast of Pentecost, and feast days of martyrs: red reminds us of the fire of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Christ, and the saints who died for our faith. You will notice that the clergy also wear vestments that reflect the colour of the season or feast day. Each week there are appointed readings and prayers associated with the liturgical season. The weekly Eucharist is carefully planned to ensure that the music, homily, and prayers reflect and support the theme of the day. 2 BEFORE THE SERVICE As you sit in the church before the service you will probably notice a flurry of activity as clergy, servers, and other participants prepare for the liturgy. It may be likened to the preparations you make at home before entertaining guests for a meal. At the Holy Eucharist we prepare the space but God is the host and we are his guests. As servants, we are responsible for seeing that everything is well prepared for the celebration: the altar is adorned, the candles are lit, and Prelude music is played. As you wait for the celebration to begin, it is a good time for you to prepare to be with God by praying silently. You can say a prayer or preparation from the heart or you can use a formal prayer, such as the Our Father or a prayer taken from the Book of Common Prayer (maroon) or the Book of Alternative Services (green), the latter of which can be found in the pews. DURING THE SERVICE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY The Gathering of the Community is the first part of the liturgy and a time of preparation. During the Processional Hymn the choir, servers, and clergy enter the worship space from the narthex and make their way to the front. This procession reminds us that we are entering into a festive and joyful celebration. It is customary to bow in reverence as the processional cross passes by, and then again as the Celebrant passes. The hymn is, in a sense, our gathering prayer as the whole people of God raise their hearts and voices to Almighty God. As the participants in the liturgy take their place they acknowledge the altar with a bow. This is a sign of reverence to the cross, the altar, and most especially, to God himself. The Presider or Celebrant is the leader of worship for the assembled community, and stands in liturgical representation of Christ during the service. He/she will generally begin by welcoming the congregation with The Greeting (or the Grace), which is the way the Apostles greeted each other in the name of Jesus Christ. Then the Collect for Purity may be said. This is a prayer of preparation as we proceed to hear the word of God and receive the bread and the wine of the Eucharist. (At the 8:00 service the Collect for Purity is followed by the Summary of the Law .) The Kyrie Elesion (Greek, meaning “Lord have mercy”) comes next, followed by an ancient hymn of praise, the Gloria in Excelsis (Latin, meaning “Glory to God on high”) usually follows the Kyrie. The Gloia is omitted during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent (or alternatively, may only be said/sung during the Easter season). Next, the Collect of the Day “collects” the theme of the day into one prayer. 3 PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD The central focus of the Proclamation of the Word is the reading and meditating upon the Word of God. At most services there is an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm (which may be said or sung), a New Testament lesson (generally from one of the New Testament letters), and a reading of the Holy Gospel. During the Gospel Acclamation (which is often an “alleluia”) or the Gradual Hymn , the Gospel book is processed into the nave of the church. This is to symbolize Jesus ministering and preaching in the midst of the people. As the book passes, the congregation turns toward it in reverence. A deacon or priest normally proclaims the Gospel because, in a liturgical sense, their ministry represents the ministry of Jesus. The Homily or Sermon is a response to the readings and an opportunity for the preacher to offer some teachings and insights about the scriptures. We affirm our faith by reciting the Creed (Latin: credo , meaning “I/we believe”). Depending on the service, we will alternate between use of the Apostles’ Creed (so named for its origin in the apostolic times of the very early church) or the Nicene Creed (so named for its formulation at the ecumenical Council of Nicaea in AD 325 as a summary of Christian faith). Recitation of the Creed as an affirmation of faith is also a response to the Word of God. The Prayers of the People or Intercessions follow the Creed. Normally these are led by a member of the congregation as a sign that the intercessions being made are indeed the prayers “of the people.” This is an opportunity to gather thanksgivings for God’s grace and to offer prayers for the Church and the world, and especially for those who are in need. The Confession and Absolution is an important part of our worship because it is fitting and appropriate to confess our sins before receiving the Sacrament. In the Anglican tradition, it is customary to have a general confession (the people say a prayer of confession together and the priest, in the name of God, pronounces an absolution), but those who wish to make a private confession are encouraged to do so, and are invited to call the church to make an appointment with one of the clergy. The Peace is a symbol of our reconciliation and a sign of our communion with each other. It is a chance for the gathered community to greet (and, where necessary, forgive) one another in the name of Christ. 4 CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION During the Preparation of the Gifts we usually sing a hymn, called the Offertory Hymn, during which time the bread and wine are prepared and the weekly offering is collected. At the conclusion of the hymn there is a Prayer over the Gifts when the bread, wine and financial offering are presented to God. The Great Thanksgiving is traditionally the most sacred part of the service when we pray that God will bless the bread and wine, making them the body and blood of Christ, and bless us as we partake in those gifts. This is similar to saying grace before a meal when we give thanks to God for the food we eat. It is otherwise known as the Eucharistic Prayer. There are a number of different Eucharistic prayers that may be used depending on the season and theme of the day, but there are common elements to all of them. The prayer begins with the dialogue between priest and people: "The Lord be with you," "And also with you," etc… People are invited to lift up their hearts as an offering to God.
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