Holy Eucharist: Rite II The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 4, 2020 9:00 a.m. and 11:15a.m. Church DEAR CHRIST CHURCH, With joy and thanksgiving, Christ Church has regathered for worship in-person. I know that this pandemic has been exceedingly difficult for you all. As you know, in March we suspended all in-person worship and began streaming our services online. It was confusing and disorienting at first, but we never stopped trying to connect you to your faith and your church. And above all, we never abandoned our mission to transform lives through the love of God in Christ. And we never will. Along the way, we have seen loved ones lose jobs; we have seen friends get quarantined, get sick, and be become disabled by COVID, and, worst of all, we lost dear family members to this plague, and yet… we did not, and we will not lose hope. And now it’s time for us to come home. We have learned how to be together much more safely than we could months ago. We are able to re-open principally because you all are abiding by the guidelines set out by public health authorities. You have been wearing your masks and keeping social distance. And so, the rate of infection in our area has gone down such that we can come back. We have always tried to take a balanced and measured approach, informed by both science and our need to be incarnate with each other. We are doing the best that we can with the information that we have. We all have been through a lot. And it is still going on. But Christ is still Risen! We are resurrection people, after all! We are re-gathering first in worship, and with some Bible studies and small groups. As we are able, we will re-start other parts of our daily program of mission and ministry. Please stay informed by reading our website at christepiscopalchurch.org. If you have questions, give us a call at 904-285-6127. WELCOME HOME, CHURCH! Yours in Christ – 1 Welcome to Christ Church Ponte Vedra! We are delighted to have you worship with us, either in person or online. If you are joining us for our in-person service, for your own safety, and for others who are more vulnerable, we ask that you keep your masks on and practice social distancing. Thank you! THE WORD OF GOD Prelude 9:00 a.m. Piano Medley 11:15 a.m. It Is Well with My Soul Bliss/ Arr. Raney Welcome Words Please stand. First Hymn 448 O Love, How Deep Vs. 1 & 6 2 Please be seated. Opening Sentences Page 355, The Book of Common Prayer Celebrant Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. People And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen. The Collect for Purity Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no 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. Gloria S 280, The Hymnal 3 The Collect Celebrant The Lord be with you. People And also with you. Celebrant Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Please stand. Gospel Song PSB 106 Just a Closer Walk V. 1 & Refrain 4 Gospel Song PSB 106 Just a Closer Walk V. 1 & Refrain The Gospel Gospeler The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. 21:33-46 People Glory to you, Lord Christ. 5 Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet. Gospeler The Gospel of the Lord. People Praise to you, Lord Christ. Gospel Response Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! (Sing twice) Please be seated. The Sermon The Reverend Thomas Reeder Please stand. The Nicene Creed Page 358, The Book of Common Prayer 6 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, and was made man. 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. The Prayers of the People Because of our faith in you, O Lord, we acknowledge you as the source of all that we have and all that we are. Silence We thank you, Lord, for the church and all the good that it does in your name [especially ________]. Help us, Lord to be good disciples and to share our faith in you. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Gracious God, we are grateful for the opportunities you provide for living generous and compassionate lives of love. We come to you now in prayer for ourselves, and the world. 7 Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Help us place you, our loving creator, first in our lives by becoming more prayerful and more focused on loving and caring for our neighbors. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Help us, Lord, to find the happiness and fulfillment that we all seek and that you alone can provide. Help us hear your call to be good stewards of all your gifts by sharing them for your purposes. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Knowing that you are the source of all good, we present to you, Lord, those who are sick and lonely, [especially ________]. Heal them, Lord, and use our hands, our time, and our talents to fulfill your purposes on earth. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. We pray for all who have died, [especially ________]. We give you thanks, O Lord, for the time we shared together, and we ask you receive them in your heavenly kingdom. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. We present to you, Lord, all our brothers and sisters in our local ministries and also our outreach partners in Cuba, Uganda, and Bolivia. Challenge us to continue to witness your love to them. Lord, help us put our faith into action. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. As we plan the things that are most important to us, help us plan our lives, O Lord, according to the measure of your love. Lord, help us plan our sharing.