Having Genres of the Future

1 Advent Cycle b December 3, 2023
Is. 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7
1 Cor.1:1-9 Mark 13:24-37

Lectionary Link

To be human is to be a futurist.  We live toward the future.  We live toward the events which will be after now.

How we regard the future is highly conditioned by how we understand our current conditions and how we have integrated our past experiences.  We project what the future might be in not-yet scenarios.  We extrapolate from the past and present what a future might look like.

Our futurisms take many forms which are consistent with the discursive varieties in our lives.  Scientific futurism is different from aesthetic and artistic futurism which share more discursive habits with religious futurism.

In science the concerns is not really about ethics or spirituality or entertainment; in science the rule of statistical approximation prevails.  From observing and charting the behavior of "things," laws of consistency are derived and the guiding assumption is that the conditions will be so similar in the future that accuracy of prediction is guaranteed.  We should all be thankful for this kind of reliable futurism since it provides us with the most practical method of planning in our lives.

But there is also a futurism which inspires differently than science.  Not all human events are as reliable and predictable as the rising of the sun or the boiling of water; the events of how human beings treat each other manifest a wide range of fickleness.  We can treat each other with kindness or love or we can be extremely cruel on the personal level or on the level of social units of family, tribes, and nations.

Much of the biblical literature was generated in times of distress for biblical writers and their communities.  The leaders of these distressed people could not rely upon a predication of a better tomorrow because no relief from oppression seemed imminent.

They had to live on the fumes of hope, the kind of hope which could inspire a program of visualization in words of what love and justice could mean for them.  These prophets of the visualization of hope used utopian language, magic realism, super-heroes, and what we call the apocalyptic genre.

Jesus arrived within a community of people whose identity was significantly formed by the apocalyptic mode of thinking.  Why?  Jesus and his friends knew that life could be significantly better than what they experienced.  Their literature revealed to them about a time during the reign of King David, when they had much better conditions, and they longed for future conditions to be like or better than they were during the reign of King David.  There were other writings besides the Hebrew Scriptures which expounded this apocalyptic futurism for an oppressed and suffering people.

If the future were to be better for the oppress people of the community of Jesus, there needed to be super heroes who were greater than the Caesars and the military surrogates of the Caesar.  The earthly power of the Caesars seemed to be so formidable that interventions of super non-earthly powers were needed to put things right, or more selfishly, to deliver the oppressed people.  The names of the super heroes in the time of Jesus were Messiah and the Son of Man.  These super God blessed heroes were visions of how thing could be put right.

The writer of Mark's Gospel understood that Jesus identified with this figure referred to as the Son of Man.  This super hero was a visualization of a God appointed and God powered person to establish judgment and justice for the oppressed people of the world.

Our nay saying sides could say, "it didn't happen, it hasn't happened, and it probably won't happen in such a way."  The skeptics might say that such people are to be pitied for believing such stuff, especially if they are taking it literally.

But as one who argues for the functional purpose of every discursive practice, I would say that such discourse is not meant to be taken literally, but literarily.  It is a discourse of visualization of the end of pain and distress even as a pain counselor at a cancer clinic might devise visualizations techniques for people of different ages to deal with the pain and reality of their terminal disease.  The discourse is true to human hope even while the images do not comport to the empirical verification standards of science.

While we moderns might feel superior to these poor purveyors of the apocalyptic, we should confront ourselves with the reality that we in our situation are far more futuristic and apocalyptic than the biblical writers ever were.  Super heroes of Marvel Comics dominate our lives, science fiction, and action adventure in the cinema draw big audiences.  The "art" of the future in its many genres are part of our lives.  We regard it to be artistic entertainment, even while as skeptics we don't allow the biblical apocalyptic to be a part of the analgesic and entertaining aspect of their lives in their experience of oppression.  Many people wrongly think that "entertainment and the aesethetic" were not valid modes of being for biblical peoples.  Shame on us for allowing ourselves such pervasive genres of futurism, while denying it to biblical people because of the biblical literalists who misappropriate the functional purpose of the apocalyptic genre of futurism.

The Gospel for us during Advent is to let hope visualize a better world, with better realized justice, and with persons of surpassing virtue to call us to our future surpassing selves.

Let us appreciate the genres of futurism which are in the Bible, in the Gospel, in the words of Jesus, and in that appreciation let us be honest about the genres of futurism which work in our lives to give us hope that love and justice have actual futures.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 3, 2023 1 Advent B

  Sunday School, December 3, 2023   1 Advent B

Topic

Advent

What does Advent mean?

It refers to the coming of Christ into the world, in the past, the present and the future.

How did Christ come into the world?

He came as the Baby Jesus.

When do we celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus?

At Christmas.

We know that Christmas is exciting because of gifts, Christmas lights and Christmas trees and family gatherings and special food.  And the celebration takes lots of preparation to get ready.

Advent is a season about always being ready for the coming of Christ.

If we know a guest is coming to visit our homes, what do we do?

We clean our homes really well and we make special meals to feed our guests.  Why?  Because we love them and we want to make them feel welcome.

Advent is a season of preparing for the coming of Christ in the Christmas celebration, but also to be prepared for the coming of Christ each day in our lives.  It is also a preparation for the future coming of Christ into our lives and our world.

During Advent the color is purple.  This is a color of preparation.  It means we are watchful and in special training to be prepared to invite Christ into our lives.

During Advent we use an Advent wreath with candles to count down the weeks before Christmas.

Today, we light one candle.  The light of this candle is a reminder to us to be prepared for the comings of Christ into our lives, at Christmas in the baby Jesus, now as the Spirit of God present with us, and in the future as our King.

Let us always be prepared and ready to welcome Christ as the guest of our lives.

Sermon:

Do you ever ask you mom or dad:  When is my birthday?  And you are so excited about your birthday arriving that your mom puts an X on each day as you count down for your birthday.

  In the church we do a count down to Christmas because whose birthday is Christmas?  It’s the birthday of Jesus.

  Today is the First Sunday of Advent.  This is the first day of the Christian New Year.  So Happy New Year to you.

  And in Advent, we have a special way of counting down till Christmas.  We use the Advent Candles on the Advent Wreath.  You can make one of these for your home too.  It is a good way to count down the time till Christmas.

  There are five candles here.  And we light one new candle each week.  And on Christmas Eve we light, the big white candle in the middle.

  The season of Advent is a Season of practice.  It is when we get ready to welcome the most important guest in the world.

  When does your house usually get cleaned the best?  When you have some guests coming for dinner or for a visit right?  When a guest is coming, your parents make you clean up your room real well, don’t they?

  In the Season of Advent, we are supposed to be getting our world ready for a visit from someone very important.  We are supposed to be getting our world ready for a visit from Christ.

  How do we get our world ready for the visit of Christ?

  We get ready by showing God how much we care for one another.  We get ready by showing God that we love one another, by helping the poor and the sick and the people who are sad and suffering.

  So we have Four weeks to get ready for Christmas.  Let us do some special things in these four weeks to show God that we are ready for a visit from Christ.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 3, 2023,  The First Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs:  Light a Candle, Soon and Very Soon,  O Come, Let Us Adore Him, When the Saints

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

1          Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.  (Sing three times while first Advent candle is being lit)

Liturgist:         Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People:            And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist: A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 80

Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, * the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. 

And so will we never turn away from you; * give us life, that we may call upon your Name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time of the visit of the Son of Man will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake-- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.

Offertory Song: Soon and Very Soon, (Renew # 276)

1          Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king; soon and very soon, we are going to see the king; soon and very soon we are going to see the king.  Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the king.

2          No more crying there, we are going to see the king; no more crying there, we are going to see the king; no more crying there, we are going to see the king.  Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the king.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

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 God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n 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. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, 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."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: O Come, Let Us Adore Him, (Renew! # 1)

O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory, Christ the Lord.

For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy, Christ the Lord.

We’ll praise his name forever.  We’ll praise his name forever.  We’ll praise his name forever, Christ the Lord.

 Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: When the Saints, (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 248)

1-O, when the saints go marching in, O when the saints go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

2-When the boys go marching in….

3-When the girls go marching in….

Dismissal   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Facing Our Day of the Lord

1 Advent Cycle b    November 29, 2020
Is. 64:1-9     Psalm 80:1-7
1 Cor.1:1-9   Mark 13:24-37

Lectionary Link

During the time of Jesus, the native people of Palestine had the long experience of being perpetually occupied.  Such people needed dreams and whispers in their community about hopeful liberating freedom.  The occupations had been for so long that there was much speculation about how a great God would eventually intervene and end the days of occupation.  Without the visual evidence of strong armed resistance to occupation, the underground talk of the community lived on the fumes of dreams.  The politics of the Messiah and the Son of Man was the talk and the whispers, and the entertainment of the oppressed people; it was fueled by writings, some which were in the Hebrew Scriptures and others, "apocalyptic" writings from various sages from wisdom schools of the various eras pre-dating the time of Jesus.

So, Jesus had read the one reference to the "Son of Man" in the book of Daniel, but he surely had read more expansive reflections on the Son of Man in other writings like Second Enoch.

And Jesus identified with the Son of Man, whom he had read about in the various writings about speculation regarding the end of things.

And Jesus said that the generation of people who were with him would witness this end; and of course we know it didn't happen, so how are the words of Jesus true, or wisely meaningful in his own time and in our time?

The literal ending of the world as we know it is what we call death.  What if we add together every death in the past, and every death in the present, and every death in the future into one big collective end, we could spiritually understand the wisdom of the kind of ending Jesus could say would come to all of the people in his time and in every time.

When one dies the sun doesn't shine and the moon has no light and the stars fall from the sky as one loses consciousness of them and everything.  And when one is ushered into the unknown realm of the afterlife, one hopes that the friendly messengers of God, the angels will be our guides to the afterlife.

And we can't quite process the collective death of every human being, past, present and future and so we roll it out into linear time, but we know that continuous life doesn't work that way.  Our science tells us that some kind of life will always go on.

When I die, what I know of heaven and earth dies for me as I experienced them while alive.  But they don't die for everyone else, still living.

The Apocalypse that Jesus was speaking about was about death as the great portal that comes to everyone and when it has collectively come to everyone, it would seem to be the end of the world as we know it.

The people in the time of Jesus live under the threat of death.  Average life expectancy was but thirty something;  you were a revered survivor if you lived to a riper age.  Death defined people; the Roman occupiers could be agents of death and so oppressed people lived under under the certainty of their lives ending.

Every age is attended by the phenomenon of death.  We have had the magnitude of death in the great wars which have defined the life of our country.  We have caused the death of many because we assumed the right to subjugate native peoples and to enslave others, and many to cruel deaths.

And we are living the apocalypse of the pandemic now.  Great death is upon us, death of biblical proportion or statistical magnitude.  More than a quarter of a million people have come to the end of their lives in less than a year because of Covid-19.  Many people are entering into the great collectivity of the end of their worlds.

And the words of Jesus which we read and quote in Advent, is to be ready for the end of one's world as it is known, because death can happen to anyone at anytime.

We could really be depressed by this dose of reality that Jesus gives us; namely, the every present reality of death: The reality  of the end of life as we know it for anyone at anytime.

St. Paul wrote that people were spiritually gifted as they waited for the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ and that they were strengthened for the end to be blameless for the day of the Lord.

Advent is a time when we reckon with the condition of freedom which in human experience we call death.  Each person's death is the day of the Lord for one person at a time.

During the season of Advent we juxtapose the end of life as we know it, with the impending celebration of the birth of Christ in the Christmas event.  That birth event celebrates the birth of Christ in us who will be our chariot of fire to the next life.

In a way, the season of Advent is learning the discipline of living with the day of the Lord in mind.  It is he discipline of not taking life for granted because we know it will end.  The motivation of pondering the day of the Lord in our lives is to love and cherish life in such a way that we work to bring quality of living to ourselves and to everyone else.

Let us this Advent live into the possibility of a good death, when we will have lost our power to preserve our lives.  Then we will have to commit our afterlife to the preserving work of God and the angels.  To this end, the Advent words of Jesus advise us to, be ready.  Amen.

Sunday School, November 29, 2020 1 Advent B

 Sunday School, November 29, 2020  1 Advent B

Topic

Advent

What does Advent mean?

It refers to the coming of Christ into the world, in the past, the present and the future.

How did Christ come into the world?

He came as the Baby Jesus.

When do we celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus?

At Christmas.

We know that Christmas is exciting because of gifts, Christmas lights and Christmas trees and family gatherings and special food.  And the celebration takes lots of preparation to get ready.

Advent is a season about always being ready for the coming of Christ.

If we know a guest is coming to visit our homes, what do we do?

We clean our homes really well and we make special meals to feed our guests.  Why?  Because we love them and we want to make them feel welcome.

Advent is a season of preparing for the coming of Christ in the Christmas celebration, but also to be prepared for the coming of Christ each day in our lives.  It is also a preparation for the future coming of Christ into our lives and our world.

During Advent the color is purple.  This is a color of preparation.  It means we are watchful and in special training to be prepared to invite Christ into our lives.

During Advent we use an Advent wreath with candles to count down the weeks before Christmas.

Today, we light one candle.  The light of this candle is a reminder to us to be prepared for the comings of Christ into our lives, at Christmas in the baby Jesus, now as the Spirit of God present with us, and in the future as our King.

Let us always be prepared and ready to welcome Christ as the guest of our lives.

Sermon:

Do you ever ask you mom or dad:  When is my birthday?  And you are so excited about your birthday arriving that your mom puts an X on each day as you count down for your birthday.

  In the church we do a count down to Christmas because whose birthday is Christmas?  It’s the birthday of Jesus.

  Today is the First Sunday of Advent.  This is the first day of the Christian New Year.  So Happy New Year to you.

  And in Advent, we have a special way of counting down till Christmas.  We use the Advent Candles on the Advent Wreath.  You can make one of these for your home too.  It is a good way to count down the time till Christmas.

  There are five candles here.  And we light one new candle each week.  And on Christmas Eve we light, the big white candle in the middle.

  The season of Advent is a Season of practice.  It is when we get ready to welcome the most important guest in the world.

  When does your house usually get cleaned the best?  When you have some guests coming for dinner or for a visit right?  When a guest is coming, your parents make you clean up your room real well, don’t they?

  In the Season of Advent, we are supposed to be getting our world ready for a visit from someone very important.  We are supposed to be getting our world ready for a visit from Christ.

  How do we get our world ready for the visit of Christ?

  We get ready by showing God how much we care for one another.  We get ready by showing God that we love one another, by helping the poor and the sick and the people who are sad and suffering.

  So we have Four weeks to get ready for Christmas.  Let us do some special things in these four weeks to show God that we are ready for a visit from Christ.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

November 29, 2020,  The First Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs:  Light a Candle, Soon and Very Soon,  O Come, Let Us Adore Him, When the Saints

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

1          Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.  (Sing three times while first Advent candle is being lit)

Liturgist:         Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People:            And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist: A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 80

Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, * the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. 

And so will we never turn away from you; * give us life, that we may call upon your Name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; * show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time of the visit of the Son of Man will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake-- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.

Offertory Song: Soon and Very Soon, (Renew # 276)

1          Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king; soon and very soon, we are going to see the king; soon and very soon we are going to see the king.  Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the king.

2          No more crying there, we are going to see the king; no more crying there, we are going to see the king; no more crying there, we are going to see the king.  Hallelujah, hallelujah, we’re going to see the king.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

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 God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n 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. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, 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."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: O Come, Let Us Adore Him, (Renew! # 1)

O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory.  We’ll give him all the glory, Christ the Lord.

For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy.  For he alone is worthy, Christ the Lord.

We’ll praise his name forever.  We’ll praise his name forever.  We’ll praise his name forever, Christ the Lord.

 Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: When the Saints, (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 248)

1-O, when the saints go marching in, O when the saints go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

2-When the boys go marching in….

3-When the girls go marching in….

Dismissal   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God!