Thursday Afternoon Opening Service GATHERING. Words of Welcome Native elders: Fr Norm Casey & Leona Moses Six Nations of the Grand River Territory

Transcription

1 Eastern Synod Assembly 2012 Thursday Afternoon Opening Service Prelude GATHERING Words of Welcome Native elders: Fr Norm Casey & Leona Moses Six Nations of the Grand River Territory Kyrie Source: Evangelical Lutheran Worship #151 Greeting Canticle of Praise Source: Evangelical Lutheran Worship #872 Praise Ye The Lord Prayer of the Day Summoning God, you have been our help, generation after generation. Before the Great Lakes were born, or the St-Lawrence flowed, before the tides of Fundy rose to meet the coastlines, before city and field, before Moses and Miriam, from forever to forever you are God. Gather us in, ancient Giver, and renew your Covenant spirit within us. Hide not your face from us; strengthen our weak knees; give us hearts bold enough so that even here, even we might voice your praise. We ask it in the name of Jesus our Lord, AMEN Psalm 25:1-5 Source: Psalms for All Seasons Psalm 25A The Runner s Psalm Written & Proclaimed by: Kimber McNabb Psalm 13 How Long O Lord? Source: Psalms for All Seasons 13D WORD Sermon: Bishop Susan A Covenant People Page 1 of 5

2 Hymn of the Day: Holy God Holy & Glorious Evangelical Lutheran Worship # 637 Creed: Luther s Explanation to 3 rd Article A: We believe that we cannot by our own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, or come to him. Instead, the Holy Spirit has called us through the Gospel, enlightened us with gifts, made us holy and given us the courage to confess the true faith, namely, that (lead assembly into the Apostle s Creed) C: We believe in God, the Father almighty Intercessions AM: Let us pray for the whole people of God, singing: O Lord hear our prayer we offer up to you, O Lord hear our prayer. (BETTE REMPEL-English) Faithful God, you have brought us to this holy ground: bless this land, the land of the First Nations, the land of our forefathers and mothers in the Synod, this land on which a university sits. Make us humble to see how we are part of your creation, and with wind and river, tree and grass, help us give thanks for this gift of place. O Lord hear our prayer (SKAI LEJA Latvian) Do not forget the covenant you have made with us, O God. The covenant of Abraham and Sara, of Mary Magdalene and the apostle Paul, the covenant that Gabriel announced to Mary, which died on the cross with Jesus and which rises again out of the empty tomb. O Lord hear our prayer (FATHER NORM CASEY-Mohawk) We thank you for your Word and especially for the Psalms. As you have with generation after generation of believers, help us with these ancient verses to laugh, to cry, to grieve, to protest and to give words to our fears and to our hopes. O Lord hear our prayer (CHARLOTTE CORWIN-French) Make us one in Christ, even as we see the many differences between us. Bring unity to your body, and healing. Make us aware of how you have brought us together in our baptism, not only with each other, but in justice for the world. O Lord hear our prayer (ULI KUEBLER-German) Bring justice to our planet, we pray. Where there is greed, bring compassion. Where there is violence bring peace. Where there is arrogance and the love of riches, bring down the mighty and lift up the lowly. Guide us to remember the foreigner and the stranger among us, and make us your hands in this hurting world. O Lord hear our prayer (JUDY PARKER-Finnish) Healer of our every ill: many of us come to this Assembly mourning the loss of loved ones, taking treatments, and suffering from illnesses of body Page 2 of 5

3 and mind, or praying for those in our families and communities who likewise suffer. Be our balm of healing, our hope and our strength. O Lord hear our prayer (JUN GAO-Mandarin) Guide the coming business of Assembly. Wrestle with us, O God. Struggle with us, guide us, shepherd us, teach us. Empower with your Spirit, our Bishops, Susan and Michael, our Synod Council, and all those who bring before us items for decision and action. O Lord hear our prayer (JULIO ROMERO-Spanish) From north and south, from east and west your spirit has called us to this place, O God. Fill us with fire to do your work bravely, and with compassion to see your people wisely. Let the love you have first given us be our guide as we go into Assembly. O Lord hear our prayer. AM: Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen. Prayers written by Rev. Dr. Matthew Anderson; Translations into other languages by persons noted Peace Offering Offertory: Accept O Lord Evangelical Lutheran Worship # 690 Offering Prayer The eyes of all look to you O God, and you give us your gifts in good season. Teach us to share what you have so freely given, and to see in the fruit you bring forth, the taste of this Canadian earth on which we have been planted, through the greatest gift you have given us, Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, AMEN Great Thanksgiving P: May God be with you C: And also with you. P: Lift up your hearts C: We lift them to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to God our creator C: It is right to give our thanks and praise. Page 3 of 5

4 P: What a joy it is, and a holy privilege, to everywhere and always thank and praise you, O Covenant-Maker. In the Spirit that has called us through the Gospel, enlightened us with gifts of Word and Sacrament, and made us part of your chosen people Israel, we rejoice in your salvation as we meet today in assembly. Together with the first peoples who have shared this land, with sisters and brothers who are faithful in Christ around the world, with angels and archangels, and with all creation, we fall on our knees and join in their unending hymn Sanctus ELW Setting 4 Eucharistic Prayer P: You are indeed holy, almighty God, But your holiness is sometimes a terrible and lonely thing, and we have at times felt forgotten, Your face hidden. Answer us, O Lord! Remind us again how you so loved the world that the very Word of Life, took on flesh, and though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with you a thing to be grasped, But emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, And being found in human form, was obedient to suffering and to death, even death on a cross. So that when Jesus was raised, and honoured with a name above all names, all we who have been called to faith might share in that resurrection. AM: Tell us how to give you thanks, then, for your Spirit's gifts: the gift of perseverance in trial and doubt, the gift of this land which we are part of, and the care of it the gift of faithful lay leaders and pastors the gift of congregations old and new, the gift of worship in many tongues, the gift of the faithful ones from whom we first heard the Gospel, who, in years past, brought us to this table P: Where we learned that: On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks Page 4 of 5

5 Broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying Take and eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying This cup is the new covenant in my blood, Shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. Being reminded, therefore, of the Messiah's command, His life-giving passion and death, his glorious resurrection and ascension, And his promise to return, We give thanks to you, O God, Not as we ought, but as we are able; And we ask you to not hide your face, nor to let us sleep the sleep of death, but to answer us, and restore sight to our eyes. Send down your Holy Spirit to bless these gifts of bread and wine And with them, us, your servants So that these might truly be for us bread for freedom and wine for justice, and that we and all who share in the body and blood of the Messiah might be transformed from glory to glory, able, with all your saints, to rejoice fully in your salvation and finally to know you,even as we are truly known, AMEN Lord s Prayer Lamb of God Evangelical Lutheran Worship Setting 4 Communion Hymns Evangelical Lutheran Worship# 461 All Who Hunger Evangelical Lutheran Worship#466 In the Singing Post Communion Prayer In the singing and the silence, in bread and wine, violin and voice, you have transformed us, O God. Make us to be the body and blood as we go from this meal into the business of assembly. Let these be the tables of the LORD, and may this place be, for us, the dwelling of the Most High. In Jesus' name, Amen Post Communion Canticle: Rise, O Church Evangelical Lutheran Worship# 548 Opening of Assembly Page 5 of 5