Day of Pentecost May 20, 2018 We acknowledge the Jaara Jaara people, of Dja Dja Wurrung language group, the custodians of this land where we gather. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and pray for reconciliation.
GATHERING IN GOD S NAME Sentence of the day A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, says the Lord God; I will put my spirit within you and you shall live. Ezekiel 36.26; 37.14 Gathering Hymn 418 She sits like a bird The Lord be with you. And also with you Christ is risen Alleluia! He is risen indeed Alleluia! We pray the Prayer of preparation (page 119 of the prayer book) The confession The Spirit of truth comes to convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. Let us then open our hearts and confess our sins in penitence and faith. We take a moment of silent reflection You raise the dead to life in the Spirit: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
You bring pardon and peace to the broken in heart: Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. The absolution May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from your sins, heal and strengthen us by the Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen. Let us pray We sing The Gloria (page 121 of the prayer book) Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. MINISTRY OF THE WORD A reading from the Acts of the Apostles chapter 2 verses 1 to 21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs in our own languages we hear them speaking about God s deeds of power. All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? But others sneered and said, They are filled with new wine. But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Psalm 104.26-36 Lord, how various are your works: in wisdom you have made them all, and the earth is full of your creatures. There is the wide, immeasurable sea: there move living things without number, great and small; There go the ships, to and fro: and there is that Leviathan whom you formed to sport in the deep. These all look to you: to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it: when you open your hand they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are troubled: when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit they are created: and you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever: may the Lord rejoice in his works. If he look upon the earth, it shall tremble: if he but touch the mountains, they shall smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live: I will praise my God while I have any being. May my meditation be pleasing to him: for my joy shall be in the Lord.
A reading from the letter to the Romans chapter 8 verses 22 to 27 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Gospel Hymn 396 Come Holy Spirit Halle halle halle, lu-i-a, Halle halle halle, lu-i-a Halle halle halle, lu-i-a, Halleluia Halleluia The hearts of the faithful are full Full of fire and love you bring We listen for you And share your Word Halleluia Halleluia Halle halle halle, luia, Halle halle halle, luia Halle halle halle, luia, Halleluia Halleluia The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John, chapter 15 beginning at the 26 th verse Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, Where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. For the Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ The Sermon Bishop Matt Brain Let us together affirm the faith our church by saying the words of the Creed (page 123 of the prayer book) Let us pray for the world, the church, and each other
The Greeting of Peace We are the body of Christ His Spirit is with us. The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you. Offertory Hymn 511 Let us break bread together We give thanks for the offered gifts Blessed are you..(we give thanks for the bread and wine) Blessed be God forever Blessed are you..(we give thanks for money and food offerings) Blessed be God forever THE GREAT THANKSGIVING The preface to the Great Thanksgiving prayer is on page 156.for ever praising you and singing Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the Highest Blessed is he who comes in the Lord s name Hosanna in the Highest
Then we return to page 128 With our hearts set on the kingdom and our hands open to serve, we pray as Jesus taught us Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen Everyone is welcome to the table of the Lord. Prayer after communion... The Sending out of God s people Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal: open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Notices Final Hymn 755 You shall go out with joy
The Blessing and Dismissal May the Spirit lead you into all truth, giving you grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; and to proclaim the wonderful works of God; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us, so be swift to love, make haste to be kind and go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia! In the name of Christ. Alleluia! ***some thoughts from Rev. Mel Pentecost was observed by the Jews as the fiftieth day after Passover and celebrated God s gift of the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. So, the book of Acts tells us that the disciples, including Mary the mother of Jesus, some women, and about one hundred others were gathered together in a room upstairs praying, and trying to work out what all of the recent events meant for them on this day that was so special for the Jewish people. And suddenly tongues of fire, and violent winds, and speaking in tongues happened what great imagery! No wonder this event has been the object of such wonderful and exciting pieces of art throughout history. The icon on the front of today s booklet is very interesting. It shows the twelve (not including Judas, but his replacement Matthias), three women kneeling, with Mary the mother of Jesus in central place of teaching and blessing, and the Holy Spirit as a dove descending upon them all. The dove image reminds us of the baptism of Jesus, when the trinity of God was first shown to us in the Gospels.
Mary s stance and how she is depicted in this is especially interesting. The colours of her garments link her to the Incarnation. Her gown is blue as she is the chosen one of God and she wears red shoes showing her royalty and lineage from the House of David. One hand is raised in blessing and the other is open to us, welcoming us into the teaching and prayer of the icon. The faces of everyone in the icon are directed towards her and the descending dove. Mary is honoured here as the ultimate exemplar of a Christian and is therefore shown as the teacher and as the best example we have, and the person on earth who most resembled Jesus Christ - both physically, as his mother, and spiritually as his disciple. What a role model we have in her! Happy Pentecost day to you all, Mel ************************** Pew Bulletin Meditation Group We meet every Monday at 5pm in St Mary s all are welcome Conversation/Australis Group We meet every Tuesday evening at 7pm in the rectory. Safe Church Parish Catch Up On May 27, after the 11am service at St Mary s, we will have a catch up in the hall about how the parish is going with our Safe Church Workshop attendances and follow up work that we have to do. Youth Ministry Group Our Youth Ministry Group meets on the first Wednesday of the month from 5-7pm in the hall. If you would like to volunteer to assist at these sessions you must have a Working With Children Check (or be willing to obtain one), you must have completed a Safe Church Workshop (or be willing to attend), and
you must be willing to participate in the volunteer recruitment process. These are diocesan requirements and are not negotiable. Please see Rev. Mel if you re keen to help out this important and exciting ministry. News from the Guilds St Mary s Guild: The next guild meeting is May 30th after the 10am service. Diary Dates *Synod this year will be on May 25 and 26 this year in Bendigo. *Woodend Winter Arts Festival 8-11 June. Robyn will be exhibiting again and we will need volunteers to staff the hall at various times over the weekend. Intercessions our prayers are asked for: John, Sam, Jim, Andrea, Alison, Ethan, Kirsten, Carole, Wendy, Judy, Jeanette, Trevor, Rudi, Trish, Hugh, Joshua and family, Alan, Sheila, Faye, Lynne, Kay, Don, Norm, Kristina and John, Linda, Carmela, Steven, Heath, Molly, and Helen. Birthdays and Anniversaries Happy birthday today to Alice Van Dam and tomorrow to Kelly Clune! Years Mind and those who have died recently Today we remember Bronwyn Ellen McKendrick and tomorrow Audrey Else Readings for next week Trinity Sunday Isaiah 6.1-8 Psalm 29 Romans 8.12-17 John 3.1-17 PO Box 699, Woodend, VIC 3442 www.woodendanglican.org.au Priest: Rev d Melissa Clark 0411 722 718 Warden: Derek Shepherd 0417 252 222 www.facebook.com/woodendanglican/