St. Thomas Episcopal Church 1108 Providence Road, Towson, MD (410) 821-5489 stthomastowson@gmail.com Patriot's Day 9:30 AM Holy Eucharist, Rite II September 11, 2016
Prelude: Breathe Welcome and Announcements Hymn: O God Our Help In Ages Past #680 Celebrant: Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. People: And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen. Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires are 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: Foley Celebrant: People: Celebrant: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray together. Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Thank you Lord for calling me to be part of this adventure, this adventure in faith. Help me to be open to your voice, to listen to your call, and finally to discern your will for my life. Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee. I now pray for the rest of my church family. Help us to be open to your will for our lives. I pray in the name of Christ, Amen. The Lessons: A Reading from Habakkuk 1:2-4,12-13; 3:17-19 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, Violence! but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them
to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. After the Reading, the Reader says The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. Psalm 51: 1-11 (Sung) A Reading from Romans 8:18-28 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. After the Reading, the Reader says The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. The Celebrant reads the Gospel, first saying The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew 5:1-16 NIV People: Glory to you, Lord Christ. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. After the Gospel, the celebrant says The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ. The Sermon The. Rev. Loree Penner The Nicene Creed pg. 358 Prayers of the People I ask your prayers for the church, that she may continue to provide care and healing for all. Lord, in your mercy, I ask your prayers for all victims of violence and terrorism around the world, and for their families. Lord, in your mercy, I ask your prayers for the ability to forgive and for an end to all hatred, beginning in our own hearts. Lord, in your mercy, I ask your prayers for the safety of our service men and women abroad, for civil servants who protect us and keep us save, and for all who live with war and violence. Lord in your mercy, I ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. Lord, in your mercy, I ask your prayers for the departed [especially ]. Lord, in your mercy, Concluding Collect
The Confession pg. 360 The Peace pg. 360 The Blessing of Birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries pg. 830 The Offertory: The King of Love (Verses 1,2,5,6) #645 Doxology The Holy Communion The Great Thanksgiving Prayer A pg. 361 Sanctus: S-125 The Communion of the People (St. Thomas extends the invitation to all baptized members of any Christian Church to receive the consecrated bread and wine. Please come forward to one of the stations or kneel or stand at the altar rail. Cup your hands in front of you to receive the bread. Guide the chalice to your lips to drink the wine, or dip your bread into the wine; if you choose not to drink the wine, you may touch the chalice as it passes you. If you wish to receive a blessing instead of receiving the bread and wine, cross your arms over your chest as you kneel at the altar rail. *For those needing communion in the pew: Please let the usher know when you arrive that you will need communion brought to you. We are glad to have the opportunity to administer communion to you in the pew, and will do so at the conclusion of distribution at the altar rail.) Communion Anthem: Holy is the Lamb Post Communion Prayer pg. 366 The Blessing Closing Hymn: Eternal Father Strong to Safe #608 Dismissal: Priest: People: Alleluia! Alleluia! Let us go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the Spirit! Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia! Postlude: Organ
CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12TH Monday, 12th Tuesday, 13th 7pm- Scouts (Counting Room) Wednesday, 14th 1:30pm- Oak Crest 6pm- Ski Club (Fellowship Hall) 7pm- City Light Music Practice (Church) Thursday, 15th 7:30pm- Music Practice Friday, 16th Saturday, 17th 11am - Meals on Wheels Luncheon (Fellowship Hall) 7pm- AA Meeting (Classroom) 7pm- Scouts (Fellowship Hall) 7pm- Scouts (Counting Room) 8am- Fun with Foreign Language 10am- Christian Stitchin' (Fellowship Hall) Sunday, 18th 9:30am - Worship 11am- Vestry Meeting (Fellowship Hall) 11:30am -City Light Worship 3pm- Scouts (Fellowship Hall)
~~ Announcements ~~ Altar Guild: The flowers on the Altar are in celebration of our 21st anniversary by Bill and Diane Flayhart and in memory of Connie Chenowith Kappler and Julia Todd Kappler by James Kappler and Family. Memorials can be reserved for the month of September for Wine. The cost of each memorial is $25. Please contact Diane Flayhart, 410-426-4618 or dflayhart.stthomas@gmail.com, or the church office, 410-821-5489, if you are interested in reserving a memorial. Thank you. Education for Ministry - Education for Life! Our EfM group that meets on Tuesday evenings needs at least ONE more student! Do you want to get to know people, study the Bible, worship together, and deepen your spiritual life? EfM is for you. Two great mentors lead you and others through a wonderful class. We already have two new students signed up for this year - plus join them and others in the study of the Old Testament. Contact Steve Penner, 410-703-6998, or reespen01@gmail.com. Cookie Making: We have a long standing tradition of making cookies for the St. Thomas Christmas Bazaar. The cookies usually add between $2000 and $2500 to the church s operational budget each year. It is time again, as the summer winds down, to plan cookie making for the bazaar. The more volunteers we have the easier and faster the work will go. Last year our volunteer cookie making chairs, Gail and Pat, found recruiting volunteers to make cookies very difficult. We did not have enough volunteers to do the work that we need to do. To get the job finished in a timely manner, we need 6-8 volunteers a day Please will you consider volunteering your time? We have a signup sheet in the Narthex. We will be holding a congregational meeting immediately following worship service today. Please plan on staying for the meeting which will last only 30 minutes or less. Topics to be covered: By-laws change to reduce the number of Vestry members from 9 to 7; Stewardship for 2017; Update on the Blue Horizons Process. St. Thomas will be sponsoring a blood drive for the American Red Cross during the week of September 19-24, 2016, and it will NOT be held at the church. You just need to sign up to give blood at any of the local donor centers during a time that is convenient for you during that week. For your information, the two donor centers closest to St. Thomas are: Timonium Donor Center White Marsh Donor Center 2405 York Road, Suite 300 8114 Sandpiper Court, Suite 118 Lutherville, MD 21093 Baltimore, MD 21236 Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to schedule your life saving blood donation today! Prayers for Healing are requested for those who are ill or in any need: Dan Licht, Tina, Charles, Mary Pat, Jan Jr., Neil Schmidt, Bill D., Rick D., Dee Statham, Agnes Ewing, Brittany, and Lorie Jacobs. And for those who are homebound: Elizabeth Shorter, Daniel Licht and Jeanne Gourlay. Blue Horizons, the process for recasting our assets and looking at the future of the church held its second meeting on September 9th and 10th here at St. Thomas. Please pray for those gathering and for our church through this process. Rev. Loree Penner, Rector Jan Bahner, Sr. Warden Vern Adams, Jr. Warden 443-377-9048 443-564-9464 443-257-6013