Sunday, April 19, 2020

Wholeness and Healing




A Service for
Wholeness and Healing
Easter 2
April 19, 2020
With resources from the Church of England
(Prayer of Thanksgiving from Beliefnet)




Are any among you sick?
They should call for the elders of the church
and have them pray over them,
anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
                                                                                                                      James 5:14
Greeting
We meet in the presence of God
who knows our needs,
hears our cries,
feels our pain,
and heals our wounds.
  
Opening Prayer                                                           
Be with us, Spirit of God;
nothing can separate us from your love.

Breathe on us, breath of God;
fill us with your saving power.

Speak in us, wisdom of God;
bring strength, healing and peace.
Silence is kept.

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
  
Collect of the Day                                                         
O God, our beginning and our end:
accept our doubts, heal our desire for certainty
and, by your Spirit’s gentle touch,
make us a people forgiven and forgiving;
through Jesus Christ, the Giver of Peace.  Amen.
         Prayers for an Inclusive Church (2009) alt.

Acts 2.14a, 22-32
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them:

‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
“I saw the Lord always before me,
   for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
   moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
   or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
   you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
   nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 16  Conserva me, Domine
 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you;
I have said to the Lord,  
“You are my Lord, my good above all other.”

All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land,
upon those who are noble among the people.

But those who run after other gods
shall have their troubles multiplied.
Their libations of blood I will not offer,
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.

O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;
it is you who uphold my lot.

My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
my heart teaches me, night after night.

I have set the Lord always before me;
because you are at my side I shall not fall.

My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
my body also shall rest in hope.

For you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor let your holy one see the Pit.

You will show me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy,  
and in your hand are pleasures for evermore.

1 Peter 1.3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

The Gospel
The Lord be with you.       
And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to John.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 20:19-31   
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon
Let us confess the faith of our baptism as we say,
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Prayers of the People
Anglican Communion
   Missouri (The Episcopal Church)
      The Rt Reverend Wayne Smith
   Western Mexico (Mexico)
      The Reverend Ricardo Joel Gómez Osnaya
Anglican Church of Canada
   Diocese of Calgary
      The Most Reverend Gregory Kerr-Wilson, Archbishop
         (Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land)
      the Right Reverend Sidney Black,
         Indigenous Bishop for Treaty 7 Territory
Council of the North
    Diocese of the Arctic
      The Right Reverend David Parsons, Bishop
      The Right Reverends Annie Ittoshat
         Lucy Netser and Joey Royal, Suffragan Bishops
The Diocese of Edmonton
   Retired clergy of Edmonton diocese
   Buyé Diocese, Ruyenzi (St. Emmanuel) Parish
      Papias Masengesho
   Ermineskin Cree Nation
 
We continue to pray for Burundi and our twinned parishes
      Kabanga and St. Luke’s Bigombo
We also pray for the Canadian Armed Forces
  serving at home and abroad.

God the Father,
your will for all people is health and salvation.
We praise and bless you, Lord.

God the Son,
you came that we might have life,
and have it more abundantly.
We praise and bless you, Lord.

God the Holy Spirit,
you make our bodies the temple of your presence.
We praise and bless you, Lord.

Holy Trinity, one God,
in you we live and move and have our being.
We praise and bless you, Lord.

Grant to all who are lonely, anxious or depressed
a knowledge of your will and an awareness of your presence.
Hear us, Lord of life.

Grant to all who minister to those who are suffering
wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience.
Hear us, Lord of life.

Mend broken relationships,
and restore to those in distress soundness of mind and serenity of spirit.
Hear us, Lord of life.

Sustain and support those who seek your guidance
and lift up all who are brought low by the trials of life.
Hear us, Lord of life.

Grant to the dying peace and a holy death,
and uphold by the grace and consolation of your Holy Spirit
those who are bereaved.
Hear us, Lord of life.

Restore to wholeness whatever is broken by human sin,
in our lives, in our nation, and in the world.
Hear us, Lord of life.

You are the Lord who does mighty wonders.
You have declared your power among the peoples.

With you, Lord, is the well of life
and in your light do we see light.

Hear us, Lord of life:
heal us, and make us whole.

Let us pray.
Silence
O Lord our God,
accept the fervent prayers of your people;
in the multitude of your mercies
look with compassion upon us     
and all who turn to you for help;
for you are gracious, O lover of souls,
and to you we give glory,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
now and forever.  Amen.

 Our God is a loving God, gentle and merciful,
whose desire for us
is wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.

It is with this knowledge in our hearts
that we have gathered here today as a community.
We have reconciled ourselves to God and to each other.
We have heard God’s holy word
and pondered upon it in our hearts and minds.
We know that God is steadfast and true
and so we are able to pray with faith and trust:

Loving God,
By the power of your Spirit
may your blessing rest on all who approach you.
May they be made whole in body, mind, and spirit,
restored in your image, renewed in your love,
to serve you as sons and daughters in your kingdom.  Amen.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

Prayer of Thanksgiving
God of all blessings,
source of all life,
giver of all grace:

We thank you for the gift of life:
for the breath
that sustains life,
for the food of this earth
that nurtures life,
for the love of family and friends
without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation:
for the beauty
that the eye can see,
for the joy
that the ear may hear,
for the unknown
that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,
for the expanse of space
that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities:
for families
who nurture our becoming,
for friends
who love us by choice,
for companions at work,
who share our burdens and daily tasks,
for strangers
who welcome us into their midst,
for people from other lands
who call us to grow in understanding,
for children
who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn,
who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day:
for life
and one more day to love,
for opportunity
and one more day to work for justice and peace,
for neighbors
and one more person to love
and by whom be loved,
for your grace
and one more experience of your presence,
for your promise:
to be with us,
to be our God,
and to give salvation.

For these, and all blessings,
we give you thanks, eternal, loving God,
through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to pray,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and glory,
for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing
The peace of God which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God
and of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Dismissal

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