Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 18, 2021 | 9 a.m.

The Word of God

Opening Hymn    Gather Us In

1. Here in this place new light is streaming, now is the darkness vanished away. See in this space our fears and our dreamings, brought here to you in the light of this day. Gather us in, the lost and forsaken, gather us in, the blind and the lame. Call to us now and we shall awaken, we shall arise at the sound of our name.
2. We are the young, our lives are a mystery; we are the old who yearn for your face. We have been sung throughout all of history, called to be light to the whole human race. Gather us in, the rich and the haughty. Gather us in, the proud and the strong. Give us a heart so meek and so lowly, give us the courage to enter the song.
3. Not in the dark of buildings confining, not in some heaven light years away. But here in this place the new light is shining, now is the kingdom, now is the day. Gather us in and hold us forever. Gather us in and makes us your own. Gather us in all peoples together, fire of love in our flesh and our bones.

Opening Acclamation

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.

The Collect for Purity (together)

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires 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

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; You are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray.

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The First Reading    Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 23 (in unison)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He revives my soul * and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; * for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; * you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, * and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The Second Reading    Ephesians 2:11-22

Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” —a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Gospel Acclamation    Celtic Alleluia

The Gospel    Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

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

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

The Sermon                                                                                                        The Rev. Cathy Boyd

A period of silence follows the sermon.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers of the People

Reconciled to God by the blood of Christ, let us offer prayers for the peace of the world.

For Susan, our bishop, and Cathy and Lisa, our priests, for this holy gathering, and for the people of God in every place. Lord, have mercy.

For all nations, peoples, tribes, clans, and families. Lord, have mercy.

For mercy, peace, and justice in the world. Lord, have mercy.

For those on vacation, and for safety from violent storms. Lord, have mercy.

For all those in danger and need: the sick and the dying, the poor and the oppressed, travelers and prisoners, and for their families. Lord, have mercy.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as Christ loves us. We pray for the Ambler and Stratton family, Fulton, Martine, Jake, Sheri, Anna, Ione, Allison, Dak, Callie and for the children of St Vincent’s School, Haiti.

We pray for the dying and those who have died, especially John (Jaque) Ambler, Brick Stratton, and we pray that we may share with all your saints in your eternal kingdom. Lord, have mercy.

For ourselves, our families, our companions, and all those we love. Lord, have mercy.

Lifting our voices with all creation, with Blessed Martin, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, let us offer ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ. To you, O Lord.

God our shepherd, hear the prayers we offer today and touch all peoples with your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not

loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Absolution

The Peace and Announcements

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

The Holy Communion

The Offertory Anthem    Great is thy faithfulness

The Great Thanksgiving    Eucharistic Prayer B The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. For by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a new people in Jesus Christ our Lord, to show forth your glory in all the world. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power, God of might, heaven 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.

We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.

On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, 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.” Therefore, according to his command, O Father, We remember his death, We proclaim his resurrection, We await his coming in glory; And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all; presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine. We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant.

Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with Martin and all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation. By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours,

Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

The Lord’s Prayer

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, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Breaking of Bread

Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.

The Invitation

The Gifts of God for the People of God.

Communion Hymn    Just as I am

1        Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

2 Just as I am, though tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt; Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

3 Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

4 Just as I am, Thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

5 Just as I am – of thy great love The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove Here for a season, then above, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

The Post-Communion Prayer

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Blessing

The Closing Hymn    The church’s one foundation

1 The church’s one Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is his new creation, by water and the Word; from heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

2 Elect from ev’ry nation, yet one o’er all the earth, her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth; one holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with ev’ry grace endued.

3 Tho’ with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, “How long?” And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.

The Dismissal

Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Thanks be to God.

“Alleluia, alleluia” is only said during Easter season.

The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Jaque Ambler.

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