Prelude: A Lenten Prayer – Juliet Calkins
THE GATHERING OF THE COMMUNITY
Territorial Land Acknowledgement
As we begin this service, we acknowledge that we gather on the unceded territory of the Algonquin people, the traditional territory of the Wendat and Haudenosaunee Confederacy. May we honour the Indigenous stewards of this land, and grow in right relationship with all Indigenous peoples.
We recognize that Creator God moves us forward together in healing, respect, and unity for future generations.
Opening Hymn: 394 (tune 393) – Eternal, Unchanging
Celebrant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Almighty God,
All: to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden.
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.
Trisagion x3
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy immortal one have mercy on us.
Collect
Lord of the wellspring, source of life and truth: give us the courage of the Samaritan woman, so that we may receive living water, and worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ who quenches our thirst with eternal life. Amen.
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
First Reading – Exodus 17.1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Psalm 95 (10am service – Hymn #748)
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as your forebears did in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that day at Massah, when they tempted me.
9 They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years long I detested that generation and said, *
“This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”
11 So I swore in my wrath, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Creator of all, we give you thanks for a world full of wonder, but above all because you have called us into a holy fellowship with you and with each other. Guide us in the ways of this your new creation, rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Second Reading – Romans 5.1-11
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Gradual: 179 (vs 1, 6d) – Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to . . .
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel – John 4.5-4.2
Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Sermon – The Reverend Kerri Brennan
The Apostles’ Creed
Celebrant: 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
We have been birthed for holiness in Christ, by whose arduous labor we are awakened to life. That the wounds of our crucified Christ may not be in vain, let us pray to the Lord, responding to: we pray, with: We beg for mercy, O God.
For the whole church catholic, for an end to our division, for all who lead and all who minister, and for all the baptized, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For all who seek the living waters of baptism, and for all sponsors, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For the nations, for peacemakers, for all the word’s peoples, for the governing authorities in every city and province, and for the wealthy and free to uplift the poor and oppressed, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For the will to give all your people access to your grace, and for the will to supply food and sustenance to all the world’s people, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For all whom we avoid, those we consider ungodly, the outcasts and beggars, the downtrodden, for our enemies, and for an end to our hardness of heart, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For all who yearn for health, for persons with disabilities, for those in mental anguish or spiritual turmoil, for the chronically ill, and for all who remember and care for them, especially….
Spruce, Jim, Pat, Kathleen, Garth, Dave, Debbie, Doug, Paul,
Charlotte and her family, Mark, Owen, Ernie, Denise, Jackie,
Elaine, George, Heather, Eileen, Neil & his family…
as well as those whose names we pray silently or aloud now…
we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
For hearts to do what is good and right and true, and for humility before Christ, that we may never murmur against you, O holy God, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
In the Worldwide Anglican Communion, we hold up the Church of South India (United). In our Diocese, we pray for Shane, our Bishop; Anne, our Metropolitan; Linda, our Primate; as well as Our Community Ministries: · Anglican Day Programs: Centre 454; St. Luke’s Table; The Well/La Source · Centre 105 (Cornwall) · Cornerstone Housing for Women · Ottawa Pastoral Counselling Centre · and Refugee Ministry. For St. Paul’s, Almonte and The Reverend Jonathon Kouri, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
We praise you, God of our hope, for all the faithful before us who entered into your labors and worshiped you in truth. That we may live faithful to eternal life, we pray: We beg for mercy, O God.
Pour your love into our hearts, O God of peace. Give us joy in our suffering, endurance in trials, character in times of weakness, and hope in adversity. So may we live, birthed always anew in you, who has gasped and panted for our life, now and forever. Amen.
Confession & Absolution
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 neighbours 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.
Almighty God have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Peace
Celebrant: The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
THE CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST
The Preparation of the Gifts
Offertory Hymn: 178 – Restore in Us, O God
Prayer over the Gifts
The Great Thanksgiving – Eucharistic Prayer #3 (BAS page 198)
The Lord’s Prayer
Celebrant: And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
All: 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 the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread #7
Celebrant: We break this bread,
All Communion in Christ’s body once broken.
Celebrant: Let your Church be the wheat which bears its fruit in dying.
All If we have died with him, we shall live with him; if we hold firm, we shall reign with him.
Agnus Dei
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: grant us peace.
The Communion
This is the Lord’s Table, not just an Anglican table.
- The bread/wafer is received in the open palm. Gluten-free wafers are available – just ask the priest.
- We offer the wine by way of the Common Cup. Alternatively, you may receive the wine by crossing your arms on your chest, or gently touching the base of the cup. Please know that we are fully communicated by receiving only the bread.
- If you do not wish to receive the bread and wine, but would like a blessing, please indicate this preference by crossing your arms across your chest.
Communion Hymn: 558 – God, When I Stand, No Path Before Me
Prayer after Communion
God of our pilgrimage, we have found the living water. Refresh and sustain us as we go forth on our journey in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
Doxology
Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Blessing
Recessional Hymn: 388 – Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Dismissal
Closing Reflection: God, When I Stand, No Path Before Me Clear – Arr. Lloyd Larson
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