THE WORD OF THE LORD
                                                                                            

Opening Acclamation

Celebrant       Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People           And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.

 

Collect for Purity
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.

 

Gathering hymn   “Here I am Lord”,  v. 1                                                          From Wonder, Love, & Praise, 812  

 

The Collect of the Day 

Celebrant       The Lord be with you.

People            And also with you.

Celebrant        Let us pray.

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

  

The Lessons

 

The First Lesson:  Genesis 22:1-14                                                                                                 

A Reading from the Book of Genesis:

God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” The Word of the Lord.  

                            

People     Thanks be to God.

 

Psalm 13 (responsively, by half verse)

1 How long, O Lord?
will you forget me for ever? *
how long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day? *
how long shall my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; *
give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” *
and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.

5 But I put my trust in your mercy; *
my heart is joyful because of your saving help.

6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; *
I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.

 

The Second Lesson: Romans 6:12-23                                                                                                                                      

A Reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [The Word of the Lord.]

                                           

People      Thanks be to God.

 

 

Gospel Acclamation             “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia”                                From the Blue Hymnal 208

 

 

 

The Holy Gospel           Matthew 10:40-42

Gospeller       The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
People           Glory to you, Lord Christ

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple– truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

 

Gospeller       The Gospel of the Lord.

People           Praise to you, Lord Christ.

 

The Sermon            Rev. Fran

Fran’s sermon will be posted here.

 

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.

 

Prayers of the People                                                                                      

Intercessor       Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear when we pray in the name of your Son. Therefore in confidence and trust we pray for the Church:

O, God, enliven the Church for its mission: We pray especially for our Bishops Susan and Jennifer, for our staff Fran, Anne, Susan, Walter, Joy, Mary, Nicole, and Natalie our seminarian, for St. Alban’s (Annandale), St. Paul’s, Owens (King George), Ascension Church in Beraud, Haiti, and those whom you would name: [A time of silence]
People  that we may be salt of the earth and light to the world.

Intercessor Breathe fresh life into your people. [A time of silence]
People Give us power to reveal Christ in word and action.

Intercessor     We pray for the world: Creator of all, lead us and every people into ways of justice and peace, [A time of silence]
People That we may respect one another in freedom and truth.

Intercessor     Awaken in us a sense of wonder for the earth and all that is in it.
People Teach us to care creatively for its resources.

Intercessor     We pray for our community: God of truth, inspire with your wisdom those whose decisions affect the lives of others. We especially pray for our president, Donald, and our governor, Ralph,
People that all may act with integrity and courage.

Intercessor Give grace to all whose lives are linked with ours.
People May we serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.

Intercessor     We pray for those in need: God of hope, comfort and restore all who suffer in body, mind or spirit. We especially remember those on our prayer list, Mitzi, Ethan, Bishop Susan, Dick, David, Chris, Gail, Andrei, Jane, Thomas, Kait, Johnny, Emma, Cheryl, Julie, for those suffering from COVID-19, and those that you would name: [A time of silence].
People May they know the power of your healing love.

Intercessor    Make us willing agents of your compassion.
People Strengthen us as we share in making people whole.

Intercessor    We remember with thanksgiving those who have died in the faith of Christ, those you would now name [a time of silence], and those whose faith is known to you alone: 
People Father, into your hands we commend them.

Intercessor Give comfort to those who mourn.

People Bring them peace in their time of loss.

 

Intercessor    We give thanks for all the blessings of this life, especially for Will, Donna, Natalie, and Wade; for all marking their anniversaries, including Becky & Walter, Gail & Jim, Alison & Fred; and for those blessings you would name: [a time of silence]

People We praise you for these joys.

Intercessor Lord, you have called us to serve you.
People Grant that we may walk in your presence: your love in our hearts, your truth in our minds, your strength in our wills; until, at the end of our journey, we know the joy of our homecoming and the welcome of your embrace through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

 

Adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book, Form I, pp 413-4

 

 

Intercessor:     Together let us pray for St Thomas Church.

All: Almighty God, by your Spirit the whole body of your Church is governed and sanctified, hear our prayer for St Thomas, build in us a renewed vision of your Church; shape our life according to your will; empower us with the gifts to make us one that together we may grow as a church in the spiritual strength of community and reach out to include all people in Christ’s love, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

 

Offertory Hymn   “Where cross the crowded ways of life”, v v 1 & 3                                      From the Blue Hymnal, 609

 

During this unprecedented time, giving is crucial to our health and viability. Please consider this a time of reflection and an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing ministries of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Contributions can be mailed to the church office (8991 Brook Road, McLean, VA 22102 ) or given online here.  Thank you!

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Officiant      The Lord be with you.

People         And also with you.

Officiant      Let us pray.

 

Officiant and People

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 Peace

Celebrant       The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People             And also with you.

 

The Blessing

Be of good courage, never be afraid

Because God who created you,

Is always with you

And loves you fiercely.

And may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Be upon you and remain with you always.

Amen.

 

 

Closing Hymn   “We the Lord’s people”, vv. 1 & 3                                                                  From the Blue Hymnal, 51

 

 

The Dismissal

Celebrant       Let us go forth in the name of Christ, 
People           Thanks be to God.