The Word of the Lord

 

Prelude                          “Canon”                         Naji Hakim

Opening Acclamation

Presider     Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

People       And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever. 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    “Spirit divine, attend our prayers” , v.v. 1-3     Blue Hymnal, #509

 

The Collect of the Day

Presider   The Lord be with you.

People       And also with you.

Presider   Let us pray.

Presider  Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

The Lessons

 

The First Lesson:  1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

A Reading from the Book of  First Samuel:

Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.                  

The Word of the Lord.   

People    Thanks be to God.

 

 Psalm 20 (responsively, by whole verse)                                   1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble, *
the Name of the God of Jacob defend you;

2 Send you help from his holy place *
and strengthen you out of Zion;

3 Remember all your offerings *
and accept your burnt sacrifice;

4 Grant you your heart’s desire *
and prosper all your plans.

5 We will shout for joy at your victory and triumph in the Name of our God; *
may the Lord grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed; *
he will answer him out of his holy heaven,
with the victorious strength of his right hand.

7 Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses, *
but we will call upon the Name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall down, *
but we will arise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, give victory to the king *
and answer us when we call.

 

The Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, [11-13], 14-17
A Reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians:

We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord– for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

[Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.] For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! The Word of the Lord.  People      Thanks be to God.

Gradual Hymn      A Celtic Alleluia            

 

The Holy Gospel             Mark 4:26-34

Gospeller        A Reading from the Gospel of Mark.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Gospeller         The Word of the Lord.

People             Thanks be to God.

 

The Sermon                                                      Suzanne Hood,                                                                 Summer Seminarian

You can listen to Suzanne’s sermon 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.

 

The Prayers of the People, Form VI

 

Intercessor   The Prayers of the People is a time for us all to share our prayers with one another as we lift them together to God.  In peace, we pray to you, Lord God.  Silence

Intercessor     We pray for all people in their daily life and work;
People           For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.

Intercessor   We pray for this community, the nation, and the world;
People           For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.

Intercessor   We pray for the just and proper use of your creation;
People           For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.

Intercessor     We pray for all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble;
People           For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy.

 

Intercessor     We pray for the peace and unity of the Church of God;
People             For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.

Intercessor   For Michael our Presiding Bishop, Susan, Jennifer, and Porter our Bishops; and all bishops and other ministers; Fran, Natalie, Susan, Walter, Joy, Mary, and Nicole, our staff and Suzanne our Seminarian; for the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for Fork—Doswell, St. John’s —McLean, St. Timothy’s—Herndon; and for Ascension Church in Beraud, Haiti;
People   For all who serve God in his Church.

Intercessor   For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, we pray for all who have asked this congregation for prayer including Evan, Susan, Andrei, Ethan, Emma, Johnny, Thomas, Julie, Caroline, David, Anne, Cher, David, Martha, Lucy, Chris, Sean, Nate, Jack, Anna, Carlyle, Kadri, Jonathan, Jeanne, Hana, Kathleen, Bob, Jim, and Dianna; those with COVID-19; for our families, friends, and neighbors;
Hear us, Lord;
People           For your mercy is great.

Intercessor     We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life, including Stephen Wickman, Robin Crigler, and Graham Forward celebrating their birthdays this week, and for Sarah & Eric ten Siethoff marking an anniversary this week; for the marriage of Meredith Hargroves and Matthew Arrison yesterday in whose honor the altar flowers have been given, and for those blessings you would name. . .
 

Silence.

 

Intercessor     We will exalt you, O God our King;
People             And praise your Name for ever and ever.

Intercessor   We pray for all who have died, especially Colette Wilkins, wife of Walter Koehler’s organ teacher Don Wilkins, that they may have a place in our eternal kingdom.

 

Silence.

 

Intercessor   Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon them;
People           Who put their trust in you.

 

The Confession  

Intercessor  We pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins.

All
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
Presider       Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

 

Prayers for the People Form VI – Book of Common Prayer

 

 

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 Sentence

Presider 

Let us with gladness present the offerings and oblations of our life and labor to the Lord. 

 

Offertory Hymn   “Loving Spirit”, vv. 1-3        LEVAS, #742
         

 

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There are two (2) easy ways to give electronically to St. Thomas:

1) Use your phone camera and focus on the QR Code which will then display the website to click to be taken to St. Thomas’ online giving page;

2) Text “givetostthomas” to (888) 554-8664 and you will receive a responding text with a link to the St. Thomas’ online giving page.

 

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
Presider    The Lord be with you.

People       And also with you.

Presider     Let us pray.

Presider 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
Presider 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  us,

Is always with us

And loves us fiercely.

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

Be upon us and remain with us always. AMEN.

 

 

Announcements

 

 

The Closing Hymn  “Savior, again to thy dear name we raise this parting hymn”    Blue Hymnal #345

 

The Dismissal

Presider Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

People   Thanks be to God.  

 

Postlude