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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

Chester, Vermont

Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 26, 2023

Liturgy of the Word and Prayers,

(Our next services of Holy Eucharist will be

next Sunday, Palm Sunday, April 2nd at 10:00AM)

Organ prelude selected and played by Karlaine Livingston​

The church bell is rung after the prelude.​

There will be a short period of silence before the service begins

Entrance Hymn 567

The Word of God

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

People:  And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Presider and people:

               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.

The Collect of the Day

Presider:    The Lord be with you. 

People:       And also with you.

Presider:    Let us pray.

Presider and people: God of all consolation and compassion, your Son comforted the grieving sisters, Martha and Mary; your breath alone brings life to dry bones and weary souls. Pour out your Spirit upon us that we may face despair and death with the hope of resurrection and faith in the One who called Lazarus forth from the grave.

Amen

The Lessons

The First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Reader: A Reading from Ezekiel

1The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
  7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
  11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

Reader:    Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.

People:     Thanks be to God.

Psalm 130

1Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; *
  let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.


 2If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
  O Lord, who could stand?


 3For there is forgiveness with you; *
  therefore you shall be feared.


 4I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; *
  in his word is my hope.


 5My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, *
  more than watchmen for the morning.


 6O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
  for with the Lord there is mercy;


 7with him there is plenteous redemption, *
  and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Second Reading: Romans 8:6-11

Reader:    A Reading from Romans

6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
  9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Reader:    The Word of the Lord.

People:     Thanks be to God.

Hymn 516     

The Third Reading:  Luke 14:25-33

Reader: A Reading from Luke’s Gospel

The Third Reading:  John 11:1-45

Reader: A Reading from John

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
  7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

  17When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

  28When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus began to weep. 36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

  38Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

  45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Reader:    The Word of the Lord.

People:     Thanks be to God.

The Homily     Mr. John Hoover

Nicene Creed     

Presider and people:

 

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, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. 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, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who 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.

Offertory Hymn 493:   

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.

Suffrages A

 

V.    Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R.    And grant us your salvation.


V.    Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R.    Let your people sing with joy.


V.    Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.    For only in you can we live in safety.

V.    Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R.    And guide us in the way of justice and truth.


V.    Let your way be known upon earth;
R.    Your saving health among all nations.


V.    Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R.    Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.


V.    Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R.    And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

The Collect for Today

O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men: Grant unto thy people that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.


A Collect for Sundays:

O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

 

A Collect for Peace:

 

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.


A Collect for Guidance:

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
 

A Concluding Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.

 

The General Thanksgiving
Presider and people:

 

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages.

Amen.


Closing Hymn 411

Postlude


Announcements

Presider: Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind.

Henri Frederic Amiel

Presider:   Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia.

People:     Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia.

PLEASE!! Read the scriptures again. Learn a hymn or two. Use the prayers of the people all this coming week. Blessings!

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Until next Sunday, Palm Sunday, April 2nd, all midweek and Sunday worship will take place in Willard Hall

Bless us all for our worship together, and let us continue being together in the coffee hour.

(Choir rehearsal follows coffee hour)

March 29 Midweek Eucharist in Lent
5:30 - 6:00 P.M.

Commemorating John Keble

Use this link to see a more detailed list of Holy Week services

April 2 Palm Sunday: Sunday of the Passion
10:00 - 11:25 AM
We begin Holy Week, walking with our Lord to his execution or crucifixion, and on to the Resurrection.

April 5 Holy Wednesday Eucharist

5:30 - 6:00 PM

April 6 Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday
5:30 - 6:15 PM

Holy Eucharist with optional foot washing

April 7 Good Friday Liturgy – no communion,

5:30 - 6:15 PM

April 8  Holy Saturday
5:30 - 6:00 PM

Lighting of the new fire if practical and blessing of the Paschal Candle

April 9 Easter Sunday Eucharist

10 - 11:15 AM

April 12 Midweek Eucharist in Easter Week.

5:30 - 6:00 PM

OTHER EVENTS

April 12 Vestry Meeting 6:30 PM

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