The Congregations of St.
Mark’s and St. David’s
United Church of Canada
Port
Hawkesbury/Port Hastings, NS
Office:
625-2229, Fax 625-3597,
e-mail:
stmarks1@eastlink.ca
Blog:
http://ourcontactonline.blogspot.com/
Ministers:
Whole People of God
Minister:
Nan Corrigan D. M. Music Director: Al Fougere
Good Friday -- April
18th, 2014
We Gather to Worship God
Lighting of the Christ Candle in Lenten Triad
Call to worship Based on
Hebrews 4:14–16
One: Welcome to this place of God’s
presence, as we meet to recall the events of Good Friday.
All: We continue this journey of
Jesus to the cross.
One: Since we have a great High Priest
who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God,
All: let us hold on firmly to what
we believe.
One: This High Priest of ours
understands our weaknesses;
All: has faced the same experiences
of temptation that we do, yet did not sin.
One: Come boldly to the throne of a
gracious God.
All: We will receive God’s
mercy, and find grace to help us when we need it most.
Entry of the Cross
Hymn Healer of Our Every
Ill VU 619
Opening prayer
God of Jesus, who shared our
humanity, keep us company on this Good Friday journey so that we may
find the path to life. Amen
Prayer of confession
One: ...Whose hands, God, my hands?
Suffering God,
All: forgive me the sorrows I have
speared into others; forgive them the wounds they pierced into me,
for there is much pain from action
reaction.
Blend my words into your story to
ripen
the garden of creation with the
fruits of suffering love. Amen.
©
John Howell
Sung Response:
We Listen for God's
Word
The Passion Narrative—Reflection
on Hands
Clean hands John 18:28–32
One: ...We think of those who were
doing their everyday work on that first Good Friday: those whose work
involved the oppression of others; those who were trying to keep the
peace; those who kept themselves sanitized, but gave permission for
others to do their dirty work.
All: Forgive us, O God, that
religion has sometimes been an excuse to keep the world and its
problems at arm’s length instead of a way of living in answer to
your call to serve others.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Bound hands John 18:33–38a
One: ...God of family and community, we
give thanks for the ways in which we are bound together in ways that
support and nurture life.
All: Give us the courage to remain
true to each other when our values are under threat.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Freed hands John 18:38b–40
One: ...God of freedom, in you, we can
become who we are meant to be.
All: Help us to use our freedom to
serve others, even as Jesus did.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Hands of power John 19:1–16a
One: ...God of Jesus, we hear again of
the power struggles and decision-making that sent Jesus to the cross.
All: We pray for ourselves, our
leaders, and those who make decisions that affect others. Help us not
to choose the easy way out when situations are complex but to seek
the way of justice.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Wounded hands John 19:16b–25a
One: ...God who sees our pain, we find
it hard to understand why innocent people suffer and why pain and
suffering are so much part of human life.
All: We pray for those whose lives
are shaped by pain and all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. Help
us never to be unmoved by the plight of another but to find ways of
alleviating suffering in the world.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Handing over John 19:25b–30
One: ...God of life and death, help us
to offer each other the support we need when life is hard.
All: We pray for those close to
death today. May the company of others bring them comfort and
reassurance, and the presence of your loving Spirit bring them peace.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
Caring hands John 19:31–42
One: ...Caring God, the story of the
cross is not an easy one to hear and our response always seems
inadequate.
All: Help us to make sense of Jesus’
suffering and stay with our doubts and disappointed hopes until the
day of resurrection.
Sung Response: Kyrie, Christe,
Kyrie eleison!
We Respond in Faith
Draping of the Cross
Meditative Action
Hymn When I Survey the
Wondrous Cross VU 149
We Go To Serve God
Extinguishing of Christ Candle
The
Lord's Prayer
Commissioning
and Benediction
