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/
Presbytery
Website: inverguyunited.ca
Ministers:
The Whole People of God; Nan Corrigan D. M.
Minister
of Music: Al Fougere
April
5th,
2015
Easter
Sunday—Sacrament of Communion
We Gather to Worship God
Procession
forms at the entry to the church. The “river” returns
Choral
Reading Mark
16: 1-8
A:
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
James, and Salome,
B:
women who had remained with him to the end,
A:
bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
B:
To make things right.
A:
Very early on the first day of the week,
B:
when the sun had risen,
A:
they went to the tomb,
B:
where they had seen his body laid.
A:
They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone
for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
B:
A predicament that needed a solution. Would there be someone
available to assist?
A:
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large,
had already been rolled back.
B:
Predicament solved, but by whom?
A:
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white
robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
B:
Obviously! This is astonishing.
A:
But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus
of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.
Look, there is the place they laid him.”
B:
No body. An empty place. An empty space. More alarming. A:
“But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you
to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”
B:
Remember this is the third day.
A:
So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had
seized them –
B:
so much emotion –
A:
and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
B:
Afraid. Afraid that it is true, afraid that it isn’t.
But
this is a beginning, not an ending.
And
somehow a sprinkling of hope becomes a torrent of belief, and fear is
washed away.
Suddenly,
where there was death, there is life.
The
stone is rolled away, the floodgate is open
and
God’s living water surges in
and
saturates the earth with love.
*Sung
Response Halle,
Halle, Halle VU 958
*Easter
Processional Christ
the Lord Is Risen Today VU
157
Call
to Worship
Easter
Candle Liturgy
(Light
the Christ candle.)
Today
we celebrate: new life, new joy, new possibilities, and new light.
All:
Alleluia, Christ is risen,
Christ
is risen indeed, Alleluia.
Welcome
and greeting one another with the Peace of Christ.
One:
The Peace of Christ be with you.
All:
And with your spirit.
Opening
Prayer
God
of new life; you are with us in this sacred space, in this sacred
moment, as you are with all people in all times and in all places.
God of liberty, hear our joyful cries of hallelujah, for we need no
longer look for you in death, the tomb is empty. We need no longer
seek you in the empty tomb, you are alive. We witness you in life,
abundant and bountiful life. Hallelujah!
Offering
of Music (St. Mark’s Choir) Jesus
Rose Again
*Hymn
(St.
David’s) Because
He Lives (Back
of Bulletin)
We Listen for God’s Word
Psalm
118 God
is my strength and my song. Pts. 1, 2, 3 VU
837
*Hymn Is the Day VU 412
Opening
the Word
Gospel
Acclamation
John
20: 1-18 The
resurrected Jesus appears to Peter and Mary
Readers
Theatre with 4 Voices
We Respond in Faith
Minute for Mission
Offering
Our Gifts to God
*Offering
Prayer
A
stone rolled, and Love is on the loose!
With
these gifts, we set loose our love
for
God’s great work in the world.
For
today, we see
love
is stronger than anger,
hope
is stronger than fear.
Hallelujah
and amen!
Written
by: barb
m. janes, Crescent Fort Rouge U.C., Winnipeg, Man. Gathering,
LE
2015, page 43. Used with permission.
Liturgy
of Easter Transformation
One:
Christ is risen! All:
Christ is risen indeed!
One:
We recall the faith of the women and disciples attending the cross
and tomb, and we recall their journey of transformation that
began on that first Easter morning. Today, we are all invited into
this continuing journey through time and place. May this cross be for
us today, a symbol of the hope, of the surprise, of the uncertainty
that comes as a follower of the eternal Christ.
Christ
is risen!
All:
Christ is risen indeed! Let us journey to the empty cross together!
As
we prepare the sacrament, you are invited to come to the cross and
light a candle to symbolize a person or event or decision in your
life for which you desire an Easter hope of transformation.
*Hymn As We Gather at Your Table VU 457
Sacrament
of Communion Insert,
cover of Voices United
Distribution
Hymn Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Give Thanks VU 179
We Go to Serve God
*Hymn Thine Is the Glory VU
173
*Commissioning
May
the love of the risen Christ nourish and sustain us.
May
the Eternal Light of the world renew
and
inspire us to lives of care and compassion.
May
we go forward and be the body of the risen Christ.
*Choral
Amen
