EASTER SUNRISE & BREAKFAST AT ST. DAVID'S

ORDER OF SERVICE EASTER COMMUNION

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

Easter Sunday—Sacrament of Communion

March 31^st, 2013

We Gather to Worship God

Easter Processional Hymn Jesus Christ Is Risen Today VU 155

Easter Candle Liturgy

(Unlit Christ candle is in the centre of the triad. The candle is lit.)

One: The dawn has broken,

All: Halle, halle, hallelujah! (line by line singing of VU 958)

One: The tomb is empty,

All: Halle, halle, hallelujah!

One: The stone has rolled,

All: Halle, halle, hallelujah!

One: The women have witnessed,

All: Hallelujah!

One: The grave clothes are folded,

All: Hallelujah!

One: Christ has risen,

All: Halle, halle, hallelujah! Halle, halle, hallelujah!

Halle, halle, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Welcome and greeting one another with the Peace of Christ.

One: The Peace of Christ be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Call to Worship Back of bulletin cover

Followed by “An Easter Day Litany” (in two voices)

Congregational Response: One: Christ is risen! All: Hallelujah!

Opening Prayer

Jesus Rose Again (St. Mark’s Choir)

Hymn (St. David’s) The Day of Resurrection VU 164

Prayer of Confession

There is no prayer of confession on Resurrection Day. We offer these

Words of Affirmation

Love has conquered all hurt. Light has redeemed all darkness.

Life has completed all death.

Today is the day of life and we are invited to live in it,

fully, in the good news of Resurrection

for ourselves and for the world.

All: Thanks be to God! Amen.

We Listen for God’s Word

Acts 10:34-43 Peter preaches, "God shows no partiality."

Psalm 118 God is my strength and my song. Pts. 1, 2, 3 VU 837

Hymn This Is the Day VU 412

Opening the Word/Time with young people

Gospel Acclamation

Luke 24:1–12 The women report that the tomb is empty.

We Respond in Faith

Offering Our Gifts to God

Offering Prayer

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 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Give Thanks VU 179

Sacrament of Communion Insert, cover of Voices United

Distribution Hymn Eat This Bread, Drink This Cup VU 466

We Go to Serve God

Hymn Thine Is the Glory VU 173

Commissioning

All: Thank you, O Christ, for this feast of life.

We are fed by your love; we are strengthened by your life.

We are sent forth into this world to live your way

and share your joy.

We are now commissioned to:

feed as we have been fed, forgive as we have been forgiven,

love as we have been loved. Thanks be to God.

Blessing and Choral Amen

ORDER OF SERVICE EASTER SUNRISE

Easter Sunday

Sunrise Service

March 31^st, 2013

6:30 a.m. Outdoors St. David's U.C.

Port Hastings, N.S.

Ministers: Each one of us

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

LIGHTING THE NEW FIRE

This is the dawn of a new creation: come to the new fire!

EASTER PROCLAMATION (repeated three times)

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Response: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

CALL TO WORSHIP

We are called to walk from the darkened Calvary hill

to the light-filled empty tomb.

We come seeking surprise and wonder

in the dawning light of Easter Day.

Let us greet the Risen Christ who is here among us.

Amen and Amen!

HYMN Jesus, Stand Among Us VU 396

1 Jesus, stand among us

in your risen power;

let this time of worship

be a hallowed hour.

2 Breathe the Holy Spirit

into every heart;

bid the fears and sorrows

from each soul depart.

3 Lead our hearts to wisdom

till our doubting cease,

and to all assembled

speak your word of peace.

OPENING PRAYER (together)

Our eyes are barely open, the sky has hardly brightened,

the morning has just begun,

and we see you have already done a new thing.

Praise be to you, O God.

Your ways are beyond our understanding,

your mystery is too vast for words,

yet on this day we dare to believe

that you are making us into new creations.

Alleluia! Amen!

Sung response:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Risen Christ!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Give praise to God's name! VU 179

PASSING THE PEACE We share the Easter greeting as above.

WE LISTEN FOR GOD'S WORD

John 20:1-18 The resurrected Jesus appears to Mary and Peter.

HYMN Morning Has Broken VU 409

Morning has broken like the first morning,

blackbird has spoken like the first bird.

Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!

Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,

like the first dewfall on the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,

sprung in completeness where God's feet pass.

Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning

born of the one light Eden saw play!

Praise with elation, praise every morning,

God's recreation of the new day!

WE RESPOND IN FAITH

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Risen Christ, we are your disciples –

your wounded hands and feet in the world today.

At times we have been the frightened ones,

staying at a distance,

worried about our status or our reputations.

But you come close to us, bringing peace and challenge,

unlocking our potential and setting us free.

At times we have been the weeping ones,

filled with grief and lost hope

we are unable to see your presence in our midst.

But you come close and speak our names

and we discover that we are fully known and loved,

and our hearts reach out to embrace you.

Now we come close to you in worship.

We come with our fear, our confusion, and our tears

and we find ourselves liberated and united

by the love of the resurrected one. Amen.

Sung response:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Risen Christ!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Give praise to God's name!

HYMN When Morning Gilds the Skies VU 339

1 When morning gilds the skies,

my heart awakening cries:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

When evening shadows fall,

this rings my curfew call:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

2 To God, the Word on high,

the hosts of angels cry:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

Let mortals, too, upraise

their voice in hymns of praise:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

3 Let all of humankind

in this their concord find:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

Let all the earth around

ring joyous with the sound:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

4 Be this, while life is mine,

my canticle divine:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

Be this th'eternal song,

through all the ages long:

may Jesus Christ be praised!

SENDING OUT

One: Now that morning has come and the dawn has broken the darkness.

All: Now that the stone has rolled and set free the life.

One: Now that Christ is risen let us go

All: not quietly, not gently but with a great alleluia

One: that lets the world know 

All: life says “Yes!”

We carry the first light into the church. 

ORDER OF SERVICE GOOD FRIDAY

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

March 29^th, 2013

St. Mark's United Church, Port Hawkesbury

11:00 a.m.

We Gather to Worship God

Lighting of the Christ Candle in the Lenten Triad

Introit Jesus, Remember Me VU148

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Entry of the Cross

Opening Reflection What is the sound of a broken Hallelujah?

Response Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Prayer of Confession A Drama Prayer at the Cross

Response Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

(Time of silent reflection)

We Listen for God’s Word

The Passion Narrative & Draping of the Cross John 18:1-19:30

Sung Response: Alone in Gethsemane (music back of bulletin)

John 18: 1-12

Alone in Gethsemane, bent low 'neath the olive tree.

Here love must weep while mortals sleep,

alone in Gethsemane.

John 18: 13-27

John 18: 28-40

Alone in the judgment hall, no shield from the crowd's mad call.

Condemned to die as friends deny,

Alone in the judgment hall.

John 19: 1-17

Alone on the Calvary road, he stumbles beneath the load.

Yet ever drawn love presses on,

Alone on the Calvary road.

John 19: 18-30

Alone on Golgotha's hill, there hungering and thirsting still.

Yet more for you he's yearning still,

Alone on Golgotha's hill.

Alone on the cross he cries, surrenders his soul and dies.

In silence now love seals its vow,

Alone on the cross he cries.

We Respond in Faith

Meditative Action
You are invited to take part in an action that reflects that we will wait now with Jesus. Come forward to the cross, wet your hand in the basin and leave a handprint on the cross as a symbol of waiting. As the handprint dries, may it be symbolic that we wait only for a short time now; for we believe soon, very soon, there is a tomb, a rolled stone, and dawn on its way.

The Prayer of Jesus

John 19: 38-42

Alone in the cold stone grave, love there even death would brave.

Look through the gloom and empty tomb,

Alone now the cold stone grave!

We Go to Serve God

Extinguishing of Christ CandleOne: Today is the darkest day of the year. Today we remember the power of these things which block God’s light, block us from following God's way of loving and caring for this world and one another.All: Today we remember them all: anger, greed, fear, pride, envy, and helplessness. Today we experience the darkness of Christ’s death, and the separation between God and humanity portrayed in that death.One: It is finished. The light of the world has been put out.

(Christ Candle is extinguished.)

Commissioning

MAUNDY THURSDAY ORDER OF SERVICE

St. Mark's & St. David's United Churches

March 28^th, 2013 Maundy Thursday

Sacrament of Communion—Potluck Supper 5:00 p.m.

PART ONE: entering the light

One: We have gathered here

to journey with the story of the Christ

on the night before Good Friday

and to join that story with our own human journey

as we do so.

All: As we move into the light together on this night,

we will be carrying all the realities

of our own humanness

like dust on our feet.

One: We will listen for a new commandment,

the voice of Jesus saying,

“Love each other as I have loved you.”

All: Let us commit ourselves to honour

that commandment this night –

to love each other,

just as Jesus Christ loves us,

no matter how we have faltered on the way.

One: The love of Christ is like a light

that invites us to dare to know who we are

and to share that truth with each other.

All: We will light these candles

and wait in their light.

(The Lenten candles are lit and a silence is kept.)

One: In all of our reality, we come to this table.

All: Here we will serve and be served as in life itself.
Grace and Potluck Supper
PART TWO: entering our shared humanness
Reader: John 13:1–2a

Celebrant: On the night of being betrayed

by someone just like us,

Jesus took bread and said,

“This is my body which is given for you.

Do this as often as you eat it in remembrance of me.”

All: Jesus also said,

“Love one another as I have loved you.”

Be present, Jesus Christ, by your Holy Spirit,

as you were with your disciples

and make yourself known to us.

Silent reflection
One: Have we always loved each other?

All: We still wear the ashes of our humanness.

We have not always loved the Christ or each other.

(A candle is extinguished.)
Reader: John 13:2b–5
Hymn  Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us With Your Love   VU593

One: Bending low to serve friends,

Jesus took in his hands the dust

on the feet of their lives.

In that moment, Jesus knew who each one was

and what they needed in order

to be received at the table.

In the silence, let us reflect on

what lies in the dust of our feet.

What would bring us more fully to the table of life?

All: As we face who we are this night,

are we prepared to receive from each other

the hospitality of a love

which touches the dust of our lives

and yet still invites us to the table?

One: If you wish to do so, place your open hands,

palm upwards on the table before you

as a sign that you are prepared

to receive the hospitality of others,

and the hospitality of Jesus Christ.

Silent reflection

One: Be known to us, Jesus Christ,

in the breaking of the bread:

(The bread is broken.)

All: Let us receive this broken bread

as a sign of the hospitality of the Christ

and our love for each other.

(We sing “Let us Break Bread Together VU480” as the bread is shared around the table. Please hold your bread until all are served.)

1 Let us break bread together on our knees,

let us break bread together on our knees.

R When I fall down on my knees

with my face to the rising sun,

Oh, Lord, have mercy on me.

2 Let us drink wine together on our knees,

let us drink wine together on our knees. R

3 Let us praise God together on our knees,

let us praise God together on our knees. R

One: In the eating of the bread lies the sharing

of our common humanness

and our commitment

to the hospitality of life together in Christ.

Let us eat this bread together. (all eat)
Reader: John 13:31b–35

One: The Christ walked through our lack of love for others.

If we are to follow, we are called to walk this night through that lack of love.

All: Because we love each other,

and because Jesus walks with us,

we are not afraid to say the truth aloud.

One: Let us hear the cries of the world this night:

Silent reflection

All: We hear the cries of the hungry

and the naked and those without shelter.

(A candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)

All: We hear the cries of those

suffering in the violence of war.

(A candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)

All: We hear those whose voices

are silenced by oppression and exploitation.

(A candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)
All: We feel the fear and pain of loneliness.
(A candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)

All: We know the pains and hurts

of our own lives,

and touch the pain of others

who are ill, grieving or wounded by life.

(A candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)

All: The Christ walks through the betrayals

of the world and does not turn away.

Celebrant: On the night he was betrayed, after supper, Jesus took the cup and lifted it and said:

“This is my cup of the new covenant for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me.”

All: This is the cup of common humanness

and our common hope in Jesus Christ.

(The cup is shared and a silence is kept.)

One: As we extinguish this last candle,

we do it knowing that Jesus Christ

shares all our journeying

and waits to wash the dust

of our failures off our feet in grace

if we will allow that to happen.
(The Christ candle is extinguished and a silence is kept.)

Sung Response: Stay here and keep watch with me.

The hour has come. Stay here and keep watch with me.

Watch and pray. (x4)

Let us leave here in silence as we walk in faith towards Good Friday.

Digital Photo Directory Project is extended until the end of June

Digital Photo Directory

St. Mark's Christian Education Committee has undertaken the job of producing a digital photo directory. The purpose of this directory is to give Nan and newcomers to our Churches a way of recognizing the members of our congregations. (St. David’s congregation is also joining in this project).

This directory will cost you nothing and we are not selling photos.

We would appreciate the full cooperation of every member and adherent of both congregations. This project will be concluded by the end of June and a PDF file will be sent to all members who have email. A .jpg file of your photo will be available if you wish to take it to be printed. During this period, you may be getting a call from Boonie, Camille, Joyce or Natasha to arrange for a sitting. For St. David's photos, please call Kenzie MacLean. Pictures will be taken after the Church Service on 5 Sundays - May 5th, 12th, 19th, and June 2th and 9th. If you are not available on these Sundays, another time can be arranged for your convenience.

Even if you are an occasional church attender, you are still important to us and we want to include you. Please help us to make this venture a success!

Palm Sunday at St. Mark's

The symbols of Palm Sunday:

• Palm branches: Entry into Jerusalem
• Coins: Jesus cleanses the temple
• Red tablecloth: Prepare for the Passover
• Bread: The Last Supper
• Chalice: Warning of things to come
• Flowering branch: Praying in the Garden
• Lantern or Candle: Arrest
• Feather: Peter's denial
• Crown of thorns: Trial
• Nails and hammer: Crucifixioin 
• Piece of fabric: Jesus' death 
• Hand-sized rock: Burial 
• Looking to Resurrection

Palm Sunday

The children had a lot of fun with Easter crafts at St. Mark's Sunday School.

A version of the Lord's Prayer for Holy Week

by Parker Palmer 

Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother,
Holy and blessed is your true name.
We pray for your reign of peace to come, 
We pray that your good will be done,
Let heaven and earth become one.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Give it to those who have none.
Let forgiveness flow like a river between us, 
From each one to each one.
Lead us to holy innocence
Beyond the evil of our days —
Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.