St. John's Anglican Church
Parish of Horton, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
10:00 am
Holy Eucharist, BAS
with Christmas Pageant
Prelude
The Gathering of the Community
Processional Hymn
#89 O Come, O Come.
Emmanuel
Advent Candle-Lighting
Collect of the Day: Heavenly Father, who chose the Virgin Mary, full of grace, to
be the mother of our Lord and Saviour,
now fill us with your grace, that we in all things may
embrace your will and with her rejoice in your salvation; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.
The Proclamation of the Word.
Christmas Pageant: The Gift
The Prayers of the People, Paul Hobson
The Sharing of the Peace:
Priest: The peace of
the Lord be always with you.
All: And also with
you.
We exchange a sign of peace with one
another
The Celebration of the Eucharist
Offertory Hymn
#117 Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
Prayer over the Gifts
Priest Gracious God, by the power of the Spirit
who sanctified
the mother of your Son, make holy all we
offer you this day. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the
Lord.
Priest
The Lord be with you.
People
And also with you.
Priest
Lift up your hearts.
People
We lift them to the Lord.
Priest
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
People
It is right to give our thanks and
praise.
Priest
We give you thanks and praise, almighty
God,
for the gift of a world full of wonder,
and for our life which comes from you.
By your power you sustain the universe.
You created us to love you with all our
heart,
and to love each other as ourselves,
but we rebel against you by the evil that we do.
In Jesus, your Son, you bring healing to our world
and gather us into one great family.
Therefore, with all who serve you
on earth and in heaven,
we praise your wonderful name, as we sing,
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and
might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Priest
We give you thanks and praise, loving
Father,
because in sending Jesus, your Son, to us
you showed us how much you love us.
He cares for the poor and the hungry.
He suffers with the sick and the rejected.
Betrayed and forsaken, he did not strike back
but overcame hatred with love.
On the cross he defeated the power of sin and death.
By raising him from the dead you show us the power
of your love to bring new life to all your people.
Priest
On the night before he gave up his life
for us,
Jesus, at supper with his friends,
took bread, gave thanks to you,
broke it, and gave it to them,
saying, “Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which is given for you.”
After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine,
said the blessing, gave it to his friends,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and eternal covenant,
which is shed for you and for many,
so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”
Priest
Gracious God, with this bread and
wine
we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus,
and we offer ourselves to you in him.
Send your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts,
that we may know the presence of Jesus
in the breaking of bread,
and share in the life of the family of your children.
Priest
Father, you call us to be your servants;
fill us with the courage and love of Jesus,
that all the world may gather in joy
at the table of your kingdom.
We sing your praise, almighty Father,
through Jesus, our Lord,
in the power of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
People
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed
by 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, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
Priest God of promise,
you prepare a banquet for us in your
kingdom.
All Happy are those who are called
to the supper of the
Lamb.
For health reasons, please do not dip the communion
bread into the wine.
Communion Hymns:
#11 Blessed be the God of Israel;
#122 In the Bleak
Midwinter
Prayer after Communion:
Priest Faithful God, in this sacrament we
receive the promise of
salvation. May we, like the Virgin Mary,
be obedient to your will. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the
Lord.
All Glory to God,
whose power working in us can do infinitely
More than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to
generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus.
The Blessing
The Dismissal
Announcements James Nelson
Closing Hymn
#91 People Look East! The Time is Near
Postlude
Eucharistic
Assistant: Murray Phillips
Greeters: Denyse and Jim Nelson
Counters:
David and Valerie Thomas
Cycle of Prayer
Please remember in your prayers…
·
The Dioceses of Wyoming and Western Newfoundland
- The parishes of Northumberland, and St.
John’s, Truro
- All who are travelling during the
upcoming Christmas season
- Broghyn Patterson and his family as
Broghyn prepares to receive the sacrament of holy baptism on Christmas
eve
- The Rev’d Canon Cal McMillan as we give
thanks for his ministry as a priest in the Church of God
- Those in our parish family and beyond
who are in any need or distress: for the sick, the lonely and all who
are undergoing medical treatments or recovering from accidents or
surgery.
- All who are mourning the loss of loved ones,
especially the family of Alice Pitblado: may the light of God’s peace
surround and uphold them.
Christmas Memorial Flowers
Anyone wishing to donate money for
flowers to decorate the church during the Christmas season please call
Cathy Stewart, 542-5565
SERVICES FOR ADVENT/CHRISTMAS
Tues., Dec. 20th, 7pm, A Quiet Christmas: Join us as we sing
carols, light candles and hear reflections on the Christmas story
--especially helpful if you’re not up for a big celebration or are
missing loved ones.
Sat., Dec. 24th, Christmas eve
6:15pm Family Service with Baptism and the
Blessing of the Creche. We begin with a carol-sing at 6pm.
11pm O Holy Night: Enter into holy space and time as
we welcome the birth of our Lord with candles and carols, and communion
at midnight. This is a sung service. We begin with a
carol-sing at 10:45pm.
Sun., Dec. 25th, Christmas day
10am Holy Communion (BCP)
Jan. 1st, 2012, 1st Sunday after Christmas
8am Holy Communion (BCP)
10am Holy Communion (BCP)
Announcements
A
special thank you to all who participated
in our
Christmas pageant today.
Mark these dates on your calendar
Tonight: 7pm, St. Andrew’s United Church:
Singing for our Supper. A fundraiser for the Wolfville Community
Christmas dinner held on Christmas day. See details at the back of the
church.
Tues., Dec. 20th, 10am: Decorating of the church for
Christmas. If you can help, please come along.
Dec. 25th,
Lion’s Hall: Wolfville Community Christmas Supper. Organizers are looking for donations of
pies. If you can help, see the contact information at the back of the
church.
Update on Church
Finances: While Parishioners have been very
generous in supporting the church this
year, we are not having a successful year financially. This is due
to low returns on investment income, lower than anticipated rental of
the hall, high repair costs on our furnaces at the hall and rectory, and
higher than anticipated fuel costs. At this time it looks like our
deficit could go over the $20,000 mark. We are very grateful for
your generosity. If you are able to contribute any further amount to
help reduce our deficit it would be appreciated.
Earle Pike has decided to step down as Chairman of
the
Sidespeople. Earle finds that he and Margie are only
around the Wolfville area now for a few weeks each year due to travels
and music and happy retirement. Earle would be happy to help with
building schedules, etc. If you are interested in being the new
Chairperson for this group, please see Paul Hobson.
Food Bank Christmas Hampers St. John’s has been asked to
provide 400 pounds
of carrots for 150 Christmas Hampers being
distributed via the Wolfville and area food
bank. The Gravy Boat is anchored
at the back of the church ready to be loaded up with your
loonies,
toonies & fivers. Any amount raised which is not needed for
the
carrots will be put towards the purchase of turkeys. To make a
gift over $10 towards the cost of the turkeys, put your gift in
an
envelope marked Christmas Hampers – Turkeys and make the
cheque payable to the Wolfville Area Interchurch Council. We will forward
these cheques to WAICC who will issue tax receipts.
Christmas Gifts for Shut-ins:
If you know of someone who should be included on
our gift list for a lovely handmade cross bookmark,
please speak to Sandra or Ann.
Anglican Church Women Annual Project
2011/2012: Girl Power
Wolf Spirit. This program for youth, ages 8-15, to develop
leadership and community organizational skills, promote
empowerment and enhanced self-esteem, and encourage lasting
healthy practices, physically and psychologically. GPWS will
be
delivered to 10 communities that represent 40 First Nations communities
in central Canada. To support this worthwhile
project please enclose your cheque in an envelope marked St.
John’s Anglican Church Women, NS Board, Project 2011/2012.
The ACW is again filling Christmas Shoe Box Gifts
for
Seafarers. Gifts include gloves/mitts, scarf, socks,
men's personal care
items, soap, deodorant, shampoo, shaving cream,
toothbrush and toothpaste, hard candy and small mementos
such as key rings, mugs, playing cards, pens &
stationary. A Christmas card with personal/parish
greetings can be
enclosed.
NOTE: Someone picked up the last church Daily
Planner, Payment in the form of a
cheque or cash, can be put on the collection plate
addressed to Elizabeth Biggs and it will be taken care of. Price
is $17
Rector’s schedule: Sandra will be off on Monday and
Wednesday. She will be at the Just Us!
café (downtown) on Tuesday from 1-3pm.
