Fifth Sunday of Lent
Liturgy of Remembrance
George & Nancy Mairs
Prayer
Requests and Announcements
1.� Opening Song� �Entre
Tus Manos�
2.� Call to
Worship
Oh God of peace, who has
taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in
confidence shall be our strength: May your Spirit lift us to your presence,
where we may be still and know that you are.
3.� Litany
of Remembrance �(for NANCY, ROSEMARY, JOE, CYNTHIA,
AMY, DARREL, MARGARET ELIZABETH, ED, BERNIE, TRUDY)
In the rising of the sun and
its going down, we remember them.
In the blowing wind and the
chill of winter, we remember them.
In the opening of buds and in
the rebirth of Spring, we remember them.
In the blue sky and warmth of
Summer, we
remember them.
In the rustling of leaves and
the beauty of Autumn, we remember them.
In the beginning of the year
and when it ends, we remember them.
When we are weary and in need
of strength, we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at
heart, we remember them.
When we have joys we yearn to
share, we remember them.
So long as we live, they too
shall live, for they are part of us, as
we remember them.
We pray that nothing of our
loved ones' lives will be lost, but that they will be of benefit to the world;
that all they held sacred may be respected by those who follow them; that everything in which they were great may continue
to mean much to us. We ask that they go on living in us who have loved them so deeply,
in our hearts and minds, in our courage and conscience. �Amen.
(Sylvia Kamens and Jack Reimer)
������� Jesus' life and words are a challenge at the same time that
they are Good News. They are a challenge to those. . .who
are poor and oppressed. By His life He is calling us to give ourselves to
others, to sacrifice for those who suffer, to share our lives with our brothers
and sisters who are also oppressed. He is calling us to "hunger and thirst
after justice" in the same way that we hunger and thirst after food and
water: that is, by putting our yearning into practice.
������� It is not good enough to know why we are oppressed and by
whom. We must join the struggle for what is right and just. Jesus does not
promise that it will be an easy way to live life and His own life certainly
points in a hard direction; but it does promise that we will be
"satisfied" (not stuffed; but satisfied). He promises that by giving
life we will find life - full, meaningful life as God meant it.
(C�sar Ch�vez)
Responsorial Psalm� (130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8)
R. (7) With God there is mercy and fullness of
redemption.
Out of the
depths I cry to you, Adonai; hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to
my voice in supplication.
R. With God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, Adonai, mark
iniquities, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness, that
you may be revered.
R. With God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in Adonai; my soul
trusts in the holy word.
More than sentinels wait for
the dawn, let the world wait for Adonai.
R. With God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with Adonai is kindness and
plenteous redemption;
God�s people will be redeemed
from all their offenses.
R. With God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
So live your life that the
fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble none about their religion;
respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your
life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your
life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your
people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great
divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a
friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and
grovel to none.
������� When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and
for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies
only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to
fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not
like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their
time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over
again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
(Tecumseh,
Gospel Acclamation and
��������������� God be with you. And also with you.
������� ������� The gospel according to John.� Glory to you, O God.
������� The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, �Master,
the one you love is ill.� When Jesus heard this he said, �This illness is not
to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be
glorified through it.�
������� Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.� So when he heard that he was ill, he remained
for two days in the place where he was.� Then
after this he said to his disciples, �Let us go back to
������� When Jesus arrived, he found that
Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.� Martha said to Jesus, �Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died.� But
even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.�
������� Jesus said to her, �Your brother will rise.�
������� Martha said, �I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the
last day.�
������� Jesus told her, �I am the resurrection and the life; whoever
believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes
in me will never die.� Do you believe
this?�
������� She said to him, �Yes, Lord.�
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one
who is coming into the world.�
������� He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, �Where
have you laid him?�
������� They said to him, �Sir, come and see.� And Jesus wept.� So the Jews said, �See how he loved him.�� But some of them said, �Could not the one who
opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not
have died?�
������� So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.� It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.� Jesus said, �Take away the stone.�
������� Martha, the dead man�s sister, said to him, �Lord, by now
there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.�
������� Jesus said to her, �Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?�� So they
took away the stone.� And Jesus raised
his eyes and said, �Father, I thank you for hearing me.� I know that you always hear me; but because
of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.�� And when he had said this, he cried out in a
loud voice, �Lazarus, come out!�
������� The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.� So
Jesus said to them,� �Untie
him and let him go.�
������� Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he
had done began to believe in him.
��������������� The Good News of Salvation.� Glory
and praise to our Savior
����������������������� Jesus
Christ.
Silent Reflection Followed
by Dialogue
Intercessions
In peace let us pray to God.
������� Jesus, bread from heaven, you satisfy the hungry with good
things: grant us a share with all the faithful departed in the banquet of your
kindom. �Hear us, risen One, our resurrection and our life.
������� Jesus, the light of the world, you gave
the man born blind the gift of sight and opened the eyes of his faith:� bring those in darkness to your eternal light
and glory. �Hear us, risen One, our resurrection and our life.
������� Jesus, Son of the living God, you summoned your friend
Lazarus from death to life:� raise us at
the last to full and eternal life with you. �Hear
us, risen One, our resurrection and our life.
������� Jesus, crucified Saviour, in your
dying you entrusted each to the other, Mary your mother and John your beloved
disciple:� sustain and comfort all who
mourn.
Hear us, risen One, our resurrection and our life.
������� Jesus, our way and truth and life, you drew your disciple
Thomas from doubt to faith:� reveal the
resurrection faith to the doubting and the lost. �Hear
us, risen One, our resurrection and our life.
������� May God with infinite love and mercy bring the whole of
humanity, living and departed, to a joyful resurrection and the fulfilment of the
eternal kindom.�
Amen.
Gathering at the Table
��������������� God be with you.�
And also with
you.
������� �� ���� Lift up your hearts.� We
lift them up to God.
������� �� ���� Let us give thanks to God our Creator.� It is
right to give God thanks and ������������������������������� praise.
Therefore, with the whole realm
of nature around us, with earth, sea, and sky, we sing to you.� With the angels and archangels who surround
us, with all the saints before us and beside us, with brothers and sisters east
and west, north and south,
we sing to you.� And
with our loved ones, separate from us now, who yet in this mystery are close to
us, we sing the hymn of neverending praise:
������� Santo, santo, santo es el Se�or.
��� �����Hosana en las alturas.
��� �����Bendito es �l que viene en nombre del
Se�or.
������� We thank you, O God, for the gift of Jesus.� Embodying the reign of justice, mercy, and
peace, he suffered in his own body the brokenness of creation, embracing our
brokenness and making us whole.� Risen
and ascended, he opened heaven�s floodgates, raining down the Spirit�s gifts in
thunder, wind, and flame; filling women and men with vision, clarity, and
power; and intoxicating young and old alike with longing to proclaim your
uncontainable word.� We celebrate the
life that Jesus creates among his people, the life that overcomes death.
������� Made one with him, and thus one with each other, we lay
before you these gifts of bread and wine, our sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving, offering ourselves,
our bodies, minds, and spirits, to be a holy and
continual sacrifice to you.� Come, Holy Spirit,
brood over this bread and this wine; may they be for us vibrant with life,
healing, renewing, and making us whole.
������� Come,
Holy Spirit, come.
Spirit of Jesus, draw us into
your blazing heart, that as these gifts are consumed in us, we might be consumed
in transfiguring love and thus become one with you, bone of your bone, flesh of
your flesh, living our prayer and praying our life until love and loyalty
embrace, peace and justice kiss, and all are free as Christ is free.
������� Because you are one with us, O Christ, make us one with you
as we pray the prayer you taught us:� Holy Becoming, whom we call by many names, blessed
are you. Blessed are we in you. �May we
create with you a realm of mercy, peace, and justice. �May love be enacted in the here and now as it
is in the infinite.�
May we share life in bread and hope each day.� For our failures to love, we need
forgiveness. �May we find the paths of reconciliation. �In
the midst of evil's every incarnation, from the powers that possess our spirits
and our structures, may we find liberation. �In the power that is love, we seek to live and
move and have our being. �May it be so,
now and forever, AMEN.
������� This is the joyful feast of the people
of God.� The risen Christ shared an
evening meal with two friends who did not know him in a home in Emmaus.� He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave
it to them. �And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him in the breaking of
the bread.� Christ is the Bread of
Joy, who shares food with sinners. Christ is the Cup of Life, who revives the
faint-hearted.� Let us become what we
receive: the Body of Christ.
Breaking and Sharing of the Bread ��Song of the Body of
Christ�� #317
Closing meditation
|
Now I say to you in conclusion, life is hard, at
times as hard as crucible steel. �It
has its bleak and difficult moments.� Like
the ever-flowing waters of the river, |
|
(eulogy
for the martyred children - martin luther king jr. � 1963) |
Blessing
May God
bless us and keep us.� May God�s face
shine upon us.�
May God be gracious to us and grant to us, and to all
our broken world, peace.� May the
blessing of Almighty God�the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit�come
upon us and remain with us forever. Amen.
Closing song� ��I Am the Resurrection�
PEACE!
Entre Tus Manos
I Am the Resurrection (Ray Repp)
CHORUS:����� I am the resurrection and the life;
������������������ He who believes in me will
never die.
������������������ I am the resurrection and
the life;
������������������ He who believes in me will
live a new life.
1. I have
come to bring the truth;
���� I have come to bring you life;
���� If you believe, then you shall live.
2.� In my word all men will come to know
���� It is love which makes the Spirit grow
���� If you believe, then you shall live.
3.� Keep in mind the things that I have said
���� Remember me in the breaking of the bread
��� �If
you believe, then you shall live.
www.cofe.anglican.org; www.ualberta.ca/ST.STEPHENS;
www.worldprayers.org