Bullentin: Sunday, April 3, 2022

April 1, 2022, 3:00 PM

St. John’s Episcopal Church

Helena, Arkansas

Fifth Sunday in Lent

April 3, 2022

THE HOLY EUCHARIST RITE ONE

Penitential Order, Eucharistic Prayer 2

The Word of God

PENITENTIAL ORDER

Entrance

Silent procession

Opening Acclamation

The people standing, the Celebrant says

Celebrant	Bless the Lord who forgiveth all our sins.
People	His mercy endureth for ever.

Confession of Sin

All kneel.

The Celebrant says

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

The Celebrant then says

Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.

Silence may be kept.

Minister and People

Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against thee

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved thee with our whole heart;

we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ,

have mercy on us and forgive us;

that we may delight in thy will,

and walk in thy ways,

to the glory of thy Name. Amen.

The Priest stands and says

The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Anthem or Song of Praise

The following is said 3 times all standing.

Holy God,

Holy and Mighty,

Holy Immortal One.

Have mercy upon us.

Celebrant	The Lord be with you.
People	And with thy spirit.
Celebrant	Let us pray.

O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men: Grant unto thy people that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE LESSONS

First Reading Isaiah 43:16-21

The people sit.

A Reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

¹⁶Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, ¹⁷who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: ¹⁸“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. ¹⁹I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. ²⁰The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, ²¹the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”

Reader	The Word of the Lord.
People	Thanks be to God.

Psalm Psalm 126

Remain seated and responsively by whole verse.

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.
²Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
³Then they said among the nations, *
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
⁴The Lord has done great things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.
⁵Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.
⁶Those who sowed with tears *
will reap with songs of joy.
⁷Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

Second Reading Philippians 3:4b-14

The people sit.

A Reading from Paul's letter to the Church in Philippi.

^4bIf anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Reader	The Word of the Lord.
People	Thanks be to God.

Sequence Hymn Lord, who throughout these forty days (H 142)

Gospel John 12:1-8

All stand.

Priest	The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
People	Glory be to thee, O Lord.

¹Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ²There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” ⁶(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) ⁷Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Priest	The Gospel of the Lord.
People	Praise be to thee, O Christ.

The Sermon Rev. Teresa Cantrell

The Creed

All stand.

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers of the People

People may stand or kneel.

Let us pray for the whole state of Christ’s Church and the world.

Almighty and everliving God, who in thy holy Word hast taught us to make prayers, and supplications, and to give thanks for all men: Receive these our prayers which we offer unto thy divine Majesty, beseeching thee to inspire continually the Universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord; and grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love.

Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all bishops and other ministers especially Michael, our Presiding Bishop, and Larry, our Bishop, that they may, both by their life and doctrine, set forth thy true and lively Word, and rightly and duly administer thy holy Sacraments.

And to all thy people give thy heavenly grace, and especially to this congregation here present; that, with meek heart and due reverence, they may hear and receive thy holy Word, truly serving thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life.

We beseech thee also so to rule the hearts of those who bear the authority of government in this and every land especially Joe, our President, and Asa, our Governor, that they may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world.

Open, O Lord, the eyes of all people to behold thy gracious hand in all thy works, that, rejoicing in thy whole creation, they may honor thee with their substance, and be faithful stewards of thy bounty.

And we most humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, O Lord, to comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity. We remember especially all those who suffer from Covid –19, their families and the caregivers and those who are alone or afraid.

O God, who has blessed and sustained us through the years; we ask that you continue to lead us, stretch us, and direct us, in our search for a new rector. Raise for us, we pray, a priest and pastor who will boldly proclaim your Gospel, and faithfully administer your Sacraments, and serve your people with love and compassion, that we may continue to grow in the likeness of Christ and be a beacon of love and hope to our community and to the world. To the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear especially, Carolyn & Robert Wright, Sr. and Dorothy & Ed Bell, beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love and service; and to grant us grace so to follow the good examples of St. John the Evangelist and of all thy saints, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.

Grant these our prayers, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

The Peace

All stand.

Celebrant	The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People	And with thy spirit.

Then the Ministers and the People may greet one another in the name of the Lord.

Announcements and birthday and anniversary blessings.

The Holy Communion

Offertory Sentence

If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Offertory Music

DOXOLOGY

The Great Thanksgiving

The People remain standing.

Celebrant	The Lord be with you.
People	And with thy spirit.
Celebrant	Lift up your hearts.
People	We lift them up unto the Lord.
Celebrant	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People	It is meet and right so to do.

Proper Preface

Facing the Holy Table, the Celebrant proceeds

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who was in every way tempted as we are, yet did not sin; by whose grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again.

Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying,

Sanctus

All sing.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts:

Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.

Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High.

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

The people kneel or stand.

Then the Celebrant continues

All glory be to thee, O Lord our God, for that thou didst create heaven and earth, and didst make us in thine own image; and, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to take our nature upon him, and to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption. He made there a full and perfect sacrifice for the whole world; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.

For in the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread; and when he had given thanks to thee, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, after supper, he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink this, all of you; for this is my Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins. Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, we thy people do celebrate and make, with these thy holy gifts which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; and looking for his coming again with power and great glory.

And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us, and, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, to bless and sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be unto us the Body and Blood of thy dearly-beloved Son Jesus Christ.

And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, whereby we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies. Grant, we beseech thee, that all who partake of this Holy Communion may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction; and also that we and all thy whole Church may be made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord;

By whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. AMEN.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Celebrant then continues

And now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say,

People and Celebrant

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be 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,

and the power, and the glory,

forever and ever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

Fraction Anthem

Celebrant: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world.

People: Have mercy upon us.

Celebrant: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world.

People: Have mercy upon us.

Celebrant: O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world.

People: Grant us thy peace.

Prayer of Humble Access

The following prayer is said in unison

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

Distribution

The ministers receive the Sacrament in both kinds, and then immediately deliver it to the people.

The Bread is given to the communicants with these words

The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. [Amen.]

The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. [Amen.]

Communion Music

Post-Communion Prayer

After Communion, the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

In unison.

Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom. And we humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

Blessing

Celebrant: BOW DOWN BEFORE THE LORD.

The people bow, and the celebrant continues.

Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Post-Communion Hymn Christ is made the sure foundation (H 518)

Dismissal

Celebrant	Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
People	Thanks be to God.

A Note on Today’s Readings

The Fifth Sunday in Lent—Year C

Welcome to our parish. Each of the Lenten Sundays stresses one of the events in the Old Testament history of Salvation. For us, these events foreshadow the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection and our incorporation into him in Holy Baptism.

The two greatest events in Israel’s salvation history were the Exodus/Passover in the time of Moses and Israel’s return from exile in Babylon to the land of promise in the sixth century B.C. Today we hear from Isaiah a reflection upon that return which transforms it into the sign that still to come. God’s plan is an even greater act of salvation—something entirely new. It is that new action by God which we celebrate in this season and especially in Holy Week and Easter.

Today’s gospel reading is the story of a woman who expressed her devotion to Jesus by anointing his feet with costly perfume. While Judas complained about her extravagant action, Jesus saw it as a sign of his coming death and burial. The gospel writer discounts the complaint that the money could have been given to the poor. We are reminded that to make our Lord our greatest value is essential to our role as the people of God.

In the second reading, Paul testifies that his life is lived in Christ. This is not simply a metaphor. In baptism, we have been made part of Jesus’ dying and rising, which is renewed in the Eucharist.

We are nearing Holy Week, when we enter into an intense period of rediscovering our identity as people who are in Christ and in whom God has performed the ultimate act of salvation. The restoration of all people to their true homeland with God will end the exile from God created by our disobedience.

Welcome to St. John’s. We are so glad you’re here to worship with us today.

Please keep the following in your prayers: Debra Richardson, Kathy Sullivan, Parker Pace, Courtney Turner, Jo Boone Wild, Kathleen Gibson, Cole Jefferies, Carol Spencer, Bonnie & Charles Rowland, Jo Liddy, Janet Juengel, Vivian Wright, Jim Howe, Cliff Clark, Linda Dowling, Susan Taylor, and Sylvia Ross.

St. John’s continues to support the Angels of Grace and the Anchor Mission ministries.

Grace Food Pantry: plastic bags go in the labeled container in the narthex.

Thank you for your donations. They are all greatly appreciated and needed.

Evening prayer in St. John’s chapel each Wednesday at 5:30 pm

DATES TO MARK IN YOUR CALENDAR:

April 10....Palm Sunday

April 13….Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm in the church

April 14....Maundy Thursday service at 6:00 pm in the church

April 15....Good Friday service at noon in the church

April 17.... Easter Sunday

Lenten Tidbits

“God loves us by becoming us.”

“The cross was God’s validation of his love for us, not a retribution or a transaction.”

“There is only one suffering. It is all the same and it is all the suffering of God.”

Richard Rohr

Contact info:

Email: rector@saintjohnshelena.org

St. John’s Church Office:

Phone: 870-338-8115

Email: office@saintjohnshelena.org

Mailing address: P.O. Box 770, Helena, AR 72342

Street address: 625 Pecan St., Helena, Arkansas

The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

The Rt. Reverend Larry R. Benfield, Bishop of Arkansas

Rev. Teresa Cantrell

The Vestry of St. John’s Church, Helena

Allison Biederman, Senior Warden (2022)

Ed Pat Wright, Junior Warden (2023)

Brooke Tappan, Clerk (2023), Tap Jennings (2023)

Mark Rogers (2022), Susan Carter (2022)

West Hornor (2024), Ned Pillow (2024)

Walter Morris, Treasurer

Pianist –Dagmar Bergan

Organist – Dr. Gabriel Statom

Lay Eucharist Minister – Ann Lee

Acolyte – Ann Lee

Altar Guild – Betsy Wright & Melody Rogers

Ushers – Bob Lee & Mark Rogers

Facebook Live – Melody Rogers

The flowers in the church today are given to the glory of God

and in memory of Carolyn & Robert Wright and Dorothy & Ed Bell.

Given by Bob & Vivian Wright