Worship Bulletin

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
HOLY EUCHARIST
March 30, 2025 | 10:15 AM

If you are new to our community, we especially extend to you a warm welcome. Please sign our Guest Book near the entrance on the table at the column against the back row of seats. Today we celebrate Holy Communion. This is the Lord’s table, and all are welcome to receive no matter where you are on your spiritual journey.

PRELUDE  Handbell Choir Beneath the Cross of Jesus-arr. Barbara B. Kinyon

PROCESSIONAL HYMN Now Quit your Care Blue Hymnal #145

PRENITENTIAL RITE Book of Common Prayer p. 351
Celebrant: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.
People: His mercy endures forever.

KYRIE Blue Hymnal #S-96

Celebrant: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

People:  Most merciful God, we confess that we have
sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.
Amen.

COLLECT FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT Book of Common Prayer p.219

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Let us pray.
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.. Amen.

FIRST READING Joshua 5:9-12

Reader: A reading from the Book of Joshua

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.

While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

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

PSALM 32: 1, 2, 6-9, 11, 12

SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Reader:    A reading from the second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Blue Hymnal #S-99

THE HOLY GOSPEL  Luke 15:1-2, 11B-32

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ according to Luke.
People: Glory be to you, Lord Christ.

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So Jesus told them this parable:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out andbegan to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

SEQUENCE HYMN

SERMON The Reverend Tammy Smith-Firestone

NICENE CREED Book of Common Prayer p.358

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 Form I Book of Common Prayer p.383
Leader: With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord saying “Lord, have mercy.”
The People respond after each petition:
Lord, have mercy.
Leader: In the communion of St. John the Evangelist and all the saints, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life, to Christ our god.
People: To thee, O Lord our God.
Silence.

THE PEACE
Celebrant    The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People        And also with you.

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

WELCOME, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND OFFERTORY STATEMENT

BLESSING OF BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

THE LITURGY OF THE TABLE

OFFERTORY ANTHEM Ave verum corpus- Camille Saint-Saens

Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary:
Having truly suffered, offered on the cross for mankind:
From whose pierced side flowed water and blood;
Be for us a foretaste in the final hour of death. Amen.

PRESENTATION HYMN Blue Hymnal #150 v.4

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING Eucharistic Prayer C
Book of Common Prayer p. 369

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Celebrant: God of all power, Ruler of the Universe, you are worthy of glory and praise.
People: Glory to you for ever and ever.
Celebrant:At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.
People: By your will they were created and have their being.
Celebrant:From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You made us the rulers of creation. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another.
People: Have mercy, Lord, for we are sinners in your sight.
Celebrant:Again and again, you called us to return. Through prophets and sages you revealed your righteous Law. And in the fullness of time you sent you only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for is the way of freedom and peace.
People: By his blood, he reconciled us. By his wounds, we are healed.
Celebrant:And therefore we praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus, with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and with all those in every generation who have looked to you in hope, to proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn:

SANCTUS  
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.

Celebrant: And so, Father, we who have been redeemed by him . . .
. . . Remembering now his work of redemption, and offering to you this sacrifice of thanksgiving,
People: We celebrate his death and resurrection, as we await the day of his coming.
Celebrant: Lord God of our Fathers: God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name.
People: Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread.
Celebrant: Accept these prayers and praises, Father, through Jesus Christ our great High Priest, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, your Church gives honor, glory, and worship, from generation to generation.
People: Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Celebrant:    And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

The Celebrant breaks the bread.

Celebrant: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
People: Therefore let us keep the feast, Alleluia.

FRACTION ANTHEM

THE INVITATION TO COMMUNION

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECEIVING COMMUNION
Please follow the directions of the ushers. We go to the communion rail to receive. Respond to the words: “The Body of Christ, the Bread of Life” and “The Blood of Christ, the Cup of Salvation” with a hearty “Amen.” After receiving Communion it is appropriate to return to your seat to kneel or sit in silence for personal prayer and thanksgiving.
There are two options for reception. First is drinking from the common cup. When approaching the priest giving the bread or host, raise cupped hands to receive the bread. Consume and then take the cup by its base to tip to your lips to drink. Return to your seat by way of the side aisles.
The second option for reception is intinction (bread dipped into the wine). As the clergy person approaches, point to the chalice that the priest may take a wafer, intinct it in the wine, and give to you to consume. Return to your seat by way of the side aisles.
If you are unable to come forth to receive Communion, simply make it known to the usher and the clergy will come out to you to bring the bread and wine. The priest will instinct the bread into the wine and give it to you to consume.
If you are not communing, please consider coming forth for a blessing. As you approach the priest, cross your arms across your chest to indicate you desire a blessing. 

COMMUNION ANTHEM “Ach wie hungert” from Cantata 180—J.S. Bach

COMMUNION HYMN Deck thyself, my Soul, with Gladness Blue Hymnal #339

POST COMMUNION PRAYER Book of Common Prayer p. 366

Celebrant: Let us pray. Eternal God,
Celebrant and People:
heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE COMMENDATION OF MAUREEN HAUSER

Celebrant and People: Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.
Celebrant: You only are immortal, the creator and maker of humankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia alleluia.
Celebrant and People: Give rest, O Christ to your servant with our saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

The Celebrant, facing the urn, says

Celebrant: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Maureen. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

BLESSING

CLOSING HYMN O Jesus, Sun of Righteousness

DISMISSAL
Celebrant:    Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People:    Thanks be to God.

VOLUNTARY Fugue in G minor (BWV 885) – J. S. Bach

       

   St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church
2341 Floral Avenue, Chico, CA 95926
(530) 894-1971 · office@stjohnschico.org
The Very Reverend Tammy Smith-Firestone, Rector
Jeffrey Cooper, Director of Music

Hymn permission used by Rite Song a one-time use reprint license for congregational use
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