[0:00] God, our strength and salvation, receive all we offer you this day and grant that we who have confessed your name and received new life and baptism may live in the joy of the resurrection.
[0:13] Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We find ourselves on page 5 of your booklet. Let us kneel and humbly confess our sins to Almighty God.
[0:40] Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things and judge of all people, we acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness which we from time to time most grievously have committed by God's word and deed against thy divine majesty.
[1:01] We do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these are misdoings. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father, for thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ's sake.
[1:14] Forgive us all that is past and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life to the honor and glory of thy name.
[1:25] To Jesus Christ, our Lord. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and through faith turn unto him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life and bring you to everlasting life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[1:54] The peace of the Lord be always with you. The Lord be with you. Lift up your heart. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
[2:09] It is very meek, right, and our bound in beauty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, almighty, everlasting God, creator and preserver of all things.
[2:26] Therefore, with angels and archangels, with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and saying, all the amete, and pray unto thee, glory, who of thou have adored, love interview thee and say, our LordHHH, Godvidmer, I ring thyダw and divine name, Blessed be the Lord, O God, in the name of the Lord.
[3:15] O God, in the name of the Lord. Blessed and glory and thanksgiving be unto thee, Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who thy tender mercy did give thine only Son, Jesus Christ, to take our nature upon him, and to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption, who made thereby, if one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, and did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memorial of that his precious death until his coming again.
[4:04] Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee, and grant that we, receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, according to thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood, whom the same night that he was betrayed took bread.
[4:30] And when he had given thanks, he break 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.
[4:42] Likewise, after supper he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sin.
[4:59] Do this as often as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me. Wherefore, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, we thy humble servants with all thy holy church, remembering the precious death of thy beloved Son, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming again in glory, do make before thee, in this sacrament of the holy bread of eternal life and the cup of everlasting salvation, the memorial which he hath commanded.
[5:32] We praise thee, we bless thee, we thank thee, and we praise thee for our God. And we entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
[5:50] Most humbly be seeking thee to grant that by the merits and depth of thy Son, Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all thy whole church may obtain remission of our sins and all other benefits of his passion.
[6:05] And we pray that by the power of thy Holy Spirit, all we who are partakers of this holy communion may be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction.
[6:17] Through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father almighty, world without end.
[6:28] Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[6:41] 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.
[6:56] For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercy.
[7:21] 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.
[7:44] Amen. Amen.
[7:57] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[8:13] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
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[17:04] Thank you. of that kind of confrontation i watched with considerable feeling as a very dear old warrior friend of mine named ethel jones was pulled off to jail now i've known ethel for many many years i noticed that when she was arrested she had a bible in one hand she never went anywhere without a bible as far as i know she read from it frequently quoted from it liberally preached from it constantly and sometimes used it to subdue her grandchildren we have not come very far if the only way we can deal with dark issues is by that method of confrontation and arrest and as i look around and as i recognize this so i must add to it many of the issues that are confronting us in this city this city one of the wealthiest most affluent cities in all the world the world still has long lineups of people who are hungry we canadians who have enough food for everyone still have people who are hungry don't say there's no darkness in this land because there is people still walk in darkness the darkness of hunger the darkness of fear there are some parts of vancouver where you would not walk tonight alone the darkness of ignorance the darkness of an indifference towards the things of god the darkness of loneliness a friend of mine from a parish i knew him many years ago surfaced here in vancouver and his name is fred graston and you've met him i'm sure because he has a lot to do with earn his ministry and he was reminding me that there are many elderly people people in this city who are desperately lonely and uncared for not because they have no money to pay for the things they need but they sense they have no one who bothers about them he said to me for example did i know that most of the drop-in centers for the elderly close on fridays and don't open again on monday and that many elderly people just sit and hope that there will be some friend who will call them on saturday or sunday otherwise they will not speak to another living soul i was visiting saint paul's church in west end just a few sundays ago just before christmas and following the service we had a sit-down meal together to be followed by a drama presentation and the rector there was telling me no it's not the it's not the greatness of the food we're concerned about here and it's not the magnificence of the drama we are making it possible for people who will otherwise be lonely to spend some time together to allow them to come out of their particular darkness into the light of christian fellowship our world can be a very dark place just recently i spent some time in a workshop at the justice institute on the subject of pornography and child abuse
[21:06] the subject of the church now it's not the sort of subject that we like to talk about because it's unpleasant more and more we are challenged by the fact that this is all around us and there are many children who live in darkness of terror and i could go on with illustrations that you can recognize quicker than i can speak about them and it's significant that we discover that the darkness of our world is the thing we have in common that we have in the world of the church that we have in the church that we have in the church that we have in the church who lived in a very dark world who lived in a very dark world who lived at a time of national darkness when oppressing nations were crowding in all around when feeble government did nothing to alleviate the problem and there looked to be no hope and it was in that setting that isaiah speak and listen to what he said arise shine for your light is coming in that setting there is a proclaiming of hope of excited anticipation that the darkness is going to be dealt with the light has come and the light has come from god it has not come about by a renewal of government energy it has not come about by a reshaping of the political scene at all or even the religious scene it is the glory of god the magnificent word glory in both hebrew and greek the word has essentially to do with god bursting through visibly that's what glory is all about god bursting through that's what light is all about the light that will shine in the darkness is the bursting through of god himself into the darkness of this world but notice what the prophet says is he does not say arise and enjoy the light he does not say arise and look at the light or contemplate the light or think about the light or sing hymns to the light he says arise and reflect the light shine the prophet calls the people of god to recognize the source of light and to reflect it and that is how the darkness of the world will be dispelled and the result is interesting you read isaiah 60 again and you'll remember as we were reading it earlier it says this nations will come to that light everywhere you find the word nation in the old testament it always means the outsiders it always means the other people those people the people of israel saw themselves as god's people and everybody else was the nation you see what the prophet is saying as you see the light you people of god and as you reflect that light in your dark world
[25:09] all those on the outside will come into the focus of that light that's what evangelism is all about that's what the church is all about israel was always looking inward just like the christian church always exclusive counting its heads being more concerned about whether it's attendance numbers are going up or down we have a great deal in common with those people the prophet says look away from yourself look outward and reflect the light of god out in that world and discover to your surprise that those outsiders those people that you've written off are in fact part of your community that's what isaiah says this is the message to the church of today and we need to look around and recognize what god is calling us to be and to do and that is essentially to challenge the darkness not with our bright ideas but with the brightness of god bursting through and being seen visibly in the lives we live we tend to be very able to see the weaknesses and the faults and the failures of government and church and everybody else the prophet says look around and recognize the radiance of god all about you i watched ethel jones and remembered something of her earlier life she had a pitifully sad hard unhappy life one constant struggle and battle after another and i watched her from the time i first met her to the time i last saw her and i watched god at work in her life i watched god shaping and molding her and i caught a glimpse frequently of the radiance of god in her life last week on christmas new year's eve i was out at st lawrence church for the burial service of may howard and as i took part in that service so i was reminded all over again of a quiet unassuming unobtrusive woman of god to meet may was to catch a glimpse of the light of god himself that's what i need to remember i need to remember that all around me are signs that god is at work when i meet christian people who are reaching out to the hungry i need to remember that god is at work in them when i see the poor and the oppressed the downtrodden the outcasts the discarded being cared for then i recognize the radiance of god in those lives and because of the activity of god through the lives of people like the ethel jones of this world and the may howard and the desmond tutu and all the rest because of that activity of god through them the darkness and the gloom give place to joy and abundance
[29:13] for all to share that means that the hungry will be fed and the oppressed will be liberated and the darkness will be dispelled that's what saint paul was getting at in ephesians he's talking about the almost you could almost hear the surprise in his voice when he says that the gentiles that's in the new testament is the synonym for the outsiders the gentiles are fellow heirs sharing the same promises members of the same body it's an astonishment to paul to discover this and that says paul is the gospel of which i'm a minister the light reaching out through god's people into the darkness of the world to discover that there is one lord one faith one baptism one god and father of all maybe i should look around more and recognize some of the unlikely people who with me are fellow heirs sharing the same promises maybe people i've written off it was a great discovery when in some i suppose more than a year ago now when ernie and i met together to talk about the possibility of ministry among the elderly it was a result of a group of people coming to my office and saying when is the church going to wake up in this diocese to the fact that there are many many elderly people that you've written off you minister to them you minister to them you do things for them but that you fail to recognize they are still members of your christian community when do you plan to do something about it what we needed to do we needed to be challenged with the fact that we do write people off maybe we need to do something about it maybe we need to do something about it maybe we've got to look again into the face of the elderly the infirm or the little children or the dirty and the bedraggled and the non-respectable and see in all of them fellow heirs with us in god's scheme of things fellow heirs with us who in god's good grace will be used with us to push back the darkness of our very dark world it seems to me that we've got to do some re-learning we've got to do some rethinking that's what the story of the wise men is all about when you've broken through the trappings of the story of the wise men you come to a picture of people who in their wisdom didn't know what was going on who had to do some rethinking and relearning had to change their attitude that's what their story is about that's why they come to herod's palace and they say where is he who is born king of the jews and they're told you come to the wrong house they had to do some re-learning and they had to discover that the source of light for their dark world was not to be found in the places of power was not to be found in those places of influence but in a child and when they learned that when they laid aside all their wisdom and all their knowledge and all their know-how and recognized the light of the world then they could worship and then they could offer their gifts the light of the world if the world is dark it's because the light of christ has not been allowed to shine in that darkness
[33:16] and jesus said you are the light of the world and if the light is not shining in those dark places then you accept the responsibility and let that light so shine that others may see and in the words of isaiah may praise the name of the lord let us pray oh lord god let your light shine in our hearts and lives and be reflected in the lives we live day by day that others may come to be enlightened through jesus christ our lord amen if you could now turn in the green book of alternative services page 188 you'll find there the nicene creed we invite you to stand and join in this affirmation of our faith let us confess our faith as we say we believe in one god father kind of eternally begotten of the Father.
[35:15] From God, life from life, to God and to God, was not made. One being with the Father, including all things were made.
[35:27] For us and for our salvation, He came down to heaven. For the power of the Holy Spirit, He came and came from the church of heaven. For our faith, He was crucified, who come to the island, who come to the dead from the dead.
[35:47] For the third day, He rose again, according to the scriptures, who are standing in the heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, who come again, who flowed to God, who are living and dead.
[36:01] The kingdom will have no end. For these, Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, with the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified.
[36:15] He has spoken to the prophets. We believe in one holy, Catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism, for the kingdom of sin.
[36:26] We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world will come. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[36:48] Amen. Amen. Wirakmos, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[36:58] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Ernie, the Church is the family of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
[37:14] All baptized people are called to make Christ known as Savior and Lord, and to share in the renewing of his world. Now you are called to work as a pastor, priest, and coordinator.
[37:29] Together with your bishop and fellow presbyters, and to take your share in the councils of the Church. It will be your task to proclaim by word and deed the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion your life in accordance with its precepts.
[37:49] You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor.
[38:02] You are to preach and perform the other ministrations entrusted to you. In all that you do, you are to nourish Christ's people from the riches of his grace, and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come.
[38:23] Do you believe that you are truly called by God and his Church to this ministry? Do you now, in the presence of the Church, commit yourself to this trust and responsibility?
[38:43] Will you respect and be guided by the pastoral directions and leadership of your bishop? May the Lord, who has given you the will to do these things, give you the grace and power to perform them.
[38:58] In peace, let us pray to the Lord. We praise and glorify you, Almighty Father, because you have formed throughout the world a home people for your own possession, a royal priesthood, a universal Church.
[39:19] We praise and glorify you because you have given us your only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. and the shepherd of our souls.
[39:31] We praise and glorify you that by his death he has overcome death, and that, having ascended into heaven, he has given his gifts abundantly to your people, making some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip them for the work of the ministry, and to build up his body.
[39:58] And now, we give you thanks that you have called this your servant, to share this ministry, entrusted to your Church. Send down your Holy Spirit upon your servant, Ernie, whom we commission in your name to the office and work of the Ministry on Aging.
[40:25] Ernie, I now license you, receive this Bible as a sign of the authority given you to exercise this ministry.
[40:37] Accept our prayers, most merciful Father, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom with you and your Holy Spirit belong glory and honor, worship and praise, now and forever.
[40:53] Amen. Sisters and brothers in Christ, the peace of the Lord be always with you. Amen.
[41:23] We'll now sing our offertory hymn.
[41:44] It's number 239. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:23] My God that filled us life,Sémقد what none tried to serve.
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