The Season of Pentecost is all about growth, and our Service this Sunday looks at how, with small beginnings, the power and work of the Holy Spirit brings about transformation in our lives, and in our world. Most appropriate for this theme of growth, we’re celebrating the High School or post-secondary Graduations of 6 members of our Parish family, all of whom we’ve been blessed to see grow little by little, from children to the excellent young adults they are today. We’re also remembering how this growth continues every day of our lives, in an interview with Betty, who’s embarking on the new adventure of being Ordained to the Diaconate on June 29th.
Our Virtual Choir is leading us in 3 hymns, and sharing an anthem during our Offertory. Three of the 4 haven’t been sung at St. Paul’s since March 2020. There’s a Children’s Time, featuring the song, “Little by Little” on guitar. Stacy is on tape giving the First Reading, and John L. is on tape leading the Prayers of the People.
The Prayers of the People respond to the pain our present world, a world which so needs the growth of love to take place. We begin with Litany 2, and its prayer for God to “Cleanse our hearts of prejudice and selfishness, and inspire us to hunger and thirst for what is right.” We then share a Prayer in Response to COVID-19 penned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. And we end with A Prayer of Christian Life, in which we ask God to make us instruments of God’s peace.
Our Service is a Holy Eucharist, and so we have the opportunity to receive the Lord in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving, as we partake of Communion, physically as well as spiritually, using Reserved Sacrament from the previous Sunday’s Service. This Reserved Sacrament is available for pick up just inside the main doors all Saturdays, from 2 to 2:45, and other times by appointment. The wafers are in individual paper cups, and placed in a sealed baggie, to ensure their safety.
After Communion, we spend some time getting to know Betty better, through an “interview” Fergus has with Betty on video. Then, we celebrate the graduation of 6 dear members, pausing to mark their achievements, and pray for God to be with them, and pour out lavishly blessings upon them, as they go forth into the next exciting chapter of their lives.
When our Liturgy ends, the service begins: we go in peace to love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit, bearing witness to Jesus and his way of justice, peace, and love to our broken world in all we say and do.
Today’s Service of Holy Eucharist will be livestreamed on our main Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stpaulscalgary) at 9:30 am. Following the service, the video will be posted on our YouTube Channel, and a link to the service will be added here. To watch this service in full screen mode, please click on the “Watch on YouTube” button in the lower left-hand corner of the video.
Please download the Order of Service if you would like to follow along.
Permission to reprint, podcast, and/or stream the music in this service obtained from:
(a) ONE LICENSE with license # A-713985, and/or
(b) CCLI with Streaming License # 20351479.
All rights reserved.