Pentecost-4 (Yr C) Jul 3, 2022

Note: the service is being livestreamed and recorded and will be available on our Facebook page.

If you’re new to St. Mark’s please see an usher for a welcome packet so we might acknowledge your visit and include you on our email list for weekly updates and information regarding St. Mark’s and the Diocese of Southern Ohio. The RESTROOM is located to the right as you enter the building.

Throughout the service the people’s responses are in italics; directions are in bold italics.

If you prefer a gluten-free host please notify an usher prior to the service.

PRELUDE:

“Irish Melody” Charles Villiers Stanford

WELCOME: The Rev. Rowena Mae MacGregor

Please stand for the ringing of the bell and processional.

PROCESSIONAL:

“God of our fathers” The Hymnal 1982, #718

1. God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
leads forth in beauty all the starry band
of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
our grateful songs before thy throne arise.

2. Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
in this free land by thee our lot is cost;
be thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay
thy word our law, thy paths our chosen way.

3. From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
be thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
thy true religion in our hearts increase,
they bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

4. Refresh thy people on their toilsome way,
lead us from night to never-ending day;
fill our lives with love and grace divine;
and glory, laud, and praise be ever thine.

The Liturgy of the Word

Celebrant: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen. (with gusto!)

Celebrant: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy Name through Christ our Lord. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY:

Celebrant: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray.

All: O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen .

SONG OF PRAISE:

“Psalm 100” Lift Every Voice & Sing, #278

The people will sing the refrain, and the Cantor will sing verses 1 and 4.

All: Serve the Lord with gladness, alleluia.

Please be seated

A READING FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS:

Reader: Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, `Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. (5:1-14)

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

Please stand

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF PSALMS:

Reader: I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies triumph over me.

Reader: O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health.

Reader: You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.

Reader: Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.

Reader: For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime.

Reader: Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Reader: While I felt secure, I said, “I shall never be disturbed. You, Lord, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains.”

Reader: Then you hid your face, and I was filled with fear.

Reader: I cried to you, O Lord; I pleaded with the Lord, saying,

Reader: “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the Pit? will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

Reader: Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; O Lord, be my helper.”

Reader: You have turned my wailing into dancing; you have put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy.

Reader: Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever. (PS 30)

Please be seated

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS:

Reader: My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised– only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule– peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. (6:1-16)

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

Please stand

GRADUAL:

“Rise up, ye saints of God” (verses 1-2) The Hymnal 1982, #551

Rise up, ye saints of God! Have done with lesser things,
give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings.

Rise up, ye saints of God! His kingdom tarries long:
Lord, bring the day of truth and live and end the night of wrong.

Please stand

THE GOSPEL:

Celebrant: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Celebrant: The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (10:1-11, 16-20)

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

GRADUAL:

“Rise up, ye saints of God” (verse 3) The Hymnal 1982, #551

Lift high the cross of Christ! Tread where his feet have trod;
and quickened by the Spirit’s power, rise, ye saints of God!

Please be seated

THE SERMON

Please stand

THE NICENE CREED:

“I believe in God almighty” Wonder, Love, & Praise, #769

1 I believe in God almighty, author of all things that be,

Maker of the earth and heavens, Keeper of the sky and sea.

I believe in God’s son, Jesus, now for us both Lord and Christ,

of the Spirit and of Mary born to bring abundant life.

2 I believe that Jesus suffered, scourged and scorned and crucified;

taken from the cross, was buried— True Life there had truly died.

I believe that on the third day Christ was raised up from the grave,

then ascended to God right hand. He will come to judge and save.

3 I believe in God’s own Spirit, bonding all the saints within

One church, catholic and holy, where forgiveness frees from sin;

in the body’s resurrection, for the breaking of death’s chain

gives the life that’s everlasting. This the faith that I have claimed.

Please stand or kneel

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE:

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, all ministers of the gospel, that they may preach the word boldly and without apology. Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, all the leaders of nations, that they may be unrelenting in their quest for peace. Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, all the suffering peoples of this world, especially those who suffer for doing right. Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, those among us who experience desolation, especially those for whom God seems most remote. Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, all those who are sick or suffer from any adversity, remembering all those named on the parish prayer list: Wayne, Don, Carol S, Ruby, Howard, the Darnell family, Judy, Juanita, Rob, Mary, George, and Vern; that they may find solace and peace in you. Lord, hear our prayer.

Reader: Empower with your Spirit, O Lord, all those who have died, remembering especially all those who have died in mass shootings this month, that your will for them may be fulfilled; and may they share with all your saints in your eternal kingdom. Lord, hear our prayer.

All: Gracious God, it is in the power of your abundant and life-giving Spirit that we call upon you in prayer. Deepen our hope in your presence and your promise; hear us in your tender love, now and forever. Amen.

THE CONFESSION:

Celebrant: Let us confess our sins to God, our neighbor, and all our relations.

All: 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.

Celebrant: Our Lord Jesus Christ has bestowed power and commandment to his ministers to declare and pronounce to those who are truly repentant, absolution and remission of sin. Therefore, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, be reconciled to God through grace and “go and sin no more.” Amen.

Please stand

THE PASSING OF THE PEACE:

Celebrant: The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.

REMAINING IN THEIR PEWS, the congregation offers the peace of God to one another.

Please be seated

BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY PRAYERS

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Wardens

OFFERTORY SENTENCE:

Celebrant: O Lord our God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power; because you have created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. (Rev. 4:11)

Thank you for your generous weekly gifts.

The day-to-day mission and ministry of St. Mark’s

is funded primarily by gifts received in the offering plate each week.

OFFERTORY

“This Is My Song” Finlandia, arr. Janet Linker

Please stand

PRAYER FOR THE OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE:

Celebrant: Let us pray. Most Holy God, the author of life and creator of all that is, receive and bless my offering this day; that the currency of worldly value may become the currency of transformation through the worship and work of this community. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE GIFTS RECEIVED FOR CARE HOUSE:

Celebrant: Let us pray. Lord Jesus, who took the children into your arms and embraced them with your love, receive these gifts for the children of CARE House. Through the power of your Spirit, may these offerings and the offering of all our ministries to them, bring them comfort and healing. May they come to know and feel in their hearts and in their souls the fullness of life and of love given to all of us by our one God and Father. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

The Liturgy of the Table

To receive the sacrament, please line up in the center aisle; at your turn approach the Celebrant to receive the Host. To receive the sacrament, which will be given in one kind only, please line up in the center aisle keeping at least six feet between households; at your turn approach the Celebrant. Return to your seat via the side aisles.

Those not receiving the sacrament are invited to come forward for a blessing; cross your arms across your chest to indicate this to the Celebrant who will administer the blessing. If you are unsure about receiving the sacrament please make an appointment with The Rev. MacGregor who would be delighted to speak with you.

Please remain standing

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER C:

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 your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us 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:

THE SANCTUS: Wonder, Love, & Praise, #858

All: 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. Hosanna in the highest.

You may stand or kneel

Celebrant: And so, Father, we who have been redeemed by him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring before you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. On the night he was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

Celebrant: After supper, he took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the

forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Celebrant: 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 and Mothers; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel; 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. AMEN! (with gusto!)

Please stand

THE LORD’S PRAYER:

All: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

FRACTION ANTHEM:

“Christ our Passover” Wonder, Love & Praise, #866

All: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep

the feast. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

INVITATION TO COMMUNION:

Celebrant: The Gifts of God for the People of God.

The people may now come forward to receive the Sacrament.

THE PRAYER OF RECEPTION FOR THOSE PARTICIPATING ONLINE:

(to be said by those at home)

Blessed Jesus, with your faithful people at every altar of your church where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated, I offer my praise and thanksgiving. Since I cannot receive you today in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus, and let me never be separated from you. May I live in you, and you in me, in this life and the life to come. Amen.

Please stand

COMMUNION HYMN:

“Hope for the world” The Hymnal 1982, #472

1. Hope of the world, thou Christ of great compassion,
speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent.
Save us, thy people from consuming passion,
who by our own false hopes and aims are spent.

2. Hope of the world, God’s gift from highest heaven,
bringing to hungry souls the bread of life,
still let thy Spirit, unto us be given,
to heal earth’s wounds and end her bitter strife.

3. Hope of the world, afoot on dusty highways,
showing to wandering souls the path of light,
walk thou beside us lest the tempting byways
lure us away from thee to endless night.

4. Hope of the world, who by they cross didst save us
from death and dark despair, from sin and guilt,
we render back the love they mercy gave us;
take though our lives, and use them as thou wilt.

5. Hope of the world, O Christ, o’er death victorious,
who by this sign didst conquer grief and pain,
we would be faithful to they gospel glorious;
thou art our Lord! Thou dost for ever reign!

POST COMMUNION PRAYER:

Celebrant: Let us pray. Eternal God, 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 BLESSING:

Celebrant:….. +And may the blessing . . .

RECESSIONAL:

“Crown him with many crowns” (verses 1-3) The Hymnal 1982, #494

1. Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own;
awake my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

2. Crown him the Son of God before the worlds began,
and ye, who tread where he had trod, crown him the Son of man;
his every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
and takes and bears them for his own, that all in him may rest.

3. Crown him Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save;
his glories now we sing who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring, and lives that death my die.

DISMISSAL:

Celebrant: Alleluia! Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. Alleluia!

POSTLUDE:

“USA Campmeeting Tune” Carlos Staszeski

THE CANDLE IN THE SANCTUARY LAMP remains lighted throughout the week to

indicate and honor the eternal presence of Christ. It is given today by Katherine Wagner in loving memory of Bettie Johann Veazey Babcock.

THE ALTAR FLOWERS are given today by Ginny Tuxhorn, in loving memory of Lt. Col. William Tuxhorn, Col. Roosevelt N. Hestle, and Maj. Maurice Shaff: “brothers in arms”.

GROUNDED IN COMMUNITY

THIS SUNDAY — PENTECOST 4 –– HOLY EUCHARIST – JULY 3:

Celebrant: The Rev. Rowena Mae MacGregor

Music Director/Organist: Donna Larsen

Ushers: Jim Rudd, Ginny Tuxhorn

Acolyte: Jackie Hoskinson

Lay Eucharist Ministers: Readers:

OT/PS: Susan Kendall

EP/POP: TJ Walch

Tech: Katherine Wagner, Elizabeth Wagner

Counters: Dave Reuter, Jim Rudd

Altar Guild: Janet Reuter

Open/Close: Reuter/Rubino

NEXT SUNDAY– PENTECOST 5 — HOLY EUCHARIST – JULY 10:

Celebrant: The Rev. Rowena Mae MacGregor

Music Director/Organist: Donna Larsen

Ushers: Wayne Harper, Tony Rubino

Acolyte: Stephanie Welch

Lay Eucharist Ministers: Readers:

OT/PS: Elizabeth Wagner

EP/POP: Carol Williamson

Tech: Gary Welch, Mary-Anna Welch

Counters: Carol Nancarrow, Kendall Rubino

Altar Guild: Janet Reuter, Mary-Anna Welch, Stephanie Welch

Open/Close: TBD

Altar Flowers: Berta

Candle: Wagner

Events at St. Mark’s this Week

THIS SUNDAY (Pentecost 4, July 3): HOLY EUCHARIST, 10:30am, in-person and on Facebook Live. CARE HOUSE SUNDAY.

MONDAY: OFFICE CLOSED FOR 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY; SAA MEETING, 6:30am, Lounge; AA MEETING, 7:30pm, Parish Hall

TUESDAY: TOPS MEETING, 10a, Lounge; NA MEETING, 7:30pm, Parish Hall

WEDNESDAY: There are no events scheduled this day.

THURSDAY: SAA MEETING, 7:30pm, Lounge

FRIDAY: There are no events scheduled this day.

SATURDAY: HIDDEN GEMS, 11am, Parking Lot; AA MEETING, 7:30pm, Parish Hall

NEXT SUNDAY (Pentecost 5, July 10): HOLY EUCHARIST, 10:30am, in-person and on Facebook Live.

Places to be, things to do

CARE HOUSE SUNDAY is TODAY, Sunday, July 3. Donations of small water bottles, healthy snacks, and gift cards (gas, Kroger, Wal-Mart) are welcome. Monetary donations will be noted on your contribution sheet. NOTE: Please check the expiration dates of all food products, as CARE House cannot distribute anything that has expired.

FLAGS FOR HEROES: Several of our parish families and the parish youth have donated to the Beavercreek Rotary Club’s Flags for Heroes Program. Along with all the others, “our” flags will be displayed in a field of flags at Beavercreek High School and will have an honor medallion reading “Veterans of St. Mark’s Church.” The flags will be on display from Thursday, June 30 through Tuesday July 5. A Flags for Heroes ceremony is scheduled for July 4th (Monday) at Beavercreek High School, beginning at 5:00 p.m., with music by our own Msgt. (Ret) Carolyn Sargent.

INVESTMENTS MEETING: On Wednesday, July 6, at 5pm, a sub-committee of the vestry and other members of the parish, along with the treasurer, Don Nancarrow, The Rev. Cn. David Getreu and The Rev. Rowena MacGregor, will meet with an Edward Jones financial advisor regarding St. Mark’s investment assets to assess the portfolio in light of current market conditions.

THE VESTRY will not meet in July as is traditional for St. Mark’s.

The Community of St. Mark’s Classifieds

THE SUNDAY READINGS can be found at www.lectionarypage.net. The readings for

Sunday, July 10 are: Amos 7:7-17, Psalm 82, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37.

CANTERBURY COURT is looking for someone to teach a “Make it and Take it” class for their residents on August 15. It’s a small class of only 10 students and is expected to last about an hour. If you’re interested or would like more information, please contact Jim Rudd.

NEW OFFICE HOURS: As of Monday, July 11, the office hours will be Monday-Thursday, 10am-1pm. The office will be closed on Fridays. Pastoral emergencies (hospitalizations, deaths, or emotional or family crises, etc.) are to be directed to The Rev. Rowena MacGregor at 570-404-2025 or the Sr. Warden: Libby Nicholson, 570-232-9669 and not left as messages on the answering machine.

Lesser Feasts and Fasts

RECOMMENDED FEAST DAY TO OBSERVE: Tuesday June 28, is the Feast of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, c. 202. If theology is thinking about faith and arranging those thoughts in some systematic order, then Irenaeus has been rightly recognized by Catholics and Protestants alike as the first great systematic theologian. There is considerable doubt about the year of Irenaeus birth; estimates vary from 97 to 160. It is certain that he learned the Christian faith in Ephesus at the feet of the venerable Polycarp, who in turn had known John the Evangelist. Some years before 177, probably while Irenaeus was still in his teens, he carried the tradition of Christianity to Lyons in southern France. His name means “the peaceable one” and suitably so. The year 177 brought hardship to the mission in Gaul. Persecution broke out, and a mounting tide of heresy threatened to engulf the Church. Irenaeus, by now a presbyter, was sent to Rome to mediate the dispute regarding Montanism, which the Bishop of Rome, Eleutherus, seemed to embrace. While Irenaeus was on this mission, the aged Bishop of Lyons, Pothinus, died in prison during a local persecution. When Irenaeus returned to Lyons, he was elected bishop to succeed Pothinus. Irenaeus’ enduring fame rests mainly on a large treatise, entitled “The Refutation and Overthrow of Gnosis, Falsely So-Called”, usually shortened to “Against Heresies.” In it, Irenaeus describes the major Gnostic systems, thoroughly, clearly, and often with biting humor. It is one of our chief sources of knowledge about Gnosticism. He also makes a case for Christianity which has become a classic, resting heavily on Scripture, and on the continuity between the teaching of the Apostles and the teaching of bishops, generation after generation, especially in the great see cities. Against the Gnostics, who despised the flesh and exalted the spirit, he stressed two doctrines: that of the creation as good, and that of the resurrection of the body. A late and uncertain tradition claims that he suffered martyrdom, about 202.

Almighty God, you upheld your servant Irenaeus with strength to maintain the truth against every blast of vain doctrine: Keep us, we pray, steadfast in your true religion, that in constancy and peace we may walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Holy Women, Holy Men)

Prayers for the Week of July 3

FOR PEACE. For the victims of violence; remembering especially the victims of mass shootings; For the people of Ukraine: for refugees, for those who have died and those who grieve, for those in the military defending the sovereignty of this nation; For those who have died; For those affected by natural disasters; For medical and wellness practitioners, who are assisting people with mental, physical, and financial conditions and issues related to the Covid pandemic; For the homeless; For all those addicted to heroin, remembering especially those who died this week from overdose; For all those who have committed suicide: remembering especially teens and young adults who took their own lives this week; For all our brothers and sisters who have died by violence around the world, remembering especially violence in our nation; For our enemies; For the safety of all American military and civilian personnel where ever they serve, remembering especially all those serving at Wright-Patterson AFB; For those who struggle with the basic necessities of life after natural catastrophic events, especially those misplaced by earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, drought, fire, mudslides, and tornadoes; For the millions of refugees worldwide who wander the lands of the earth and whose suffering is greater than we can ever know.

For those in our prayer cycles: in the Anglican cycle of prayer, we pray for the Anglican Church of Tanzania; in the Diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for All Saints in Cincinnati, St Paul’s in Logan, and Trinity in London;

For St. Mark’s Families in our parish prayer cycle;

For those celebrating birthdays;

For those celebrating wedding anniversaries;

For those on our parish prayer list;

For those who suffer from illness, grief, or any other adversity.

For faithful animal companions and those who care for all animals;

For the mission work of this congregation: CARE House, Canterbury Court, St. Paul’s UMC Food Pantry, Becoming Beloved Community Initiative, and for the non-profit groups who use our Community Building; For our Diocesan Bishops: for our Provisional Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith; The Rt. Rev. Kenneth Price, the Rt. Rev. Nedi Rivera, and the Rt. Rev. Wendell Gibbs; For our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry; For all postulants and candidates for holy orders in this Diocese: Phoebe Myhrum, Martha Camele, Maggie Gough, Brad Gough, Catherine Duffy, Alane Osborne, Libbie Crawford, Gayland Trim, Molly Cook, Victoria Lewis, Kate Meeks, Kyle Schenkewicz, Gregory Williams.

For all faith communities as we navigate the way forward in a world being transformed by a number of crises – that we remain faithful in our devotion to God and open to constant change and ongoing self-evaluation.

For the complete Weekly Prayers with parishioners’ names, click HERE.

(NOTE: Password Protected: Contact Dave or Rowena for Password.)

To read a copy of the latest Vestry Minutes, click HERE.

(NOTE: Password Protected: Same one as above. Updated yearly.)

For more announcements, click HERE.

——————————–

ADULT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

The Rev. Rowena MacGregor facilitates various adult educational/spiritual development offerings (Zoom). Be sure to check the Sunday bulletin for times and dates of her most recent programs.

——————————–