Today is the Day of Pentecost, the third of the “big three” Feasts of the Church Year (the first 2 being Christmas and Easter)! As the fourth Sunday of the month, it’s also a Triple C (Christ-centred Creative Celebration) Service – and in our Liturgy, we’re making full use of the creativity the Spirit has bestowed on the Church throughout the world. Our Virtual Choir is leading us in hymns, and sharing an Offertory Anthem, all to and for the Holy Spirit. And Fergus is preaching the Homily on “The Three P’s of Pentecost.”
The Service also has a special Pentecost Opening Video from the ecumenical non-profit BibleProject from the US, geared for our youth; Fergus leading a Children’s Time song about the life-giving water of the giving us peace, joy, and love; and Rhonda is on video giving our First Reading from the NRSV. The Call to Worship and Responsory is from the BAS; and for the first time, for our Gospel Reading, we’re using the Kingdom Translation by N. T. Wright. The Confession is from the Grey Booklet; Eucharistic Prayer from the Church of England; Blessing from the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand; and Dismissal from the United Church of Canada; and a special Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book; Doreen is on audio leading us in the Prayers of the People, which contain a Pentecost Litany from the Baptist Church in the UK; Prayer from our Primate and the National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Alternative Collect from the National Church; and Prayer in Response to COVID-19 from the Church of Sweden.
Our Service is a Holy Eucharist, in which we have the opportunity to 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 on Saturdays, from 2 to 2:45, and at other times by appointment. The wafers are in individual paper cups, and placed in a sealed baggie, to ensure their safety. 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 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.