Hybrid Church, Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, Rev. Karen Hollis

Hybrid Church, Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, Rev. Karen Hollis, Musician: Steve Smith

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Preparing Ourselves for Worship 

However you are coming to this worship service, may you experience the presence of God in the celebration of this day. As we learn how to worship again in a new way, you’re invited to bring intentionality to your personal practice of worship. Perhaps draw on your inner tools for bringing yourself into God’s presence or (if you’re at home) choose a space and bring in objects (candle, Bible, elements from nature) that help make the environment worshipful for you. 

Organ Prelude

Acclamation

One:  Beloveds, rejoice!

All:    Alleluia! The Holy is alive within us!

One:  Praise the God of New Life even amidst grief,

All:    Praise the God of Possibility even when all seems lost.

One:  The stone of despair has been rolled away!

All:    Christ is risen!

One:  Christ is risen Indeed!

All:    Glory to God 

Opening Prayer  -  Enfleshed

Holy Spirit, you show us the meaning of hope -- that after tragedy, after death, there is more meaning to be lived. There is more beauty to witness, more intimacy to experience, more relationships to delight in, more liberation to embody. Embolden us to be a people who practice this hope. Amen.

Hymn: Jesus Christ is Risen Today v. 1,2 (organ) - VU #155

1 Jesus Christ is risen today, hallelujah!

our triumphant holy day, hallelujah!

who did once, upon the cross, hallelujah!

suffer to redeem our loss, hallelujah!

2 Hymns of praise then let us sing, hallelujah!

unto Christ, our heavenly King, hallelujah!

who endured the cross and grave, hallelujah!

sinners to redeem and save, hallelujah!

Prayer of Confession                                    

Let us bring our whole selves before God, confident in God’s grace . . . 

God of the Living Christ, who is risen this day, we come in celebration, bringing also our wounds, our regrets, our inability to stay awake with Jesus. Hear our truth today and meet each of us in our particular places of need.

Silent Confession

One:  Lord have mercy

All:    Christ have mercy

One:  Lord have mercy

Assurance of Grace

The light of the resurrected Christ meet you on this day and overwhelm you with the love and grace that can only come from God our Creator! Thanks be to God!

Passing of the Peace            

Christ’s peace is risen this day, the indestructible peace he brings whenever we gather together. Let us greet one another in celebration:

Left:               The Peace of Christ be with you all!

Right/Zoom:  And also with you!

Reader: Let us pray, by the gift of your Spirit, calm and quiet our souls that we may hear your Word today and be lifted up to walk with you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

First Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25 (NRSV ) - Reader: Tim Leadem

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (Voices United) -  Reader: Tim Leadem

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 

his steadfast love endures forever!

       Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever."

Open to me the gates of righteousness, 

that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.

       This is the gate of the LORD;

       the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me 

and have become my salvation.

       The stone that the builders rejected 

       has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the LORD has made; 

       let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! 

O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!

       Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. 

       We bless you from the house of the LORD.

The LORD is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.

       You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; 

       you are my God, I will extol you.

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, 

       for his steadfast love endures forever.

Gospel Reading   -  Reader: Tim Leadem

Reader: As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel. 

Reader God be with you.        

All:       And also with you

Reader The Good News of Jesus Christ according to John

All:       Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

John 20:1-18  -   (CEV) 

On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus' favorite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don't know where they have put him.” Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. They ran side by side, until the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got there first. He bent over and saw the strips of linen cloth lying inside the tomb, but he did not go in. When Simon Peter got there, he went into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth. He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus' face. It was rolled up and in a place by itself. The disciple who got there first then went into the tomb, and when he saw it, he believed. At that time Peter and the other disciple did not know that the Scriptures said Jesus would rise to life. So the two of them went back to the other disciples.

Mary Magdalene stood crying outside the tomb. She was still weeping, when she stooped down and saw two angels inside. They were dressed in white and were sitting where Jesus' body had been. One was at the 

head and the other was at the foot. The angels asked Mary, “Why are you crying?” She answered, “They have taken away my Lord's body! I don't know where they have put him.” As soon as Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know who he was. Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener and said, “Sir, if you have taken his body away, please tell me, so I can go and get him.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni.” The Aramaic word “Rabboni” means “Teacher.”

Jesus told her, “Don't hold on to me! I have not yet gone to the Father. But tell my disciples I am going to the one who is my Father and my God, as well as your Father and your God.” Mary Magdalene then went and told the disciples she had seen the Lord. She also told them what he had said to her.

       Reader This is the Gospel of Christ.   

       All:       Praise be to Jesus Christ       

Reflection        

Silent Reflection

Affirmation of Faith 

Let us affirm our faith . . . 

You are the new song.

You are the next beat in my heart.

You are the praise and possibility. 

You are the present and the future.

I believe the Light of the World has come this day. 

I see it now in all days. 

Those gone and those to come aflame in love.

Your love wrapped in human form,

Your love learned in justice and in mercy,

Your love risen over death.

I believe love has come on this day.

I believe love has and will always come.                                             

Prayers of the People  -  Mona Smart

One:  God of Mystery and Love

All:    Hear Our Prayers

Lord’s Prayer (sung) - VU #959

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 for ever.

Invitation for Offering  -  Enfleshed

Come, let us look for the living -- relationships and efforts that lead to the thriving of our spirits, our bodies, and our communities. Let us water seeds of solidarity, tend the soil of creativity, and relish the blooming of healing. As the body of the Risen Christ, let us acknowledge what we offer for the sake of the Love we want to grow. (offering plate is in the back)

Offering Prayer  -  Enfleshed

Living God, the tomb is empty; Mary told us herself. Women and gender oppressed people guide us in the way of New Life. They rise, even in death’s wake. They keep telling their stories, persisting on sharing those that open and expand possibilities. Bless our offerings, that we might partner with those who lead us to the Way of Life and cultivate heaven on Earth. Amen.

We Celebrate Communion 

Invitation to Communion   -   Iona Abbey Worship Book, adapted                                    

The table of bread and wine is now to be made ready. Come to this table, you who have much faith and you who would like to have more; you who have been here often and you who haven’t been for a long time. Come. This is the table of grace and radical love; Christ invites us to meet him here. 

Invitation to Thanksgiving:              

One:  God be with you.                                   

All:    And also with you.

One:  Lift up you hearts.                                  

All:  We lift them to God.

One:  Let us give thanks to God Most High.

All:    It is right to give God thanks and praise.

Prayer of Great Thanksgiving:  -  New Zealand Prayer Book

It is the joy of our salvation, God of the universe,
to give you thanks through Jesus Christ.

You said, ‘Let there be light’; there was light.
Your light shines on in our darkness.
For you the earth has brought forth life in all its forms.

You have created us to hear your Word, to do your will
and to be fulfilled in your love. It is right to thank you.

You sent your Son to be for us the way we need to follow
and the truth we need to know. He became human 

and dwelled with us, opening our minds and hearts to your love.

You send your Holy Spirit to strengthen, to guide, 

and to revive your Church. 

Therefore, with all your witnesses who surround us on every side, countless as heaven’s stars, we praise you for our creation
and our calling, with loving and with joyful hearts:                                   

Sanctus  - MV #203

O Holy, holy, holy God, O God of time and space.

All earth and sea and sky above bear witness to your grace

Hosanna in the highest heav’n, creation sings your praise.

And blessed is the One who comes and bears your name always!

Holy God, holy and merciful, holy and just,
glory and goodness come from you.

Blessed are you, most holy, in your Son,
who washed his disciples’ feet.
‘I am among you,’ he said, ‘as one who serves.’

On that night before he died he took bread and gave you thanks.
He broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you; 

do this to remember me.

After supper, he took the cup, and gave you thanks.
He gave it to them and said:
Drink this. It is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you, shed for all, to forgive sin; do this to remember me.

Therefore with this bread and wine we recall your goodness to us.

God of the past and present,
we your people remember your Son.
We thank you for his cross and rising again,

we take courage from his ascension;
we look for his coming in glory
and in him we give ourselves to you.

Send your Holy Spirit, that we who receive Christ’s body may
indeed be the body of Christ, and we who share his cup draw
strength from the one true vine.

For you, the heavenly one, make all things new;
you are the beginning and the end, the last and the first.

Praise, glory and love be yours, this and every day,
from us and all people, here and everywhere. 

Amen.

The One who defeated death and injustice is now present in this bread. The One who offers our life promise and hope is now present in this wine.

Breaking into our lives and community, we ask God for new life in Christ.

The gifts of God for the people of God, given for the life of this world. Feed on Christ in your heart through faith with thanksgiving.

Thanks be to God!

Those in the sanctuary are invited to also receive a wafer by following these instructions.

Those on the socially distanced side of the sanctuary, please remain seated to be served in the pew. Those on the non-socially distanced side, please keep to your right as you process up behind the communion table to receive and continue around, back to your seat.

Organ Music                                                                          

Prayer after Communion

God, we give you thanks for this meal that nourishes us, body and soul. May it sustain us as we confront evil that keeps us from living the lives you intended for us and for all your creatures and creations. Until every life can be lived abundantly, be our guide, be our hope, be our comforter. Amen.

Hymn: Thine Is the Glory  v. 1,2 (organ)  -  VU #173

1 Thine is the glory,

risen, conquering Son:

endless is the victory

thou o’er death hast won.

Angels in bright raiment

rolled the stone away,

kept the folded grave-clothes

where the body lay.

[Refrain:]

Thine is the glory,

risen, conquering Son,

endless is the victory

thou o’er death hast won.

2 Lo, Jesus meets us,

risen from the tomb!

lovingly he greets us,

scatters fear and gloom.

Let the church with gladness

hymns of triumph sing,

for the Lord now liveth:

death hath lost its sting. [Refrain]

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation, in the Church and in Christ Jesus, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessing  -  Iona Community

If you are with another person, you’re invited to bless each other, taking every other line.

One:  The Creator’s blessing be yours on your road, on your journey,  guiding you, cherishing you.

Right/Zoom: The Son’s blessing be yours, wine and water,  bread and stories, feeding you, challenging you.

Left:  The Spirit’s blessing be youind and firs, wre, joy and wisdom, comforting you, disturbing you.

All:    The Angel’s blessing be yours, on your house, on your living, guarding you, encouraging you. Let us walk together, a community on a journey, sustained in God’s blessing. Amen!

One:  Let us go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.

All:    Thanks be to God! Alleluia!

Thank You

Organ Postlude