June 27, 2021, The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

This period in the Church year is known as “The Season after Pentecost” or “Ordinary Time.”  The term “ordinary” refers to how the New Testament passages are generally read in order or in sequence, as opposed to being arranged by specific theme as in other seasons.  During this season the Gospel passages focus on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and how he is revealed to the world as the Christ.  In Year B (the second in a three-year cycle: A, B & C) most of the Gospel passages are from the Gospel according to Mark.  The Old Testament Lesson and the Psalm are chosen because they relate to the words and message of Jesus.  The New Testament Lesson is independent of these readings and is almost always taken from one of the Letters in the New Testament that reflects the common life and mission of the first Christian community.

Our Preacher this morning is the Rev. Matthew Hoxsie Mead, Rector.

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Today’s In Person Worship

• Every Sunday at 8am the Eucharist (Rite 1) is celebrated in the Church.  The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 323, and includes 2 pre-recorded hymns, and lasts about 45 minutes. Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
• Every Sunday at 10am the Eucharist (Rite 2) is celebrated in the Church. The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 355.  See below for detailed music information.  The service lasts about an hour.  Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
• Please review these Guidelines before attending worship at Christ Church.

NOTE: Limited congregational singing (with masks on) will resume this Sunday.  We will add more congregational singing at the 10am in the the coming weeks.

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Today’s Live-Stream Worship & Sermon Archives

• You can view the live-stream of Sunday morning services HERE
• Sermon archives are HERE
• Our Sermon and other archives are here: https://www.youtube.com/c/christchurchpelham

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Sunday Offerings & Financial Donations to Christ Church

Christ Church is supported by the generosity of members and friends who donate time, talent, and money to the church to ensure that it is open, staffed, safe, and active. God has given each of us many gifts and we are called to use them to build up the church and to show the spread the love of God to our community. Click on the Donate Button for a variety of ways to support Christ Church, including one-time donations, annual pledges, and raising funds through FaceBook or Amazon.

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Today’s Propers (Collect & Lections from Holy Scripture)

The Collect

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death,
And he does not delight in the death of the living.  For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them, and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.  For righteousness is immortal.  God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it.

The Response
Lamentations 3:21-33

This I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,

to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,

to put one’s mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),

to give one’s cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.

For the Lord will not
reject for ever.

Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.

The Epistle

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

As you excel in everything– in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you– so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.  I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something– now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has– not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,

“The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.”

The Gospel

Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

 

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Today’s Music

At the 8am and 10am services, the following recorded hymn will be offered by our full choir:
Hymn: “O bless the Lord my soul”
Words: James Montgomery (1771-1854); para. of Psalm 103: 1-5
Music: St. Thomas (Williams), melody Aaron Williams (1731-1776); harm. Lowell Mason (1792-1872). Public Domain.
Last verse harmonization by T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953) Copyright © 1946 J. Fischer & Bro.,
assigned to Alfred Publishing. Used under OneLicense.net A-713125.
Performed by Laurelyn Watson Chase, Jann Degnan, Jeffrey Hoffman, and Simon Cram, professional choristers;
with members of the parish choir Linda Gerra, Cheryl Greenhalgh, and Emily Kane;
Jeffrey Hoffman, organist & director of music.
Recording, photography, and video production by Jeffrey Hoffman.
This presentation copyright © 2021 by the Parish of Christ the Redeemer (Christ Church), Pelham, New York.
All rights reserved.

At the 10 am Eucharist, the following musical selections will also be heard and sung:
Organ prelude (played live) at the 10 am Eucharist: Adagio for strings, Op. 11 by Samuel Barber (1910-1981), arranged for organ by William Strickland (1914-1991)
Hymn: 525 The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord
Words: Samuel John Stone (1839-1900). Public domain.
Music: AURELIA, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). Public domain.
Last verse harmonization by T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953) Copyright © 1946 J. Fischer & Bro.,
assigned to Alfred Publishing. Used under OneLicense.net A-713125.

Hymn-anthem at the offertory: God the sculptor of the mountains, arranged by Jeffrey Hoffman (b. 1970)
Margaret Young, soprano and John Hastings, baritone; soloists

God the sculptor of the mountains,
God the miller of the sand,
God the jeweler of the heavens,
God the potter of the land:
You are womb of all creation,
we are formless; shape us now.

God the nuisance to the Pharaoh,
God the cleaver of the sea,
God the pillar of the darkness,
God the beacon of the free:
You are gate of all deliverance,
we are sightless; lead us now.

God the unexpected infant,
God the calm, determined youth,
God the present table-turning prophet,
God the resurrected Truth:
You are present every moment,
we are searching; meet us now.

God the dresser of the vineyard,
God the planter of the wheat,
God the reaper of the harvest,
God the source of all we eat:
You are host at every table,
we are hungry; feed us now.

Words: John Thornburg (b. 1954)
Music: SANDRIA, Gerre Hancock (1934-2012)
Text copyright © 1994 by John Thornburg. Administered by Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Music copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Used under OneLicense.net A-713125.
This arrangement copyright © 2018 by Jeffrey Hoffman. Used with permission.

Hymn: 671 Amazing Grace
Words: John Newton (1725-1807), alt.; last verse, John Rees (19th cent.). Public domain.
Music: NEW BRITAIN, from Virginia Harmony, 1831; adapt. att. Edwin Othello Excell (1851-1921); Public Domain.
First, fourth and fifth verses harmonized and arranged by Jeffrey Hoffman (b. 1970), copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Second and third verse harmonization by Eric Routley (1917-1982). Copyright © 1985 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
All rights reserved. Used by permission from the publisher.

Organ voluntary (played live)  at the 10 am Eucharist: Prelude and Fugue on a theme of Vittoria by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

The organ selections heard this morning are by two prominent gay composers of the 20th century, Samuel Barber and Benjamin Britten; offered in commemoration of the long, ongoing struggles for lgbtqia+ inclusion in the church and for lgtbqia+ rights in our society at large on this LGBTQIA+ Pride Sunday, 2021.