October 3, 2021, The Nineteenth 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 Celebrant & Preacher today is The Rev. Matthew H. Mead.

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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.
• Healing Prayers are offered at the Bolton Altar following both services.
• Please review these Guidelines before attending worship at Christ Church.

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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 and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen

The Old Testament

Genesis 2:18-24
The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.”  Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Psalm 8  Domine, Dominus noster

1 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.

3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.

4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?

6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;

7 You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:

8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,

9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

10 O Lord our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

The Epistle

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

The Gospel

Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

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