A morning service during the Covid-19 restrictions
Last Sunday after Epiphany - February 14, 2021

Lord, open our lips,
	And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
	O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.  Alleluia!

The Lord is our light and our life: O come let us worship.

#33 Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; bow down before him his glory proclaim;
gold of obedience and incense of lowliness bring, and adore him: the Lord is his name!
 
Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness; high on his heart he will bear it for thee,
comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness, guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.

Fear not to enter his courts, in the slenderness of the poor wealth thou canst reckon as thine;
truth in its beauty and love in its tenderness, these are the offerings to lay on his shrine.

These though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness, he will accept for the Name that is dear,
mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness, trust for our trembling, and hope for our fear.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; bow down before him his glory proclaim;
gold of obedience and incense of lowliness bring, and adore him: the Lord is his name!
John Samuel Bewley Monsell 1811-1875

The Proclamation of the Word
2 Kings 2:1-12
					Psalm 50:1-6
1 The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken;*
	he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty,*
	God reveals himself in glory.
3 Our God will come and will not keep silence;*
	before him there is a consuming flame, and round about him a raging storm.     
4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above *
	to witness the judgement of his people.
5 “Gather before me my loyal followers,*
	those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
	for God himself is judge.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now and will be for ever. Amen.

 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9     
A reflection on the readings (written by the Rt. Rev. Tom Corston)

Affirmation of Faith
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first and the great commandment. The second is like it:
Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
 
#213 Judge Eternal Throned in Splendour
Judge eternal, throned in splendour, Lord of lords and King of kings,
with the living fire of judgement purge this land of bitter things;
solace all its wide dominion with the healing of thy wings.

Still the weary folk are pining for the hour that brings release;
and the city’s crowded clangour cries aloud for sin to cease;
and the homestead and the woodland plead in silence for their peace.

Crown, O God, thine own endeavour; cleave our darkness with thy sword;
feed the faint and hungry peoples with the richness of thy word;
cleanse the body of this nation through the glory of the Lord.
Henry Scott Holland 1847-1918

Prayers (see litany below)
Our prayers have been requested for: Thelma, Joanne, Wendy, Vivian, Spruce, the front line workers who continue to serve in the midst of this pandemic

Litany #3 (Let us offer our prayers to the source of all love and all life, saying, “Lord, hear our prayer”)
Merciful Lord, we pray for all who call themselves Christians: that we may become a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to the praise of Christ Jesus our Saviour.  	Lord, hear our prayer       
We pray for Anne our bishop, and for all bishops and other ministers: that they may remain faithful to their calling and rightly proclaim the word of truth.  		Lord, hear our prayer
We pray for Elizabeth our Queen, for the leaders of the nations, and all in authority: that your people may lead quiet and peaceable lives. 				Lord, hear our prayer
We pray for this city and those who live here, the poor and the rich, the elderly and the young, men and women: that you will show your goodwill to all. 			Lord, hear our prayer
We pray for the victims of our society and those who minister to them: that you will be their help and defense. 								Lord, hear our prayer
We pray for those preparing for baptism: that they may be strengthened in the faith.
									Lord, hear our prayer
We give thanks for all the saints who have found favour in your sight from earliest times, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and those whose names are known to you alone: and we pray that we too may be counted among your faithful witnesses. 			Lord, hear our prayer

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbour.

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 neighbours 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.

Almighty God have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect of the day
Almighty God, on the holy mount you revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured: mercifully deliver us from the darkness of this world, and change us into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord who with you and the Holy Spirit one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Lord’s prayer
#253 Be Thou My Vision
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me save that thou art,
thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true Word; I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou my great Father; thine own may I be, thou in me dwelling and I one with thee.

Riches I heed not, nor the world’s empty praise; thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart, high King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, when victory is won, may I reach heaven’s joys, bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Translated by Mary Elizabeth Byrne 1880-1931 and Eleanor Hull 1860-1935 slightly altered for singing purposes

Dismissal
Then may be said or sung,
Officiant Let us bless the Lord. People Thanks be to God!

The text above is taken from the Book of Alternative Service published by the Anglican Church of Canada and used with permission. The words of the Hymns are all in public domain unless otherwise noted.