Welcome to St. John's Maundy Thursday Service. We will begin at 7:30 pm.  Maundy Thursday Preparation As we prepare for this evening's celebration of Maundy Thursday, we invite you to place a bowl with warm soapy water and a towel at your Sacred Space. We also invite you to place some fresh or dried fruit and nuts, fruit juice or wine and bread. The Opening Acclamation Priest Blessed be the God of our salvation. People Who bears our burdens and forgives our sins. Opening Hymn - "Abide with Me"  Priest The Lord be with you. People And also with you. Priest Let us pray Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. People Amen. The Liturgy of the Word Old Testament Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. [Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.] This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. Reader The Word of the Lord. People Thanks be to God. The Psalm Psalm 116:1, 10-17 Dilexi, quoniam 1. I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, * 10 How shall I repay the Lord * 11 I will lift up the cup of salvation * 12 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord * 13 Precious in the sight of the Lord * 14 O Lord, I am your servant; * 15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving * 16 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord * 17 In the courts of the Lord’s house, * The Epistle 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he come. The Word of the Lord. Thanks Be to God. Hymn - "What a Wondrous Love Is This"   The Gospel John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Priest The Gospel of the Lord. People Praise to you, Lord Christ. The Sermon Rev. Duncan A. Burns, Rector The Washing of Hands We now invite you to wash your hands in the bowl space in your sacred place as a sign that we are all called his servants Priest My brothers and sisters in Christ, on the night before his death, Jesus set an example for his disciples by washing their feet, an act of humble service. He taught that strength and growth in the life of the kingdom of God come not by power, authority, or even miracle, but by such lowly service. I now invite you to wash your hands in the bowl paced in your sacred space as a sign that we are all called to be servants. Hymn - "Chereponi," a Ghanan Folk Song  The Prayers of the People II BCP 385 I ask your prayers for God's people throughout the world; for Michael, our Presiding Bishop, Lawrence, our Bishop, Duncan our Rector, Claire our Seminarian; for this gathering; and for all ministers and people. Silence I ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations; and for the well-being of all people. Silence I ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison. I ask your prayers for: … Roger Giacomini, Greg Nigiri, Bridget, George, Fern Peterson, Marie Canga, Denise Mendolese, Gregory Mazzeo, Gail Goodrich, Mary Didio, Robin Richter, Bill, Amy, Kate, Claire, Cheryl, Tom, Debra, David, Tim, Chris, Sue, Justin, Neeko, Kelsey, Patrick Cline, Christian, Anthony, Gladys, Rob, Marlene, Heather, Mary White, Muriel DiGiorgio, Iryna Pryrodna, Lynn Hansen, Brian Hernandez, Helen Piscitelli, Margaret Delahunt, Lucy Jane Cahill, Anna Spilsbury, Esther Vega, Karina Flores, Patti, Margaret Villano, Shaun, Chrissie, John, Kelly, Wally, Bill Hasenfus, Judy Clock, William Murphy, Frank, Matthew Hathaway, Daniel Massaro, Mattie Hanson, Johnnie Henley, Frank, Leslie, Adriana, Lori, Kristi, Lynn, Scott, Julia Mulroy, Kieran Mock, Melissa Mock, Kim Morris, Chad Morris, Gregory Morris, Dean Morris, Dwayne Henley, Leroy Henley, Catherine Henley, Margaret Livingston, Laurie H., Kristi X., Mary F., Betty S., Diane Hannah, Martha, Juana, Carmen, Joel Snodgrass, Richard Waldman, Tom Neokleous, Jeffrey, Jerry Cory, Ryan, Manny, Richard, Barbara, Ana. Pray for those in any need or trouble. Blessed are you, faithful God, for you accompany suffering humanity with love. Abide wherever the coronavirus has struck. Visit all who mourn their dead; all who have contracted the virus; those who are quarantined or stranded away from home; those who have lost their employment; those who fear the present and the future. Support physicians, nurses, home health aides and medical researchers. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. We pray for all our doctors, nurses, and medical staff who put themselves at risk to care for us during this corona virus epidemic. Silence We pray for all our men and women serving in the armed services and all first responders who put themselves at risk every day, especially during this time. May God keep them safe and healthy, and return them home to their loved ones. Silence Blessed are you gracious God, for you care for the needy. We beg you to feed the hungry, protect the refugee, embrace the distressed, house the homeless, nurse the sick, and comfort the dying. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Silence I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. We pray for those in our First Communion and Confirmation classes. Pray that they may find and be found by him. Silence I ask your prayers for the departed. Pray for those who have died. Recently Departed: Rev. Anthony Checo, Diane Downing, Donald Bookal, and Fr. John's son-in-law's father, Joseph Ely The Perpetual Light is given this week in loving memory of Bertha & Frank Lasek and Natividad & Modesto Roman, a gift of David & Nelly Lasek. Silence Praise God for those in every generation in whom Christ has been honored. Silence Priest Gathering our prayers and our praises into one, we are bold to say: People Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Agape Feast The Blessing of the Food Please lift each item of food as the following blessings are prayed. Over the Fruit Juice or Wine Priest Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe. You create the fruit of the vine; and you refresh us with the cup of salvation in the Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. May the time come quickly when we can share that cup again, even as you are with us now in our very thirst for you. Glory to you for ever and ever. People Amen. Over the Bread Priest Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe. You bring forth bread from the earth; and you have fed us on our way with the bread of life in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ. Let us be fed again soon with that bread of life. And as grain scattered upon the earth is gathered into one loaf, so gather your Church in every place into the kingdom of your Son. To you be glory and power for ever and ever. People Amen. Over the Other Foods Priest Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe. You have blessed the earth to bring forth food to satisfy our hunger. Let this food strengthen us in the fast that is before us, that following our Savior in the way of the cross, we may come to the joy of his resurrection. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and for ever. People Amen. Please share your Agape Feast with your loved ones. Hymn - "Taste and See" by James Moore    Concluding Collect Priest O God of the crucified and risen One, from whom no trial or trouble can separate us: you feed us with your Word and soothe us with your Spirit, closer to us than breath itself. Make us glad this night for the life of your servant Jesus; Make us servants of all for the sake of Jesus; who for our sake gave his life for the salvation of all. In the Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord. People Amen  The Stripping of the Altar Psalm 22 - Leslie Valentine, Soloist |