Saint Stephen’s Weekly Prayers for Maundy Thursday and the week of April 9, 2023, and April Messenger

Good Morning, Saint Stephen’s Church,

Holy Week Schedule:

4/6 -@ 5:30, Maundy Thursday with Eucharist, Father Marshall Vang

4/7 – @12:00, Good Friday Liturgy at St. George’s, Father Marshall Vang

4/7-@ 5:30, Stations of the Cross: Allison de Kanel

4/8- @ 7:00, Easter Vigil at St.George’s, Father Marshall Vang

4/9-@ 8 a.m., Easter service, Father Marshall Vang

✠Maundy Thursday✠

COLLECT

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.

FIRST LESSON

Exodus 12:1-14

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.

Psalm 116: 1, 10-17

¹ I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my

supplication,*

because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon

him.

¹⁰ How shall I repay the LORD*

for all the good things he has done for me?

¹¹ I will lift up the cup of salvation*

and call upon the Name of the LORD.

¹² I will fulfill my vows to the LORD*

in the presence of all his people.

¹³ Precious in the sight of the LORD*

is the death of his servants.

¹⁴ O LORD, I am your servant;*

I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;

you have freed me from my bonds.

¹⁵ I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving*

and call upon the Name of the LORD.

¹⁶ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD*

in the presence of all his people,

¹⁷ In the courts of the LORD’S house,*

in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

SECOND LESSON

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I have 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 comes.

GOSPEL

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

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.”

Usher: V. Hoshko

Lectors: D. Lohnas, A. de Kanel

Music Today:

Prelude When Jesus Wept Billings/Martin

Sequence Hymn #439

Hymn LEV #74

The Offertory Anthem The Upper Room Besig

The Communion Music Christ lag in Todesbanden Bach

✠Easter Day✠

Collect and Lessons for Easter Day, Year A

COLLECT

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

FIRST LESSON

Acts 10:34-43

Then Peter began to speak to them, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;*

his mercy endures for ever.

² Let Israel now proclaim,*

“His mercy endures for ever.”

¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my song,*

and he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ There is a sound of exultation and victory*

in the tents of the righteous:

¹⁶ “The right hand of the LORD has triumphed!*

the right hand of the LORD is exalted!

the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!”

¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,*

and declare the works of the LORD.

¹⁸ The LORD has punished me sorely,*

but he did not hand me over to death.

¹⁹ Open for me the gates of righteousness;*

I will enter them

I will offer thanks to the LORD.

²⁰ “This is the gate of the LORD;*

he who is righteous may enter.”

²¹ I will give thanks to you, for you answered me*

and have become my salvation.

²² The same stone which the builders rejected*

has become the chief cornerstone.

²³ This is the LORD’S doing,*

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ On this day the LORD has acted;*

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

SECOND LESSON

Colossians 3:1-4

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

GOSPEL

John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Intercessions this Week

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan

Our Leaders: Joseph Biden, President of the United States; Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady

Our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop; Michael G. Smith and Carol Gallagher, Assisting Bishops; Marshall Vang and Sally Heiligman, our supply priests; and Allison de Kanel, our lay reader

Those who are in need of strength and healing: Mary Ann, Marilyn, Vincent, June, Bill, Chris, the Humphrey Family, Marshall, and Joe

Those who celebrate birthdays this week: Gerald

Those who have died: Charles Morrison, Charles Morrison, Adele Worcester, Irene Phillips, David Small, Frances Baumis, George Bentley, Howard Phillips, Dorothy Rigley, Hazel Carroll, William Scheiber

BLESSING & LIGHTING OF THE PASCHAL CANDLE

Celebrant This is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ was raised gloriously from the dead, crushing the power of sin and destroying the sting of death. Throughout the world Christians celebrate the mighty power of God as Christ calls us out of darkness to share his marvelous light. May we, and all Christian people, shine as light in the world to the glory of God the Father.

Christ, yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha, and Omega,

all things belong to him, and all ages; to him be glory and dominion, through every age and for ever. Amen.

The light of Christ: Thanks be to God.

The Prayers of the People

Celebrant: With joy and hope let us pray to the Father.

The Leader continues: That our risen Savior may fill us and the whole world with the joy of his glorious and life-giving resurrection, Lord, hear us.