Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, March 14, 2024)

 

Welcome to Thursday evenings at All Hallows.

In his teaching Jesus put a special emphasis on how his disciples are to treat other people and one another. They are to be known for their compassion, forgiveness, and kindness. While other people might harbor strong feelings of anger and dislike for a person for a lifetime, they are to take the path of reconciliation, finding a way to become friends with those with whom they had a misunderstanding. In a world which encourages people to feel hatred and ill-will toward each other for the slightest reason and to get even for the smallest offense, Jesus’ disciples are to stand out from the crowd for the love they show not only toward each other but also toward all people.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schutte’s “Sing, O Sing.”

1 Sing, O sing, like the wind and sea;
let music fill the skies!
Lift your voice like the thund’ring waves:
let songs of praise arise!
Praise God with drums and dancing!
Praise God with flute and horn!
Blessed be our God, Mighty Lord of all!

2 Night and day we announce your praise;
O Lord of ev'ry land,
Give you thanks for the sun and stars,
all blessings of your hand.
Helper of all who labor,
Comfort to all who mourn.
Praise to you, O God, Mighty Lord of all!

3 Mighty Master of raging storm;
we kneel before your power.
Loving Lord of the faithful rain,
that makes the desert flower.
Giver of song and sorrow,
Grower of every seed.
Praise to you, O God, Mighty Lord of all!

4 Hear us, Lord of the sun and moon;
we bless you night and day.
Guide us, Lord, as we journey home;
be with us on our way.
Spirit of field and forest,
Power of snow and rain.
Praise to you, O God, Mighty Lord of all!

5 Make us shine like stars of night;
we bless your holy name!
Make our love like a blazing light;
O set our hearts aflame!
Master of dawn and darkness,
Maker of shining star.
Praise to you, O God, Mighty Lord of all!

Open this link in a new tab to hear Omer Westendorf’s “Where Charity and Love Prevail.”

1 Where charity and love prevail,
there God is ever found;
Brought here together by Christ’s love,
by love are we thus bound.

2 With grateful joy and holy fear
His charity we learn;
Let us with heart and mind and soul
now love him in return.

3 Forgive we now each other’s faults
as we our faults confess;
And let us love each other well
in Christian holiness.

4 Let strife among us be unknown,
let all contention cease;
Be His the glory that we seek,
be ours His holy peace.

5 Let us recall that in our midst
dwells God’s begotten Son;
As members of His body joined,
we are in Him made one.

6 No race or creed can love exclude,
if honored be God’s name;
Our family embraces all
whose Father is the same.

God has promised forgiveness
to all who truly repent,
turn to Christ in faith
and are themselves forgiving.

Let us confess our sins to God our Father.

Silence

Almighty and merciful God
we have sinned against you,
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with all our heart.
We have not loved others as our Saviour Christ loves us.
We are truly sorry.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen

Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ricard Bruxvoort Colligan’s “O Christ, Surround Me.”

1 God be the love to search and keep me
God be the prayer to move my voice
God be the strength to now uphold me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

2 Bind to myself the name of Holy
Great cloud of witnesses enfold
Prophets, apostles, angels witness
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

3 Brightness of sun and glow of moonlight
Flashing of lightning, strength of wind
Depth of the sea to soil of planet
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

4 Walking behind to hem my journey
Going ahead to light my way
And from beneath, above, and all ways
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

5 Christ in the eyes of all who see me
Christ in the ears who hear my voice
Christ in the hearts of all who know me
O Christ, surround me
O Christ, surround me

Let us pray.

Silence

God of compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
Strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Ephesians 4: 1-16)

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”

Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Silence

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

Good Communication—A Must for Good Relations Between Christians

In this evening’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians the apostle urges those to whom he wrote the letter, the members of the church at Ephesus, to live a life worthy of their calling. He points to their attention that it is God who has called them, implying that their calling is not something that they should take lightly. It is the most important thing in their life.

Paul goes on to urge them to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with each other; to cultivate such qualities of character as humbleness, gentleness, and patience. He encourages them to make allowances for each other’s mistakes and weaknesses in character out of love for each other and not to judge each other too severely. He stresses the importance of being unified as a church and of not quarreling among themselves.

Paul draws to the attention of the Ephesian church that, while some members of the church have a particular responsibility for equipping God’s people to do his work and for building up the church, all members share a common responsibility for helping each other grow, so that everyone is spiritually healthy and growing and filled with love.

What Paul wrote the church at Ephesus has clear implications for us as individual Christians and as members or attendees of a local church. We also share a common responsibility to nurture the spiritual growth of others, not only those who regularly attend the worship services of our church and are involved in its life and ministry, but also those who for any reason are not able to attend the church’s worship services or take an active part in the life and ministry of the church. Their spiritual health and their growth in Christlikeness and love are also our concern. They are united to us by the Holy Spirit, their faith, and their baptism.

The kind of harmonious relationships that Paul was urging the Ephesians to establish and maintain are the kind that foster spiritual growth, in ourselves as well as others. They are the same kind of relationships that Jesus commanded when he gave the disciples the commandment to love one another as he had loved them. They require putting into practice Jesus’ teaching and following his example as his teaching and example are presented in the Gospels.

Such relationships also require open and honest communication between all parties involved in the relationship. This may not be easy, but it is critical. It is essential to preventing misunderstanding, creating trust, and resolving conflicts.

It is impossible for Christians to love a fellow Christian when they are unwilling to communicate with that person, harboring lingering suspicions of that person based upon past misunderstandings that they did not attempt to correct. They may have misinterpreted that person’s words and action and misconstrued that person’s intentions.

In refusing to communicate with that person, they are choosing to cling to what may be a hastily and inaccurately formed opinion of that individual. Instead of trying to understand their fellow Christian and to have a friendly relationship with that person, they are letting their misperceptions of that person keep them from seeing the real person. These misperceptions may be a product of their own imagination, the residual effects of a past traumatic experience, the projection of their own feelings and desires onto that person, an unconscious bias, a stereotype, or the misguided opinion of someone else. Their misperceptions may be the result of a combination of these factors.

When we choose to cling to our misperceptions of a fellow Christian rather than trying to understand that person and to have a friendly relationship with them, we may seek validation of our opinion of them from others and in the process influence others’ perceptions of that individual and damage the reputation of the individual in question. We can inadvertently prejudice other members and attendees of a local church against that individual. Even seemingly innocent gossip can be extremely toxic, poisoning relationships and harming the spiritual health of a church.

Gossip triggers what psychologists call the “negativity bias” in human beings. This bias is hardwired into our brains. It is the tendency to think and believe the worst about other people, to give far greater credence to negative reports about them than to positive ones, to accept negative reports about them at face value without checking the truth or accuracy of the report, and to choose to believe something bad about someone, rather than something good when we have the possibility of doing either. When we cling to our misperceptions of someone else and do not try to understand them and have a friendly relationship with them, we are giving full play to our negativity bias.

When one church member or attendee clings to mistaken perceptions of another church member or attendee and makes no effort to correct these misperceptions, that person’s misperceptions can become a barrier to the other person’s full inclusion in the life, ministry, and worship of the church and an obstruction to the other person’s exercise of spiritual gifts, natural talents, and learned skills from which the church would benefit. In sharing their misperceptions with others, they can cause people to doubt the character, the qualities, and the reputation of the other person. Among the repercussions is that those with whom they have shared their misperceptions may display a change in attitude and behavior toward that person. They may not greet that person when they see the person. They may intentionally avoid the person. They may overlook the person when recruiting volunteers for a ministry or project or inviting people to an activity. They may not respond to the person’s offer of help, or they may refuse the offer without giving a legitimate reason for their refusal of the offer. Their attitude and behavior toward that person may in turn influence the attitude and behavior of others toward that individual.

If a church is going to be a genuinely welcoming church to the neighborhood or community in which it is located, that is a church which is friendly to people of all ages, from all walks of life, and which makes them feel welcome, the place it must start first is the way that its members and attendees treat each other. If they cling to their misperceptions of each other, refuse to communicate with each other and sort out any misunderstandings, do not try to understand each other and have a friendly relationship with each other, they are going to treat visitors and newcomers in the same way. While they may not be aware of what they are doing, visitors and newcomers will be quick to catch on, particularly if the congregation is small in size. It may take them longer in a medium-sized or large congregation.

Church members and attendees can learn to do a number of things to improve their communication skills so that they are able to understand each other better and to have a friendlier relationship with each other. Take a look at the article, “14 Simple Rules That Will Make You a Better Communicator,” https://blog.talaera.com/good-communicator, on the Taleara website. While these recommendations are intended to help people become more effective communicators in the workplace, they will also help them become better communicators in the church and in the home.

Good communication is vital to establishing and maintaining the kind of harmonious relationships that help to set apart from other community organizations a local church whose members and attendees are true disciples of Jesus, embodying the teaching and example of their Lord and loving one another as Christ loved us. It is key to a local church fulfilling its vision to be a place of belonging and a spiritual home to all people.

O God of love, you have given a new commandment, through your only-begotten Son, that we should love one another, even as you did love us, the unworthy and the wandering, and gave your beloved Son for our life and salvation; we beseech you, Lord, give to us your servants, in all time of our life on the earth, a mind forgetful of past ill-will, a pure conscience and sincere thoughts, and a heart to love our brothers and sisters in Christ—Amen.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to John L. Bell’s “Love One Another.”

Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.
Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.

1 Those who show love are the children of God;
Father and mother is God to them.

Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.
Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.

2 God showed his love in the face of the Son;
Christ live in us so that we might live through him.

Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.
Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.

3 Love has no place for the menace of fear;
Fear is abandoned where love is found.

Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.
Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.

4 Love has its purpose in God’s holy will;
We learn to love from the one who loved us.

Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.
Love one another as love is of God;
Those who live in love, God lives in them.

Let us affirm with Christians across the ages what we believe about God
and his love for us.

We believe in one God,
who made us and loves all that is.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was born, lived, died and rose again,
and is coming to call all to account.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who calls, equips and sends out God’s people,
and brings all things to their true end.

This is our faith, the faith of the Church:

We believe in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray to the Lord with all our heart and with all our soul.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all Christian people, that they may live in love and truth.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all ministers of the Church, and for our brothers and
sisters in Christ.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for peace throughout the world, and for all governments.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for our neighbours and for all our friends.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for those who hate us as we pray for those who love us.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for refugees and prisoners, and for all who are exposed to the
dangers of travel.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all sick people, for the sorrowful and the dying.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for the abundance of the fruits of the earth, and that the
poor and hungry may receive a just share.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us remember our brothers and sisters who have entered into eternal
rest.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.

Let us continue praying in a time of open prayer.

A period of open prayer follows.

The leader brings the period of open prayer to an end saying

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father,
you have promised to hear
what we ask in the name of your Son:
we pray you to accept and answer our prayers,
not as we ask in our ignorance,
nor as we deserve in our sinfulness,
but as you know and love us in your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As our Savior taught his disciples, we pray

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,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May the almighty and merciful God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us
now and forever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Molly Ijames’ arrangement of
Jeff Nelson and Scott Wesley Brown’s “Grace Alone.”

Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we will make
Is only by His grace

Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace

Grace alone, which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us our cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone

[Instrumental interlude]

Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace
Is only by His grace

Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace

Grace alone which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us our cornerstone
Cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone
We will go forth
We will go forth
We will go forth in grace alone

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.