Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, March 13, 2025)
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.
While God’s love for us is steadfast, Christians’ love for one another too often falters. Among the consequences are divisions in a church and eventually the tragedy of a church split. The topic of this evening’s message is surviving the trauma of a church split.
GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear Rachel Chapin’s arrangement of WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS for piano.
Silence
Seek the Lord while he wills to be found,
call upon him when he draws near;
let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the evil ones their thoughts;
and let them return to the Lord,
and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
Isaiah 55.6, 7
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 us,
pardon and deliver us from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
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.
Open this link in a new tab to hear William George Storey’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Radiant Light, O Sun Divine.”
1 O radiant light, O sun divine,
Of God the Father's deathless face,
O image of the light sublime
That fills the heav'nly dwelling place.
2 O Son of God, the source of life,
Praise is your due by night and day.
Our happy lips must raise the strain
of your esteem'd and splendid name.
3 Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades,
As shine the lights of eventide,
We praise the Father with the Son,
The Spirit blest and with them one.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s “Majestic (Psalm 8)”
1 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
When I see the work of your fingers
The moon, the stars, the sun
All things on earth are in their place
Majestic is your name
2 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Who are mortals that you consider
Or that you think of them
They are underneath the angels
Majestic is your name
[Instrumental interlude]
3 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
You have placed creation in our care
All that has life and breath
May we show respect and dignity
Majestic is your name
Silence
We bless you, master of the heavens,
for the wonderful order which enfolds this world;
grant that your whole creation
may find fulfilment in the Son of Man,
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.
Galatians 5:2-15
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? It was not done by God, who calls you. “It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!
As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Theodore Mueller’s translation of Hermann Bonnus’ metrical paraphrase of the Magnificat, “My Soul Give Glory to the Lord.”
1 My soul gives glory to the Lord,
In God my Savior I rejoice.
My lowliness he did regard.
Exalting me by his own choice.
2 Now everyone shall call me blest,
For he has done great things for me,
Of all great names his is the best,
For it is holy; strong is he.
3 His mercy goes to all who fear,
From age to age and to all parts.
His arm of strength to all is near;
He scatters those who have proud hearts.
[Instrumental interlude]
4 He casts the mighty from their throne
And raises those of low degree;
He feeds the hungry as his own,
The rich depart in poverty.
5 He raised his servant Israel,
Rememb'ring his eternal grace,
As from of old he did foretell
To Abraham and all his race.
6 O Father, Son and Spirit blest,
In threefold Name are you adored,
To you be ev'ry prayer addressed,
From age to age the only Lord.
Coda
From age to age the only Lord.
You may have never experienced a church split. If you have not, you have been very fortunate. If you have, you know that they can trigger strong and lasting feelings of anger and ill-will between the parties involved in the split and can greatly weaken a church and even cause its premature demise.
Churches can split over all sorts of things—the style of worship or music, grape juice or wine for communion, the leadership of the pastor, the direction of the denomination, the politics of the day. They can get caught up in a denominational split.
The fallout from a church split can be very tragic. People who were once good friends no longer speak to each other. People may be so badly hurt by the split that they stop attending church altogether.
A church may never fully recover from its damaged image in the community. It may be dogged by image problems for the remainder of its existence.
A large part of the congregation may choose to leave and form a new church, leaving the few remaining members struggling to keep the church open.
In some instances, members of the church may find themselves churchless: They were among those who voted to stay with the denomination with which the church had been long affiliated when the other members of the church voted to leave the denomination and affiliate with another denomination.
What happens too often in a church split the members of the congregation lose sight of what Jesus and the apostles taught about loving others, particularly their fellow disciples.
Forgotten are Jesus’ words, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)
What the apostle Paul wrote the Galatians in this evening’s reading goes unheeded.
“….let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.”
When people are angry, they do not think clearly, and they are apt to make what later proves to be bad decisions. Their anger can distort how they see a situation and interfere with their judgment.
In the heat of the moment unkind words may be exchanged. The attitude that “my way is the only way” may dominate conversations, leaving little or no room for compromise or a solution equitable to all parties.
A church split can be considered a traumatic event just like a natural disaster, an act of violence, a car crash or other accident, or a relationship breakup. Different people react differently to a church split just as they react differently to these events.
If you have experienced a church split (or some other traumatic event), the National Institute of Mental Health has posted a list of helpful self-care tips on its website. The link is: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health.
Pour out your troubles to God in prayer as you would to a trusted friend. If anyone has caused you hurt, pray for them. Ask God to enable you to forgive them. Pray for inner healing for them as well as for yourself.
Rather than dwelling upon the bad things that happened, look for the good things that you can learn from the experience. Ask God to show you how to use what you learned to grow as a disciple of Jesus and become more like him.
It is important to not allow anyone or anything to poison your mind against God or other Christians. There are spiritual forces opposed to God working in the world who seek to exploit every human weakness and use it to sabotage a Christian’s relationship with God. They are attracted to church splits like flies to a pile of manure.
This prayer was adapted from the Coptic Liturgy of St. Cyril. It is a prayer that you might want to make your own.
"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."
Whatever has happened, take comfort in these words from Paul's Letter to the Romans.
“For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
While others may abandon us, Christ never will!
Silence
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear James Quinn’s “This Is My Will, My New Command.”
1 This is my will, my new command,
that love should dwell among you all.
This is my will, that you should love
as I have shown that I love you.
2 There is no greater love than this:
to lay your life down for your friends.
You are my friends if you obey
what I commanded you to do.
3 I call you servants now no more;
no servants know their Lord’s full mind.
I call you friends for I’ve told you
all I have heard my Father say.
4 You did not choose me; I chose you,
appointed you and chose you all,
each one to go and bear much fruit,
fruit that will last beyond all time.
5 All that you ask the Father now
for my name’s sake you shall receive.
This is my will, my one command,
that love should dwell in each, in all..
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
(With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”)
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Additional intercessions, petitions, and thanksgivings may be offered silently or aloud.
Almighty God,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are but did not sin,
give us grace to discipline ourselves
in submission to your Spirit,
that as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
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 us,
pardon and deliver us from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
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.
Open this link in a new tab to hear William George Storey’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Radiant Light, O Sun Divine.”
1 O radiant light, O sun divine,
Of God the Father's deathless face,
O image of the light sublime
That fills the heav'nly dwelling place.
2 O Son of God, the source of life,
Praise is your due by night and day.
Our happy lips must raise the strain
of your esteem'd and splendid name.
3 Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades,
As shine the lights of eventide,
We praise the Father with the Son,
The Spirit blest and with them one.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Kiran Young Wimberly’s “Majestic (Psalm 8)”
1 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
When I see the work of your fingers
The moon, the stars, the sun
All things on earth are in their place
Majestic is your name
2 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Who are mortals that you consider
Or that you think of them
They are underneath the angels
Majestic is your name
[Instrumental interlude]
3 Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
Majestic is your name O God
Your name in all the earth
You have placed creation in our care
All that has life and breath
May we show respect and dignity
Majestic is your name
Silence
We bless you, master of the heavens,
for the wonderful order which enfolds this world;
grant that your whole creation
may find fulfilment in the Son of Man,
Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.
Galatians 5:2-15
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? It was not done by God, who calls you. “It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!
As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Theodore Mueller’s translation of Hermann Bonnus’ metrical paraphrase of the Magnificat, “My Soul Give Glory to the Lord.”
1 My soul gives glory to the Lord,
In God my Savior I rejoice.
My lowliness he did regard.
Exalting me by his own choice.
2 Now everyone shall call me blest,
For he has done great things for me,
Of all great names his is the best,
For it is holy; strong is he.
3 His mercy goes to all who fear,
From age to age and to all parts.
His arm of strength to all is near;
He scatters those who have proud hearts.
[Instrumental interlude]
4 He casts the mighty from their throne
And raises those of low degree;
He feeds the hungry as his own,
The rich depart in poverty.
5 He raised his servant Israel,
Rememb'ring his eternal grace,
As from of old he did foretell
To Abraham and all his race.
6 O Father, Son and Spirit blest,
In threefold Name are you adored,
To you be ev'ry prayer addressed,
From age to age the only Lord.
Coda
From age to age the only Lord.
Surviving the Trauma of a Church Split
You may have never experienced a church split. If you have not, you have been very fortunate. If you have, you know that they can trigger strong and lasting feelings of anger and ill-will between the parties involved in the split and can greatly weaken a church and even cause its premature demise.
Churches can split over all sorts of things—the style of worship or music, grape juice or wine for communion, the leadership of the pastor, the direction of the denomination, the politics of the day. They can get caught up in a denominational split.
The fallout from a church split can be very tragic. People who were once good friends no longer speak to each other. People may be so badly hurt by the split that they stop attending church altogether.
A church may never fully recover from its damaged image in the community. It may be dogged by image problems for the remainder of its existence.
A large part of the congregation may choose to leave and form a new church, leaving the few remaining members struggling to keep the church open.
In some instances, members of the church may find themselves churchless: They were among those who voted to stay with the denomination with which the church had been long affiliated when the other members of the church voted to leave the denomination and affiliate with another denomination.
What happens too often in a church split the members of the congregation lose sight of what Jesus and the apostles taught about loving others, particularly their fellow disciples.
Forgotten are Jesus’ words, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)
What the apostle Paul wrote the Galatians in this evening’s reading goes unheeded.
“….let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.”
When people are angry, they do not think clearly, and they are apt to make what later proves to be bad decisions. Their anger can distort how they see a situation and interfere with their judgment.
In the heat of the moment unkind words may be exchanged. The attitude that “my way is the only way” may dominate conversations, leaving little or no room for compromise or a solution equitable to all parties.
A church split can be considered a traumatic event just like a natural disaster, an act of violence, a car crash or other accident, or a relationship breakup. Different people react differently to a church split just as they react differently to these events.
If you have experienced a church split (or some other traumatic event), the National Institute of Mental Health has posted a list of helpful self-care tips on its website. The link is: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health.
Pour out your troubles to God in prayer as you would to a trusted friend. If anyone has caused you hurt, pray for them. Ask God to enable you to forgive them. Pray for inner healing for them as well as for yourself.
Rather than dwelling upon the bad things that happened, look for the good things that you can learn from the experience. Ask God to show you how to use what you learned to grow as a disciple of Jesus and become more like him.
It is important to not allow anyone or anything to poison your mind against God or other Christians. There are spiritual forces opposed to God working in the world who seek to exploit every human weakness and use it to sabotage a Christian’s relationship with God. They are attracted to church splits like flies to a pile of manure.
This prayer was adapted from the Coptic Liturgy of St. Cyril. It is a prayer that you might want to make your own.
"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."
Whatever has happened, take comfort in these words from Paul's Letter to the Romans.
“For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
While others may abandon us, Christ never will!
Silence
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear James Quinn’s “This Is My Will, My New Command.”
1 This is my will, my new command,
that love should dwell among you all.
This is my will, that you should love
as I have shown that I love you.
2 There is no greater love than this:
to lay your life down for your friends.
You are my friends if you obey
what I commanded you to do.
3 I call you servants now no more;
no servants know their Lord’s full mind.
I call you friends for I’ve told you
all I have heard my Father say.
4 You did not choose me; I chose you,
appointed you and chose you all,
each one to go and bear much fruit,
fruit that will last beyond all time.
5 All that you ask the Father now
for my name’s sake you shall receive.
This is my will, my one command,
that love should dwell in each, in all..
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
(With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”)
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Additional intercessions, petitions, and thanksgivings may be offered silently or aloud.
Almighty God,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are but did not sin,
give us grace to discipline ourselves
in submission to your Spirit,
that as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold to say,
Our Father,
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
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love. Amen.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love. Amen.
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