Service of Morning Prayer for Sunday, March 27, 2022 -- Worshipping "In Place" (If You Prefer)

 

Today's Service is prepared for you by 

Rev. Dr. Robert Sears 

and 

members of the Parish of 

St. Cyprian's Anglican Church, 

Lacombe, Alberta

Rev. Robert's notes on the sermon:

"Our reading today is the Prodigal Son. I want to look at the parable as part of larger three-part parable of the Lost and Found. Looking at it this was we can use the frame work of the first two stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin to highlight elements of the third story. "What I think we will find it is that we need to look more closely at the eldest son. Seen in the pattern of the three lost and found stories we need to take seriously the possibility that the lost son is not the prodigal son, but the eldest son. "The Parable of the Lost and Found encourages us to look for who is lost to us and do what it takes to seek them out and celebrate them. "So, if you are up for a fresh look at an old parable, then today is your day. The Parable of the Lost and Found."

Readings for Sunday, March 27, 2022

Joshua 5: 9-12

Psalm 32

2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

The Gospel of Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32

Thanks to Rev. Robert and volunteers for this week's service.

May it bless your day. 😊

Service for Sunday, March 20, 2022: Worshipping "In Place" (If You Prefer)

 

This morning's online Morning Prayer Service is provided by Rev. Robert Sears, who will be serving Eucharist in person at the Anglican Parish of St. John's, Olds -- God and Mother Nature permitting.  

Yours truly is hoping to provide an in-person service of Morning Prayer at St. Cyprian's, Lacombe.  As he recorded yesterday, and as I write this, we remain under a freezing-rain-turning-to-heavy-snowfall warning.  

From where I sit as I post this at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time, 43 km west of Lacombe and 1 1/2 hour's drive northeast of Olds, nothing is happening.  No rain, no snow.  But this being Alberta, it could turn on a dime anytime between now and the time I'm due to leave for the church -- in a couple of hours.  Please keep our travels in your prayers this morning.

Rev. Robert's notes on his sermon today: 

"The message of our gospel for the third Sunday in Lent is to bear fruit and grow in your spiritual life. This means bearing the fruit of the spirit, not forgetting our interdependence on God, and caring for our gift of life with renewed seriousness. We need to welcome with thanks the gifts of love and care that we have received. That requires we at least count them up. We need to develop our gifts of love and care that we share with our people and all those who cross our path.

"Love and care are the very soil in which we live and move. If we are to take our faith to heart then we need to tend to the soil in which we are planted. Contrary to popular opinion, we cultivate our spiritual lives together. Even in just the hour or two we spend together each week we reaffirm our faith and return together to commune with God through word and sacrament. Worship is a return to the ground our of being, an expression of our faith, and an encouragement.

"There is strength we can find in meeting together to consider the words of scripture, especially when those words feel challenging to us. We can think together about the words of scripture, their meaning, and their application to our lives. We can also offer and receive words of encouragement one to another."

Readings for Sunday, March 20, 2022

 Isaiah 55: 1-9

 Psalm 63: 1-8

 1 Cor. 10: 1-13

 Luke 13: 1-9.  

May this bless your day. 😊

An Eccumenical Day of Prayer - March 18, 2022

Join us for a day of ecumenical prayer. A Zoom service will be held from Noon-1pm on Friday, March 18th. To request the link to attend the service, please email: diocese@calgary.anglican.ca.

Reflection in Lent: Prayers for Hope and Peace

A spot in the gardens at Canterbury Cathedral - fron a screenshot

 

At the end of today's service of Morning Prayer from Canterbury Cathedral, Dean Robert Willis noted that while the site of the service featured the blue hyacinths and yellow daffodils in tribute and prayer for Ukraine, its people and leadership, it also included a great deal of green.  He told a story of a past visit from an Eccumenical Cardinal from Rome, who noted that blue -- one of Canterbury's colours -- and yellow -- a colour signifying the church in Rome -- when blended, make green, the Colour of Hope.

Offering this photo of the garden flowers and these prayers for peace and hope.  May they bless your day.

O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace.  Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your Church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts; through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is sadness, joy.  Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. AMEN  (The Prayer of St. Francis)

Service of Morning Prayer for Sunday, March 13, 2022: Worshipping "In Place" (If You Prefer)

Today's Service is prepared for you by 

Rev. Dr. Robert Sears 

and 

members of the Parish of 

St. Cyprian's Anglican Church, 

Lacombe, Alberta

Rev. Robert's note on the sermon: "Today in the sermon we take a walk down TV memory lane. I will look at how many TV shows have from the beginning given us a window onto our lives through stories of simple families in simpler times.

"I want to contrast this 'entertainment approach' to raising issues and questions with the more self-involving way in which a spiritual life demands we engage.

"In the end, I will give an illustration of just how simple it can be to welcome God's care and love. You might be surprised how simple it can be."

Readings for Sunday, March 13, 2022

Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18

Psalm 27

Philippians 3: 17 - 4: 1 

The Gospel of Luke 13: 31-35

Thanks to Rev. Robert and volunteers for this week's service.

May it bless your day. 😊

Just a Friendly Reminder...

Planning to attend the Eucharist service in person at St. Cyprian's on Sunday, March 13?  Remember to set your clock(s) at bedtime on Saturday night!

From the Poor Clares, Galway, Ireland...

 

Service for Sunday, March 6, 2022: Worshipping "In Place" (If You Prefer)

 The First Sunday of Lent

Today's Service is prepared for you by 

Rev. Dr. Robert Sears 

and 

members of the Parish of 

St. John's Anglican Church, 

Olds, Alberta

Readings for March 6, 2022

 Deuteronomy 26: 1-11

 Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16

 Romans 10: 8b-13

The Gospel according to Luke 4: 1-13

We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine, for Europe and the world.

Thanks to Rev. Robert and volunteers for this week's service.

May it bless your day. 😊

Lenten Readings

Shared from the Anglican Diocese of Calgary.  Follow this link to access a pdf that you might wish to use for Lenten reflections.

RE: World Day of Prayer 2022

Please note: This is shared from the Anglican Diocese of Calgary Newsletter, March 3, 2022.  To access the internet links, you need to copy and paste them into your browser.  Thank you.