St.

Stephen’s Episcopal
Church

1 9 0 Ra ughl e y Hi l l Rd.
Ha rri ngton, De l aw are
3 0 2 -39 8 -3 71 0
www.ststephensde.org

O ur Mi s s i on i s to grow a c ongre ga ti on tha t

w el c ome s a l l , to c ome toge the r to c e l e bra te
our be l i e f i n J es us Chri s t through bi bl i c a l
te a c hi ngs a nd pra ye r w hi l e s tri vi n g to a c hi e ve
a s pi r i tual c onnec ti on a nd fe l l ow shi p w i thi n i ts
m e m be r s hi p a nd c ommuni t y w e s er ve .

Holy Eucharist
February 25, 2024
2nd Sunday in Lent
 Holy Eucharist: Rite Two
Pr o ce s s i on al H y mn S t an d H 150

Blessed be Lord who forgives all our sins.

People His mercy endures for ever.

When used as a separate service, the Exhortation, page 316, may

be read, or a homily preached.

Decalogue: Contemporary:

Hear the commandments of God to his people:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage.
You shall have no other gods but me.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not make for yourself any idol.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not invoke with malice the Name of the Lord your God.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

Honor your father and your mother.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit murder.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit adultery.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not steal.

Amen. Lord have mercy.
You shall not be a false witness.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Amen. Lord have mercy.

The Celebrant may read one of the following sentences

Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel:

The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love
your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment
greater than these." Mark 12:29-31

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the

truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is
faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw
near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14,16

The Deacon or Celebrant then says

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Minister and People

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 neighbors 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.

The Bishop when present, or the Priest, stands and says

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you
in eternal life. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

The Celebrant says to the people

The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.
Celebrant Let us pray.

The Collect:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to

all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Lessons:

A Reading from Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16: Susan Eliason

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared
to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before
me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between
me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then
Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this
is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a
multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram,
but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the
ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and
kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant
between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to
you and to your offspring after you. God said to Abraham,
“As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah
shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give
you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to
nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” The Word of
the Lord! Thanks be to God

Psalm 22: 22-30: Janet Voss

22 Praise the LORD, you that fear him; *

stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their
poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *
but when they cry to him he hears them.
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those
who worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek
the LORD shall praise him: *
"May your heart live forever!"
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to
the LORD, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before
him.
27 For kingship belongs to the LORD; *
he rules over the nations.
 28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in
worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the LORD’s forever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people yet
unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.

The Epistle- Romans 4: 13-25: Susan Eliason

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come
to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through
the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who
are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For
the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is
there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order
that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his
descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to
those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of
all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many
nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed,
who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things
that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he
would become “the father of many nations,” according to
what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He
did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body,
which was already as good as dead (for he was about a
hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of
Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the
promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave
glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do
what he had promised. Therefore, his faith “was reckoned to
him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to
him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It
will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus
our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our
trespasses and was raised for our justification. The Word of
the Lord! Thanks be to God!
Gospel Hymn Stand H 439

The Gospel- Mark 8: 31-38: Rev. Bruce Lomas

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.

People: Glory to you Lord Christ

Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must
undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the
chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three
days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking
at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me,
Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but
on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples, and
said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who
lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will
save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world
and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for
their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man
will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.” The Gospel of the Lord! Praise to you
Lord Christ!

Sermon Rev. Bruce Lomas

The Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
 true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of the People- Form III: Janet Voss

The Leader and People pray responsively

Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church;

People-That we all may be one.

Grant that every member of the Church may truly and

humbly serve you;

People-That your Name may be glorified by all people.

We pray for [[The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry our Presiding

Bishop, and The RT. Rev. Kevin S. Brown our Diocesan
Bishop, Bruce Lomas, our Priest, Vestry Group: Viva, Connie,
Lee, Alyce, George, & Susan and the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer-
St. Thomas’s Parish, Newark, The Rev. Dr. Howell C.
Sasser, Jr., Rector, The Rev. Kevin Clay Brown, Curate, and
The Rev. Deacon Sheila Brigid Sharpe, Anamchara
Fellowship.

People-That they may be faithful ministers of your Word and

Sacraments.

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations
of the world; We pray for those in the Military: Christopher
Dawson, Justin Garey, Jaime Grimes, Justin R. Hudson,
Russell Knaub, Amber Mabrey, Jared Farmer, Bruce Carroll,
Darren Hearn, John Hearn and Garrett Burris.

People-That there may be justice and peace on the earth.

Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake;

People-That our works may find favor in your sight.

Have compassion on those who suffer from any grief or trouble;

we pray for the following:

For th e S i ck , an d / or i ssu es:

Joh n Maccey Regi n a Mi l l er B i l l Sh aw
L exi Mi l es S h i rl ey B owd en Pau l a S w if t
E mma Fi s h e r Au sti n Dean Jean Moss
B ern i e Du p ras Pr eston B ow d en Ji m Fri el
Kar en Wri gh t B arb ara Fa jn or B ri stol H erd
Nah ei m S mi th Mi ch ael Cl u l ey Don H earn
Don al d Frazi e r Wi l l McCol l ey Cal vi n H i l l
Wh i tn ey Jon es L i n d a S u l li van H u n t H ack ett
Cath i e Fl e mi n g

For Good H eal th i n O l d er Years:

Mol l i e Revel s Pat B ak e r

People-That they may be delivered from their distress.

Give to the departed eternal rest.
People-Let light perpetual shine upon them.

We praise you for your saints who have entered into joy;
People-May we also come to share in your heavenly kingdom.

Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.

Silence

The Celebrant concludes with an absolution or a suitable Collect

The Bishop when present, or the Priest, stands and says:

Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you
in eternal life. Amen.

The Peace

All stand. The Celebrant says to the people

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People- And also with you.

O f f er to r y S ta n d H 325

The Great Thanksgiving

Eucharistic Prayer A

The people remain standing. The Celebrant, whether bishop or priest,

faces them and sings or says

Celebrant The Lord be with you.

People And also with you.
Celebrant Life you your hearts.
People We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give him thanks and praise.

Then, facing the Holy Table, the Celebrant proceeds

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and every-

where to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth.

Here a Proper Preface is sung or said on all Sundays, and on

other
occasions as appointed.

Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and

Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever
sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

Celebrant and People

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The people stand or kneel.

Then the Celebrant continues

Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us

for yourself, and, when we had fallen into sin and become
subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus
Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human
nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the
God and Father of all.
He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself,
in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole
world.
At the following words concerning the bread, the Celebrant is to
hold it, or to lay a hand upon it; and at the words concerning the
cup, to hold or place a hand upon the cup and any other vessel
containing wine to be consecrated.

On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our

Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks
to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, "Take,
eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the
remembrance of me."

After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, and said, "Drink this, all of you:
This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you
and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink
it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:

Celebrant and People

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

The Celebrant continues

We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in

this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death,
resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.

Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the

Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new
and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully
receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy,
and peace; and at the last day bring us with all your saints
into the joy of your eternal kingdom.

All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ: By him, and
with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor
and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. AMEN.

And now, as our Savior

Christ has taught us,
we are bold to say,

People and Celebrant

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.

The Breaking of the Bread

The Celebrant breaks the consecrated Bread.

A period of silence is kept.

Then may be sung or said

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;

Therefore let us keep the feast.

In Lent, Alleluia is omitted, and may be omitted at other times

except during Easter Season.

In place of, or in addition to, the preceding, some other suitable

anthem may be used. Facing the people, the Celebrant says the
following Invitation
The Gifts of God for the People of God.

And may add- Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you,
and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

The ministers receive the Sacrament in both kinds, and then

immediately deliver it to the people.

The Bread and the Cup are given to the communicants with these
words

The Body (Blood) of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in

everlasting life. [Amen.]

or with these words

The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. [Amen.]

After Communion, the Celebrant says

Let us pray.

Celebrant and People

Eternal God, heavenly Father,

you have graciously accepted us as living members
of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you
with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Blessing

Announcements

Re c es s i on al H y mn - Stand H 63 7
Dismissal

Let us go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the Spirit!

Thanks be to God

Announcements:
-New Coffee Hour Sign-up Sheet on the back
table.

-New Forward Day by Day books are on the

back table.

-Easter Lilly’s Order Form are due back by

March 17 t h . See Heather Crouse with any
questions.