"...and they will listen to my voice". John 10:16b
Welcome to Church!
As a way of loving our neighbor and protecting the most vulnerable, Emmanuel offers three ways to worship.
VTS Chapel Garden Holy Eucharist
Masked and socially distanced Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
Dress comfortably. and bring your own chair.
Live Emmanuel at Home Morning Prayer
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on Zoom, the officiant, reader and music
will be live online along with slides to follow the service.
The Rev. Joan L. Peacock is Sunday's homilist.
Click here to join the Zoom at 10:00 a.m.
Emmanuel at Home Morning Prayer
The portable version of the liturgy continues, with links to music and a homily detailed below.
New for children: "Spark! Sunday Bulletin" will be featured here weekly.
The first Sunday of the month will also include a children's homily.
Though we worship apart, we are still One Body, in communion with Christ and one another. Feel free to share with family and friends!
Morning Prayer: Rite II
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
The Invitatory
Lord, open our lips. And our mouths shall proclaim your praise. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Christ our Passover Pascha nostrum
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Romans 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.
Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.
The Lessons
Acts 4:5-12
The rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is 'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
Canticle: Song of Creation Benedicite, omnia opera Domini
Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord,
O heavens and all waters above the heavens.
Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew,
all winds and fire and heat.
Winter and Summer, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,
drops of dew and flakes of snow.
Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O nights and days,
O shining light and enfolding dark.
Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
John 10:11-18
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
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 to 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.
The Lord’s Prayer
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.
Prayers of Intercession
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Alive in the risen Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring our prayers before God who promises to hear us and answer in steadfast love.
Loving Shepherd, you know your own and your own know you. Your voice calls us to your loving embrace. Strengthen your church throughout the world that we bear witness to your expansive love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Gracious Shepherd, you are generous with the gifts of goodness and mercy. Restore your creation to wholeness so that cities and towns, countryside and wilderness, may abound with life. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Hope-giving Shepherd, the nations and peoples are your heritage. Place into the hearts of all leaders and rulers the passion to serve. Crucify any desire to overpower others and give leaders joy in lifting up the lowly. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Loving God, we come before you, once again, after shootings at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and an apartment complex in Austin, Texas. We grieve, God. We ask you to embrace the souls of all the dead and to comfort and heal the wounded; to console family, friends in this shattered community; to strengthen the hands and hearts of first responders. In Christian charity, we pray, also for the shooters. We weep, Lord God, as Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. We are weary, Lord God, weary of the blindness to this important issue. Weary, as when an exhausted Jesus fell asleep in the boat after wrestling with the demons of his day. Lord God, turn our sadness into compassion; our weariness into advocacy; our paralysis into acts of love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Saving Shepherd, you restore us to wholeness. Invigorate this community of faith and grant healing of body and soul to all in need, especially Christian, Eric, Wilfred, Anne, Ann, Carol, Tom, Loretta, Elizabeth, Barrett, Delaram, Cindy, Timothy, Joe, Lynda, Tony, Nancy, Jeff, Jim, Leslie, Peggy, Sally, Bucky, Katie, Peggy, Peter, Erica, Larry, Don, Joyce, Sean, Jennie, Bill, Brian, Hai and Marylin. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Abiding Shepherd, your love flows as we reach out to those around us. Move us with your Spirit, so that we lay down our lives for those in need, especially our partner parish St. Croix in Leogane, Haiti and the Kwi family from Cameroon. Help us love one another in truth and action. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Eternal Shepherd, you hold us securely in your loving hands. In the assurance of resurrection hope, we remember our loved ones who have died in you especially the over 570,000 souls lost to Covid-19. Bring us, with them, to dwell in your house forever. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
In the hope of new life in Christ, we raise our prayers to you, trusting in your never-ending goodness and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Here you may add your own prayers for family, community, church and world.
The Collects
A Collect of the Day
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.
The Offertory
Let us with gladness present the offerings and oblations of our life and labor to the Lord. Amen.
The General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3: 20, 21
Alleluia. Alleluia.
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
We Are Here for You
Emmanuel Church is a community of faith which seeks to nurture and support individuals and families in every stage of life and circumstances. If you or a member of your family needs pastoral care please reach out to