Morning Prayer 1.9.17, Julia Chester Emery, Lay Missioner & Founder of the United Thank Offering, 1922

Two of our happiest services ever, with great cantors, lectors and Audrey Assad!

Our 7 a.m. service was kicked off the joy, good chanting and great reading; to take it in with us, click right here.

Our 9 a.m. service was equally good, with 3 times the attendance; go here.

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In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

One of the victims of the murders at the Fort Lauderdale airport last weekend was Olga Woltering, an Atlanta-area Roman Catholic headed for a cruise with her family, including son Tim, an Episcopalian who reportedly was not hurt. And yet he was, in the worst way. (family photo via Donald W. Bell)

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6b

HYMN: Baptized in water, sealed by the Spirit (#294, Bunessan, Gaelic; Michael Saward) – University of Notre Dame Folk Choir, 2015

INVITATORY AND PSALTER

Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth 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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Psalm 95:1-7
Venite

Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving;
and raise to the Lord a shout with psalms.
For you are a great God;
you are great above all gods.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
and the heights of the hills are yours also.
The sea is yours, for you made it,
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For you are our God,
and we are the people of your pasture, and the sheep of your hand.
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!

Psalm 1

1  Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2  Their delight is in the law of the LORD, *
and on this law they meditate day and night.
3  They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.
4  It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5  Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6  For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Psalm 2

1  Why are the nations in an uproar? *
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2  Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the rulers plot together, *
against the LORD and against the LORD’s Anointed?
3  “Let us break their yoke,” they say; *
“let us cast off their bonds from us.”
4  The One enthroned in heaven is laughing; *
the Lord has them in derision.
5  Then in wrath the LORD speaks to them, *
and divine rage fills them with terror.
6  “I myself have set my king *
upon my holy hill of Zion.”
7  Let me announce the decree of the LORD: *
the LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
8  Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9  You shall crush them with an iron rod *
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10  And now, you kings, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11  Submit to the LORD with fear, *
and with trembling bow down in worship;
12  Lest the LORD be angry and you perish; *
for divine wrath is quickly kindled.
13  Happy are they all *
who take refuge in the LORD!

Psalm 3

1  LORD, how many adversaries I have! *
how many there are who rise up against me!
2  How many there are who say of me, *
“There is no help for you in your God.”
3  But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; *
you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.
4  I call aloud to you, O LORD, *
and you answer me from your holy hill;
5  I lie down and go to sleep; *
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6  I do not fear the multitudes of people *
who set themselves against me all around.
7  Rise up, O LORD; set me free, O my God; *
surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
8  Deliverance belongs to the LORD. *
Your blessing be upon your people!

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.

A decorative box made of mulberry wood. (iAuctions)

THE LESSONS
Isaiah 40:12-23 (NRSV)

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has instructed him? Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales; see, he takes up the isles like fine dust. Lebanon would not provide fuel enough, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol?—A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood—wood that will not rot—then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

Canticle: First Song of Isaiah
Isaiah 12:2-6

Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

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.

Ephesus was a coastal city southwest of Istanbul in modern Turkey. (ephesus.us)

Ephesians 1:1-14 (NRSV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Canticle: Song of the Redeemed
Revelation 15:3-4

O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done, *
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, *
O King of all the ages.

Who can fail to do you homage, Lord
and sing the praises of your Name? *
for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near and fall down before you *
because your just and holy works have been revealed.

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.

John the Baptist, a pretty rough-looking character fresh off the desert with a message of repentance. (Iconographer unknown)

Mark 1:1-13 (NRSV)

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.'”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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 PRAYERS

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

V.  Show us your mercy, O Lord;
R.  And grant us your salvation.
V.  Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
R.  Let your people sing with joy.
V.  Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R.  For only in you can we live in safety.
V.  Lord, keep this nation under your care;
R.  And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V.  Let your way be known upon earth;
R.  Your saving health among all nations.
V.  Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R.  Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V.  Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R.  And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Julia Chester Emery’s best-known legacy is the United Thank Offering, a fundraising ministry of the Episcopal Church Women, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to build churches and support mission work all over the world. Above from 2013 on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation: Michael Smith, the Bishop of North Dakota, wearing the feathers of a Lakota chief, presided over the consecration of the new St. James’s, Cannon Ball, as supervising priest John Floberg held up a famous UTO blue box. (St. James’s lost its old building to a teenage arsonist three years earlier, but those blue boxes full of coins helped rebuild it better than ever.) For 40 years Emery steered the Woman’s Auxiliary (now ECW) of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the formal name of The Episcopal Church. Had she been alive last year when the oil pipeline confrontation broke out at Standing Rock, few would have been surprised to see her there, praying and encouraging the women, eating the Native food, sleeping on the ground in a tipi – and bringing funds to help. (Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service)

Collect of the Day: Julia Chester Emery, Missionary, 1922

God of all creation, you call us in Christ to make disciples of all nations and to proclaim your mercy and love: Grant that we, after the example of your servant Julia Chester Emery, may have vision and courage in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our light and our salvation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect for the Renewal of Life

O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our heart to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday Morning Prayer List: Most Recent

Vinton, Yvonne’s brother-in-law, stroke
Marjorie, ovarian cancer
Nick, myeloma
St. James’s, Milwaukee, discernment
Katherine, early Alzheimer’s, and her son Robert, early dementia
HM the Queen, age 90, recovering from cold
Fr.Doug Yarbrough, multiple sclerosis, ICU
Sr. Judy, breast cancer
Rev. Andrew Brunson, American missionary detained in Turkey
Gayle, age 80, will to live
Cameron Lacy, leukemia
Rayell Segerstrom, melanoma
Ron, brain cancer
Baylin, child with cancer, going through chemo
Maureen, discernment
Martha’s brother Lewis
Treese McIntyre-Allen, breast cancer recovery
Clint’s daughter Julia Butcher, breast cancer recovery
Clint, recovering from intense radiation

Please add your own intercessions, supplications and thanksgivings here.

For the Mission of the Church

Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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 for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21++

HYMN: Holy, holy, holy (#362, Nicaea, John Bacchus Dykes; Reginald Heber) – Audrey Assad, one year ago