A morning service during the Covid-19 restrictions
Easter Sunday- April 4, 2021

Prelude: “Now the Green Blade Rises”  
Text: John M. C. Crum © 1928 Oxford University Press Permission granted under One License # 606702-A

Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast. 
1 Corinthians 5.7–8

Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He gave us new life and hope by raising Jesus from the dead.
Rejoice, then, even in your distress.
We shall be counted worthy when Christ appears.
God has claimed us as his own.
He called us from our darkness into the light of his day.
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high; alleluia! Sing, ye heavens and earth reply. alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, alleluia! Fought the fight the battle won, alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, alleluia! Christ has opened paradise, alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, alleluia! Where, O death, is now thy sting? alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, alleluia! Where’s the vistory, boasting grave? alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, alleluia! Following our exalted head, alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven, alleluia! Praise to thee by both be given, alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, alleluia!
Text: Charles Weslely (1707-1788), Melody; Robert Williams (1781? - 1821) Public domain.

The Proclamation of the Word
Isaiah 25.6–9 
				Psalm 118.1–2, 14–24
					
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
	his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
	”His mercy endures for ever.”
14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
	and he has become my salvation.
15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
	in the tents of the righteous:
16 ”The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
	the right hand of the Lord is exalted! the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!”
17 I shall not die, but live, *
	and declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
	but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
	I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 ”This is the gate of the Lord; *
	he who is righteous may enter.”
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
	and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
	has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, *
	and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
	we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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.

Acts 10.34–43
 Mark 16.1–8    
A reflection on the readings (written by the Ven. Glen MIller)

Affirmation of Faith
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first and the great commandment. The second is like it:
Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
 
The Strife is O’er
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The strife is o’er, the battle done; now is the victor’s triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung: Alleluia!

Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst, and Jesus hath his foes dispersed;
let shouts of praise and joy outburst: Alleluia!

He closed the yawning gates of hell; the bars from heaven’s high portals fell.
Let songs of praise his triumph tell: Alleluia!

On the third morn he rose again, glorious in majesty to reign.
O let us swell the joyful strain: Alleluia!

Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee, from death’s dread sting thy servants free,
that we may live, and sing to thee: Alleluia!  
Translated from Latin by Francis Pott (1832-1909) Public Domain

Prayers (see litany below)
Parish Prayer cycle: Donna Beaudoin, Lillian & Kelly Andress
Our prayers have been requested for: Thelma, Joanne, Wendy, Vivian, Spruce, the front line workers who continue to serve in the midst of this pandemic, our Archbishop Anne, the Dean of our Cathedral the Very Rev. Jim McShaine and the other clergy and lay leaders at St. Luke’s. We give thanks for those who have recovered from their illnesses.

15 Easter
(In joy and hope let us pray to the source of all life, saying, “Hear us, Lord of glory!”)
That our risen Saviour may fill us with the joy of his holy and life-giving resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.							Hear us, Lord of glory!
That isolated and persecuted churches may find fresh strength in the Easter gospel, let us pray to the Lord.							Hear us, Lord of glory!
That he may grant us humility to be subject to one another in Christian love, let us pray to the Lord.								Hear us, Lord of glory!

That he may provide for those who lack food, work, or shelter, let us pray to the Lord.
									Hear us, Lord of glory!
That by his power wars and famine may cease through all the earth, let us pray to the Lord.
									Hear us, Lord of glory!
That he may reveal the light of his presence to the sick, the weak, and the dying, that they may be comforted and strengthened, let us pray to the Lord.	Hear us, Lord of glory!
That he may send the fire of the Holy Spirit upon his people, that we may bear faithful witness to his resurrection, let us pray to the Lord. 			Hear us, Lord of glory!	

We pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins.
Silence may be kept.
Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; in your compassion, forgive us our sins,
known and unknown, things done and left undone; and so uphold us by your Spirit
that we may live and serve you in newness of life, to the honour and glory of your name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect of the day
Lord of life and power, through the mighty resurrection of your Son, you have overcome the old order of sin and death and have made all things new in him. May we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ, reign with him in glory, who with you and the Holy Spirit is alive, one God, now and for ever.

The Lord’s prayer
The Day of Resurrection, Earth Tell it Out Abroad

The day of resurrection! Earth tell it out abroad,
the passover of gladness, the passover of God!
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
our Christ hath brought us over with hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light,
and, listening to his accents, may hear so calm and plain
his own “All Hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful; let earth her song begin;
the round world keep high triumph, and all that is therein.
Let all things seen and unseen their notes of gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord is risen, our joy that hath no end.
John of Damascus (696?) Translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866), Public Domain

An Easter Blessing
May the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you
may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.

Dismissal
Then may be said or sung,
Officiant Let us bless the Lord. People Thanks be to God!

Postlude: “Jesus is Risen From the Grave”, text and music: John L. Bell and Graham Maule © 1989 WGRG The Iona Community (Scotland). Used by permission granted under One License # 606702-A

The text above is taken from the Book of Alternative Service published by the Anglican Church of Canada and used with permission. The words of the Hymns are all in public domain unless otherwise noted.