A Service of Prayer

in the Celtic Tradition

For Easter Week
(Various Sources Old and Modern)
For the Week of Sunday, April 04, 2021
The Rev.Dr. Chris McMullen, Parish of Upper Kennebecasis
Call to Worship
Christ, you are the glory of eternity
shining now among us,
the tenderness of God here with us now.
God who is with us, we adore you.
Christ, you are the Healing Person,
the pattern of goodness,
the fulfillment of the highest human hopes.
God who is with us, we adore you.
Christ, you are the Champion of the weak,
the Counsellor of the despairing,
the Lover of us all.
God who is with us, we adore you.
Christ, you are the splendour of the Creator,
our Bridge between heaven and earth.
God who is with us, we adore you.
Christ, you are the Source of life,
the Goal of the universe,
the people’s Friend, the world-pervading God.
God who is with us, we adore you.
Christ, you are one of the human family,
Joy of Angels, Prince of Peace.
God who is with us, we adore you.
(Ray Simpson, Tree of Life: Celtic Prayers to the Universal Christ.
Vestal NY: Anamchara Books, 2020, pp. 27 f.)
Hymn of Praise
“Come People of the Risen King”
Come, people of the Risen King,
Who delight to bring Him praise;
Come all and tune your hearts to sing
To the Morning Star of grace.
 (2)

From the shifting shadows of the earth

We will lift our eyes to Him,
Where steady arms of mercy reach
To gather children in.
Refrain: Rejoice, Rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!
Come, those whose joy is morning sun,
And those weeping through the night;
Come, those who tell of battles won,
And those struggling in the fight.
For His perfect love will never change,
And His mercies never cease,
But follow us through all our days
With the certain hope of peace.
Come, young and old from every land -
Men and women of the faith;
Come, those with full or empty hands -
Find the riches of His grace.
Over all the world, His people sing -
Shore to shore we hear them call
The Truth that cries through every age:
“Our God is all in all”!
Keith Getty, Stuart Townend and Kristyn Lennox Getty
© 2009 Thank You Music. Used with permission, CCLI # 3117248

Prayer of Approach
Blessed be the risen Lord;
he has broken from the tomb
and opens for us the gate of life eternal.
Blessed be the risen Lord:
he comes to his disciples;
where two or three Are gathered together he is there.
Blessed be the risen Lord:
he comes from death with life,
he brings us light and joy and hope.
Blessed be the risen Lord:
Alleluia. Amen.
(David Adam, Traces of Glory: Prayers for the Christian Year, Year B.
London: SPCK, 1999, p. 62.)

(Continued…)
 (3)

Psalms 20,21
20: 1-4
God answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.
5
When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!
6
That clinches it—help’s coming,
an answer’s on the way,
everything’s going to work out.
7-8
See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we’re making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
9
Make the king a winner, God;
the day we call, give us your answer.
21:1-7
Your strength, God, is the king’s strength.
Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.
You gave him exactly what he wanted;
you didn’t hold back.
You filled his arms with gifts;
you gave him a right royal welcome.
He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
and then made it a long life as a bonus.
You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
then dressed him in rainbow colors.
You pile blessings on him;
you make him glad when you smile.
Is it any wonder the king loves God?
that he’s sticking with the Best?
8-12
With a fistful of enemies in one hand
and a fistful of haters in the other,
You radiate with such brilliance
 (4)

that they cringe as before a furnace...

All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
have fizzled—every one.
You sent them packing;
they couldn’t face you.
13
Show your strength, God, so no one can miss it.
We are out singing the good news!
(Eugene Peterson, The Message, 1998, 2002, 2018)

Prayer for Grace

As the day dawns,
we rejoice that the Son is risen.
Christ, come to us.
Destroy the darkness of death,
Disperse the clouds of night,
Warm our hearts with your love,
Guide our travels with your light.
Let us walk with you,
As children of the day and not of the night.
In your light, this day, we shall see light.
We welcome you, giver of hope and life,
Conqueror of death and hell.
We rejoice in you
and in eternal life.
Alleluia!
(David Adam, Music of the Heart: New Psalms in the Celtic Tradition.
London: SPCK, 2004, p. 148.)
Scripture Lesson
Acts 10: 34-43
Meditation
“The Heart of the Matter”
Affirmation of Faith
Glory to God in the highest,
And peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly king,
Almighty God and Father,
We worship you we give you thanks,
We praise you for your glory.
(Continued…)
 (5)

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God,
You take away the sin of the world:
Have mercy on us;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father;
Receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, With the Holy Spirit,
In the glory of God the Father. Amen.
(Traditional, tr. Consultation on Common Texts, 1988
Music: © Ruth Fazal, Toronto ON)
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom, come, thy will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive our sins
As we forgive each one of those
Who sins against us.
And lead us not to the time of trial
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom,
The power and the glory.
Let all the people say Amen
In every tribe and tongue;
Let every heart's desire be joined
To see the kingdom come.
Paul Field and David Deal
© 1998 Meadowgreen Music Ltd. (EMI Christian Music)
Used with permission, CCLI # 3117248
Prayers of Intercession
Lord God,
early in the morning
when the world was young,
you made life in all its beauty and terror;
you gave birth to all that we know.
(Continued…)
 (6)

Hallowed be your name:

Hallowed be your name.
Early in the morning
when the world least expected it,
a newborn child crying in a cradle
announced that you had come among us,
that you were one of us.
Hallowed be your name:
Hallowed be your name.
Early in the morning,
surrounded by respectable liars,
religious leaders,
anxious statesmen
and silent friends,
you accepted the penalty for doing good,
for being God,
you shouldered and suffered the cross.
Hallowed be your name:
Hallowed be your name.
Early in the morning,
a voice in a guarded graveyard
and footsteps in the dew
proved that you had risen,
that you had come back
to those and for those
who had forgotten, denied, and destroyed you.
Hallowed be your name:
Hallowed be your name.
This morning
in the multi-coloured company
of your Church on earth and in heaven,
we celebrate your creation, your life,
your death and resurrection,
your interest in us;
so we pray:
Lord, bring new life,
where we are worn and tired;
new love
where we have turned hard-hearted;
Forgiveness, where we feel hurt
(Continued…)
 (7)

and where we have wounded;

and the joy and freedom
of your Holy Spirit,
where we are prisoners of ourselves.
To all and to each,
on his community and on his friends,
where regret is real,
Jesus pronounces his pardon
and grants us the right to begin anew.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
(Wild Goose Resource Group, Stages on the Way: Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications © 2000, 2012, pp. 184 f. Used with permission.)

Hymn
“In Christ Alone” MP # 1072
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save;
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
(Continued…)
 (8)

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!
Stuart Townend © 2001 Kingsway's Thankyou Music
Used under permission of CCLI # 3117248
The Benediction
God be with you, today and forever;
Jesus be in you, to pardon and tether;
Spirit be on you, [to] leave you never!
In the name of the Father all-powerful,
In the name of the all-loving Son,
In the name of the Spirit, pervading all,
[May you, and all that’s loving, be one!]
[Christ drive] the spirits of fear [from] you;
[Christ break] the power of…sin in you;
[The Risen Christ set you] free as the wind,
As soft as sheep’s wool, as straight as an arrow,
[Leading your] journey into the heart of God.
(Ray Simpson, compiler, Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life
[Chicago: Loyola Press, 1999], p. 144.) (Slightly adapted.)