Sixth Sunday of Easter May 14, 2023
11:00 a.m.
We welcome you to Christ Church Cathedral. Since 1839, this Christian community has gathered for worship. To learn more about the ministries we share in this place, you are invited to fill in one of the welcome cards found in the pew rack. Masks are available at all welcome tables, and the south transept (to the right) usually has room for those desiring physical distancing. We are glad you are here! The Cathedral is equipped with a hearing loop for assisted listening via telecoil.
The Holy Eucharist: Rite One
The Rev. Bradley Varnell, Canon Missioner for Community Life and Young Adult Ministry
Celebrant
The Liturgy is found in The Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Hymns and service music (S) are in The Hymnal 1982.
Opening Voluntary
Nimrod from Enigma Variations Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
Choral Introit Tone VII
V: Thou hast hidden me, O God, from the gathering together of the froward, alleluia:
R: From the insurrection of the workers of iniquity, alleluia, alleluia.
Hymn 657 Hyfrydol
The Word of God
Celebrant Alleluia. Christ is risen. BCP page 323 People The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The Collect for Purity and the Summary page 323
Gloria Communion Service in E Harold Darke (1888–1976) Collegium Regale
The Collect of the Day
Celebrant The Lord be with you. People And with thy spirit.
Celebrant Let us pray.
O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee in all things and above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Reading Acts 17:22–31
Reader The Word of the Lord. People Thanks be to God.
Bless our God, you / peoples; * make the voice of his praise to be / heard; Who holds our souls in / life, * and will not allow our feet to / slip. For you, O God, have / proved us; * you have tried us just as silver is / tried. You brought us into the / snare; * you laid heavy burdens upon our / backs. You let enemies ride over our heads; we went through fire and / water; * but you brought us out into a place of re/freshment. I will enter your house with burnt-offerings and will pay you my / vows, * which I promised with my lips and spoke with my mouth when I was in / trouble. I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts with the smoke of / rams; * I will give you oxen and / goats. Come and listen, all you who fear / God, * and I will tell you what he has / done for me. I called out to him with my / mouth, * and his praise was on my / tongue. If I had found evil in my / heart, * the Lord would not have / heard me; But in truth God has / heard me; * he has attended to the voice of my / prayer. Blessed be God, who has not rejected my / prayer, * nor withheld his / love from me.
The Second Reading
1 Peter 3:13–22
Hymn 386 Cornwall
Alleluia Tone II
V. Alleluia. A new commandment I give to you: R. Love one another as I have loved you. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel John 14:15–21
Deacon The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. People Glory be to thee, O Lord.
After the Gospel reading, the Deacon says The Gospel of the Lord. People Praise be to thee, O Christ.
The Sermon The Rt. Rev. Kathryn M. Ryan, Bishop Suffragan
The Nicene Creed page 326
The Prayers of the People Form III, page 387
The Peace
Celebrant The peace of the Lord be always with you. People And with thy spirit.
The People greet one another in the name of the Lord, after which the people are seated for brief announcements.
The Holy Communion
Offerings of alms and bread and wine are received.
At the Offertory
Anthem William Walton (1902–1983)
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves: we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious; his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth from generation to generation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
— Psalm 100
Melanie Miller, soprano; Joshua Chavira, Laura Lisk and Chelsea Berner altos; Sean Stultz tenor; John Gallagher, baritone
The Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic Prayer II, page 340
Sursum Corda S 112
Sanctus and Benedictus Communion Service in E Harold Darke Collegium Regale
The Eucharistic Prayer continues page 341
Fraction Anthem S 153 Ambrosian chant Celebrant Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; People Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
Agnus Dei Communion Service in E Harold Darke Collegium Regale
The sacrament of Holy Communion has been precious to Christians for 2,000 years. It is a way in which many sense the reality of God’s forgiveness, our union with God and each other, and the eternal life to which we belong. Please know that you do not have to be an Episcopalian to receive Communion. To receive, you may kneel or stand at the altar rail. Receive the Bread in the palm of your hand and the Wine either by drinking from the cup or by intinction, touching the Bread to the Wine. Gluten-free Bread is available; simply ask at the altar rail. If you need Communion brought to you in the pew, please tell an usher.
At the Administration
Anthem William Walton
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.
— Song of Solomon 8:6, 7a Ben McGee, tenor; Kirstie McCallum, soprano
Prayer after Communion page 339
The Blessing
Hymn 400 (omit * stanzas) Lasst uns erfreuen
The Dismissal
Deacon Let us go forth in the name of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia. People Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Closing Voluntary
Voluntary in D
George Dyson(1883–1964)
Readings this Week from the Revised Common Lectionary
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 17:22–31
Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
The Epistle 1 Peter 3:13–22
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to
bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
The Gospel John 14:15–21
Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
The Book of Remembrance
This week we remember Anne Wier Jones.
The Beauty of Flowers
The flowers on the Cathedral Altar are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Mrs. James A. Haralson by her daughter, Mrs. Gary P. Pearson and her grandchildren, Gary, Jim, and Mary Bain. The flowers on the choir stalls are given to the glory of God in celebration of the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Rainey Knudson, and Steve Satterwhite by Sally and Norman Reynolds.
Welcome to Christ Church Cathedral!
We are blessed by your presence. If you are new to the Cathedral, please fill out the WELCOME card in your pew and put it in the offering plate or give it to an usher.
Welcome Team members are in the Cathedral Bookstore after the service to visit with you and answer any questions you may have.
Welcome
Sunday, May 14, 2022
Announcements
TODAY
Tours • To learn the history of Christ Church Cathedral, meet the tour guide by the lectern after the service.
John Philip Newell • Internationally acclaimed teacher of Celtic spirituality, popular speaker, and celebrated author, John Philip Newell, will give a special public address and book signing at the Cathedral this evening, May 14, at 6 p.m. His most recent book, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, has been met with wide acclaim. Register to attend at: https://www.christchurchcathedral.org/ sacredearth
Monday, May 15: Barbara Brown Taylor and John Philip Newell • A unique opportunity to hear two of the most sought-after speakers on faith and spirituality today. Space is limited, and tickets are $25 each, with all proceeds going to Casa Mateo, a new ministry with immigrants. Barbara and John Philip will have a wide-ranging conversation in the Cathedral, drawing particularly on John Philip’s newest book, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, and on Barbara’s widely celebrated book, An Altar in the World. This is an evening you will not want to miss. May 15, 7-9 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30). Registration required. Learn more at: www.christchurchcathedral.org/taylornewell
Treble Choir Spring Concert • Don’t miss this special performance on Saturday, May 20. The Houston Treble Choir will be singing at St. Thomas Episcopal Church and School, 4900 Jackwood Street, Houston at 3 p.m.
Senior Sunday • We will honor our high school seniors on May 21, during the 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. services in the Cathedral. There will also be a reception at 10 a.m. in the Mellinger Room.
Summer Place • Beginning May 28, different councils will host this special coffee hour. Drop by and see what the councils are up to, visit with your friends, and enjoy some coffee and snacks. All are welcome! Sundays at 10 a.m. in Reynolds Hall.
For more information about these and other events at the Cathedral, visit www.christchurchcathedral.org
After-Hours Emergency Pastoral Care Line • 713-826-5332
Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun. Pursuant to Section 30.07, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a handgun that is carried openly. Please be advised that our services are livestreamed to Vimeo and Facebook. Your participation in the service serves as your consent to the broadcast of your image and voice and to the broadcast of the image and voice of your participating minor children.