Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 26, 2023

Welcome to the Season of Lent

A SANCTIFIED ART: During this church season we call Lent, we are using a wonderful worship resource called “A Sanctified Art LLC.” It is a collective of artists in ministry who create resources for worshiping communities. Their mission is to empower churches with resources to inspire creativity in worship and beyond. Driven by the connective and prophetic power of art, they believe that art helps us connect our hearts with our hands, our faith with our lives, and our mess, with God. Through their art, prayers, poems and mus ic, we hope you will find moments to connect deeply with the sacred time of traveling through the wilderness these 40 days – The Rev.

Dr. Lisa Tucker-Gray

UNBIND HIM

by Hannah Garrity

Inspired by John 11:1-45

Paper lace over oil paint on linen

Artist’s Statement: As I met with this text, I was drawn to Jesus’ call for Lazarus to be unbound. To represent the fabrics used in preparation for burial, I wrapped a canvas in linen. You’re not really supposed to do that. The canvas was already stretched and gessoed. It was ready to resist the oil paint medium I was applying. However, the texture of the binding cloth matters for this tactile text. I began to scrape the paint onto the woven strands. The linen fabric absorbed the paint as I scraped it on with a pa lette knife. In the final image, the linen shows through the paint and the paper lace design, representing the bindings.

Jesus’ call for unbinding also includes the community. The foreshortened hands of the community, tasked with unbinding his body, reac h in toward Lazarus. They reach through the concentric binding lines so that he can go free. Can these bones live?

In the strength of community, they can. The community made up of Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, and others all joined one another at the tomb to grieve for Lazarus that day. They came to support Mary and Martha. Jesus arrives as the community mourns together. Jesus cries in his grief. Their collective tears create the backdrop for this paper lace design. This diverse and neighborly community is who Jesus calls on to do the unbinding. Jesus makes sure that the community knows about this miracle so that they can share the news. Can these bones live? Lazarus lives, and Jesus’ miracle lives on in the telling. Hannah Garrity

A PENITENTIAL ORDER

Prelude Breathe Marie Barnett

(Melissa Toth and Grace Mauk)

Welcome The Rev. Dr. Lisa Tucker -Gray

Call to Worship

Priest: Listen!

Prayer by Rev. Sarah A. Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC, sanctifiedart.org

People: There is hope to be found here.

Priest: Listen!

People: God calls you by name here.

Priest: Listen!

People: There is love that abides here.

Priest: The world is full of chatter, so may we do our best to listen.

People: God is speaking.

Priest: Let us worship.

People: Amen.

Confession & Absolution

We Make the Road by Walking, Brian McLaren

Priest: Let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor.

People: Gracious God, we have hurt others, and we have been hurt. We have presumed upon others, and we have been presumed upon. We have taken others for granted, and we have been taken for granted. We have dishonored others, and we have been dishonored. As we receive forgiveness today for our wrongs, may we also extend forgiveness to other who have wronged us. Have mercy upon us all. Amen.

Priest: To all and to each where regret is r eal, The God of Love pronounces pardon and grants us all the right to begin again. Amen.

Kyrie

M. Roger Holland II The Sound of My People

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy . Lord, have mercy, mercy, mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ have mercy , mercy, mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy . Lord, have mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy.

The Liturgy of the Word

Collect of the Day Prayers for an Inclusive Church Leader: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you. Leader: Let us pray.

God of compassion, you call us out of the binding of death on this, our resurrection day: make us ready to surrender the fear in which we hide to step into your future alive and unashamed; through Jesus Christ, the life of the world. Amen.

The First Lesson Ezekiel 37:1-14

Reader: A reading from Ezekiel.

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause bre ath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lor d God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will p ut my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Reader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Psalm Psalm 95

The Psalm will be read aloud responsively by half verse.

Out of the depths I cry to You! In your Mercy, hear my voice! May you be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

Psalms for Praying

If You should number the times we stray from You, O Beloved, who could face You? Yet You are ever-ready to forgive, that we might be healed.

I wait for You, my soul waits, for in your Love I would live;

My soul awaits the Beloved as one awaits the birth of a child, Or as one awaits the fulfillment of their destiny.

O sons and daughters of the Light, welcome the Heart of your heart!

Then you will climb the Sacred Mountain of Truth; You will know mercy and love in abundance.

Then will your transgressions be forgiven; and you will know the Oneness of All.

The Second Lesson Romans 8:6-11

Reader: A reading from Romans

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life be cause of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Reader: The Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

There’s a place you can get to without any sound

It’s a place where the wick has burned out

There’s a place at the point that’s past turning around There is a place to be lost long after you’re found Coax your quiet questionings

Speak your soft uncertainties

There is room for these

In the land of the seeking

THE GOSPEL John 11:1-45

Deacon: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John.

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so t hat the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Le t us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not h ave died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurre ction and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at t he place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days. ” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this fo r the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth . Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Deacon: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon Sheila Otto, Trinity member (Pause for reflection.)

Affirmation of Faith

Prayer by Rev. Sarah A. Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC, sanctifiedart.org

We believe in a God who meets us in the shadows, who welcomes our questions, who invites us to begin again. We believe that Jesus showed us a new way, a deeper faith, a more compassionate existence. We believe that all of our beginnings should return us to this foundation, and that no matter how many times we lose our way, God always welcomes us home. Amen.

Prayers of the People

During this season we will sing and speak our petitions of prayer.

REFRAIN

Intercessor: God of justice hear the cry of those who yearn for justice around the world; the persecuted and oppressed, the exploited and the ill-treated. God of love hear the cry of those who yearn for love; fractured families, broken homes neglected, unwanted, alone

REFRAIN

God of peace hear the cry of those who yearn for peace; in battle zones and broken states, those who are frightened, fearful and anxious. (Pause) God of healing hear the cry of those who yearn for healing; physical and spiritual hurting, weakened and depressed. (Pause)

REFRAIN

God of mercy hear the cry of those who yearn for mercy; convicted, in need of your Grace, contrite, humble, bowed down. (Pause) May we know the peace of God the love of God the justice of God the healing and mercy of God this day and all days. Amen.

REFRAIN

THE PEACE

Deacon: The peace of the Lord be always with you. People: And also with you.

Announcements

Offertory Invitation

To give online, visit www.trinitytoledo.org/online-giving/, choose GIVE NOW and today’s date. You can also text the word “Give” to 419-OMG-LOVE (419-664-5683) to make your weekly offering. This season we will not “pass the plate” at the time of the offertory; offerings can be deposited in our Giving Box stationed at the back of the sanctuary.

Offertory All My Trials arr. John Leavitt (Trinity Choir)

The Liturgy of the Table

The Great Thanksgiving A Wee Worship Book, Iona Community

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.

All: And also with you.

Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them to the Lord.

Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All: It is right to give God thanks and praise.

We praise you, O God, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus. We praise you for his life which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life breathing forgiveness and restoring us forever to you. For these gifts we praise and worship you.

All that is spectacular, all that is plain have their origin in you. All that is lovely, all who are loving, point to you as their fulfillment. Therefore we gladly join our voices to th e song of the Church on earth and in heaven:

Sanctus The Sound of My People, M. Roger Holland Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of hosts

Heaven and earth are full of your glory , Hosanna in the highest Blessed is they who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna, Hosanna , Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna , Hosanna in the highest Hosanna, Hosanna , Hosanna in the highest

Jesus was always the guest. In the homes of Peter and Jairus, Martha and Mary, Joanna and Susanna, he was always the guest. At the meal tables of the wealthy where he pled the case of the poor, he was always the guest. Upsetting polite company, befriending isolated people, welcoming the stranger, he was always the guest.

But here, at this table, he is the host. Those who wish to serve him must first be served by him. Those who want to follow him must first be fed by him. For this is the table where God intends us to be nourished. This is the time when Christ can make us new. So come, you who hunger and thirst for a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world. Jesus Christ, who has sat at our tables, now invites us to be his guests.

On their last night together, and as they were sitting at a meal, Jesus gave thanks, took a piece of bread and broke it. He gave it to the disciples saying, “This is my body. It is broken for you. Do this to remember me.”

Later, after they had eaten, he took a cup of wine, gave thanks and said, “This cup is the new relationship with God made possible because of my death. Drink this all of you, to remember me.”

So now we do as Jesus did. We offer this bread and this wine to each other, and proclaim the mystery of faith:

Celebrant and People

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

We ask that these signs of your love be filled with the fullness of Jesus. Let that same love rest on us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share. Amen.

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now pray this version of the Lord’s prayer:

The Lord’s Prayer Version from New Zealand Prayer Book

Eternal Spirit,

Earth-maker, Pain bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth! In times of temptation and test, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.

The Fraction: Breaking of the Bread Enriching Our Worship

Celebrant: We break this bread to share in the Body of Christ .

People: We who are many are one body, for we all share in the one bread .

Celebrant: The Gifts of God for the people of God; holy food for holy people.

Invitation to Communion

Please be seated until you are invited to come forward to receive communion. Please let us know if you would like the bread brought to you. All are welcome.

Communion Hymn See insert.

The Post Communion Prayer (Please stand as you are able .)

Celebrant: Let us pray.

Jesus, we have feasted on the bread of life. Together we have tasted the love of your kin-dom here on earth. In your risen power you have united us with all of those who have come before, with those gathered today, and with those yet to find their way to this table of love set and ready to welcome all. May the sense of a new heaven and a new earth strengthen and renew us today and in the days to come. Now, send us out into the world to do the work you have given us to do offering your fearless love and priceless peace to all we meet in the name of our loving, liberating life -giving God. Amen.

BlessinG Prayer by Rev. Sarah A. Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC, sanctifiedart.org

As we leave this place, may God bless us with seeking. Seeking out the hungry. Seeking the weary. Seeking the good in every person we pass. Seeking out the hopeful. Seeking the faithful. Seeking God in everyone. As we seek and as we wonder, may we all find what we are looking for. In the name of our Creator, Redeemer and Sus tainer, who is always seeking us. Amen.

. May the rain fall off your shoulders when you’re caught in a storm. When the frost comes a callin’ may it find you safe and warm. May your place be set, and may your promises be kept. And may you never forget that you are loved.

Sending Hymn I Love to Tell the Story

Dismissal

Deacon: Go in peace to serve our loving, liberating, life -giving God. People: Thanks be to God.

See insert.

Reminder: All are invited today to join us upstairs in My Brother’s Place for lunch and our final conversation about Community Engagement following the service.

Trinity’s Daily Bread- As a community of faith, we are called to love and be loved; to serve and be served, to give and to receive. In short, we don’t want anyone to “fall behind or drop out.” In this season of connecting in new ways, we are introducing Trinity’s Daily Bread. Please let us know if you need prayer, assistance or connection by filling out our Daily Bread form on our website, www.trinitytoledo.org!

Trinity Episcopal Church

Vestry Leadership

Donna Steppe, Sr. Warden, Jeffrey Albright, Jr. Warden

Karen Keune, Clerk, Margaret Baehren, Treasurer

Dennis Degnan, Becky Koskinen, Leah Reed

Fritz Hany, Gary Franklin & Jamie Paul

Parish Staff

The Rev. Dr. Lisa Tucker-Gray, Rector

Heather Meyer, Director of Operations and Community Development

George Benson, Director of Community Engagement

Chelsie Cree, Director of Music & the Arts

Grace Mauk, Assistant Director of Music and the Arts

Brian Buckner, Trinity@Home Accompanist

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & COPYRIGHT INFO:

Collect of the Day: Prayers for an Inclusive Church. Steven Shakespeare. Readings and Gospel from: Revised Common Lectionary: lectionarypage.net, 2021.

Affirmation of Faith: Prayer by Rev. Sarah A. Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC, sanctifiedart.org

Psalm: From Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill.

Prayers of the People: Refrain from Psalm 103, alt. Taize – GIA Publications. Confession & Absolution: from The Road We Make by Walking, Brian McLaren

The Great Thanksgiving: A Wee Worship Book, Iona Community

Lord’s Prayer: New Zealand Prayerbook

Fraction: Enriching Our Worship

All printed music from The Hymnal 1982, Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, My Heart Si ngs Out, Wonder, Love, and Praise was used by permission through purchase of riteseries.org.

All other printed music permission through purchase of CCLI Copyright license #20577215 Size B

Streaming License #20577284 Size B

Secular music permission through purchase of CCS WORSHIPcast Copyright license #13190

All printed music from Gather permission through purchase of onelicense.net License # A-700000

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