ST. PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH

CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION

PRELUDE

Pastoral Symphony (from “Messiah”)

G. F. Handel (1685-1757)

APOSTOLIC GREETING

(Stand)

P The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

C And also with you.

HYMN OF PRAISE:

Oh, come, all ye faithful, 2. The highest, most holy,

Joyful and triumphant! Light of light eternal,

Oh, come, ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem Born of a virgin, a mortal he comes;

Come and behold him Son of the Father

Born the king of angels: R/ Now in flesh appearing! R/

R/ Oh, come, let us adore him, 3. Sing, choirs of angels,

Oh, come, let us adore him, Sing in exultation,

Oh, come, let us adore him, Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Christ the Lord! Glory to God In the highest: R/

PRAYER OF THE DAY

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Let us pray. (Silence) Almighty God, you made this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory; through your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen (Sit)

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 52:7-10

SOLO

SECOND LESSON: Hebrews 1:1-9

(Stand)

HYMN: (Light candles)

Silent Night, holy night! 3. Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright Son of God, love’s pure light

Round yon virgin mother and child. Radiant beams from your holy face,

Holy Infant, so tender and mild, With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Sleep in heavenly peace. Jesus, Lord, at your birth,

Sleep in heavenly peace. Jesus, Lord, at your birth.

Silent Night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight;

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heav’nly hosts sing, Alleluia!

Christ the Saviour is born!

GOSPEL

(Hand candles are extinguished when the reading is concluded) (Sit)

SERMON

(Stand)

HYMN:

It came upon the midnight clear 3. And you, beneath life’s crushing load,

that glorious song of old, Whose forms are bending low,

From angels bending near the earth Who toil along the climbing way

To touch their harps of gold: With painful steps and slow:

“Peace on the earth, good will to all, Look now, for glad and golden hours

From heav’n’s all gracious king”. Come swiftly on the wing,

The world in solemn stillness lay Oh, rest beside the weary road

To hear the angels sing. And hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come, 4. For lo! The days are hast’ning on,

With peaceful wings unfurled, By prophets seen of old,

And still their heav’nly music floats When with the ever circling years

O’er all the weary world. Shall come the time foretold,

Above its sand and lowly plains When peace shall over all the earth

They bend on hov’ring wing, Its ancient splendours fling,

And ever o’er its babel sounds And all the world give back the song

The blessed angels sing. Which now the angels sing.

NICENE CREED

C We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in the holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS

A Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

(a brief silence)

A You, Christ, are the King of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.

Enlighten your Church with the radiance of your presence as you come to us in Word and Sacrament. Lord, in your mercy.

C hear our prayer.

A When you became human to set us free, you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb. Spurn not our world today, but enable justice and peace to prevail for all people. Lord, in your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

A You overcame the sting of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Be with those who suffer the stings of hunger and loneliness, depression and oppression, tragedy and illness (especially...). Lord, in your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

(Here other intercessions and thanksgivings may be offered.)

P We remember with thanksgiving blessed Mary, your mother; Stephen, the first martyr; John, your beloved disciple; the Holy Innocents, the martyred children of Bethlehem. With them and with the choirs of angels, we sing in exultation:

C Glory to God in the highest! Amen

PEACE

P The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C And also with you.

(Pastor and congregation greet one another in the name of the Lord).

Peace be with you. R/ Peace be with you.

(Sit)

OFFERING

ORGAN OFFERTORY

Away in a Manger Raymond H. Haan (1938-)

OFFERING PRAYER

P Let us pray. (Silence.) Blessed are you,

C O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

GREAT THANKSGIVING

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Lift up your hearts.

C We lift them to the Lord.

P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C It is right to give him thanks and praise.

P We give you thanks, Father, through Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, whom you sent in this end of the ages to save and redeem us and to proclaim to us your will.

He is your Word, inseparable from you. Through him you created all things, and in him you take delight.

He is your Word, sent from heaven to a virgin’s womb. He there took on our nature and our lot and was shown forth as your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and of the virgin Mary.

It is he, our Lord Jesus, who fulfilled all your will and won for you a holy people; he stretched out his hands in suffering in order to free from suffering those who trust you.

It is he who, handed over to a death he freely accepted, in order to destroy death, to break the bonds of the evil one, to crush hell underfoot, to give light to the righteous, to establish his covenant, and to show forth the resurrection, taking bread and giving thanks to you, said: “Take and eat; this is my body, broken for you. Do this for the remembrance of me”.

In the same way he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: “This is my blood poured out for you. Do this for the remembrance of me”.

Remembering, then, his death and resurrection, we lift this bread and cup before you, giving you thanks that you have made us worthy to stand before you and to serve you as your priestly people.

And we ask you: Send your Spirit upon these gifts of your Church; gather into one all who share this bread and wine; fill us with your Holy Spirit to establish our faith in truth, that we may praise and glorify you through your Son Jesus Christ. Through him all glory and honour are yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church, both now and forever.

C Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

C Our Father...

COMMUNION

P The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.

C Amen

HYMN:

Hark! The herald angels sing, R/ Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn king; “Glory to the newborn king!”

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled.”

Joyful, all you nations, rise;

Join the triumph of the skies;

With angelic hosts proclaim,

“Christ is born in Bethlehem!” R/

Christ, by highest heav’n adored, R/ Hark! the herald angels sing,

Christ, the everlasting Lord, “Glory to the newborn king!”

Late in time behold him come,

Offspring of a virgins’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see!

Hail, the incarnate deity!

Pleased as man with us to dwell,

Jesus, our Emmanuel! R/

Hail the heav’n born Prince of Peace,

Hail the sun of righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings,

Ris’n with healing in his wings,

Mild he lays his glory by,

Born that we no more may die,

Born to raise each child of earth,

Born to give us second birth. R/

POST COMMUNION PRAYER

P Let us pray. (Silence) We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life; and we pray that in your mercy you would strengthen us, through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

C Amen

BENEDICTION

P Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.

C Amen

DISMISSAL

P Go in peace. Serve the Lord

C Thanks be to God.

HYMN:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! 3. No more let sin and sorrow grow

Let earth receive its King; Nor thorns infest the ground!

Let ev’ry heart prepare him room He comes to make his blessings flow

And heav’n and nature sing. Far as the curse is found.

Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns! 4. He rules the world with truth and grace

Let all their songs employ, And makes the nations prove

While fields & floods, rocks, hills & plains The glories of his righteousness

Repeat the sounding joy. And wonders of his love.

ST. PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH

400 Sparks Street

Ottawa, Ontario K1R 5A2

The Rev. Dr. Barton Beglo, Pastor

Adam Snook, Intern Pastor

Mai-yu Chan, Associate Organist

Telephone: 613-233-9911 Fax: 613-233-9936

e-mail: st.peters@rogers.com

http://stpeters.digitalents.com

CHRISTMAS EVE COMMUNION

11:00 p.m.

Prelude:

Pastoral Symphony (from “Messiah”)

G.F. Handel (1685-1757)

Offertory:

Away in a Manger Raymond H. Haan (1938-)

Solo:

How Beautiful are the Feet (from “Messiah”)

G.F. Handel

Postlude:

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Violinist

Tanya Onysko

Worship Services

Worship Note: Christmas Day and all Sunday Services are at 10:00 a.m.