Artwork: “Looking Out of the Tomb” by Naanyuni Davis, used by permission.

Gathering

Prelude       O Sacred Head Now Wounded                            Storjohann Strings

                    Thine Is the Glory

Easter Proclamation

A:         Christ is risen!  Alleluia!

C:         Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

A:         With high delight, let us unite, in songs of great jubilation!

C:         With high delight, let us unite, in songs of great jubilation!

A:         Rejoice, O Heavenly Powers!  Sing, choirs of angels!

Exult, all creation around God’s throne!

Jesus Christ is risen!  Sound the trumpet of salvation!

C:         With high delight, let us unite, in songs of great jubilation!

A:         Rejoice, O Earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your God! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!  Darkness vanishes forever!

C:         With high delight, let us unite, in songs of great jubilation!

A:         Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Saviour shines upon you! Let our hearts and our homes resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!

C:         With high delight, let us unite, in songs of great jubilation!

A:         Christ is risen! Alleluia!

C:         Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Gathering Song            “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”

 Assoc. of Lutheran Church Musicians

Greeting

Prayer of the Day

Word

Special Music               “In Christ Alone”                     Theresa and Naanyani Davis

A Reading from the prophet Isaiah, the 25^th chapter.                 Sandy Kunej

More than 700 years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah proclaims the good news of God’s salvation and calls all people to rejoice!

⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
   a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
   of rich food filled with marrow,

of well-matured wines strained clear.
⁷ And he will destroy on this mountain
   the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
   the sheet that is spread over all nations;
⁸ he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
   and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
   for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day,
   Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him,

so that he might save us.
   This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.       

Word of God, Word of Life

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 118                                                                                                                                 Pastor Joanna Miller

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the 10^th chapter.         Noah Kunej

Peter begins what was for him a very surprising journey of welcoming non-Jewish followers of Jesus into the community.

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

Word of God.  Word of Life.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation (sung together)                                                                         page 142

Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Gospel

The holy gospel according to Mark, the 16^th chapter.

Glory to you, O Lord.

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ ⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Hymn of the Day         “Christ is Alive! Let Christians…”                     # 389

1. Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.

The cross stands empty to the sky.

Let streets and homes with praises ring.

Love, drowned in death, shall never die.

• Christ is alive! No longer bound

To distant years in Palestine,

But saving, healing, here and now,

And touching every place and time.

• In every insult, rift, and war,

Where colour, scorn, or wealth divide,

Christ suffers still, yet loves the more,

And lives where even hope has died.

• Christ is alive, and comes to bring

Good news to this and every age,

Till earth and sky and ocean ring

With joy, with justice, love, and praise.

Text: Brian A Wren, b. 1936.  © 1975, rev. 1995 Hope Publishing Company.  Reprinted under One License A-732181       

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day, he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.  Amen

Prayers

… for Christ is risen:  Christ is risen indeed.

Peace

Solo                               “This Joyful Eastertide”                           Daphne Clarke

Meal

Offertory                       “Here Is Bread”                                                      # 483

Here is bread, here is wine, Christ is with us, always with us.

Break the bread, taste the wine, Christ is with us here.

In this bread there is healing, in this cup is life forever.

In this moment, by the Spirit, Christ is with us here.

Offertory Prayer

The Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Eucharistic Prayer

Blessed are you, O Holy One,

for the universe beyond our knowing, for creatures great and small, and for the wondrous web of life into which we have been woven.

We give thanks that, in your wisdom, you create all people in your

image,

          red, yellow and brown, black and white, calling us to be caretakers of one another and of your world. 

In each generation, you deliver us through the flood,

          bring us forth from bondage, guide us through the wilderness, sustain us in exile, and call us toward your land of promise.

You sent us Jesus, our brother and Lord,

          who embodied your will, who reveals your heart, and who teaches us what it means to be fully human and fully alive.

Bread may be lifted up.

On the night in which he allowed himself to be handed over, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and gave it to his followers saying: “Take and eat. This is my body given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

Wine may be lifted up.

After supper he took a cup of wine, gave thanks, and offered it to his followers saying, “Take and drink. This is the New Covenant, in my blood, offered for you and for all people. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

So, on this day of resurrection and New Life, we remember…

          we remember all whose blood is poured out in violence in its countless forms, we remember all who offer up their lives in service to others and in service to you. And most of all, we remember the New Life of the risen Christ into which you call us this day.

Pour out your Holy Spirit, that these gifts of bread and wine may be filled with your grace.

          And by your grace fill us with the resurrected life of Christ, that we may be living symbols of your New Life for all the world.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray saying…

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.  Amen

Distribution

If you are in a group, you may serve one another.  If you are alone, you may serve yourself.  All use these or similar words:

The body of Christ, given for you.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Blessing

Post-Communion Canticle             “Praise To The Lord”                       # 844

1. Praise to the Lord, all of you, God’s servants.

Blessed be the name of our God now and ever.

From the rising up of the sun,

May the Lord be praised, praise to the name of the Lord!

• There is none like our God in the heavens or on earth,

Who lifts the poor from the dust,

Seating them with the mighty,

Who stoops to raise the weak and low;

May the Lord be praised, praise to the name of the Lord! 

Text: Written by Ron Klusmeier, b. 1946.  © 1972 Ron Klusmeier.  Reprinted under One License A-732181       

Post-Communion Prayer

Sending

Announcements may be made.

Benediction                                                                          Bishop Susan Johnson

Sending Hymn       “Thine is the Glory”          Choir: Trinity Lutheran, London, Ont.

1. Thine is the glory, risen, conquering son;

Endless is the victory, thou o’er death hast won!

Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,

Kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.

Refrain:

Thine is the glory, risen, conquering son;

Endless is the victory, thou o’er death hast won!

• Lo, Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb!

Lovingly he greets thee, scatters fear and gloom;

Let his church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,

For the Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting!  Refrain

• No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;

Life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife;

Make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love;

Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.  Refrain

Dismissal

You are the body of Christ raised up for the world.

Go in peace.  Share the good news.  Alleluia!

Thanks be to God.  Alleluia!