GRACE CHURCH OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD

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  • WELCOME
  • Contact Us
  • 2024 Evaluation Form
  • Leadership
  • Parish Calendar
  • Online Sunday Services at Grace
    • 01.18.26 The Second Sunday After the Epiphany
    • 01.11.26 The First Sunday After the Epiphany
    • 01.04.26 2nd Sunday after Christmas
    • 12.28.2025 1st Sunday after Christmas
  • Church and Faith
    • African American Heritage Trail
    • Our Three-Year Plan
    • Weddings
    • History of Grace Church
  • Praise and Sweat Classes
  • Climate Change
  • Donate
  • Liturgies to Say at Home
    • Spiritual Communion
    • Morning Prayer
    • Daily Devotions
    • Noonday Prayer
    • Evening Prayer
    • Compline for nightly use
    • The Angelus
    • BCP Services
  • Community Suppers
    • Community Suppers
    • Summer Lobster Rolls
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The Holy Eucharist Rite II:  Enriching Our Worship, Eucharistic Prayer III
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All music printed by permission in accordance with ONE LICENSE, License #A-734784.   Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with License #A-734784.
All rights reserved.

Prelude
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 Welcome 

Hymn 658 As longs the deer
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Celebrant      Blessed be the one, holy, and living God.
People         Glory to God for ever and ever. Amen.

Invocation
 
Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
              Sing praise and give honor for ever.
In the high vault of heaven, glorify the Lord,
              Sing praise and give honor for ever.
 
The People of God

Let the people of God glorify the Lord, *
   praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Glorify the Lord, O priests and servants of the Lord, *
   praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous, *
   praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord, *
   praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Doxology
 
Let us glorify the Lord: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
              Sing praise and give honor for ever.
In the high vault of heaven, glorify the Lord,
              Sing praise and give honor for ever.
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Collect of the Day
 
Celebrant                God be with you.
People                   And also with you.
Celebrant                Let us pray.
 
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.  Amen.

     The Lessons 

The First Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13 read by John Hickey

The voice of my beloved!
     Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
     bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
     or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
     behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
     looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my love, my fair one,
     and come away;
for now the winter is past,
     the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
     the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
     is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
     and the vines are in blossom;
     they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
     and come away."
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The Word of the Lord.
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Thanks be to God.

Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10  read by Kim Garrison

     1 My heart is stirring with a noble song;
          let me recite what I have fashioned for the king; *
          my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.
     2 You are the fairest of men; *
          grace flows from your lips,
          because God has blessed you for ever.
     7 Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever, *
          a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom;
          you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
     8 Therefore God, your God, has anointed you *
          with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
     9 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, *
          and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.
     10 Kings' daughters stand among the ladies of the court; *
          on your right hand is the queen,
          adorned with the gold of Ophir.

James 1:17-27  read by Teri Culletto

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
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But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn (1940) 249 Thy Gospel, Jesus
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The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

People             Glory to you, Lord Christ.
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When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

          ‘This people honors me with their lips,
               but their hearts are far from me;
           in vain do they worship me,
               teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
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Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
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The Gospel of the Lord
​

People               Praise to You, Lord Christ.

Homily                 The Rev. Stephen Harding

The Nicene Creed
 
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 one 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.

The Prayers of the People, Form III    read by Karen Huff

The Leader and People pray responsively

God, we pray for your holy Church;
That we all may be one.

Grant that every member of the Church may truly and humbly serve you;
That your Name may be glorified by all people.

We pray for all bishops, priests, and deacons;
That they may be faithful ministers of your Word and Sacraments.

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world;
That there may be justice and peace on the earth.

Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake;
That our works may find favor in your sight.

Have compassion on those who suffer from any grief or trouble;
That they may be delivered from their distress.

Give to the departed eternal rest.
Let light perpetual shine upon them.
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We praise you for your saints who have entered into joy;
May we also come to share in your heavenly kingdom.

Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.

Silence

The People may add their own petitions.

The Celebrant adds a concluding Collect.

The Confession of Sin
 
Celebrant
 
Let us confess our sins to God.
 
Silence may be kept
 
Celebrant and People
 
God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
     in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
     the evil we have done,
     and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.
 
The Absolution
Celebrant
 
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
 
The Peace
 
Celebrant   The peace of Christ be always with you.
People        And also with you.

Announcements

Hymn 692 I heard the voice of Jesus say
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The Doxology: Hymn 380 v 3
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The Holy Communion
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Eucharistic Prayer 3
Celebrant            The Lord be with you.
People                And also with you.
Celebrant            Lift up your hearts.
People               We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant            Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People               It is right to give God thanks and praise.
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All thanks and praise are yours at all times and in all places, our true and loving God: through Jesus Christ, your eternal Word, the Wisdom from on high by whom you created all things. You laid the foundations of the world and enclosed the sea when it burst out from the womb; You brought forth all creatures of the earth and gave breath to humankind.
 
Wondrous are you, Holy One of Blessing, all you create is a sign of hope for our journey; And so as the morning stars sing your praises we join the heavenly beings and all creation as we sing with joy:

Celebrant and People

Holy, holy holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

The people stand or kneel.

Then the Celebrant continues

Glory and honor are yours, Creator of all, your Word has never been silent; you called a people to yourself, as a light to the nations, you delivered them from bondage and led them to a land of promise. Of your grace, you gave Jesus to be human, to share our life, to proclaim the coming of your holy reign and give himself for us, a fragrant offering.
 
Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, you have freed us from sin, brought us into your life, reconciled us to you, and restored us to the glory you intend for us.
 
We thank you that on the night before he died for us Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, gave it to his friends and said:  “Take, eat, this is my Body, broken for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
 
After supper Jesus took the cup of wine, said the blessing, gave it to his friends and said: “Drink this, all of you: this cup is the new Covenant in my Blood, poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
 
And so, remembering all that was done for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection and ascension, longing for Christ’s coming in glory, and presenting to you these gifts you earth has formed and human hands have made, we acclaim you, O Christ:

Celebrant and People

Dying, you destroyed our death.
Rising, you restored our life.
Christ Jesus, come in glory!

The Celebrant continues
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Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts of bread and wine that they may be to us the Body and Blood of your Christ.  Grant that we, burning with your Spirit’s power, may be a people of hope, justice and love.
 
Giver of Life, draw us together in the Body of Christ, and in the fullness of time gather us with all your people into the joy of our true eternal home.
 
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, we worship you our God and Creator in voices of unending praise.
 
Celebrant and People   
Blessed are you now and for ever. Amen.
 
The Lord’s Prayer
 
Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your Name,
   your kingdom come,
   your will be done,
      on earth as in heaven.
   Give us today our daily bread.
        Forgive us our sins
           as we forgive those
           who sin against us.
        Save us from the time of trial,
           and deliver us from evil.
        For the kingdom, the power,
           and the glory are yours,
           now and for ever. Amen.
 
The Celebrant breaks the consecrated Bread
 
A period of silence is kept.
 
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   Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.
 
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
 
Leader and People
In union, O Lord with the faithful at every altar of Your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated, we desire to offer You praise and thanksgiving. We present to you our souls and bodies with the earnest wish that we may always be united to you. And since we can not now receive you sacramentally, we beseech you to come spiritually into our hearts. We unite ourselves to you, and embrace you with all the affections of our souls. Let nothing ever separate you from us. May we live and die in your love. Amen.
 
The Leader continues
 
Let us spend a few moments reflecting on the fact that God so loves each one of us that God sent God’s Only-Begotten Son into the world for all of us.
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Hymn 656 Blest are the pure in heart
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The Post Communion Prayer
 
Let us pray.
Celebrant and People
 
God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation and you have united us with Christ and one another; you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue for ever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.
 
Blessing
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Hymn 652 Dear Lord and Father of mankind
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Dismissal

​Leader         ...
People        Thanks be to God.
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Postlude

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September Birthdays
Robert Kelly, James Norton, Bryan Garrison, Jan Hyer, Deborah Koines, Zoe Hoehn,
Bill Cini & Bruce Harris
Anniversaries
Karen Huff & Kathy Morris
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Please email [email protected] to update or include yours!
 
Sunday Prayers

Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Sean, our presiding Bishop Elect, Alan and Carol, our Bishops;
Julia, our Bishop Elect
Stephen, Storm, and Sharon, our Priests
The Very Reverend Amy McCreath & the Cathedral Congregation of St. Paul
The Manna Community, The Diocese of Rio Grande Border Ministries
The Cape & Islands Deanery
 
Joe, our President, Kamala, our Vice President
The Members of Congress; Maura our Governor, and all our elected officials
Pray for Our Country
 
For peace in the Middle East
For the people of Ukraine; the people of Iran; All Refugees
The Campers, Counselors, and Staff of Camp Jabberwocky; The People of Pine Ridge

For our planet
All those affected by climate change
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All Staff of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital
Our Vineyard EMS, Fire and Police Departments
All the Members of the New York City Fire Department
 
Those working to address racial injustice

      Aquinnah, Aya and her family, Ann Marie, Becky, Bryan E., Richard & Sarah, Debbie and Alan, Deanna, Bill, Deborah & Marcia, The Grant family, Eileen, Garrett, Jeremiah, Joe, Judy B., Kathy, Kim, Kay, Lloyd, Lucy, Lorraine & Richard, Lydia, Lyric, Margaret, Mark & Donna, Mary & Gregg, Maureen M., Nancy & Paul, Pat, Paul, Phyllis, Ralph, Richard, Ruben, Shauna, Suzanne, William
 
 Those who have died and their families:  
Fala Freeman, Mark Harnen, Janice Haynes, Susan Murphy, Jeff Spear,
& Christine Williams
 
All those killed in Ukraine, all those killed in the Middle East
 All those killed because of oppression, gun violence, hatred, war, or the color of their skin.

GRACE CHURCH
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
(508) 693-0332

Rector: The Reverend Stephen Harding
Priest Associates: The Rev’d Sharon Eckhardt
                             The Rev’d Dr. Storm Swain
Parish Administrator: Heather Raveling
Director of Music:  Wes Nagy
Cellist:   Jan Hyer
Bookkeeper:  David Smith
Vestry
Sr. Warden:  Jennifer Haynes
Jr. Warden: Bryan Garrison
Clerk:  Betsy Holcomb
 
Vestry:  Teri Culletto, Karen Huff, Lew Laskaris, 
Ginger Martin Duarte, Maranda Post

​ASSISTING IN OUR WORSHIP
 
Videographer & Curator: Karen Huff
Zoom Hosts:  The Rev’d Ribbons Harris & Karen Huff
Hospitality: Lorraine Clark, Joan Merry & members of the parish
Readers and Intercessors: Teri Culletto, Carolyn Eddy, Ribbons Harris,
Jennifer Haynes, John Hickey, Karen Huff, Faith Laskaris, Maranda Post & DiAnn Ray
Eucharistic Ministers: Abby Bates, Judy Carter, Carolyn Eddy, 
Jennifer Haynes & DiAnn Ray
Singers:  Abby Bates, Rev. Sharon Eckhardt, David Grey,  Rev. Stephen Harding, Michael Hadyn, John Hickey,
​Betsy Holcomb, Jan Hyer
Ushers:  Lorraine Clark and BeBee Green
We welcome you to join us! Please email [email protected] 
PO Box 1197 • 34 Woodlawn Avenue • Vineyard Haven MA 02568
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www.graceepiscopalmv.org • 508 693-0332