Prelude: Two settings of Savior of the Nations come For Organ; Nun komm der Heiden Heiland J. S. Bach (1685-1750) For Handbells; arranged John A. Behnke Processional Hymn 54“Savior of the Nations Come”

The Word of God

Opening Acclamation and Collect for Purity BCP 355

Trisagion S 102 The Collect

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and pre-pare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The First Lesson Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be re-vealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their con-stancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever. Get you up to a high moun-tain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, her-ald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. Psalm 82:1-2,8-13 Tone I.2 The Second Lesson 2 Peter 3:8-15a Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heav-ens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, be-cause of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will

melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. Sequence Hymn 67 “Comfort, comfort ye my people”

The Gospel Mark 1:1-8 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a bap-tism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean coun-tryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Sermon The Rev. Noah H. Evans

The Nicene Creed BCP 358

The Prayers of the People Leader: O God, make speed to save us. All: O Lord, make haste to help us.

Confession BCP 360 The people may kneel or stand. The Peace BCP 360

Announcements

The Holy Communion

Offertory Anthem Psalm 23 Bobby McFerrin

The Lord is my Shepard, I have all I need She makes me lie down in green meadows Beside the still waters, She will lead She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs She leads me in a path of good things And fills my heart with songs Even though I walk, through a dark and dreary land There is nothing that can shake me She has said She won't forsake me I'm in her hand She sets a table before me, in the presence of my foes She anoints my head with oil And my cup overflows Surely, surely goodness and kindness will follow me All the days of my life And I will live in her house Forever, forever and ever Glory be to our Mother, and Daughter And to the Holy of Holies As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World, without end Presentation Hymn 65 “Prepare the way, O Zion”

The Great Thanksgiving, Eucharistic Prayer B BCP 367 The people may stand or kneel.

We welcome all to St. Paul’s. If you would like to know about our parish, desire pastoral assistance or would like to be on our mailing list, please fill out a “welcome card” and give it to a greeter or place it in the offering plate. Worship Materials are found in the pew in front of you. The red book is The Book of Common Prayer and the blue book is The Hymnal 1982. Service music (designated with an “S” before the number) is found in the beginning of the Hymnal.

Office Hours Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

1066 Washington Road Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania 15228

412-531-7153 • Fax: 412-531-9820 • www.stpaulspgh.org

Pastoral Care 24/7 Hotline 412-440-8123 In the event of an pastoral emergency such as serious illness, injury or death, please call.

A clergy person will either answer or call you as soon as possible.

Second Sunday of Advent December 10, 2017

10:45 a.m. Celebrant—The Rev. Garrett Yates Preacher— The Rev. Noah H. Evans

“BCP” refers to The Book of Common Prayer. www.stpaulspgh.org 412-531-7153

Facebook - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Lebanon, PA #stpaulspgh

Sanctus Hymn S 125 Memorial Acclamation

The Great Amen

The Lord’s Prayer BCP 364

The Breaking of the Bread BCP 364

Fraction Music Hymn 56 “O come, o come Emmanuel” vv. 1 & 2

All are invited to the Lord’s table. Please approach from the center aisle and return using side aisles.

If you need communion brought to your pew, please let the ushers know.

Communion Music: Recit. Comfort ye, my people

Aria: Every Valley shall be exalted, from Messiah

G. F. Handel (1685-1759)

Rich Williams, Tenor (Please join in singing) Hymn 75 “There’s a voice in the wilderness crying” Post Communion Prayer BCP 365 Blessing

Recessional Hymn 70 “Herald, sound the note of judgement”

Dismissal Postlude: Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 737 J.S. Bach (1685-1750) (Our Father in Heaven)

Advent two is personified by the voice of John the Baptist calling for repent-ance and readiness. His voice is heard in nearly all of the hymns and especially in “On Jordan’s bank,” “Prepare the way, O Zion,” and, “There’s a voice in the wilderness crying.” When we sing Advent hymns their meaning is shaped by our subjective personal journey toward Christmas. John the Baptist’s origi-nal message imploring readiness was to the Jewish people alone. Only later was the promised gift of the Messiah made explicit as a gift of salvation for everyone- Jew and Gentile. As my mother wisely responded to my question from her nine-year-old son- “Mom, are their people on other planets?” She said, “Son, I don’t know but if there are, Jesus went there to save them too.” The choir sing’s Bobby McFerrin’s setting of Psalm 23. You may know him as a pop. music and jazz singer. He dedicated this composition to his mother, hence a transformation of the text to “She makes me lie down... She leads me in a path...She won’t forsake me.” In an interview with the Omega Institute, Bobby relates this about his Psalm 23 setting. “The 23rd Psalm is dedicated to my mother. She was the driving force in my religious and spiritual education, and I have so many memories of her singing in church…I recently spent time with my wife and our children. Watching her with them, the way she loved them, I realized one of the ways we’re shown a glimpse of how God loves us is through our mothers. They cherish our spirits, they demand that we become our best selves, and they take care of us.” Notice that the opening line contains a common misspelling of the word “Shepherd.” Instead, Bobby writes, “The Lord is my Shepard.” Is this a mis-spelling or intentional? For those of you familiar with the physics of sound and various wave forms as most musicians are, the word “Shepard” also means “a tone consisting of a superposition of sine waves separated by octaves.” Trans-lated, a pitch clearly heard with few overtones yet amplified by duplications of that pure tone both above it and below it. Sounds like love to me. This afternoon at 4:00 pm our next Friends of Music Concert features our very own Alexandra Thompson. Cellist, Allie attended St. Paul's growing up, sang in the Canterbury Choir and Youth Choir, played a great number of times in worship and now plays in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra! She will per-form an assortment of classical works and holiday favorites. Proud father and retired PSO member, Thomas Thompson will be in attendance with beautiful wife and singer, Christine Thompson. Come join us for a most splendid con-cert! Suggested Donation; $10

Doug Starr, Director of Music & Arts

Psalm 82:1-2,8-13 Music Notes

Large print editions of the Holy Eucharist service and hearing assistive devices are available. Please see an usher.

Wheelchair accessible restroom is on the second floor.

Vestry Members

Jon Delano, Sr. Warden, Eric Linn, Jr. Warden Ginny Barnicoat, Lisa Brown, Louise Cannon, Betty Duckstein, Bob Johnston, Jon Paulus,

Pat Eagon Stafford, Stephen Sumpter, Mark Tranquilli, Ell Vines

Free WiFi

ST10Pa Password welcome!

Prayer List

We pray for all who are ill, or in any trouble, need or sorrow, especially for We pray for all who are ill, or in any trouble, need or sorrow, especially for Veronica, Ow-en, Katie, Ruth, Carley, Gabe, Emma, Alex, Ali, Carly, Paige, Haley, Tyler, and Mike, and for all who are included in our parish prayer list, for our Stephen Ministers and their care receivers, for all who serve in the armed forces of the United States, and for all who are suffering from violence, persecution, or disease around the world. We pray for those who have died, for former parishioner Ellen M. Brownlee, moth-er of Eric and Miranda Brownlee and Meredith and Eli Amour, and grandmother of Mariah and Cameron, and for our loved ones who have gone before us.

For those who wish to use it, childcare for children under the age of 3 is available during the services. It is located on the same floor as the Church, exit the doors to the left of the altar. It is the first room on the left.

Pray & Play Bags are available for children who need something extra to do during worship. The bags are located at the entrances to the Church. Kids’ Word is an interactive conversation about the Bible readings from today’s worship. If you would like your children to participate, they will be invited to proceed to a classroom before the first lesson with members of the Children and Family Ministry Team. This service’s celebrant will make an announcement directing children to gather for Kids’ Word. Children will return at the Peace.