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Worship is the public forum in which Presbyterians from differing perspectives come together and place their diverse understanding and experiences of the faith before God and open themselves to the continuing work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those perspectives are well represented among the Presbyterian students at the Vancouver School of Theology. In addition, we have benefited from conversations with our ecumenical partners at the School. In arriving at our response to the proposed service, we used it in weekly worship for six weeks, then gathered on a Sunday evening with spouses and other V.S.T. students to draft the service printed below. Special thanks goes to the Reverend Thomas Harding, a graduate student in Reformed liturgies at the School. He helped us put our ideas in the context of the broader movement for liturgical reform as well as safeguard the Reformed contribution to that process. The result is a step in the ongoing process of reforming our worship in accordance with the Word of God, present in Jesus Christ and witnessed to in the Scriptures. We are grateful to the editors of Channels for this opportunity to broaden the conversation and would take this opportunity to invite any readers who find themselves in the vicinity of the University of British Columbia any Monday at 4:30 p.m. during the school term to join us for Presbyterian worship in the Chapel at St. Andrew’s Hall, 6040 Iona Drive.
Brian J. Fraser
Assistant Professor of Church History
and Presbyterian Chaplain,
Vancouver School of Theology
The V.S.T. Revision of the rough draft done by the Committee on the Book of Common Order.
(Used at Presbyterian worship at the Vancouver School of Theology.)
THE GATHERING
Processional Hymn: (Optional)
Call to Worship:
Leader: Come, let us sing to the Lord;
People: Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Leader: Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving.
People: And raise a loud shout with psalms.
Leader: Come, let us worship and bow down.
People: Today we will hearken to the voice of God.
Prayer of Adoration:
Leader: Glory and praise are due to you, God Almighty, for you are the Creator and Ruler of the universe.
Glory and praise are due to you, Redeemer Christ, for you have removed our fear and guilt by taking the world’s sin upon yourself.
Glory and praise are due to you Holy Spirit, for you are our guide and hope by whom we are built up in community, knowledge and love.
People: To you, Blessed Trinity, One God, the source of all life and wholeness, be all glory and dominion and power.
Prayer of Confession:
Leader: Let us confess our sin to God.
People: Almighty and most merciful God, we have sinned against you and one another, we have sinned in thought, word and deed, in what we have done, and in what we have left undone. In your mercy, forgive what we have been, amend what we are, and direct what we will be; cleanse us and heal us of the sin that divides us from our sisters and brothers, and from you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Silence for reflection.)
Leader: Lord, have mercy.
People: Christ, have mercy.
Leader: Lord, have mercy.
Assurance of Pardon:
Leader: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Be assured, there is declared to us in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and the renewal of our life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
People: Thanks be to God.
Hymn: (A hymn of praise and celebration during the singing of which the Bible is brought in.)
THE SERVICE OF THE WORD
(The Bible is placed at the lectern or in the pulpit as the hymn ends.)
Prayer for Illumination:
Leader: O God, who by the entrance of your Word gives light and life to this world, pour down on us the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Through the inner working of your Holy Spirit, prepare us for the service that glorifies your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old Testament Lesson:
Leader: Listen for the Word of God found in …
Psalm:
Leader: The psalm to be read responsively is …
The Epistle:
Leader: Listen for the Word of God found in …
The Gospel:
Leader: Listen for the Word of God found in …
(At the conclusion:)
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Hymn or Anthem:
Words of Authority:
Preacher: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sermon:
Ascription of Glory:
Preacher: “Now unto God, who by the power at work within us and among us is able to do far more than all we ask or think, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” Amen.
Hymn or Anthem: (Optional)
The Creed:
People: “Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
(Other appropriate affirmations of faith from the Scriptures and from the Tradition, such as the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, or sections of the Living Faith may be used.)
(Here the Sacrament of Baptism may be celebrated.)
Prayers of the People:
(The leader invites the people to pray with the words, “Let us pray.” Following each petition, the following is said:)
Leader: Lord, in your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
The Peace:
Leader: The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
People: And also with you.
(The people greet one another in a manner acceptable to the local congregation.)
THE SERVICE OF THE TABLE
The Words of Institution:
Minister: Beloved in the Lord, listen to the words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, as they were written by the Apostle Paul:
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ’This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Offering:
Minister: Let us bring our gifts to the Lord. (During the offering the table is set. During the singing of a hymn or doxology the gifts and elements are brought forward.)
Hymn:
Invitation:
Minister: Beloved in the Lord, as we draw near to the table, we are to consider the benefits of this Sacrament if we come to it with our souls hungering and thirsting after Christ.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I invite to this table all who love the Lord. The table is the Lord’s and belongs to all God’s people. You are lovingly urged to receive this means of grace.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
The Great Thanksgiving:
Minister: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Minister: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Minister: Let us give thanks to God.
People: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Thanksgiving for God’s Work in Creation and History:
Minister: Eternal and ever-living God, we thank you for commanding light out of darkness, for dividing the waters into sea and dry land, for creating the whole world and calling it good. We thank you for making us in your image to live with each other in love; for the breath of life, the gift of speech, and the freedom to choose your way. You have told us your purpose in commandments to Moses. You have called for justice in the cry of the prophets. Through long generations, you have been faithful and loving in all your children.
Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God Almighty. Your ways are just and true. With people of faith from all times and places, we lift our hearts in joyful praise:
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.
Thanksgiving for God’s Work in Christ:
Minister: Holy God, in your mercy you sent the One in whom your fullness dwells, your only begotten, to be for us the way, the truth, and the life. In Jesus, born of Mary, your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. We glorify you for your great power and mercy at work in Christ. By his suffering and death on the cross, our sins are forgiven. By his rising from the grave, we are assured of eternal life.
We praise you that Christ, our life, now reigns with you in glory, watching over us, until all things are made perfect.
People: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
The Invocation of God’s Power in the Spirit:
Minister: Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit on us, and on these your gifts of bread and wine, that in eating this bread and drinking this cup, we may know the presence of Christ, being made one with him, and one with all who come to this table.
People: Through the power of the Spirit, we offer ourselves to be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to you. In your mercy, accept our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. In communion with all the faithful in heaven and on earth, we ask you to fulfil, in us and in all creation, the purpose of your redeeming love.
Minister: Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour are yours, Almighty God, now and forever.
As our Saviour Christ has taught us, let us pray:
All: “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 forever.” Amen.
The Fraction:
Minister: The body of Christ broken for you. The blood of Christ, shed for you.
The Distribution:
Minister: Take this in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
Post Communion Prayer:
Minister: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
People: And all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.
Minister. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul.
People: And forget not all God’s benefits.
Minister: Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which we have been made participants. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, as you have given yourself for us, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
THE DISMISSAL
Commissioning:
Minister: Go in peace. Live as free men and women. Serve the Lord in gladness, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
People: We go to serve the Lord.
Benediction:
Minister: The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: Amen.