Service program
Holy Eucharist & Blessing of the Animals
FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
October 4, 2026 10:15am
Welcome to St. John’s! If you are new, please sign our Guest Book in the back of the church and join us for Coffee Hour in our Parish Life Center. Please let an usher know if you require hearing assistance.
This is a family friendly congregation. During the service, children PK-4th are invited to Godly Play, and 5th-8th to Godly Workshop; the ushers can direct you to the classrooms. If you have toddlers, please feel free to sit to the front right where we have a “soft space,” and a nursery room is open in the back of the sanctuary.
Today we celebrate Holy Communion. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, all are welcome to receive at the Lord’s Table.
opening
Prelude Music Capriccio sopra Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La—Girolamo Frescobaldi
Welcome
Processional Music—Hymn #400 vv.1-4
Opening Acclamation & Collect for Purity—Book of Common Prayer p.355
Celebrant: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.
Celebrant & People: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song of Praise—Hymn #S-280
Collect—Book of Common Prayer p.234
Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Music Moment
The liturgy of the word
Lector: A reading from the Book of Exodus.
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
First Reading: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Psalm 19
Lector: A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Second Reading: Philippians 3:4B-14
Sequence Hymn #441 vv.1-4
The Holy Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46
Priest: The Holy Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ according to Matthew
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Sequence Hymn #441 v.5
Sermon- The Reverend Tammy Smith
Nicene Creed-Book of Common Prayer p.358
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.
Prayers of the People
Confession of Sin
Celebrant: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Celebrant and People:
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Celebrant: Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins
through our Lord 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 the Lord be always with you.
People: And also with you.
The Ministers and People greet one another in the name of the Lord.
Announcements & Prayers for Birthdays & Anniversaries
The liturgy of the table
Offertory Anthem The Call—George Herbert / Ralph Vaughan Williams
Presentation Hymn #393 v.1
The Great Thanksgiving Prayer-Book of Common Prayer p.361
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 him thanks and praise.
Celebrant: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth…
…Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:
Sanctus-Hymn #S-125
Celebrant: Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us for yourself…
…Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
People: Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Celebrant:We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father…
…All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ: By whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.
People: Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer-Book of Common Prayer p.364
Celebrant: And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo,
santificado sea tu Nombre,
Venga tu reino, hágase tu voluntad,
en la tierra como en el cielo.
Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día.
Perdona nuestras ofensas,
como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden.
No nos dejes caer en tentación
y líbranos del mal.
Porque tuyo es el reino,
tuyo es el poder, y tuya es la gloria,
ahora y por siempre. Amén.
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,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Fraction
The Celebrant breaks the bread.
Celebrant: Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
People: Therefore let us keep the feast, Alleluia.
The Invitation to Communion and Healing Prayer
If you need Communion brought to you at your seat, simply make it known to the usher and the clergy will come out to you to bring the bread and wine. If you do not wish to receive communion, you are welcome to come up for a blessing. Please cross your arms across your chest to indicate you desire a blessing. Those desiring healing prayer after taking communion can approach the Healing Prayer station to the right of the altar.
Communion Hymn #382
Post-Communion Prayer-Book of Common Prayer p.365
Celebrant: Let us pray. Eternal God,
Celebrant and People: heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing of the Animals
Hymn #405
Hymn #400 v.7
Blessing & Dismissal
Celebrant: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God.
Voluntary Music Capriccio sopra Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La—Girolamo Frescobaldi
Certain materials repinted by permission from RiteSong, a one-time use reprint license for congregational use. Permission to reprint and stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License # A-735293. All rights reserved.