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acknowledgements accolades |
Liturgical Celebration of the Waterloo Declaration
A joint working group of Anglicans and Lutherans is preparing resources for suggested use on October 28, 2001 (the Sunday beginning the week which includes Reformation Day and All Saints) but the following resources may be useful for people and parishes wishing to mark July 8th, the day of the church service celebrating the expected signing of the Waterloo Declaration. (See the website news story, Joint synod service: on ice, with a twist, for more information about the joint service.)
The working group reminds people to check the
Synod website
The readings for July 8th are Genesis 12:1-9, Psalm 133, Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16, and John 17:1-6, 11, 17-26.
We are singing 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, 'As the Grains of Wheat', 'Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence', 'Let us Talents and Tongues Employ', 'One Bread One Body', 'Jesu Jesu', 'Come and Journey with a Saviour', plus a new hymn written for the occasion. As postlude the combined choirs will sing 'We are Marching in the Light of God'.
The Collect from the joint service is:
Loving Source of all creation, in Jesus Christ you have united heaven and earth. Grant that we who share in the first fruits of that union may work for its fulfillment in the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of the Incarnate Word, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns now and for ever.
Amen
The actual signing of the text will follow the format of renewal of baptismal vows, shaped around the acknowledgements of Waterloo. This part of the liturgy could readily be done locally:
Presider: We have acknowledged each other as churches sharing in the apostolic faith. Let us confess that faith, as we say,
All: (the Creed)
Presider: Will you continue together in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in making new disciples by water and the Holy Spirit, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
Congregation: We will, with God's help.
Presider: We have acknowledged each other as churches in which the Gospel is preached in its purity and the sacraments duly administered. Will you join with your Lutheran and Anglican sisters and brothers in proclaiming by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
Congregation: We will, with God's help.
Presider: We have acknowledged each other's ministries as gifts of God's Holy Spirit to equip the people of God for the work of ministry. Will you as Christians in full communion seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself, striving for justice and peace, and respecting the dignity of every human being?
Congregation: We will, with God's help.
(It is at this point that the Declaration of Full Communion would be declared and signed.) People locally could add:
All:
We affirm and celebrate the declaration of
full communion between our churches. May
the Lord who has given us the will to make
this declaration give us the grace and
power to live it.
Amen
Prayers of the People
(on July 8th these will be read in a variety of languages)
God of promise, we celebrate this day the work of your Spirit among us. We praise you for the many who have heeded your Spirit and worked to bring us to this celebration of our common ministry of Word and Sacrament.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, you give us signs of your love in water, in bread, in wine, the cross, the Word, and in all of creation. By your Spirit enable us always and everywhere to celebrate these signs among us as we seek to be a visible sign of your people's unity in apostolic life, mission and ministry.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, in calling us to be your own, you made us a chosen people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. We your people, acknowledging who we are and whose we are, commit ourselves to the ministry of all believers in service to you and to your creation.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, you place before us many ways of service and ministry and grant us the necessary gifts to meet the challenges of this ministry. Guide us by your Spirit as we explore how we might best enable the ministry of all your people.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, you have brought us into a common pilgrimage. Strengthen us in our commitment to seek understanding in all matters of our common life.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, lead us by your Spirit not only to seek, but to rely upon regular collaboration and consultation in all matters that our common ministry will indeed be uncommon, and our ordinary service, extraordinary.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, foster understanding among us as we, especially the members of the Joint Commission, take counsel together, nationally, regionally, and locally so that our commitment to each other will embody before the world a life of full communion fellowship.
Lord, hear our prayer.
God of promise, let ours be a unity not only in word but visible in our daily lives. Grant us trust in each other's gifts, respect for each other's insights into the faith, and mutual love that nurtures and supports our life together.
Lord, hear our prayer.
The Exchange of the Peace
Presider: My sisters and brothers, as Christians in full communion, let us exchange a sign of peace we share. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Congregation: And also with you.