Prayer of Great Thanksgiving | Maundy Thursday | Year C | March 24th, 2016

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Prayer of Great Thanksgiving

Maundy Thursday (Year C)

March 24th, 2016

    The Lord be with you. And also with you.
    Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
    It is right to give our thanks and praise.
    
    It is right, Loving God,
    that we lift up to you all thanks and praise
    for the self-giving love that you lavish upon us.
    Tonight we remember, with reverence,
    the unshakeable love your Son had for his followers;
    how he lovingly washed their feet,
    demonstrating the kind of love that we are called to show one another.
    Love is your supreme act of creation,
    a force that is unstoppable even in the face of betrayal and death.
    Together, we declare your praise saying:

    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.
    
    On the night which he was betrayed,
    Jesus gathered his friends for a meal.
    He took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
    gave it to them and said,
    take, eat, this is my body, broken for you;
    do this in remembrance of me.

    Likewise, after supper he took the cup;
    when he had given thanks,
    he gave it to them and said,
    this cup is the new covenant in my blood
    poured out for the forgiveness of sins;
    do this in remembrance of me.

    Together we proclaim the mystery of faith:
    Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

    Gracious God, you call us to love one another, just as you have loved us.
    May this meal be a source of inspiration and courage
    that we might follow your example
    and lavish love upon one another,
    not just in the moments when it is easy,
    but especially during the times when it is hard.
    Send your Spirit to preside with us,
    that we might be transformed to your presence,
    and be nourished for the journey ahead.
    Together, we pray as you taught us to pray, saying:

    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 debts as we forgive our debtors;     
    and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,     
    for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.  Amen.

 

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.