Stewardship Season at Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church

October 4, 2026

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

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Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 4, 2026

The Prelude

“All Nature Sings” arr. Lani Smith

Litany of Thanksgiving for Saint Francis of Assisi

Leader: LET US GIVE THANKS to God the Creator, for all the gifts so freely bestowed upon us; for the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea;
People: Thanks be to God.

Leader: For the richness of the mountains, plains and rivers;
People: Thanks be to God.

Leader: For all the creatures that breathe, move, and have life;
People: Thanks be to God.

Leader: For the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers and trees;
People: Thanks be to God.

Leader: For the trust you have shown in giving us this beautiful earth and all creatures that belong; that each may be treasured with care.
People: Thanks be to God.

Leader: That we may love and honor all your works, O God;
People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: That we may continue with gratitude to enjoy and care for your abundant creation.
People: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: To the honor and glory of the Creator of heaven and earth, we pray.
People: Amen.

The Processional Hymn 400 “All creatures of our God and King” Lasst uns erfreuen

Please omit verses 5 and 6.

Hymn 400 — All creatures of our God and King (Lasst uns erfreuen) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

Words: St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226); tr. William H. Draper (1855-1933), alt. Music: Lasst uns erfreuen, melody from Auserlesene Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng, 123; adapt. and harm. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). By permission of Oxford University Press.

The refrain may be sung antiphonally, by phrase; all join in the final Alleluia.

The Word of God

Celebrant: This is the day the Creator has made.
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Celebrant and People: Collect for Purity

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.

The Gloria S277 “Gloria in Excelsis” Canticle 20, David Hurd

S277 Gloria in Excelsis (Canticle 20, David Hurd) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

Music: From New Plainsong; David Hurd (b. 1950). Copyright © 1981 GIA Publications, Inc.

The Collect of the Day

Celebrant: God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Let us pray.

O GOD, you show your glory throughout your Creation, calling it very good: Grant us the fullness of your blessing, that we, stewarding your garden, may become partakers in your joy; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

The First Reading Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

¹Then God spoke all these words: ²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³you shall have no other gods before me. ⁴You 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. ⁷You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ¹³You shall not murder. ¹⁴You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵You shall not steal. ¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ¹⁷You 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.

¹⁸When 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, ¹⁹and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” ²⁰Moses 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.”

Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

The Psalm Psalm 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God, *
    and the firmament shows his handiwork.
² One day tells its tale to another, *
    and one night imparts knowledge to another.
³ Although they have no words or language, *
    and their voices are not heard,
⁴ Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
    and their message to the ends of the world.
⁵ In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
    it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
⁶ It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end; *
    nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; *
    the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
⁸ The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; *
    the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; *
    the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, *
    sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
¹¹ By them also is your servant enlightened, *
    and in keeping them there is great reward.
¹² Who can tell how often he offends? *
    cleanse me from my secret faults.
¹³ Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me; *
    then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.
¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, *
    O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

The Second Reading Philippians 3:4b-14

⁴If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised 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; ⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸More 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

⁹and 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. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not 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. ¹³Beloved, 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, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Reader: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

The Processional Hymn 405 “All things bright and beautiful” Royal Oak

Hymn 405 — All things bright and beautiful (Royal Oak) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

Words: Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895). Music: Royal Oak, melody from The Dancing Master, 1686; adapt. and harm. Martin Fallas Shaw (1875-1958), desc. Richard Proulx (b. 1937). Used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc. Descant, Copyright © 1979, G.I.A. Publications, Inc.

The Gospel Matthew 21:33-46

Deacon: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

³³“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. ³⁴When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” ³⁹So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹They 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.” ⁴²Jesus 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’? ⁴³Therefore 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. ⁴⁴The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” ⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Deacon: The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

The Sermon The Reverend Mary Kay Brown

The Nicene Creed Please stand, if able.

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

The Prayers of the People from “Hear our Prayer” by Jon White and Lisa Graves

The Deacon says: IN PEACE, we pray to you, Lord God.

O GOD, our loving Creator and Giver of all good gifts: As Christ loved us, may we also walk in love. Inspire us with gratitude and abundance as we share our many blessings—our wealth, our works, and our wisdom—with our neighbors, our church, and the world you made. Hear the prayers of your people, and guide us in lives of generous and joyful service as we pray, Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for the church, in the world at this time; that we might be Christ’s hands and feet in a world that still cries for deliverance. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for our nation, for the health, safety, and peace for all people everywhere. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for the needs of the world; for an end to warfare; for the recognition of rights for all people; and for those who are persecuted, that they may be set free from the bonds of oppression and despair. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for all those affected by disaster, both natural and human caused, that we might find ways to make positive changes for the benefit of all. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for our Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, especially for the Church of the Good Shepherd, Wilmington, and Zion Church, Washington. In our Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer, we give thanks for Island Church, Emerald Isle, and Island Road Baptist Church in Straits. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY for those who suffer from illness, anxiety, depression, loneliness, grief, or hopelessness, that their burdens might be lightened by our compassion and your love. Especially, we pray for [today’s petitions]. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE PRAY and offer to you our prayers for the dead, that they might celebrate new life in your kingdom, in your eternal presence. Today, we remember [today’s petitions]. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

WE GIVE THANKS for all our blessings in life Lord, only made possible by You including [today’s petitions]. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The Celebrant concludes with this collect:
ALL THIS WE ASK in love, through You, your Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Confession of Sin and Absolution

The Deacon says: Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor: People:

HOLY AND MERCIFUL GOD, we confess that we have failed to honor you by rightly claiming our kinship with all your creatures. We have walked heavily on your earth, overused and wasted its resources, taken for granted its beauty and abundance, and treated its inhabitants unjustly, holding future generations hostage to our greed. Have mercy on us and forgive us our sin. Renew in us the resolve to keep and conserve your earth as you desire and intend, with grateful and compassionate hearts, through your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Rector stands and says…
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 God of heaven has made a home on earth.
People: All Christ dwells among us and is one with us.
Celebrant: The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: WALK IN LOVE, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.

The Stewardship Moment Kathy Driver

The Choral Anthem “Be the Light of Christ” Wes Cameron

What will you give to the Savior to the one who gave all?
Will you go in his name to spread the light of truth?
Will you go in his name?

Be the light of Christ to the people of the world.
Be the light of Christ, spread the word among God’s people.

Will you give help to the needy? Will you clothe and give them food?
Will you give in his name, as he has given to you?
Every gift is from above, and it comes to us from God.
Will you give in his name?

Be the light of Christ to the people of the world.
Be the light of Christ, spread the word among God’s people.
Be the light of Christ!

The Presentation of Elements and Offerings

The Doxology Old 100th

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,
Praise God, all creatures here below.
Praise God above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Eucharistic Prayer written for SFBTS by Peter Makuck

Celebrant: The Creator be with you.
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Creator.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to our loving God.
People: It is right to give God thanks and praise.

WE THANK YOU, holy creator, that you allow us to live surrounded by evidence of your divinity on this island where we find what Saint Francis loved: the endless improvisation of mockingbirds in sculpted bodies of live oaks, the great blue heron in stilted slow motion through jade shallows, a kingfisher in its hover and dive, a sandpiper’s blurred scurry, pelicans in their elegant ground-effect glides.

Too often we turn our backs, dear God, on you and exile ourselves, in favor of phantoms that falsely flatter, but you do not forget us, and in your goodness and mercy readily welcome us back to the grace notes of your kingdom that we might be restored and learn once again who we really are.

As Jesus was, we are called to islands of solitude, to vast stores of unused quiet to be with You, to immensities of ocean blue that enlarge our souls and remind us of eternity, and of what passes, but with promise.

When the low sun spreads its orange oil on Bogue Sound, and when the island ripens into darkness, you gift us with bright constellations and infuse us with awe at the mystery of your infinite spaces and the heavens that await us.

And so we come together today under a sun-shafted canopy of maritime forest to receive your Word and join with Saints and Angels in a chorus of praise and thanks that rings through eternity, lifting our voices to magnify you as we sing:

The Sanctus MHSO 38 “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord” John Bell

MHSO 38 — Holy, Holy, Holy Lord (John Bell) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

Words: from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) of the Episcopal Church USA. Music: John L. Bell (b. 1949) © WGRG The Iona Community (Scotland) (admin. GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638 [www.giamusic.com].) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

BLESSED ARE YOU, gracious God, creator of the universe and giver of life. You formed us in your own image and called us to dwell in your infinite love.

You gave the world into our care that we might be your faithful stewards and show forth your bountiful grace.

But we failed to honor your image in one another and in ourselves; we would not see your goodness in the world around us; and so we violated your creation, abused one another, and rejected your love. Yet you never ceased to care for us, and prepared the way of salvation for all people.

Through Abraham and Sarah you called us into covenant with you. You delivered us from slavery, sustained us in the wilderness, and raised up prophets to renew your promise of salvation. Then, in the fullness of time, you sent your eternal Word, made mortal flesh in Jesus. Born into the human family, and dwelling among us, he revealed your glory. Giving himself freely to death on the cross, he triumphed over evil, opening the way of freedom and life.

On the night before he died for us, Our Savior Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his friends, and said: “Take, eat: This is my Body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith: Celebrant and People:

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Remembering his death and resurrection, we now present to you from your creation this bread and this wine. By your Holy Spirit may they be for us the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Grant that we who share these gifts may be filled with the Holy Spirit and live as Christ’s Body in the world. Bring us into the everlasting heritage of your daughters and sons, that with St. Francis, St. Clare, and all your saints, past, present, and yet to come, we may praise your Name for ever. Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen.

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to pray,

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 forever, and ever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread a period of silence is kept

The Fraction Anthem WLP 867 “The bread which we break” Carl Haywood

WLP 867 — The bread which we break (Carl Haywood) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

Music: Carl Haywood (b. 1949), from Fraction Anthems, Canticles, and Chants. Copyright © 1997 Carl Haywood.

Celebrant continues: THE GIFTS OF GOD for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

WE INVITE ALL to join us and receive the Body and Blood of Christ at his table. If you desire to receive a blessing, please come to the altar with hands crossed over your chest. Gluten-free communion wafers and chalice are available upon request.

The Communion Response “Prayer of St. Francis” Sebastian Temple

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred; let me bring your love,
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope,
where there is darkness only light,
and where there’s sadness ever joy.

Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love, with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving of ourselves that we receive,
and in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The Post-Communion Prayer

After Communion, the Celebrant says: All stand. Let us pray together: Celebrant and People:

CREATE IN US a new heart and a new vision, O God, that the gifts of your Spirit may work in us and renew the face of the earth. May we be one with you so that our work is yours and your work is ours. Lead us to transform our lives to reflect your glory in Creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.

The Blessing

The Recessional Hymn 372 “Praise to the living God” Leoni

Hymn 372 — Praise to the living God (Leoni) — please paste a MusicXML score or upload the music image.

The Dismissal

Deacon: Let us go forth into all Creation, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
People: Thanks be to God. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

The Postlude

Flourish on “Lobe den Herren” arr. Douglas Wagner

Reprint/podcast/streamed with permission under One License #A-730274 and RitePlanning. All rights reserved.

St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church Welcomes You

Happy Birthday: Geraline Castle (4^th), Penn Perry (4^th), Betsy Elkins-Williams (4^th), Donald Williams (8^th).

Choral Evensong today at 5 pm as the Choir of St. Francis joins with the choirs of St. Andrew’s Morehead City, and St. Paul’s Beaufort as we honor our patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. A reception will follow in our parish hall. Please join us TODAY as we welcome our neighboring parishes to our church home by showing exceptional Christian hospitality.

Welcome! If you are new to St. Francis or visiting for the first time, we especially welcome you to our community of faith. We ask that you sign our guest register located at the back of the church.