[Music] there's a bright golden Haze on the me there's a bright golden Haze on the me the corn is as high as an elephant's eye and it looks like it's climbing clear up in the [Music] sky Oh What a Beautiful Morning Oh What a Beautiful Day i' got a beautiful feeling everything things go in my way all the sounds of the Earth are like music all the sounds of the Earth are like music The Breeze is so busy it don't miss a [Applause] tree and an old weeping Willer is laughing at me [Music] Oh What a Beautiful Morning Oh What a Beautiful Day I got a beautiful everything's going my way one more time Oh What a Beautiful Morning oh what a beautiful day I got a beautiful Fe everything's going my way everything's going my [Music] [Applause] [Music] know [Music] for e [Music] [Music] s [Music] fin [Music] all [Music] all [Music] the [Music] oh [Music] w [Music] the [Music] [Applause] gra you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we welcome you to worship on this Feast of the Holy Trinity and the commemoration of St Augustine of Canterbury we are so pleased um that you have chosen to be with us on this Memorial Day weekend um it is good to see the church full amen amen and so it's a special day as each and every Lord's day is um but before we begin our festive worship I turn your attention briefly to the announcements found at the back of your bulletin remind you next week we will have our annual United thank offering in gathering um if you haven't had an opportunity to pick up one of those little blue cardboard boxes um they are some still available in the Commons area on the black beastro table remember your change um join with other people's change helps to make a a big difference and so Episcopal churches and indeed churches around the Anglican communion are gathering change and it's put together and it helps to um the to further the spread of the Gospel around the world um if you don't have Spirit change and you want to write a check um that's perfectly acceptable um simply put on the memo line UT thank offering also remind you next Sunday we will recognize those who have um graduated from institutions of Higher Learning High School vot Tech College University um so be sure if you want to acknowledge a loved one or a friend be sure to get their name into the office by Tuesday um be sure to have their full name um the institution they're graduating from and the degree or the diploma which they are receiving next week um is pride parade on 39th Street some of you are aware of the fact that um We join other Episcopal churches in our dasis um to to be a part of the pride parade indeed to respect the Dignity of every human being St Augustine was the first Episcopal Church in this dicese to participate in the pride parade and we want to make sure that we can continue um that tradition what works here at St Augustine is to ask people to to to to fill out um a clipboard so I'm going to pass around four clipboards if you're able to join us next Sunday afternoon we will gather at 3:00 the parade begins at 6: we want to make sure that we have a good showing from St Augustine amen amen and you know if it's hot outside we always make sure that we bring towels and lots of water and even rainbow um umbrellas to offer us a little bit of shade um so I'm going to pass the clipboards around please please make sure the clipboards make their way um through the row so that everyone has an opportunity to sign up if you wish to participate 14 years ago I was interviewed by Carla Hinton who's the religion editor um for the Oklahoma and she asked what my hopes and dreams were for this place and I said I believe it's God's dream that St Augustine become one of the most radically inclusive congregations um in the dases of Oklahoma and that will be expressed by an understanding um that we will bring together peoples of all Races and ethnicities social economic backgrounds theological stances political persuasion and that this church would be a home where God's word is preached with power the prophetic word will go out and Inspire her members the members of this Faith Community to make a difference in the world well for closer 14 years we've been blessed to have some of the most prophetic voices preach from St Augustine's Pulpit we we had the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church the right Reverend Michael Bruce Curry preach from this church had the former president of Philips Theological Seminary Reverend Dr William tabern preach from this pulpit and today's no different we have one of the foremost theologians of the 21st century with us this Lord's Day the very Reverend Dr Robert a Willis it's not only been the dean sometimes as they would say of Canterbury Cathedral for 21 years but prior to being the dean of canterberry Cathedral he was the dean of herot Cathedral Dean Willis is known as the green dean because during the pandemic he and his wonderful spouse Fletcher Ben please stand up Fletcher Fletcher and the dean came up with this wonderful idea that although the cathedral itself was closed to take church outside to be a part of God's massive and green Cathedral so they began an online Community of Faith the garden congregation which has had millions of people view it because of that the dean has been given the title The Green Dean Dean Willis has been a spokes person for Ecology indeed advocating for the rights of people who are downtrodden I would describe him these words he's a priest to people of The Wider Anglican communion he's been a pastor to royalty an advisor to three archbishops he's been a bridge bridge builder among peoples of various faith and no faith at all a prophetic voice of Justice in our time a keen Theologian of the 21st century A Gifted poet and musician he's a inspiration to countless Millions a beloved spouse a Fletcher but most importantly a brother in Christ and a beloved child of God I can't think of anyone better suited to preach on this the culmination of our 40th anniversary and the Feast of the Holy Trinity and commemoration of St Augustine of Canterbury than the former dean of Canterbury Cathedral England so I invite you to offer a hearty St Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church OKC welcome to Fletcher banner and the Very Reverend Dr Robert a Willis Every Time We Gather in this Sacred Space Within These Walls of worship we affirm what we believe as a congregation and I invite you to join me as we affirm our mission statement found on the front cover of your bulletin in English and Spanish together we are an enthusiastically welcoming and inviting Christian Community committed to the unity of all people with God through Christ as we say each and every time we Gather in this Sacred Space welcome welcome to indeed for for for for [Music] Blessed Be god father Son and Holy Spirit and blessed be his kingom now and forever amen there is one body and one Spirit there is one to us one Lord One Faith one baptism one God We join with the Angelic host cherubim sarap saint prophets and apostles in opening our mouths and raising our voices to the holy and undivided Trinity As we sing Holy Holy Holy [Music] holy holy holy Gody [Music] [Applause] [Music] holy holy mer [Music] all [Applause] [Music] down all [Music] holy [Music] holy for the I Lord and of s [Music] holy holy ho [Music] Gody holy holy holy mer mighty [Music] Lord be with [Music] you mighty and everlasting God us your servants Grace by the confession of our true Faith to acknowledge the glory of the Holy Trinity and in the power of your Divine Majesty who worship the unity keep us steadfast in this faith and worship and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory oh Father who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live re one God forever and ever oh Lord Our God by your son Jesus Christ you called your Apostles and sent them forth to preach the gospel to the Nations we bless your holy name for your servant Augustine first Archbishop of canterbary whose labors in propagating your church among the English people we commemorate today and we pray that all whom you call in s may do your will and B your time and see your glory through Jesus Christ Our Lord who lives and Reigns reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever please be seated and we invite the children to join a father Dietrich at the altar for a brief children's moment [Music] [Music] we go there we go I think so I think so I think we got it we got it Eric all right can we hear hello hello there we go I think we got it now how you guys doing today doing all right good deal well today is a very special Sunday and it's a Sunday we kind of look back a little bit it's called Trinity Sunday can we say trinity [Music] Sunday fantastic it's the day we kind of look back we remember we kind of look back right remember remember back to Christmas time when the father father sent the son and Jesus was born remember at Easter time when Jesus walked out of the Tomb uh he rose from the dead and then of course even last Sunday what happened last Sunday remember last Sunday was Pentecost remember that the father and the son sending the Holy Spirit down to be with us and so Trinity Sunday and when we have Trinity Sunday when we kind of look back on all that we've done in liturgy this past year all a big celebrations this today is a big celebration usually what happens is when you have big celebrations what do you do what do you do when you have a big celebration you invite some you invite a friend right well we've invited a friend today from a a a a long ways away he had to fly an airplane even to get here and he is with us here today so what do you do when you're uh trying to meet a new friend what do you do when you're trying to meet a new friend yes ma'am you talk to them you be kind to them that's good please be kind to our visitor this morning what else do you do when you talk to them you might ask them to play to play that's true that's true that's good you might ask them nice nice to meet you yes so you might ask them some questions right a few questions what kind of questions do you think we should ask our visitor this morning so we get to know him a little bit better what would you ask him fantastic they that one down what is your okay got that one down good good what is your name yes ma'am how are you how are you that's a good one that's a good one maybe you might ask him since he came along with away we might say where did you come from that might be a good one where did you come from what would you ask I what your favorite thing to do back home that's a good question fantastic yes yeah one of I think his fa I've heard he he works or at least he worked in a in a castle actually no I'm sorry it wasn't a castle it was a a cathedral should ask about working in a cathedral which is a little bit like a castle in some ways yeah yeah tell us a little bit about the place he came from and and then I also heard I also heard from great this is a person of great wisdom great wisdom so maybe we should ask him too about maybe to tell us a little bit about uh uh you impart some wisdom to us this morning you think that's some pretty good questions all right I think I got five here and so let's do it let's go and let's talk to them so let's turn our bodies this way there we go turn our bodies this way and let's ask our questions this morning so our first one was what is your name say my name is robertas is Robert can you say hello Robert hello Robert fantastic we're off a good start a good start oh where are you from well I'm from England and the very south of England and when we go to the coast there you can actually see France acrost 21 miles of water wow from England have any of you guys ever been to England before no you think your parents have Fant we all can go one day so maybe you could uh maybe tell us a little bit more about England well England is very very small compared to the United States and when we were driving here from Houston right across Texas and into Oklahoma I think you probably covered more miles than you can do all right so what about the cathedral what were you talking the cathedral what about the cathedral a Cath is a place where a Bishop's chair is and the very first Bishop Arch Bishop of of Canter was the man that your church is named after St Augustine Canter so we've come for a very special birthday party for St Austin of today brought all the goodes of the people of can of England to the Church of St Aus of fantastic fantastic okay we have we have time for one addition question so what would you ask him what I haven't asked so far what would you say okay your first one what would is your favorite thing to do what is your favorite thing to do in England my favorite thing to do in England is um as a personal thing piano and singing and I'm sorry me what a beautiful morning to bece and at the same time and I animal in the garden and and getting used to the seasons as they uned fantastic fantastic and now you guys can ask some more questions maybe afterward after church but I have one more question to ask and again we said he was a man of great wisdom so I thought maybe we would ask him to share maybe about 30 seconds of a little wisdom for us this morning as we are getting ready to go off the children's chapel today and my wisdom would be enjoy this church and use it in all sorts of ways and support it and support your families as well because they'll go on supporting you and I think also whenever you go outside give thanks to God for this beautiful world Amen that's perfect all right well let's go ahead and prepare for children sh before we go we got to stay seated for a second cuz we got to pray we always pray here at sagus Mur and so now let's have our congregation surround us and our wonderful prayer for children uh this morning as we get ready to go off the children's Chapel so let us pray oh loving God we release our children to a time of children's as they explore their faith sharing the Bible stories be with them in time of Wonder and prayer may they sense both your constant presence and your love in Jesus's holy name we pray amen [Music] [Music] amen my sister go forth and proca God's word to God's people with great power amen a reading from the book of Isaiah in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne High and lofty and the Hem of His robe filled the temple seraps were in attendance above him each had six wings with two they covered their faces and with two they covered their feet and with two they flew and one called to another and said holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole Earth is full of his glory the pivots on the thresholds Shook at the voices of those who called and the house filled with smoke and I said woe is me I am lost for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips yet my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts then one of the seraps flew to me holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs the Sif touched my mouth with it and said now that this has touched your lips your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out then I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us and I said here I am send me the word of the Lord [Music] [Music] world [Music] [Music] [Music] not [Music] world the world [Music] into the [Music] world might be [Music] the world [Music] perish what [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the world [Music] the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John GL to you Christ there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus a leader of the Jews he came to Jesus by night and said to them Rabbi we know that you are a teacher who has come from God for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God Jesus answered him very truly I tell you no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above Nicodemus said to him how can anyone be born after having grown old can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born Jesus answered very truly I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit what is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the spirit is Spirit do not be astonished that I said to you you must be born from above the wind blows where it chooses and you hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes so it is with everyone who is born of the spirit Nicodemus said to him how can these how can these things be Jesus answered him are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things very truly I tell you we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen yet you do not receive our testimony if I have told you about Earthly things and you do not believe how can you believe if I tell you about Heavenly things no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from Heaven the son of man and just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life for God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes him him may not perish but may have eternal life indeed God did not send the son into the world to condemn in the world but in order that the world might be saved through him the gospel of the Lord to you Christ Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah hle Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Hall Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah [Music] Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah [Music] Hallelujah in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen friends I can't tell you what an enormous treasure it is for me and foret to come here almost a year since we had a conversation with Father Joseph in the refectory at Divinity School in which he after a week's course together with 55y were helping in a refresher course should we say sh said we are about to celebrate a very important anniversary next year on St augustus's day because we are the Church of of Canterbury I don't suppose it's possible that you could be there and our answer was at the time well perhaps and that meant we haven't really decided how the year is going to work out and by God's grace it has worked out well so that we could be here on this very special day and I'd like to to thank all of you for we'd never been to Oklahoma before and we were here on Wednesday and since then have been enjoying Mr Mayor the the wonderful Delights of your city so we're honored that you're here for us to be able to give that vote of thanks to the City of Oklahoma too we've enjoyed your museums and learned many things not least that Cowboys never carried guns and at the same time we've um met so many people and received such wonderful welcome and to be surrounded by such music Scott this morning is tremendous and I feel deeply honored that you've written a nice new tune for one of my hymns so so we look forward to singing that a bit later on you'll have to teach it to us but I think it'll be easier to S well what do say about this anniversary let me say first of all there are very few churches in the world dedicated to St Augustine of Canterbury and in in that way you are very special for Augustine came as the Apostle to the English sent by Pope Gregory and arrived in Kent quite shyy he was a humble man but also a a pastoral man and we know so little about him apart from from what bead wrote in his history of the English-speaking people but what we do know is that 1420 years ago today he went on into Glory he died in Canterbury and was buried not in Canterbury cathedral but in the abbey church he' created for his Benedictine Brothers nearby which was the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul and later on became called St Augustine's Abby that's a long time 1,420 years but in the life of the planet it's a whisper and what I was wanting to say today is that you have a very special and a very beautiful spot on this planet and all of us at the moment are really required and charged with caring for the planet the planet has spoken to us about six times since we've been in the States this year on the uh on the first occasion it was in Upstate New York which was a mini hurricane with the trees bendings absolutely horizontal and then waking the next day to find it and this was after Easter this was this was the the week after Easter week finding it like Christmas Day covered in snow so the hurricane was followed by a blizzard and we went outside and and filmed a morning prayer in the garden to show what can happen with the planet in that way the next next day we went to uh to greinwich in Connecticut and we had an earthquake 4.8 at with its Center in New Jersey and every every time we had these things people kept saying this very rarely happens we've never known this the day after we were in New Haven and the the eclipse of the sun took place and we began to think this the planet is trying to tell us something so this time we landed in Houston and on the second night we were sitting on the top of a 16 story hotel and a tornado occurred and we had to walk all the way downstairs and shelter in the basement as this tornado ripped through the city causing terrible damage and the people from Houston said this never happens well it seems to happen if we're here so we have had members of the garden congregation say to us if you're going to Oklahoma I think we'll be away for the weekend but in fact it has been marvelous we've enjoyed every moment of it and we've enjoyed the sense of this very very Lively congregation and we feel that instantly when we come into the church and we we actually enjoy the lovely Ministry that Father Joseph has has led here for for so many years now and I think all of that is a sign of a community that cares for this spiritual place but rather like our garden congregation which we were saying at The Forum before where feter said at the beginning this will be unashamedly Christian but absolutely inclusive and open to all so that and and I I feel the Jesus himself was always full of compassion especially to the one who seemed a little bit outside he would notice as he went by and had time for the most extraordinary people we were speaking I think yesterday at the at the quiet morning about the Sy Phoenician woman a foreigner whom Jesus in the end had a conversation with which I believe changed his ministry and gave him a sense of the worldwide dimension of every person on this planet and the care of the planet itself of course because this is the home that God has given to humanity and we sit in this point of History where we're looking back and looking round and looking forward and that kind of care that Jesus gives he was the one who noticed when bartus at the Gate of Jericho was shouting son of David have mercy on me son of David have mercy on me the blind man shouting shouting and the people saying shut up and Jesus stopped and said bring him to me and the man leapt forward and stood in front of the Savior and said when Jesus said what do you want me to do for you and the man said Lord that I might receive my sight and Jesus could have said you're the only one around around here with the spiritual vision to see at the moment but receive your sight your face has made you whole and we're told then in that wonderful sentence in St Mark's gospel bmus immediately after he had received his sight followed Jesus on the way and followers on the way was the first title given to Christians like us before ever the Christians were called Christians they were called followers on the way it's a good title because pilgrimage is a good image of the Journey of life but we today have gathered in Eucharist and there are two words I wanted to look at which have sometimes puzzled people because they come directly from the Greek in which the the New Testament is written and yet they are of very simple and wonderful meaning the first one we've just celebrated all the way around the Evangel the gospel which simply in the Greek means good news and we are ministers of that Evangel that good news sometimes we Minister it by reading it aloud from the historic texts other times we minister it by the qualities of our own life shared with our encouragement and love of others and that is one of the best ways of ministering the Evangel if it's not good news you're giving then it's not the Evangel sometimes good news is hard to hear because some ways of going forward even for the creative purposes that God has for you are difficult and sometimes you're helping people through difficult situation nevertheless everything is working for their good and so that word becomes crucial that good news that Evangel evangelizing which means giving people good news but the second complicated word and we love to use that word for what we're doing now as Episcopal uh anglicans the second word is Eucharist and Eucharist simply is the Greek word for thank you it's actually the word which recognizes any gift and says thank you and it's a wonderful term for what we're doing because to live life should we say to live life Eucharistic is what we should be doing giving thanks for every opportunity God gives us and embracing it and using it to hand on good news Evangel those two words are at the absolute Center of what we are and what we do live life Eucharistic that means recognize the gift and receive it with gratitude I'm very aware of all the music behind me whove been giving us a wonderful gift this morning not least Oh What a Beautiful Morning Oh What a Beautiful Day that's how we felt when we came into Oklahoma and it was great to sing that chorus with all of you this morning but it's really a signal of how we should live our lives in receiving the gift of life I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly said Jesus John 1010 I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly we used to have a little fizzy drink which was called 1010 and I had a bishop that that would go around at confirmation uh and they would say he would say to the children what's 101 and they would say oh I drink that that's and he would say well now in future think if you want the text I'm going to give you it's John 1010 I have come to give life in all its abundance and the response to that gift of life is gratitude always gratitude realization that someone is giving you a gift and that gift is there to be used in all its fullness that's what we're about this morning in perceiving together first of all the grace of a long history up to this moment and then the grace of an occasion when we can all be together and sing and hear the Evangel read but at the same time even better witness a baptism for the life that's given to us is fragile and it is bounded by time and that fragility makes it even better if something is absolutely precious in terms of creation say something some vase or something like that and you look at it or a flower of has just begun to blue because it's fragile so it becomes more precious and one's love for someone is bounded and the reception of love from someone is bounded in human time that makes it better rather than if you say so how sad it's not forever and ever and ever those Eternal dimensions are in the world of the spirit and of course we Proclaim those but on Earth were given so many fragile gifts which people call Precious and we're going to have two fragile gifts stand before us to be baptized in water this morning and the water is the Water of Life and we are all involved in that that life which gives us the precious gift but as we say you thank you and stretch our hands out to receive the bread we give thanks to Jesus for giving us that physical reminder of the gift of his broken body which gave us eternal life so I bid you whenever you stretch out your hands to receive that see in your hands the fragility of your own life the fragility of the life the human life that Jesus set before us and offered to us and make an act of Thanksgiving Eucharist in your own heart for this day and for everything we're receiving and do that every day when we rise in the morning and say in Oklahoma ways Oh What a Beautiful Morning Oh What a Beautiful Day because if the sun isn't shining it still is God's gift and at that moment embrace it with gratitude and then go on to the second of those difficult words spread the Evangel you might do that simply by saying good morning to a neighbor who's never spoken to you in their life and instead of thinking she never speaks to me I won't speak back in the end he or she will if that good news is coming from your compassion and love of that person this is an endless subject but Heavens you've had many decades to start doing this and you've many decades ahead to complete doing that and as we give thanks for the precious life of this church of St Augustine of Canterbury that single human figure so shy and so reluctant to carry on that vocation to come and evangelize the English thank God he did because it's why we're here today and thank God for this wonderful holy Place surrounded by Oklahoma and filled by people who come today to say Eucharist thank you and then step out and open one's arms and heart to another beautiful day amen thank you please stand [Music] h the kingom is upon you the voice of Jesus Christ with his of the with [Music] human [Music] godom to take the [Music] Jesus our and our us to the end the kingom is stood by the spirit bre we glory in his weate his [Music] his Christ us [Music] the candidates for Holy baptism will now be presented James William J W ask you this question do you desire to be baptized I do you do what about you J fantastic parents sponsors family I ask you these questions will you by your prayers and witness help these children to grow into the full stature of Christ do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness for that rebel against God ice do you rounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God I do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your savior I do do you put your whole trust in his Gra and love do you promise to follow and Obey him as your lord so that you know that you are not alone in this endeavor in this journey this question trust to all of us gathered in this Sacred Space will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ if so and answer we will we will then let us join with Genevie and James who are committing themselves to Christ and renew our own baptismal Covenant do you believe in God the Father I believe in god father creat ofen and Earth do you believe in Jesus Christ the son of God believe in Jesus Christ conce of the ho biny do you believe in God the Holy Spirit I believe in the Holy spit Catholic church of Saint ofre life Everlasting will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship the breaking of bread and in the prayers will will you persevere in resisting evil and whenever you fall into sin repent and return to the Lord will we Proclaim by word and example the good new of God in Christ will you seek and serve Christ in all persons loving your neighbor as yourself will God you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the Dignity of every human [Music] being and let us now pray for genev and for James William who are to receive the sacrament of New Birth deliver them oh Lord from the way of sin and death Lord our pray open their hearts to your grace and truth Lord our pray fill them with your holy and lifegiving spirit Lord our pray keep them in the faith and communion of your holy church Lord our pray teach them to love others in the power of the spirit Lord our pray send them into the world in witness to your love Lord our pray bring them to the fullness of your peace and glory Lord our pray Grant O Lord that all who are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ your son may live in the power of his resurrection and look for him come again in glory who lives and Reigns now and forever amen [Music] [Music] the Lord be with you also you let us give thanks to the Lord Our God it is right to give thanks and praise we thank you almighty God for the gift of water over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise in it your son Jesus receiv the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah the Christ to lead us through his death and Resurrection from the bondage of sin into everlasting life we thank you Father for the water of baptism in it we are buried with Christ in his death by it we share in his resurrection through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit therefore in joyful obedience to your son we bring into his Fellowship those who come to him in faith baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit now sanctify this water we pray you by the power of your holy SP spirit that those who are here cleansed from sin and Born Again may continue forever in the Risen life of Jesus Christ Our Savior to him to you and to the Holy Spirit be all honor and Glory now and forever name this beloved child Genevie Kelly I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen right JW you got your goggles on too brother perfect I'm going to have you stand right up here so that everyone stand right there so that everyone can see you with Gods I mean he's baptismal prepared St Augustine special can the Church Say Amen you got S Equipment James William name him please James William child of God I baptize you in the name of the father and of the Sun and of the Holy Spirit stand up amen let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin and have raised them up to the new life of Grace sustain them oh Lord in your Holy Spirit give them an inquiring and Discerning heart the courage to Will and to persevere a spirit to know and to love you and the gift of joy and wonder in all your Works amen chiv you are going to be Anointed with this crism I call it um a lurgical Chanel number five and just as prophets priests kings and queens been anointed we anoint you and your brother JW with this sacred geneveve Keller you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and baptism and marked as Christ's own forever amen James William you are sealed by the Holy Spirit spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever amen J James Willam let your light so shine before others that they may see the good works that you do and give glory to God who is in heaven Amen Let Us welcome the newly baptized we receive you into the household of God confess the Fai of Christ crucified Proclaim his resurrection and share with us in his eternal priesthood and as we do it Allah St Augustine of Canterbury OKC let us greet and celebrate the newly baptized with a round of applause and the Peace of the Lord be always with you and also with you to share that peace love and light with those around us [Music] ch for e e [Music] [Music] I e e with thank you so much if you please be seated we are so pleased to welcome all of you especially those of you who are worshiping with us for the first time we hope you experience something of the love the Vitality the hospitality of this place of prayer um I know we are episcopalians part of the worldwide Anglican communion but Dean when I arrived here again 14 years ago um I created this tagline we are not your ordinary Church um and then we've added to it we are not your ordinary church but rather we are extraordinary and a part of the reason why this Community of Faith is extraordinary is because of people like you um an ecological evangelist um again a theologian of the 21st century par excellant um a preachers preacher um and so we thank you again um for indeed um hopping the pond um to be here in Oklahoma City and more importantly personally to be here at St Augustine of Canterbury OKC who would have dreamt close to a year ago when I made my way a little bit closer each and every day my time there at Yale um to First approach you to touch you I said that's as close as I'll give um ever get to touching royalty um and then whatever possessed me um to to to give um to extend an invitation thank you sir thank you Fletcher we are indebted to you forever and so we put our hands together together one more time to praise God for the preacher and his spouse and for what we celebrate here [Applause] today now my my daddy who was a Baptist preacher for 49 years um taught me something I don't need to try to out preach the person who's already um given the sermon but we want to take some time to to to thank both you and Fletcher um with some wonderful Awards and so we would ask that the mayor of this fine City who's also the dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law and longtime member of this church um to come forward with a presentation well welcome and uh I'll I'll welcome you in a couple of different capacities first as the mayor of Oklahoma City and maybe a word about Oklahoma City um so we are a city of 700,000 people that makes us the 20th largest city in the United States I was just checking that make us the third largest city in England um so um and as you observed earlier you know we uh we in America especially in this part of the country really spread ourselves out so we are also 620 square miles here which makes us one of the five largest cities of the United States by Geographic mass and actually 13 square miles larger than London I checked on that as well just for comparison's sake um Oklahoma City is a unique City and that it was founded uh literally in a day like no other City really knows its real birth date but ours was April 22nd 1889 we were founded in a land run um and it was in our modern history we have an interesting trajectory in the 1980s we we experienced really an economic depression and then in 1995 as you probably know uh we experienced a terrible attack a terrorist attack that killed 168 of our residents um and that type of terrorism is obviously not uh foreign to the people of England through that you know now through that economic deuss followed by um this this terrible tragedy we pulled together we invested in ourselves and we created a quality of life and I think a unique political culture that has created a very unique time and place in American history here in Oklahoma City we are growing fast having invested in our quality of life and we work together to get things done which perhaps from your perspective watching American politics from England may not appear to be a common trait uh in these days but but here in Oklahoma City we uh we try to involve everybody and we try to sort of meet in the middle we we we work the Democratic process the way it was meant to be uh I think it's a very yes yes though we are of course separate I do think that in a sense the political ethos of Oklahoma City is is very Episcopalian it is uh very Anglican uh it is inclusive and uh it is respectful of many different viewpoints um so on behalf of the 700,000 people of Oklahoma City we're we're thrilled to have both of you here and and I welcome you in that regards uh as father Joe said I also welcome you as a uh not just a current parishioner but actually an original parishioner of this church 40 years ago now I'm 45 so you can do the math I was quite young um and uh and I guess I have been a member of this church for about half its life now kind of book ended um but uh but this place is is very special to me personally and uh it has become quite unique as was just mentioned under the leadership of father Joe and I'm glad you could see a little taste of that now I think he delivered to you a slightly more traditional service perhaps maybe to make you feel more at home um I I did I don't observe that he has ordered up any belly dancers or donkeys today so so you know generations of episcopalians are often drawn to the church because uh it is the exact same service every single Sunday year after year decade after decade they will find no such Comfort at St Augustine of can you you are a hym writer so you are familiar with music uh this church under father Jo leadership is sort of like a jazz song it's never quite the same um and we're proud of that and uh I think I I liken it to uh in government in the United States we often reference local governments as the Laboratories of democracy this is sort of I think a laboratory of the Anglican church so perhaps you will see or or observe something that you might take back from the new world when you return uh to England and we're we're quite proud of what happens here and we think it's quite Dynamic and unique and even though it may be in the outskirts of Oklahoma City of uh you know in a in just a few hundred people um sometimes uh from such modest uh circumstances wonderful inventions are created and hopefully you've seen a little bit of that uh in your time here with father Joe uh we know you could have been anywhere in the world uh today and this week and we're so grateful uh that you did in fact um give us the consideration and uh obviously hopefully you have much enjoyed your stay now I have a couple of formal things to do now and first is uh to more formally welcome you you've probably uh seen such things before uh but we have a a citation here on behalf of the people of Oklahoma City and I will read it to you and of course these these things are uh kind of phrased in an awkward way there's a lot of whereases so if you'll bear with me whereas the very Reverend Dr Robert Willis is the Dean Emeritus of Canterbury and is visiting Oklahoma City this last week of May 2024 and whereas Dean Emeritus Willis is an Anglican priest Theologian chaplain and hym writer and served as the dean of Canterbury from 2001 to 2022 and was named named Dean Emeritus by the most Reverend Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury upon his retirement and whereas Dean Emeritus Willis was ordained in the Church of England as Deacon in 1972 And as priest in 1973 and was the 39th person to hold the position of Dean of Canterbury since the reformation and whereas during the covid-19 pandemic Dean Emeritus Willis and his partner Fletcher Banner created the morning prayer a series of online broadcasts from the garden at Canterbury cathedral which have been viewed by millions who are known as the garden congregation and whereas Archbishop wellby described Dean Emeritus Willis as one of the most exceptional deans of the postwar period overseeing Canterbury cathedral's life of worship prayer and witness with creativity and Imagination and whereas Dean Emeritus Willis has written a number of hymns some of which have been published in the latest edition of hymns ancient and modern and the revised English Himel and whereas Dean Emeritus Willis is hosting a number of events in Oklahoma City this week including serving as the guest preacher at St Augustin of Canterbury Episcopal Church on May 26th upon the invitation of Father Joseph alce to help this Dynamic congregation commemorate its 4th anniversary now therefore I David Holt mayor of the City of Oklahoma City and member of the congregation at St Augustine of Canterbury do hereby welcome the very Reverend Dr Robert Willis Dean Emeritus of Canterbury to Oklahoma City and on behalf of the 700,000 people of Oklahoma City to thank him for sharing his time and wisdom and comforting words with the people of Oklahoma City thank you [Applause] um this this strikes me as a tradition probably more English than American we never built walls around our cities but if you do return uh we want you and Fletcher to be able to re-enter the walls and so I give you this key to Oklahoma City be seated for a moment please 14 years that I've had the privilege of serving this congregation as pastor and priest on the Feast of St Augustine of Canterbury it's become a tradition now to present someone with the St Augustine of Canterbury award I thought it was fitting that on this day in which we celebrate our patronal feast day that the recipients of the 2024 award award be none other than the dean and Fletcher and so the award says this the St Augustine of canabury Award presented to the very Reverend Dr Robert Willis and Fletcher Banner for service and dedication to the kingdom of God beyond the Call of Duty given by Father Joseph C alce in St Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church May the 26th 2024 we love you both we're deeply honored and we have something to you reception absolutely wonderful absolutely thank you so [Applause] much now my friends walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God [Music] we praise he oh God we praise we mer to be [Music] the [Music] father to the all anges cry all all [Music] to [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Earth [Music] [Music] glor glor of [Music] the fellow of [Music] the chur the world [Music] [Music] Ador [Music] the holy the Holy [Music] Ghost the K of of Christ [Music] [Music] the to be [Music] [Music] th the of God in the GL [Music] [Music] the th sh come to me [Music] th [Music] to be with glor in glor ever [Music] and [Music] wor Lord to us this Merc mer upon [Music] us us our is [Music] oh Lord my [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] mer PR him Alles all praise Him [Music] hallelu [Music] PR all PR all PR hallelu Hallelujah h hallelu [Music] [Music] [Music] great Thanksgiving begins on page 13 in your bulletin the Lord be with you of your heart let us give thanks to God it is right a good and joyful always and everywhere to give thanks to Father Almighty creator of Heaven and Earth for your eternal andly spirit you are one God one Lord in Trinity of person and in unity of being and and we celebrate the one and equal Glory of you all father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit therefore we praise you joining our voices With Angels and Archangels and with all the company of Heaven who Forever sing this hym to [Music] proclaim the glory of Your Name Lord God power and holy holy holy Lord God [Music] glory in the highest in the highest of theana in the highest in [Music] the holy and gracious father in your infinite love you made us for yourself and when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death you in your mercy sent Jesus Christ your only and eternal son to share our human nature to live and die as one of us to reconcile us to you the God and Father of all he stretched out his arms upon the cross and offered himself in obedience to your will a perfect sacrifice for the whole world on the night he was handed over to suffering and death our Lord Jesus Christ took bread and when he had given thanks to you you broke it and gave it to his disciples and said take eat this is my body which is given for you do this for the remembrance of [Music] me after supper he took the cup of wine and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and said drink this all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for you and for many for the Forgiveness of sins whenever you drink it to do this for the remembrance of me therefore we proclaim the mystery of Faith Christ is died Christ Christ celebrate the memorial of our Redemption oh Father in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving recalling his death resurrection and Ascension we offer you these gifts sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the body body and blood of your son the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him sanctify us also that we may Faithfully receive this holy sacrament and serve you in unity constancy and peace and at the last day bring us with St Augustine of Canterbury and all your Saints into the joy of your Eternal Kingdom all this we ask through your son Jesus Christ by him and with him and in him in the unity of the holy spirit all honor and glory is yours Almighty father now and [Music] forever and now as our savior Christ CH has taught us we are bold to say our father who in heav [Music] kingom will [Music] be Earth [Music] for us our [Music] Tres into temp [Music] us for is the kingom the of Glory for and [Music] [Music] hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu for us of hallelu allelu hallelu [Music] the gifts of God for you the people of God take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with great Thanksgiving you may be seated few words of instructions on how we receive the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ The Bread and Wine of this Eucharistic Feast a few moments you will be invited to come forward and make two single file lines at the direction of the ushers if you wish to receive the bread in tinct it that's dipped in the wine please receive a napkin from one of our two ushers after receiving and and and and taking that bread which has been intin it dipped in the wine after receiving it please place your napkins in one of the two wicker baskets on either side of the alt alter if you wish to receive bread only and that's perfectly acceptable it's not necessary for you to receive a napkin um simply come forward um with your arms extended forward Palms up and a piece of bread will be placed in the palm of your hand and you can consume that bread if you are going to receive from the common cup The Chalice we've returned to that most ancient and venerable tradition encourage you to do so there will be two chalice Bears on the outside of the wicker baskets um for those of you who are receiving from the common cup The Chalice ladies if you're wearing lipstick alter Gill will be so greatly appreciative if you could blot your lipstick before receiving that chalice um after receiving communion um we encourage you to take a personal time of prayer there are two prayer stations located on either side of the choir platform there at those prayer stations you can light a stick of incense which represents um the sweet Aroma of our prayers ascending um Before the Throne of God you can light a beeswax taper candle um and offer prayer for yourself or for a family member or friend and we also will offer um a service of anointing and laying on of hands we have two of our clergy who will be available um to pray with you and to anoint you and to lay hands um up on up on you or in in in um in proxy for someone which people have done um at at various times in a few moments you'll be invited to come forward to share in this wonderfully sumptuous Feast that God has so graciously prepared come come for all things are now [Music] ready Great Is Thy Faithfulness oh God my father there is is no shadow of turning with thee thou changest not thy compassions they fail not as thou Hast been thou forever will be great is thy fa faithfulness Great Is Thy Faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see all I have needed thy hand has provided Great Is Thy [Music] Faithfulness Lord unto to [Music] me for sin and the peace that endure th only de presence to cheer and to guide strength for today and bright hope for to blessings all mine with 10,000 beside Great Is Thy Faithfulness Great Is Thy Faithfulness morning by morning new mercies I see all I I have needed thy hand has Pro Great Is Thy Faithfulness Great Is Thy Faithfulness gra Thy Faithfulness Lord you [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] for my w for my [Music] daily I you I on you for the toise for my [Music] sleep iend on you I on you you're the way the truth and you're the that runs I'm the branch and you are the draw me close and teach me to [Music] where the spir leads as [Music] I'm I depend on you I on for the still in of iend on you iend on you you're the way the Tru and the you're the world that runs I'm the branch and you are the draw me close and teach me to be my strength in the night be my my treasure my PR I am yours forever draw me close and teach me toide [Music] when I pass through death as [Music] ier rest iend on you iend on you for eternal life to be raised with Christ iend on you I depend on you you're the way truth and life you're the world that never runs Dr I'm the you are theine draw me close and teach me to be my strength my in the night be my my treasure my prize I am yours forever draw me close and teach me to AB [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] I on you I on you I deepen on you iend on you iend on iend on iend on iend on iend on iend on iend on iend on you iend on iend on iend on iend on I on iend on you I [Music] [Music] I have decide to follow Jesus I have to follow Jesus I have decied to follow Jesus no turning back no turning [Music] [Music] with me still I will follow go still I will follow go still I will follow no turning back turning back [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the cross me the World Behind me a cross before me the World Behind me the cross before me the World Behind Me no turning back no turning back no turning back no turning back [Music] [Music] all for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] here R down on [Music] my [Music] surrender [Music] surrendering find me Lord as youw me I'm desperate for you I'm desperate for you I [Music] [Music] Surrender my soul as mercy and Grace UNF hunger and thirst hunger and thirst with all stretch I Know You Hear My Cry speak to me now speak to me now I Surrender I Surrender I want to know you more I want to know you more I Surrender I Surrender I want to know you more I want to know you more [Music] continuing on page 17 in your bulletin let us stand and say together post communion prayer let us pray Eternal God 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 thec of his body and blood send us now the world in peace and Grant her strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e for