The Environment For Worship During The Season After Pentecost

Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Trinity Sunday, a principal feast day in the church, is different from other principal days in that it does not commemorate an aspect of God's saving deed in history. Instead, it celebrates the Triune God, the source of the historical action that brings our salvation. It is appropriate for the Trinity to be celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, for Pentecost expresses the fullness of the Godhead by revealing the Spirit. Although Trinity Sunday originated in the tenth century, it did not become a universally adopted feast until the fourteenth century. Today the church around the world celebrates the Trinity on the first Sunday after Pentecost. One tradition associated with this observance is the use of the Athanasian Creed.

For the lectionary texts for this Sunday, see the list of texts for the Sundays in the season after Pentecost earlier in this chapter. Opening Prayers for Trinity Sunday Almighty God, our Father, dwelling in majesty and mystery, renewing and fulfilling creation by your eternal Spirit, and revealing your glory through our Lord, Jesus Christ: Cleanse us from doubt and fear, and enable us to worship you, with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, living and reigning, now and forever. Amen. Almighty and ever living God, you have given us grace, by the confession of the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and, in the power of your divine majesty, to worship the unity. Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your eternal glory, one God, now and forever. Amen. Penitential Prayers for Trinity Sunday Father, you come to meet us when we return to you: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins: Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Spirit, you give us life and peace: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. or Father, you enfold us with wings of love as a bird protects her young. In our sin we have spurned your love. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Jesus, you gather us around you that we may learn your ways. In our sin we have strayed from your presence. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Spirit, you feed us with the seed of you holy word: In our sin we have chosen the chaff. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Prayer of Thanksgiving The following prayer of thanksgiving for the liturgy of the Lord's Supper includes the themes of the Scripture readings for this day. Minister: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Minister: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them to the Lord. Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. People: It is right to give our thanks and praise. Minister: It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise, eternal and triune God, whom we worship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ you spoke the word that brought the world into being. By the Holy Spirit you brought order out of chaos and breathed life into your creatures. In parental love, you stood by us in spite of our disobedience, correcting us with gracious reproof and welcoming us again into your loving embrace. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with choirs of angels and with all the faithful of every time and place, who forever sing to the glory of your name: (The people may sing or say:) Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. (The minister continues:) You are holy, O God of majesty, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Born of Mary, he came to dwell among us, full of grace and truth. To all who believed, he gave power to become your children. In ministry among your own Jesus cared for all, forgiving their failures, healing their hurts, and nurturing their faith, giving himself in utter sacrifice for those he loved. He inspired ordinary folk to Spirit-filled living and displayed in his life, death, and rising again the power of your Spirit. (If they have not already been said, the words of institution may be said here, or in relation to the breaking of the bread.) Minister: We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to you, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. Remembering your gracious acts in Jesus Christ, we take from your creation this bread and this wine and joyfully celebrate his dying and rising, as we await the day of his coming. With thanksgiving we offer our very selves to you to be a living and holy sacrifice, dedicated to your service. The people may sing or say one of the following:) 1 Minister: Great is the mystery of faith: People: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. 2 Minister: Praise to you, Lord Jesus: People: Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. 3 Minister: According to his commandment: People: We remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection, we await his coming in glory. 4 Minister: Christ is the bread of life: People: When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory. (The minister continues:) Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your gifts of bread and wine, that the bread we break and the cup we bless may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ. By your Spirit make us one with Christ that we may be one with all who share this feast, united in ministry in every place. As this bread is Christ's body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world. (Intercessions for the church and the world may be offered here.) Nurture us at this table, O God, that we may grow to the stature of Jesus Christ. Help us to love you above all else and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, demonstrating that love, in deed and word, toward all your children. Keep us faithful in your service until Christ comes in final victory, and we shall feast with all your saints in the joy of your eternal realm. Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, now and forever. People: Amen. Blessings for Trinity Sunday The Lord God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the holy and undivided Trinity, guard you, save you, and bring you to that heavenly city, where he lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. May God, the Holy Trinity, make you strong in faith and love, defend you on every side, and guide you in truth and peace; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.