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*The Church Pastoral Aid Society (Go to Web Site)
Opening Hymn/Song: (see end of file)
Opening Words from the Presider:
Almighty God, we come together as those you have called into your fellowship, to be your people and to share in the rich inheritance that you have prepared for all your people.
We will sing of our steadfast love, O Lord,
And proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
We come to worship you, not alone, but as part of the worldwide family of the Church, united with our brothers and sisters in Christ across countries and continents, centuries and generations, bound together by the same Lord and the same faith.
We will sing of our steadfast love, O Lord,
And proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
We come as part of the great company of your people in heaven and on earth, following in the footsteps of past generations, picking up the torch from those who run the race before us and kept the faith, heirs of your age-old promises.
We will sing of our steadfast love, O Lord,
And proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
We come as those called to build for the future, conscious of successive generations who will follow us and mindful of our responsibility to pass on to them the message we have received, to offer them inspiration and encouragement through the example of our commitment.
We will sing of our steadfast love, O Lord,
And proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
Open our eyes to all we may learn of you through your Word and through one another. Save us from closed and narrow minds, forgive us for small and restricted outlooks, and restore us with your people to the wholeness and fellowship that you desire. So may we and your Church everywhere offer our worship and service, in word and in deed, to the glory of your name.
We will sing of our steadfast love, O Lord,
And proclaim your faithfulness to all generations
In the name of Christ. Amen.
2nd Song: (see end of file)
Collect for the Day (or see end of file for Vocations Collect)
Reading(s):
The Address leads into open prayers
Confession:
Lord Jesus, we want to witness to your love, to share with others what you have done for us, and to reflect something of your love through the people we are. We want to be a light to those around us, proclaiming your saving love through word and deed. But we do not always know how, or where or when.
For our failure to make you known.
Lord, have mercy.
We mean to speak out, but, when the moment comes, we are nervous and tongue-tied, uncertain as to what to say, afraid of dong more harm than good, our clumsy efforts leading people away from you rather than helping
them to find the warmth of your love for them.
For our failure to make you known.
Lord, have mercy.
We are afraid of promising much but delivering little, of offering enthusiastic but empty witness that owes more to us than you, and so we back away, telling ourselves than next time will be different.
For our failure to make you known.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, teach us that it is not the cleverness of our words that has power to change lives, but the message of your love and the wonder of your grace.
Teach us that you can use our witness beyond our wildest expectations when it is offered from the heart, a spontaneous expression of all that you mean to us.
Teach us to trust in you, confident that you will give us the words to say when we need them, and give us faith to leave the rest to you.
Save us from making excuses or from evading your challenge and so help us, openly and honestly, to speak for you and to live to your glory.
For these and for all our failures, forgive us and give us strength to please you, more and more. Amen.
Absolution
The Peace:
We are all one in Christ Jesus.
We belong to him through faith,
heirs of the promise of the Spirit of peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Offertory Song: (see end of file)
The Eucharistic Prayer:
The Lord be with you or The Lord is here
and also with you His Spirit is with
Lift up your hearts us.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
It is right to praise you, Father,
Lord of all creation;
in your love you made us for yourself.
When we turned away
you did not reject us
but came to meet us in your Son.
You embraced us as your children
and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
In Christ you shared our life
that we might live in him and he in us.
He opened his arms of love upon the cross
and made for all
the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the night he was betrayed
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
[Pause]
Father, we do this is remembrance of him:
His body is the bread of life.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and said:
Drink this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance of me.
[Pause]
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
His blood is shed for all.
Send your Holy Spirit
that this bread and this wine may be to us
the Body and Blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts
make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
With your whole Church throughout the world
we offer you this sacrifice of praise
and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup.
we proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.
Inviation to Communion:
Come to the Table, my brothers and sisters,
not because you are strong
but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own
gives you the right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little
and would like to love him more.
Come because he loves you,
and gave himself for you.
Lift up your hearts and minds
above the cares and fears
and let this bread and wine be to you
the token of the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit,
all meant for you if you will accept them
in humble faith.
Communion is distributed in whatever way is convenient
Communion Song: (see end of file)
After Communion:
Father of all, we give you thanks and praise
that when we were still far off, you met us in your Son
and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,
so we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessing:
May Christ who makes saints of sinners raise and strengthen you that you may transform the world, and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Dismissal:
Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
The Call to worship and Confession are adapted from Nick Fawcett’s ‘Prayers for all seasons 2’ © 2001 Nick Fawcett, published by Kevin Meyhew Ltd, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW
and are reproduced by permission.
The Collect for Vocations, Eucharistic Prayer H and other prayers are taken from ‘Common Worship: Service and Prayers for the Church of England © The Archbishops’ Council 2000
Supplementary texts:
Alternative Collect:
Almighty God, you have entrusted to your Church a share in the ministry of your Son the great high priest: inspire by your Holy Spirit the hearts of many to offer themselves for the ministry of your Church, that strengthened by his power, they may work for the increase of your kingdom and set forward the eternal praise of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I am loathe to suggest song/hymn texts; you will know far better than I what is appropriate; but just in case you feel able to risk something different I found the following in the latest ‘Iona Abbey Music Book’. Among the material there the following appealed – at least to me! The tunes are all common ones.
Sisters and brothers, with one voice
t 888 with Alleluias eg Vulpius – (Gelobt sei Gott), sometimes known as O filii et filiae
or Easter Processional (Walford Davies)
Sisters and brothers, with one voice
Confirm your calling and rejoice:
Each is God’s child and each God’s choice.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Strangers no more, but cherished friends
Live as the body of God intends,
Sharing the light the Spirit lends.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
No, though, by wisdom, wealth or skill,
Nor by ourselves can we fulfil
What, for the world, is God’s own will.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ is the way. By him alone
Seeds of the kingdom’s life are sown,
patterns of heaven on earth are shown.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Then follow him through every day.
Fear not what crowds of critics say:
Those on the move stir those who stay.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
In factory, office, home or hall
Where people struggle, strive or stall,
Seek out and serve the Lord of all.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Seeking and serving with one voice,
Confirm your calling and rejoice:
Each is God’s child and each God’s choice.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
© John Bell and Graham Maule from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
God’s graceful moment
(suitable for a morning celebration)
t 87 87 87 eg Picardy, sometimes known as French Carol
Morning opens wide before us
Like the door into the light.
Just beyond, the day lies waiting
Ready to throw off the night,
And we stand upon its threshold
Poised to turn and take its flight.
Now the earth in all its glory
Springs to meet the rising sun,
Warms to all who walk upon it,
Cradling all that will be done.
All our labour, all our loving
Mingle and become as one.
We receive God’s graceful moment,
While the day is fresh and still,
Ours to choose how we will greet it,
Ours to make it what we will.
Here is given perfect freedom,
Every hope in love fulfil.
As we take the first step together,
Passing through the door of the day,
May the love of Christ the Creator
Give us peace in all that we say,
Heart for all that lies before us,
Grace to guide us on our way.
© Kathy Galloway from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
Christ be beside me
t 55 54D eg Bunessan (Morning has broken)
Christ be beside me,
Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me
King of my heart.
Christ be within me,
Christ be below me,
Christ be above me,
Never to part.
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me,
Shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping,
Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising,
Light of my life.
Christ be in all hearts
Thinking about me,
Christ be in tongues
Telling of me.
Christ be the vision
In eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me,
Christ ever be.
© James Quinn, used by permission of the Continuum International Publishing Group.
Do not retreat into your private world
t 10,10,10,10 eg Farley Castle
or Woodlands
Do not retreat into your private world,
That place of safety, sheltered from the storm
Where you may tend your garden, seek your soul,
And rest with loved ones where the fire burns warm.
To seek your soul it is a precious thing,
But you will never find it on your own;
Only among the clamour, threat and pain
Of others people’s need will love be known.
To rest with loved ones is a precious thing,
But peace of mind exacts a higher cost;
Your children will not rest and play in quiet
While they still hear the crying of the lost.
Do not retreat into your private world,
There are more ways than firesides to keep warm;
There is no shelter from the rage of life,
So meet its eye, and dance within the storm.
© Kathy Galloway from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
God beyond knowledge, yet close to us here
t 10 11 11 11 eg Slane
God beyond knowledge, yet close to us here,
Our touchstone, our lodestar in faith and in fear;
Your presence we know in the dark before dawn
As courage is kindled and hope is reborn.
God without limits, yet sharing our flesh,
You speak for the silenced, release the oppressed
And call us to follow, in all things to prove
The tools of your spirit, the signs of your love.
Lord, to your purpose our living we pledge:
To go beyond comfort and stand at life’s edge,
To love and to live without safety, and so
To shape and inhabit your Kingdom of hope.
© Pat Bennett from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
The hand of heaven
t 87 87D eg Abbots Leigh
We who live by sound and symbol,
We, who learn form sight and word,
Find these married in the person
Of the one we call our Lord.
Taking bread to be his body,
Taking wine to be his blood,
He let thought take flesh in action,
He let faith take root in food.
Not just once with special people
Not just hidden deep in time,
But, whenever Christ is followed,
Earthly fare became sublime.
Though to sound this seems a mystery,
Though to sense it seems absurd,
Yet in faith, which seems like folly,
We meet Jesus Christ our Lord.
© John Bell and Graham Maule from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
The hand of heaven
t 84 84. 8 884 eg All through the Night (Ar hyd y nos) (eight lines omitted)
Now we sing to praise love’s blessing
All through our lives,
Laughter, joy, surprise confessing,
All through our lives.
Love that dreamed a new creation,
Love that dared an incarnation,
Love that offers transformation
All through our lives.
How our wounds ache for love’s healing
All through our days.
How our world needs love’s revealing,
All through our days.
Fearful hearts suspect the stranger,
Hardened nations arm for danger,
Love lives on, the powerful changer,
All through our days.
Love’s the grace that makes us caring
All through our lives,
Urges us to warmth and sharing
All through our lives.
In the struggles that confound us,
In the chaos all around us
Love’s wide arms with hope surround us
All through our lives.
© Anna Briggs (edited JB) from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
The summons – will you come and follow me
t 76 76 77 76 eg Kelvingrove
Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where I don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you
And you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should you life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you
And you in me?
Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you
And you in me?
Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around
Through my sight and touch and sound in you
And you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.
© John Bell and Graham Maule from the Iona Abbey Music Book, published by Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall St. Glasgow G2 3DH, UK Reproduced by permission
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