Worship at Home - Sunday 21st March 2021 - 5th Sunday of Lent

 Sunday March 21^{st. –} 5th Sunday of Lent – Passion Sunday

 Call to Worship –  Song - O My Soul – Arise and Bless Your Maker –  

Reading: Hosea 6.1–6 (The Voice Translation)

Reader 1: 1Come on, let’s renew our loyalty to the Eternal One!

He tore us like a lion, but He’ll heal us;

He wounded us, but He’ll bandage us.

2 He’ll bring us back to life after two days;

He’ll raise us up on the third day, and we’ll live with Him.

3 So let’s know Him; let’s strive to know the Eternal.

As surely as the sun rises, He’ll come out from His lair.

As surely as the rains come each year—

those spring rains that drench the earth—He’ll come back to us.

Reader 2:4  What am I supposed to do with you, Ephraim?

What am I supposed to do with you, Judah?

Your loyalty to Me is like fog in the morning,

like dew that evaporates at sunrise.

5 This is why I cut them with the words of the prophets

and destroyed them with the words of My mouth.

My judgment went forth like the light of the rising sun.

6 For I want not animal sacrifices, but mercy.[a]

I don’t want burnt offerings; I want people to know Me as God!

Opening Prayer

One thing I have asked of the Lord
and this is what I seek,
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek God in God’s temple.

Who is it that you seek?
I seek the Lord my God
Do you seek God with all your heart?
Amen, Lord have mercy
Do you seek God with all your soul?
Amen, Lord have mercy
Do you seek God with all your mind?
Amen, Lord have mercy
Do you seek God with all your strength
Amen, Christ have mercy

[Northumbria Community – Celtic Daily Prayer – Morning Prayer]

 

Meditation 1 – Let’s strive to know the Eternal One who Created Us

How might we know the Eternal?

We might know God through all that God has created.

In the universe’s expanse, we might know God as the One who goes beyond our knowing and imagining.

In the molecule’s intricacy, we might know God as the One who knows us more intimately than we know ourselves.

In the sea’s stormy raging, we might know God as more powerful than the swirling ocean.

In the gentle swaying of the tree, we might know God who can still the turmoil of our heart.

In colour and sound, in tastes, smells and sensations, we might know God who created all things and who gives us our very life.

How might we know the Eternal?

We might know God through all that God has created.

Hymn: StF 82 – O Lord my God! When I in Awesome Wonder - 

Meditation 2 – Let’s strive to know the Eternal One who has Reconciled Us

Not everything that breaks is easy to repair.

Does anyone ever know how deep are the wounds of a fractured relationship? What words do we use to describe the tear that takes place?

There is an earth-shattering moment of realisation that it has gone and might possibly never be recovered. Only a change as profound as the break can ever create space for repair.

The gaping chasm of hurt, of loss, of emptiness cannot be easily bridged by sheer human effort alone.

And He comes. What earth's resources could not be gathered to achieve, heaven's Son comes to do.

God's answer is enfleshed, sent to speak the word of reconciliation ...

And he brings the Message
Not just in sounds and breath
But in flesh, in sinews, in blood,
Shaped by his humanity
Forming syllables of love

No easy answers from his lips
Nor a comfortable solution
But agonising struggle
Between law and grace
Sacrifice and mercy
Condemnation and love

Wounded to reconcile
Broken to mend
Rejected to include
Dying that we might have life

God with us, doing what seemed impossible
God in Christ reconciling us to God.

 Prayer of Confession and Absolution 

Have I spoken words that injured?

Lord have mercy

Have I harboured attitudes that divided?

Christ have mercy

Have I done things that have broken relationships

Lord have mercy

 

Jesus was insulted and did not retaliate
He suffered and made no threats
Entrusting himself to the One who judges justly.
This Jesus, speaks to us words of reconciliation,
saying, “Arise and live, your sins are forgiven.”

1 Peter 2.23

 

Hymn – StF 94 – To God be the Glory -

 

Reading – Psalm 139.7–10

Where can I go to flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn
or settle on the far side of the sea
even there your hand will guide me
your right hand will hold me fast.

 

Meditation 3 – Let’s strive to know the Eternal One who has never left Us

As the ancient’s pen scratched across the parchment
he probably never imagined that one day humans would find a way
to soar into the heavens or explore the wonders of the deeps
human ingenuity has taken people far beyond the world of the ancient scribe
and those with eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to receive
have discovered that the Psalmist was right!
There is no human rocket or submarine that can take us out of God’s presence!

Then again, it was never rockets, jet planes or submarines that threatened
our sense of knowing that God is near.
It is something far closer that does that!
A hard heart is a hard heart, on earth, beneath the sea or in the deepest reaches of space
and a stubborn will is just the same
and they are vehicles enough to carry us away from the knowledge of God’s presence. 

“What am I supposed to do with you?” God sighed to that ancient people, “As fast as you breathe out words of commitment, they evaporate in the heat of the sun.”

And he sent the prophets to call them back, but they grew deafer and deafer.
And the prophet’s messages became more and more dramatic
and still our human ear would not hear.

We imagined that a little religion might bring us closer. 

Ha! 

We hoped that a lot of religion would do the trick! 
Just so long as it was the sheep, the cows and the scapegoats that paid with their lives and not us!

“Why do you keep bringing animals?” God asked, as the sacrifices piled up on the altar, “why do you imagine that I need you (or them) to suffer to make me happy?”

“Mercy is my name … I want you to know me as God … I want you to know me as mercy.”

I want you to know that I haven’t abandoned you? 
Look and see that I am still here
still here when the hungry are fed
still here when the naked are clothed
still here when the homeless are given shelter
still here when the outsider is welcomed in
still here when the silence of desperation is broken by the word of loving concern
still here when your cry of agony is met with the tenderness of embrace.
This is mercy
and I am still here. 

 

Prayers Of Intercession

God of love
hear the cry of those who yearn for love;
fractured families, broken homes
neglected, unwanted, alone.
God of love
ALL: hear our prayer

God of justice
hear the cry of those who yearn for justice;
persecuted and oppressed,
exploited, ill-treated, broken.
God of justice
ALL: hear our prayer

God of peace
hear the cry of those who yearn for peace;
in battle zones and broken states,
frightened, fearful, anxious
God of peace
ALL: hear our prayer

God of healing
hear the cry of those who yearn for healing;
physical and spiritual
hurting, weakened, depressed
God of healing
ALL: hear our prayer

God of mercy
Hear the cry of those who yearn for mercy;
convicted, in need of your Grace,
contrite, humble, bowed down,
God of mercy
ALL: hear our prayer

https://www.faithandworship.com/Lent_intercessions.htm#gsc.tab=0

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Hymn – StF 489 – All I Once Held Dear  

Worship at Home - Sunday 14th March 2021 - Mothering Sunday

 

Sunday March 14^th 2021

4^th Sunday of Lent – Mothering Sunday

Introduction

Our service on Sunday, will include several items contributed by members of the three congregations of Trinity, Sandy and Beeston.  Some of the items are included in this worship at home sheet, some of them cannot be included for copyright or other reasons and so in places other material has been substituted or adaptation have been made.  So whilst, live worship on Sunday will follow this order of service, it will not be exactly the same.

Call to Worship

God our Father,
your Son, Jesus Christ,
lived in a family at Nazareth.
As we meet together now,
help us to learn more about what it is to love our families and friends as you love us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

(From Roots – Seasons and Celebrations)

Hymn – Mary Had a Baby – (Chosen by Sonia Butler – Beeston MC) - 

 

Prayer of Praise –

God of Eve and God of Mary,
God of love and mother-earth,
thank you for the ones who with us
shared their life and gave us birth.

As you came to earth in Jesus,
so you come to us today;
you are present in the caring
that prepares us for life’s way. 

God of Eve and God of Mary,
Christ our brother, human Son,
Spirit, caring like a Mother,
take our love and make us one!  Amen

(Singing the Faith – Hymn 119 vv 1,2 &5 – Fred Kaan (1929-2009)

Poem – (from Sue Dutton, Trinity MC) –

Prayer of Confession

Heavenly Father, parent of us all,
we know that we don’t always treat each other as you want us to.
Lord God, forgive us; and help us to be more loving.
There are times when we insist on getting our own way despite what others feel.
Lord God, forgive us; and help us to be more loving.
Sometimes we increase the tension when we ought to seek peace, or say things which hurt one another.
Lord God, forgive us; and help us to be more loving.
God has loved us, sending his Son Jesus to show us the true meaning of forgiveness.
Lord God, forgive us; and help us to be more loving. Amen.

(From Roots – Seasons and Celebrations)

Hymn – H&P 393 – Jesus Hands were kind hands – (chosen by Trish Mapletoft – Trinity MC)  

           

Prayer of Thanksgiving –

We thank God for giving us others to share in our lives:

for parents, and the love that brought us to birth:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For mothers, who have cherished and nurtured us:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For fathers, who have loved and supported us,

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For brothers and sisters, with whom we have shared our home:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For children and their parents:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For other relatives and friends, who have been with us in our hopes and joys and in times of sadness:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

For all who first spoke to us of Jesus, and have drawn us into the family of our Father in heaven:

we praise you, O Lord, and bring you thanks today.

 

Help us to live as those who belong to one another, and to you, our Father, now and always. Amen.

(From Roots – Seasons and Celebrations)

Lord’s Prayer

Hymn – MP 629 – Tell Me the Stories of Jesus – (Judith) -

Reading – Luke 7.11–17

¹¹ Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’ ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Reflection (Dalwyn)

The story of Jesus raising the widow of Nain’s son is only recorded in Luke’s Gospel.  We don’t have to dig to far to work out that Luke has a particular interest in how women contributed to the life and ministry of Jesus.  His is the gospel that begins with, what we can almost certainly take to be Mary’s recollections of Jesus’s early years and childhood.

Luke gives his first two chapters to Mary’s reminiscences of her son’s formative years.  It is not easy to sum up what she carried with her as she witnessed Jesus’s earthly ministry and his death and resurrection.  However, for me two lines stand out:

At Jesus’s presentation in the temple, after Simeon had told Mary that Jesus would be a sign to many he warned her, “a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2.35)

and telling us how Mary responded to Simeon and to the earlier visit of the Shepherds, Luke says that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2.19)

Perhaps, then, we have a good description of the way a loving mother experiences the trials and triumphs and highs and lows of her children.  When her child struggles, she suffers as well.  When her child succeeds she experiences joy and pride in what has been achieved.  This seems to be the environment in which Jesus grew up.

So, it may be that this is why Jesus was moved to act when he saw the agony of the widow of Nain.  He stumbles across a scene of misery and despair.  With the death of her son, this widow had lost her means of support.  It was a sad fact of ancient society, that if a widow had no family to support her then she was vulnerable to poverty and neglect.  (The early Christian church’s care for widows and orphans was one of the things that marked them out as a society of love.)  The reading tells us that Jesus’s heart went out her, in the New Living Translation it says “when the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion.” (v13)

Jesus’s response to this situation was to restore the son to life and give him back to his mother.  His concern for this mother, and then, on the cross, his provision for his own mother’s ongoing care (see John 19.25–27) was not a sentimental or romantic view of motherhood.  We know that he had clashes with his own mother and at one point dismissed her attempt to rescue him from the danger of provoking the crowds.  He spoke words that sound harsh on the lips of a son, “Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?” (see Mark 3.31–35).  He would have known the suffering of some because their family was unable or unwilling to offer loving care and support. 

The early church valued motherhood, but it also offered a place of welcome and support for those who did not have the security of a stable home.  We have mentioned already how care for widows and orphans was an important part of the early church’s social action.  For all sorts of reasons in ancient society and in our modern society, people cannot always rely on the support of their family.  We know that sometimes this is because of tragedy, in other cases it is because of abusive relationships that make it impossible for a mother to care for her children or for children to remain safely with their mother.  The sad truth is that, in some cases, the Church has been guilty of romanticising the idea of family to such a degree that it has failed to see the reality of domestic abuse and how relationships between parents and children can go catastrophically wrong. 

On Mothering Sunday, we may also need to acknowledge that sometimes the Church has responded badly to those who longed to be mothers but who, for different reasons, never could – often on a day like Mothering Sunday they may feel compelled to sit silently with the hurt and agonies that often accompany these unfulfilled dreams. 

It is important for us to have robust and realistic views of the challenges that come with parenthood and whilst many of us can give genuine thanks for the ways in which loving motherhood has cared for us, shaped us and formed us we remember also those whose story is very different.  We commit ourselves, as churches, to be places where people can find refuge from the hurts of tragedy or abuse.  We pledge to be better at listening to the stories of those who struggle because they were unable to become parents, and we pray for all who work alongside those whose domestic relationships have been the cause of harm.  Even when our experiences of parenthood have been good, we remember it often meant that mum (and/or dad) experienced both the joy of our successes and the pain of our struggles and we give thanks for all those who walk alongside us in life’s trials and triumphs, and today, especially, those we can call, “mum!”[1] 

Hymn – StF 519 – Father, I place into your hands. - 

---

[1] In mentioning those situations where ‘mum’ is not necessarily a word associated with positive life experiences, it is important that we all remember that there is help available for anyone who needs to talk about things that have happened for them.  Our Church and safeguarding officers, as well as me (Dalwyn) would be more than happy to talk with anyone who needs support, to point you in the right direction and make sure you get the help you need.  Please do not hesitate to get in touch or to ask for a copy of our safeguarding policies if you would like further information on how the Methodist Church seeks to Create Safer Space for all those who are part of our church family or who take part in church activities. 

Worship at Home - Sunday 7th March 2021

 

Gathering:

Hymn StF 88 – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation! -

 Prayer of Praise:

Great and mighty God,
you reign over all Creation.

We praise you for the colours of sunrise
that fill each new day with a reminder of your beauty.

We stand in wonder at the power of the wind
shaking us out of our temptation to resist the movement of your Spirit

We are refreshed when the rains come
to soften our hearts to new seasons of growth

We are warmed by the noonday sun
opening us to receive your great love

Great and mighty God,
you reign over all Creation
and we praise you for all that your hand has made.  Amen

Prayer of Confession

Lord, I’m sorry for the things I have done
and shouldn’t have done,
for the things I have said
and now wish I hadn’t
the things I thought and now regret.
The damage has been done, the time has passed
and its too late now to apologise.
Thank you that I can turn to you and say, “Sorry”
knowing that you will forgive me
and I can start again
in a new relationship with you.  Amen

Hilary Jeffries taken from The Earth is the Lord’s – Prayer Handbook 2020/21 – The Methodist Church

 

The Lord’s Prayer

The Word of God

Reading 1 – 1 Corinthians 1.18–25

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

StF 111 – Lord of the Boundless Curves of Space - 

Reading 2 – John 2.13–22

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸ The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.'

Reflection

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (v19)

Our readings this morning present us with two spectacles and two scandals.

The first spectacle is the Great Temple of Jerusalem – and Jesus’ scandalous hint that it will be the action of the temple authorities that will eventually expose the corruption of the status-quo and bring about the destruction of the temple and of Judaism as they knew it. 

John records Jesus’ visit to the temple.  The scene he describes bears more resemblance to a farmer’s market than a place of worship.  (But we mustn’t forget that John sometimes exaggerates his perception of the religious authorities’ errors in order to highlight the importance paying attention to the difference we see in Jesus)  He asks us to imagine the temple courtyards filled with the noise of the traders and their animals as they engaged in the sale of sacrifices and the money-changers making profit buying the hated Roman coin and exchanging it for the more acceptable temple-currency. 

We might argue that all of this has some legitimacy.  The offering of animals for sacrifice was central to the worship of the temple and buying your animal at the temple was doubly convenient: it saved having to bring it with you and you could be sure it would be of an approved quality.   So it may also have made sense for the coin exchange to take place in the temple courts; the money spent their was worthless to the pilgrims from the different realms where different coins were used.   

However, through the eyes of John, we see Jesus taking exception to the way the temple’s courts have been given over to this trade when they should be a place of prayer for all who come seeking God.  The outer courts of this grand building that is intended to represent God’s glory, were supposed to be a place of access for those that the ritual law marginalised: that is the non Jews, women, the poor and disabled.  But these spaces were now so busy with the temple-trade, aimed at Jewish worshippers, that those on the edges had virtually been shut out and left with no space in the temple to worship God.  Jesus’ charge is that the “House of prayer for all peoples” (Isa 56.7) had been turned into a market. (John 2.16)

It is no surprise that the religious authorities (who see a threat to the useful income for the temple that comes from all this trade) take exception to Jesus’ direct action against this distortion of the temple’s purpose.  “Who gives you the authority to disrupt the market?” they ask.  And Jesus’ answer with its reference to the destruction of a temple is scandalous.  They misunderstand him, thinking he is referring to the physical temple, but even so the idea that this grand building which has taken the best part of half a century to build could be destroyed horrifies them. 

John hints that if they had understood Jesus’ true meaning then they would have been even more scandalised since Jesus’ words point forward to the action they will eventually take to silence him and protect the religious and political status quo.

John never intends his Gospel to be chronological and so we cannot really say how long after Jesus’ clash with the authorities in the temple it is until they finally have him arrested and executed.  (Matthew, Mark and Luke put the clearing of the temple together with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and, thus, it could have been a matter of days.[1])  It is probably fair for us to assume that Jesus’ protest had no immediate effect on temple activity.  After the ‘fuss’ had settled, the temple authorities would, almost certainly, have ensured that business went back to usual. 

Let us just pause then and consider the consequences of this.  In the temple, business just returned to normal.  The sellers sold, the exchangers exchanged, the religious authorities carried on the same religious activities.  Sacrifices were offered, prayers were prayed and the temple songs were sung.  The poor and disabled, the women and the non-Jews were left, just as they had been before, which meant that if, as the priests did, you had made it all about the temple, they had no-where to pray, nowhere to approach God and with no hope that anything would change.

Meanwhile, outside of the city wall, the man who had dared to speak out was being dragged to the place of execution on the say of those religious authorities who had become convinced that “it is better if one person dies for all the people.” (John 18.14 Good News Translation) 

Elsewhere in John’s gospel, he records Jesus saying,  “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12.32  Paul, in our reading from 1 Corinthians, makes the scandalous claim that it is the rejected, beaten and dying Jesus on the cross who displays the power of God rather than the temple and its religion.  As Jesus died outside the city wall, there was no barrier.  Those who were denied access to God in the temple, had full access to Jesus on the cross.  Some mocked him and considered his execution as a punishment not just from the authorities but from God.  Whereas others, saw God’s power on display and indeed it was a non-Jew, who in response to Jesus’ dying breath, spoke of the scandal that had taken place:

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39

The second spectacle is our Crucified Lord – and Paul’s scandalous suggestion that the Cross is not just a demonstration of God’s power at work in the world but it is the greatest evidence that God’s plan for the salvation embraces the whole of humanity and goes beyond the religion of the temple. 

Hymn StF 273 – Here Hangs a Man Discarded - 

Prayers of Intercession

In penitence and faith let us make our prayer to the Father
and ask for his mercy and grace.

For your holy people,
that they may triumph over evil and grow in grace,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

For those waiting for baptism, confirmation or reception into membership
that they may live by every word that proceeds from your mouth,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

For the leaders of the nations,
that you will guide them in the ways of mercy and truth,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

For the needy,
that they may not be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor be taken away,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

For the sick in body, mind and spirit,
that they may know your power to heal,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

For the poor in spirit,
that they may inherit the kingdom of heaven
and see you face to face,
we pray to you, O Lord: 

Let us commend the world, for which Christ suffered,
to the mercy and protection of God.

Common Worship – Prayers of Intercession for Lent (adapted)

Hymn StF 287 – When I Survey the Wondrous Cross 

 

---

[1] Biblical scholars do not all agree on whether the clearing of the temple in Holy Week recorded by Matthew &c. is the same incident as that recorded by John or another occasion of direct action by Jesus in the temple.  Nonetheless, all four Gospel writers, either by the way they tell the story or by its placement and timing lead us to make the link between Jesus’ actions and the authorities’ murderous response.  For those in authority, with vested interests in keeping things ‘as they are’ Jesus is a trouble-maker who must, at the least, be silenced if not removed.  

Worship at Home - Sunday 28th February - 2nd Sunday of Lent

 

Worship at Home – Sunday February 28^th 2021

2^nd Sunday of Lent

Introduction

Whilst acknowledging that this is the 2nd Sunday of Lent, our service today includes a message that may feel slightly un-Lenten because the focus is on "How are you caring for yourself?" However, as I note in the reflection, Jesus' time in the wilderness ended with the angels coming to minister to him. Holding together Jesus' call to self-sacrifice with his instruction to 'love one another' has not always achieved successfully by the Church, yet in this Covid Lent following a year of struggle and hardship, perhaps it is good for us to pay attention to the need for care and kindness.

Worship at Home for Sunday 14th February - The Sunday before Lent.

 Sunday 14th February 2021 - Worship at Home

Introduction

Today is the Sunday before Lent begins.  Which may be a timely reminder to everyone that Tuesday is Pancake Day and Wednesday is Ash Wednesday! 

Our Service today follows the format of Morning Prayer with a Sermon and the Sermon is provided by Revd. Stan Short (the recorded version is read by me!)

Worship at Home for Sunday 24th January 2021

 

Worship at Home – Sunday 24^th January 2021

Introduction

This is the Sunday in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  This year’s theme is ‘Abiding in Christ.’  Under the current circumstances, one definition of ‘Abide’ seems particularly pertinent: to abide is ‘to hold on in there.’  In this service we will explore what it means to spot (or even make) opportunities even when circumstances seem to be helpless or hopeless.  In the reflection, the question, “What are the opportunities offered to us as God’s people?” will be considered using some of the thoughts and ideas from The Methodist Way of Life. 

Next week, (31^st) for our Zoom worship, we will join with the group of churches under Revd. Lorna Valentine’s care for a ‘Bring and Share’ service.  We are invited to bring along our contributions of poetry, readings, prayers or songs to join together in a home-grown service.  (More details in next week’s worship at home sheet) 

Worship at Home for 17th January 2021

 Worship at Home - Sunday 17th January 2021

If you would like to join us for live worship then it will be taking place at 10:30am on Sunday via Zoom or via Dalwyn's YouTube channel at - https://tinyurl.com/WAHRevD

This week Sonia Butler and Mary Millar will lead part of the service alongside Revd. Dalwyn Attwell