St. Albans and Welwyn Circuit Service for 2nd June 2024
prepared by Mr. Graham Phillips
Call to worship
Sister and brothers, rejoice. we are sustained and nourished by God’s presence and love.
Thanks be to God
As we mourn the distress and wounds of God’s creation.
God weeps with us.
As we face rising waters, hunger and displacement.
God suffers with us.
As we struggle for justice.
God struggles with us.
As we expose and challenge climate justice.
God empowers us.
As we strive to build alternative communities.
God works with us
As we offer our gifts to all.
God blesses us
Sisters and brothers, rejoice, sustained by God’s presence and love.
We worship God
Hymn Stf 56 :- King of Glory, King of Peace
Opening Prayers
Loving Father, as we see your great wisdom reflected in your wonderful creation, we want to praise you with our whole being. Thank you for the creative Word of God Who not only spoke the world into being from nothing but died for us so that we could have life – everlasting life and life more abundantly. Thank You, in Jesus’ name.
Creator God, we confess that we take your creation for granted each and every day. We have ignored the warning signs that we are destroying your gift to us, this place we call Earth, our home created out of your love for all humanity. We humbly ask for forgiveness for the way we have mistreated this most wonderful of gifts. Open our eyes to the untold damage we are doing to this our planet and keep us ever mindful of the generations that will follow in our footsteps and will be affected by the thoughtless decisions we make today.
AMEN
Reading Genesis Chp 1 – 11 (NRSVA)
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from darkness. God called light day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning the first day.
And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, ’Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with seed in it.’ And it was so. Please read on
Hymn Stf !02 :- For the beauty of the earth
Short reflection
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from god swept over the face of the waters. this to me is the start of God’s plan for all of humanity, a plan that we should never discard or ignore, unlike most of the plans that our politicians would have us believe will make our lives so much better if we vote them into office.
God took time in creating this home of ours, that we call earth. It was created thoughtfully, to firstly give us all we need to have a full life. He gave us food in abundance, both vegetable and animal and all the diversity that brings. He gave us unpolluted water to drink, unpolluted to air to breath, in fact everything that is good, no wonder he felt that was good, very good and so it was. He even made us in his own image i.e. perfect in every way., God has given us the potential to be as good and upright as he himself is. He gave us power and dominion over the animals and all living things (apart from our selves). He gave us the power to procreate and inhabit the earth, so far so good, in fact very good. But along with that because we were made in God’s image he placed his complete trust in us and, horror of horrors he gave us free will, which means we have choices to make Thankfully most of the time we make GOOD ones as those who we have loved, comforted and helped in times of trouble would testify to.
The serpent on the other hand portrays our sin cunningly sliding almost unnoticed into our lives tempting us again “Go on don’t worry, it’s fine to do that, after all it’s what God wants you to do”. the serpent continually plays on our mind tempting us again and again to go against what we believe to be the right choice. It opens our eyes to otherwise supposed unseen wonders, things to divert us from god’s true word, to infiltrate, and, if we are not careful completely change our mind-set, by dangling those previously unseen supposed treasures and delights before our eyes. In a sense we are all naked before God, but do we do what is right or allow ourselves to be tricked by subversive words and thoughts to become servants of the serpent.
Sadly when this happens it means we are no longer made in God’s image and we all miss the opportunity’s that being in his image brings, love, joy, forgiveness, always there when needed, to name but a few.
It’s all too easy for us as mere mortals to become disobedient to God’s word. One person who followed God’s words and instructions to the letter was Noah His was surely an act of complete devotion. Would you build a massive boat, miles from anywhere with no water in sight, but nonetheless that is what Noah does. He receives
God’s grace. Just as Adam and Eve did in the Garden. You could say that by his selfless act he saved creation.
We are all invited to share in God’s great plan for creation, maybe more so now in an age of global warming where we still seem to deny our own involvement in a potential catastrophe for this wonderful gift of God’s creation. For me it’s time to discard the serpents skin that, at times, can all too easily try to envelop us, and take on the faithful endeavour of Noah. By God’s endless grace we have the power to succeed.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Just some headings you may find helpful for you to add your own prayers to9.
We pray for God’s church here on earth, in our circuit and in our individual places of worship………
LORD HEAR US. LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US
We pray for our presbyters, supernumeraries, lay preachers, worship leaders and all who help in any way to make our places of worship warm and welcoming………….
LORD HEAR US. LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US
We pray for peace in an evermore violent world…………………
LORD HEAR US LORD GARCIOUSLY HEAR US
We pray for all, who are sick, both mentally and physical, and those who care for them at this difficult time……
LORD HEAR US LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US
We ray for those who mourn…………
LORD HEAR US LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US
Finally we pray for ourselves……………………
LORD HEAR US LORD GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.
The Lords Prayer
Our Father who art in Heaven…………………………………………. AMEN
Hymn Stf 110 :- In the wonder of creation
Closing prayer and blessing
As the sun rises higher in the sky As the spring flowers display their beauty
so may the Lord be exalted in our lives so may the Lord be glorified in our lives
As the fresh green leaves on the trees announce the spring,
so may the Lord be made known in our lives.;
Creator God, whose faithfulness is seen in the coming and going of the seasons,
whose love is seen in the renewing of the earth,
guard and guide us, keep us and bless us now and for evermore. AMEN
