St. Albans and Welwyn Methodist Circuit Service for Sunday 14th May 2023
A Service prepared by the Rev Andrew Prout
‘Celebrating the Coronation and Christian Aid Week’
This Sunday marks the beginning of Christian Aid week. It also follows the Coronation weekend which no doubt many of us enjoyed. We begin with a hymn that reminds us we are all servants of God
Hymn STF 340 (Charles Wesley 1707-1788 / Tune: Laudate Dominum)
Opening Prayers (Written by Sheila Matthews from ‘The Vine’ resource)
Loving God,
We give thanks for the life you breathed into us,
the world you created with care and love,
the gifts you’ve bestowed on each one of us,
and the solid foundations you have laid for us to build our lives upon.
Our mouths are full of your praise as we join together in worship.
Merciful Father,
We confess that we get distracted and forget to rely on you when we face difficulties.
We confess that we sometimes forget to look for you in the strangers we meet,
we forget to use words to build up and spread love,
we sometimes struggle to reflect you when we are burdened by worries and fears.
Thank you that you do not keep a record of our wrongs and that we can start each new day in the full assurance of your forgiveness and never-ending love.
Lord, our refuge and our strength, fill us afresh with your spirit, replenish our low reserves,
energize us to seek you, to listen to you, to love you,
and to love one another as you desire. Amen.
The Collect (For Christian Aid Sunday)
God, gardener of Eden, who flung stars into space
and nurtures the tiniest plant,
lift our hopes and dreams
above the loss and damage of our suffering planet,
that we might share your long-dreamed vision
which values the pea as much as the plant,
the seed as much as the tree;
Equally fill us with your life-giving hope
and inspire us with your creative Spirit
now, and in the age to come. Amen.
Hymn STF 727 (Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000 / Tune: Stewardship)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvW0KvnL9QU
Gospel Reading: John 14: 15-21 (NRSV)
Jesus gives counsel to His disciples as He nears His passion
15 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18 ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’
Address: ‘Called to Service’:
Whether royalist or republican I imagine none of us could fail to have been greatly moved by the coronation last weekend, and the solemn service that stood at its centre, a service that began with the simple bidding of a child Samuel Strachan, a chorister of His Majesty’s Chapter Royal, saying, ‘Your Majesty, as children of the kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of kings’, and then our soon to be crowned king replying ‘In his name and after his example I come not to be served but to serve’.
The Gospel within the service, read so beautifully from a 6th Century Manuscript in the centre of the Abbey, called to mind Jesus’ own proclamation in the synagogue of Nazareth… ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord’ (Luke 4:18-19).
Later the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded all present that Jesus’ crown was a crown of thorns, his throne a cross, and his vestments his wounded flesh. As Christ came to serve so we are all called to a life of service. It was indeed very touching to see the king take so seriously this calling as he clearly reckoned with the responsibility of his high office of state, seeking to follow in the footsteps of his late mother. The task set before King Charles was indeed a great one, to rule with integrity, respect, justice and equity. The task before us all is of like and equal importance, in the words of Paul, to be none other than imitators of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
This is where the reading today, following on from its preceding verses, provides inspiration. In these preceding verses, we are reminded that in all that lies before us, in this age and the next, Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ (John 14:6). And in our modern, complex world, a world that faces great challenges, a world of fake news and false narratives, a world which all too easily falls foul to self-interest and the grasping of power, how more than ever is discernment needed; how more than ever must voice be given to truth that leads to liberation and to life, be this truth that which exposes injustice, war crimes or inequality, or that which speaks through the lens of science in relation to the damage we are causing this earth. The impact of climate change of course has a bearing on all our futures. Yet it also hits the poorest in our world the most, as we are reminded of not least this Christian Aid week. Flood, drought and erratic seasonal conditions lead to the loss of crops and livelihoods, and worst of all to the loss of communities and life itself.
Jesus, thanks be to God, presents us with the means and the grace to truly find our way through all of this, because
He is the Way. In Him we also meet with wisdom and truth, and through Him we are collectively able to find and have life, life in all its abundance (John 10: 10). His challenging and simple bidding is ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments’, commandments which let us not forget remind and implore us to ‘love our neighbour as we love ourselves’. His promise is twofold ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth’, and ‘I will not leave you as orphans. I am coming to you’. Let us then this Christian Aid week, and this week following the Coronation, be inspired and encouraged, knowing that we are called to serve the ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘King of Kings’, the Lamb upon the throne, who one day will say unto us, should we be faithful to His calling …
“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25: 34-40)
Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. He also said ‘If you love me you will obey my commandments’. It is to a life of service that we are called. In this knowledge God save the king, and God save us all, including those who are among the worlds’ poorest, until all have life in abundance, through and to the glory of Christ His Son. Amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession (Prayers written by Jill Baker from ‘The Vine’ resource)
Gracious God, source of all love,
fill our hearts with your love now as we pray for the world you have made:
We pray today for all who doubt that they are loved;
for all who are broken-hearted at the ending of a relationship,
for all who are grieving the death of a partner, lover, family member, friend,
for all whose upbringing was starved of love
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
We pray today for all who are stretched in the love and service they give;
for all carers, at home, in hospitals and care homes,
for all who offer support and counsel through social services and charities,
for all who feel they are close to breaking point
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
We pray today for all who suffer because of hatred, greed and rivalry;
for all caught up in war and conflict, especially at this time…
for all whose lives are bought and sold, through modern day slavery
for all who experience discrimination for being different from the majority
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
We pray today for all working to share the love of Christ in a broken world;
for aid agencies, relief and development charities and their staff,
for peace-makers and all involved in reconciliation
for those seeking to welcome and support people seeking asylum
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
We pray today for the church around the world, seeking to live by love;
for all who are persecuted for their faith
for all who feel overwhelmed and under-resourced
for each of us as we struggle to demonstrate your love to all
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
In a moment of stillness, we call to mind any for whom we particularly pray this day…
any known to us who are ill or in hospital…
any known to us who are housebound or lonely…
any known to us who are depressed or suicidal…
God of love, pour out your love, we pray.
We ask all our prayers in the name of Jesus, love incarnate, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
And because we are all God’s children we say together …
Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name …
Hymn STF 661 (Graham Kendrick b.1950 / Tune: God of the poor)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw2SqzRIQFc
The Blessing and Dismissal
(Dismissal based on Prayer written by Tim Baker from ‘The Vine’ resource)
We shall go out with joy, and be sent forth with peace,
May the God of joy and love, and hope and peace go with us,
Lifting our hearts in times of pain, and dancing with us in times of laughter.
We go in peace to serve the Lord working for the day when all have life in abundance.
And the blessing of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon and remain with us, and all
whom we hold in our hearts and prayers, now and forever. Amen