Sunday 2nd August 2020 – Pentecost 9 (Off-lectionary) (2)

A Place for Lament      

Last week the service looked at Lament. My feeling was you can’t suggest that Lament has a place in worship and then not include it. We will be using Hymn “For the world and all its people”  as a sung response during the Lament.

Guide of our lives,

Shaper of our faith,

we long for You to hear us as we wrestle with these days of separation.

We miss the sharing of stories that tumble across our worship spaces,

and of time in our smaller gatherings that offer friendship and support.

We long to hear the familiar laughter and the heartful comfort 

shared between chair and pew;

to listen for Your direction in the calling of our community.

Response

Your care of us is unfailing.

You are a creative God, who makes us in Your image

 and are steadfast in Your love.

Our memories of our communities are coloured by Your presence

 spilling into song and prayer.

Our hopes are for the health of the places we live, and the people we love.

 Response

 In the days that lie ahead, keep us faithful in Your purpose for use.

Guide the plans we make, as the pattern of life draws us slowly back 

into the company of others.

           

Response

Each day of waiting heightens our anticipation of worship and service shared in the presence of others.

The unusual ways of being together while apart create deeper longings.

We grow frustrated at a virus that brings so much of our life and our world

to a standstill, 

and as the seasons change our anger simmers 

at the potential of more illness, more loss.

Response

Eternal Presence, You bring light into the darkness of our days.

 You will brighten our path, and lead us to fresh moments of promise.

In our homes we will sing our praise to You;

should we gather, even silence will not hold back the joy we find in Your 

presence;

for You bring hope to our world and time.

 

Response

Sunday 2nd August 2020 – Pentecost 9 (Off-lectionary)

Some of this is a wee bit earlier in the week that usually. This week on our exploration of Biblical Songs looks at Royal Psalms, using Psalm 72

Call to Worship

As sure as the sun rises,

and the rain falls,
the God of all creation will care for the earth.

From the depths of the sea and land near and far, 
gifts offered to God

are shared from God’s hand for the care of all.

God listens for the cry of the poor and the needy.
God gives strength to those who are weak and precious in God’s sight.

Let us offer our prayers and hopes.
Long may God bless us with a faith that endures all things.

Based on Psalm 72

Sunday 26th July 2020 – Pentecost 8 (Off Lectionary)

This week I am still off lectionary and plan to be so until September. There is a student in training with me so the worship is shared between us. I on “Call to Worship” , Opening Prayer and Sermon. The Call to Worship is a responsive reading of Psalm 130. This is the Opening Prayer

Creator of our frame,

shaping flesh from the clay of the earth;

pulling bone from humanity to form companionship;

in each of us You sustain

the complex systems and emotions

that make humanity 

the complex creation

of skin, bone and blood,

of vein and artery,

of brain and brawn,

of hormones and heart.

You made this,

and chose to live within the limits

of an earthly body

demonstrating the possibilities

of height, depth and breadth

in relating to others

and caring for the world.

With familiar Scriptures

and well-told stories

You sought out those who were most in need

of knowing that God was in their midst,

standing at the heart of the battles for hope and justice,

so that all might know that they belonged within God’s care.

We praise You

for Your love of us,

even when our minds and hearts cannot settle

in the spaces You create for time with us.

Instead You run with us in our celebrations,

as we hope to share our news to a wider sphere.

And you sit beside us,

as heavy-hearted tears of grief

call us to solitude

as we tend our wounds.

With heads bowed low

we wear the pain we have cause ourselves and others,

as our words and actions

have not carried Christ’s grace.

We lament the hurt we feel,

and You lift our brows

to see the scars of injury to creation

and add them to our songs.

Companion of our lives,

open our ears to hear Your lament

and the forgiveness that spills

from Your cross.

Silence

Comforting Spirit,

You pull us to our feet

and place them on the path of a new day and a new way,

leading us from all that has been,

to what Christ creates within us.

Help us to walk at a steady pace

so that we may be more mindful of Your invitation.

Amen

Sunday 19th July 2020 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

As often happens during the summer months, I will not be using the lectionary for a few weeks. This summer my theme is Songs of the Summer, which has a focus on the Psalms but I suspect that at the Summer progresses other Songs may sneak their way in too.

This week my focus is Psalm 1 and Acts 16: 25-28, as we think about how music evokes our memories to shape our future. We are welcoming a new student for 6 weeks so they will be contributing the first prayer. So here are a Call to Worship and a Prayer of the People.

Call to Worship

In sitting rooms and dining rooms,

bedrooms and studies;

from the comfort of a sofa,

or the practicality of an upright chair,

God is with us,

inviting us to share in the community of worship.

In whispered voices,

because we don’t want to wake the neighbours;

with loud expression,

because our lungs are waiting to be opened,

we bring our solitary voices

to join the chorus of heaven.

God calls us from our separation

to remind us we are one in God.

As we worship together

let us be shaped by the Holy Spirit.

May the sharing of Christ’s presence spill into every day.

Prayer of the People

Composer of life’s music,

we lift our voices in praise to You

for the melodies and harmony

that have spilt into the conversations and activities of our lives.

We give thanks for the music

that has shaped our days – 

music that is evokes memories

and yet urges us to embrace all that You have inshore

for today and tomorrow;

music that allows our emotions and thoughts

to be heard and resolved.

Hear us as we sing of the ordinary tasks of our lives,

songs which tell of the love and friendship

we share with those around about;

that celebrate the small moments

of seeing those we have missed after many weeks apart;

that tell of the task we do each day

in our work and activities,

and share the burdens and worries of who we are,

what we do,

and what is expected of us.

Hear us as we sing our songs of justice – 

songs that rail against the injustice of governments

and their policies;

songs that notice

those who will be struggling to find work,

or who are not sure where their next meal is coming from,

or want the security of the off a homes of their own.

Use the discord we create

to challenge leadership

to create a world where all are treated with kindness

and assured of their worth.

Hear us as we sing our songs of sorrow – 

the words that recognise the loss and loneliness of others,

the melodies that capture the pain and hurt of those who are grieving.

Help us to recognise 

that this music is a valuable part of our humanity

for it allows us to grow

and place our trust in You,

that we might better offer support and comfort

to the bereft of our world.

Composer of life’s music,

You are the song we long to sing – 

a song that allows Christ’s love for the world

to bring harmony and unity

to the places we live and the people we meet.

Amen.