Holy Communion for Sunday, 6 June 2021
Led by Revd George Mwaura
Preacher: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Welcome
Welcome to the house of God.
We have come from all the corners of the earth.
Welcome to the hospitality of God.
We come as we are; we bring our life, our stories, our journey.
Welcome, brothers and sisters.
We are the rainbow people of God.
Welcome, chosen people.
May God our companion bind us in his love.
Amen
[Silence]Beloved God, for the cycle of life which brings death and rebirth,
we rejoice in the promise of Spring.
For lengthening days and sunlight’s warmth upon the soil,
we rejoice in the promise of Spring.
For all of creation and the majesty of its Creator
we rejoice in the promise of Spring.
Hymn: Living Lord
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have come to us,
you are one with us,
Mary’s Son;
cleansing our souls from all their sin,
pouring your love and goodness in;
Jesus, our love for you we sing,
living Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ,
now and every day,
teach us how to pray,
Son of God.
You have commanded us to do
this in remembrance, Lord, of you:
into our lives your power breaks through,
living Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have come to us,
you are one with us,
Mary’s Son.
Led out to die on Calvary,
risen from death to set us free,
risen Lord Jesus, help us see,
you are Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ,
I would come to you,
live my life for you,
Son of God.
All your commands I know are true,
your many gifts will make me new,
into my life your power breaks through,
living Lord.
Patrick Appleford (1925–2018)
CCL31580
Confession
Let us confess in silence our own struggles to love others,
to love ourselves, and to love God with all our being.
Kyrie
Holy One, we recognise the ways we have brought pain to you, to others and to ourselves.
Forgive us and send your living Spirit to renew us, inspire us, sustain us,
and encourage us in our journey.
Amen
Prayer of the Week
God of all the world, we praise you for calling us into your family,
for choosing us even though we are imperfect,
for trusting us even though we make mistakes,
for not giving up on us even when we give up on ourselves,
for offering so much more – even when we would settle for less.
God of all the world, for drawing us into a deeper relationship with you
and with one another, we praise you – individually and together – we praise you.
Amen
Ministry of the Word
Genesis 3: 8–15
Read by Martha George
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’
10 He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’
11 And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’
12 The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’
The woman said, ‘The snake deceived me, and I ate.’
14 So the Lord God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.’
NIV®
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Mark 3: 20–35
Read by Peter Lindsay
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.’
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no-one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.’
30 He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting round him, and they told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’
33 ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle round him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our Light.
Meditation
By Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Choral response: Make me a channel of your peace
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love;
where there is injury, your pardon, Lord;
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
O Master, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope;
where there is darkness, only light;
and where there’s sadness, ever, joy.
O Master, grant that I may never seek …
Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving of ourselves that we receive
and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Sebastian Temple (1928–1997)
from a prayer of St Francis of Assisi (c. 1182–1226)
CCL31580
An Affirmation of Faith
We believe in the Creator:
the maker of all things
We believe in the Son:
the redeemer of our broken world
We believe in the Spirit:
The sacred wind that binds all things together in the family of God.
Creator Father, beloved Son and living Spirit.
Amen
Prayers and Intercessions
By Katherine Wheldon
Heavenly Father after weeks of dull skies, persistent rain and cold You have healed our souls this week with beautiful sunshine spreading longed for warmth. The flowers show their shining colours, trees gently wave their branches, little plants grow swiftly, birds sing for joy. The whole world revels in your light. We thank you for your bounty. Remind us to be aware of your bounty when the weather turns. You will still be there caring for your world. Help us to be strong enough to care. Remind us that your world is good, even the grotty bits, and that we need to care for it as you care for us.
In your mercy Father
Hear our prayer
Many of us have been able to meet with friends and families and we thank you for helping the government reach the conclusion that it is safe to do so. We pray for our family and friends that they stay safe and know your loving arms around them. We pray also for all those in power whether it be in small communities or countries. Grant them courage and wisdom to act for the good of all.
In your mercy Father
Hear our prayer
There are many countries in need of our prayers, not just those where there are troubles; not just those places we hear about on the news but countries where it is utterly miserable to be a child: Afghanistan, Mali, Nigeria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and more. How can it be that we have allowed this to happen? Heavenly Father help us to try harder to build a kinder, more caring world. We know that with your help it can be done. We pray that everyone will have enough to eat and clean water to drink.
In your mercy Father
Hear our prayer
There are members of our congregation who are ill or recovering from surgery. We ask that you let them know you are there with them every step of the way. You never turn away. We especially pray for Eric and Joan, Joy, Sue Robinson, all those on our prayer list and those who have not yet let us know that they would appreciate prayer support. There are those who are fearful of leaving their homes because of the continuing threat of Covid-19 and its variations. Comfort them in their fear. Let’s have a moment of quiet while we call to mind anyone we know in need.
In your mercy Father
Hear our prayer
We remember in our prayers all those working long hours to meet the needs of the world whilst the pandemic still rages, the scientists working on vaccines and those who oversee the preparation and shipment of them; doctors and nurses, teachers and carers, the many thousands of volunteers in many spheres all working selflessly to make the world a better place. Help those only interested in lining their pockets to wake up to their better selves and join everyone else in good deeds.
In your mercy Father
Hear our prayer.
We ask these prayers in the name of your son Jesus Christ
Amen
The Peace
Peace to you from God, who is our Father.
Peace from Jesus Christ, who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life.
The peace of God be always with you.
and also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.
Holy Communion
The Thanksgiving
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
Almighty God, good Father to us all, your face is turned towards your world.
In love you gave us Jesus your Son to rescue us from sin and death.
Your Word goes out to call us home to the city where angels sing your praise.
We join with them in heaven’s song:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We bless the name of Jesus, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
whose brokenness and suffering makes love real,
who on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,
gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying,
Take, eat. This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
After supper he took the cup saying,
Drink from this, all of you, this is my blood given for you.
Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.
This is the mystery of our faith.
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.
Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup,
we acknowledge brokenness as a path to truth.
We long for the bread of tomorrow: eternally broken and so able to nourish.
We long for the new wine of the kingdom: continuously poured out that thirst may be quenched.
Send your Spirit on us now,
that by these gifts we may feed on Christ with opened eyes and hearts on fire.
May we and all who share this food offer ourselves to live for you
and be welcomed at your feast in heaven, where all creation worships you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours forever and ever.
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
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
The Communion
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.
Amen
Post-Communion Prayer
Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us
as living members of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Notices
Hymn: You shall go out with joy (Trees of the field)
You shall go out with joy
and be led forth with peace.
The mountains and the hills
will break forth before you.
There’ll be shouts of joy
and all the trees of the field
will clap, will clap their hands.
And all the trees of the field
will clap their hands,
the trees of the field
will clap their hands,
the trees of the field
will clap their hands,
while you go out with joy.
Stuart Dauermann (b. 1944) and Steffi Geiser Rubin (b. 1950)
CCL31580
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
may the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you today and always
Amen
Dismissal
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ,
Amen
