Holy Communion – Live Streamed – Sunday, 20 February 2022
Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
Gathering Music
Welcome
We are called to love our enemies. But this is difficult.
Let us invite God to direct our thoughts and our prayers.
Let us ask God to move in our hearts and minds
Let us ask God to teach and show us what it means to love our enemies.
Let us worship him.
Amen
[Silence]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
Hymn: Love divine
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven to earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all the faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.
Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above;
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation,
pure and sinless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
CCL31580
Prayer of Approach
We seek to clear our minds as we come before you, Lord.
If our thoughts have been negative, of revenge or retribution,
we leave them outside this sacred place,
and ask to be shown a better way – the way of love.
Amen
[Silence]Confession
Father, we confess that we nurture enmity and hold grudges against those we think of as enemies.
They are usually in the wrong, and we are probably in the right.
But we confess, Lord, that sometimes we are equally to blame, or at least not entirely innocent.
No matter who started it, or how it began,
perhaps a swift word of reconciliation, or a genuine attempt to understand,
to sort things out, would have nipped matters in the bud.
Sometimes we know that life is not so simple;
help us to know what to do, how to respond.
For sometimes we should turn the other cheek,
sometimes we should keep things in check,
sometimes we should simply turn and walk away for our own good.
We confess that the complexities of life confuse us;
please help us understand what you would have us do.
Amen
[Silence]Lord, no matter what we have done, you forgive us;
and no matter what ‘they’ have done, and whoever ‘they’ are, you forgive them too.
You forgive our enemies even when we don’t,
and you forgive us even when we don’t deserve it.
Thanks be to you, all-forgiving God.
Amen
Prayer of the Week
God of righteousness, we adore you for the depth of your wisdom.
You see the light in us and in others that we fail to recognise,
for you are the source of that light, and you seek to nurture it, no matter what we have done.
God of love and light, we adore you.
Amen
Ministry of the Word
Psalm 45: 3–11
Read by Bob Collard
3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendour and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among your honoured women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.</span
10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
Forget your people and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honour him, for he is your lord.
NIV®
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Luke 6: 27–38
Read by Carl Pinnock
Love for Enemies
27 ‘But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging others
37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’
NIV®
This is the Gospel of Christ.
Praise to Christ our light.
Meditation
[Silence]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
Led by Katherine Wheldon
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.
Hymn: Immortal, invisible, God only wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we raise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light;
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might –
thy justice like mountains high-soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
J. Chalmers Smith (1825–1908)
CCL31580
Holy Communion
The Thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this bread to offer,
which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God for ever.
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness we have this wine to offer,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God for ever.
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 Father, we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope, and make us grow in love;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Notices
Lent Study Groups – Living on the Breadline
This year’s Lent Study Groups begin meeting virtually by Zoom this week or next. We are using material entitled Life on the Breadline, which is based on research by Coventry University and others, including Church Action on Poverty. It is a six-week Lent course and the materials are free to download. Each of the sessions has just two pages, and the sessions include a short video, a Bible passage, guided reflections, discussion questions, and take-away actions. The materials can be downloaded by clicking on this link: https://breadlineresearch.coventry.ac.uk/churches/lent-course/.
The Lent Study Group led by Ian & Janet Trimnell has its first session at 7.15 pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2022. The Lent Study Group led by Revd George Mwaura has its first session at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 23 February 2022. The Newport Pagnell Group led by Stuart Kean has its first Lent Study session at 7.30 pm on Thursday, 3 March 2022.
If you are not able to join any of these groups, but would still like to study the material you can download the material from the link above and use it for your personal study during Lent.
If you would like more information, please contact Stuart Kean (stuart.kean@gmail.com).
World Day of Prayer
12.30 pm Friday, 4 March 2022 in the Worship Area and Live Streamed
If you would like to take an active part in our World Day of Prayer service at 12.30 pm on Friday, 4 March 2022, please would you contact Rosemary Kearsey (rosemary.kearsey@btopenworld.com, 01908 37326 or 07768 407576}. The service is open to all, but it is helpful to have a number of readers.
We hope to be live-streaming the service. Participants can be either in the Worship Area, or at home. If you wish to take part from home, please contact Rosemary soon, so that we can discuss this. It would be lovely to have as many as are able to come to the church, as this will enhance the singing for those who watch the live stream.
The service has been prepared by women from England, Wales and Northern Ireland this year. If you are free on Friday, 4 March 2022 at lunchtime, please come and join us in this cycle of prayer, which will go around the world on that day. It will be extra special to know that Christians around the world will be praying with us and for us this year, on that day.
Rosemary Kearsey
Results of safety questionnaire
Thank you to everyone who filled in one of our questionnaires on 6 February, The results show that:
- 60% of us think we should continue to wear face masks including when we are singing
- 31% of us think we should wear face masks except when singing
- 13% of us don’t think we should wear face masks at all
- 86% of us think we should still try to socially distance at least 1m apart
- 85% of us think the number of chairs should stay the same as they are now.
The Sunday evening group that meets on Zoom discussed our safety precautions, and they did not wish anything to be changed at present.
The Ministerial Leadership Team will consider these findings in the next few days and we’ll let you know if there are to be any changes. In the meantime, our current protocols will stay in place. We are really grateful for everyone’s help in keeping everyone as safe as possible.
Congregational Meeting
Last Sunday (13 February 2022)
At the Congregational Meeting last Sunday we appointed Peter Cope as our Chair of Ecumenical Council for a two-year period up to the Annual Congregational Meeting in 2024. Pat Kyd was appointed interim Clerk to the Ecumenical Partnership.
Final Prayer
Lord, thank you that we are loved and forgiven by you.
We know it is hard to love those who have hurt us.
Give us your strength. Help us to love our enemies.
Help us to do good to those who hate and hurt us.
And help us to know when we have hurt others, and to repent,
and to seek only to do good, in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Hymn: Take my life
Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and purposeful for thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it thine:
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is thine own:
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Frances R. Havergal (1836–1879)
CCL31580
Blessing
God be in your head, and in your understanding;
God be in your eyes, and in your looking;
God be in your mouth, and in your speaking;
God be in your heart, and in your thinking;
God be at your end, and at your departing.
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
