Led by: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

Gathering Prayer

We meet in the name of Jesus Christ, who died and was raised to the glory of God the Father. Grace and mercy be with you. And also with you.

[Silence]

We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal. Today we come together to remember before God our sister Mercy, to give thanks for her life and to comfort one another in our grief.

Father in heaven, we thank you because you made us in your own image and gave us gifts in body, mind and spirit. We thank you now for Mercy and what she meant to each of us.

As we honour her memory, make us more aware that you are the one from whom comes every perfect gift, including the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn: Jesus, good above all other

Jesus, good above all other,
gentle child of gentle mother,
in a stable born our brother,
give us grace to persevere.

Jesus, cradled in a manger,
for us facing every danger,
living as a homeless stranger,
make we thee our King most dear.

Jesus, for thy people dying,
risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
keep us to thy presence near.

Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
all our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
thou to us the truth declarest;
help us all thy truth to hear.

Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall ne’er divide us;
we’ll go on with thee beside us,
and with joy we’ll persevere

Reading – John 14: 1-6

Read by Jill and Mila

Jesus comforts his disciples

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Jesus the way to the Father

⁵ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’

⁶ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Eulogy

Read by Katherine Wheldon

Prayers & Intercesssions

The peace

Hymn: Lord of the dance

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:

They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die.
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.

Holy Communion

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation: through your goodness we have this bread to set before you, 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 set before you, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become for us the cup of salvation.
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 forever.
Amen.

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.

Draw near with faith. Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gave for you, and his blood which he shed for you. Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

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

The Commendation

Almighty God, in your great love you crafted us by your hand and breathed life into us by your Spirit. Although we became a rebellious people, you did not abandon us to our sin. In your tender mercy you sent your Son to restore in us your image. In obedience to your will he gave up his life for us, bearing in his body our sins on the cross. By your mighty power you raised him from the grave and exalted him to the throne of glory. Rejoicing in his victory and trusting in your promise to make alive all who turn to Christ, we commend Mercy to your mercy and we join with all your faithful people and the whole company of heaven in the one unending song of praise: glory and wisdom and honour be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen

Final Prayer

Neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Silence]

Grant to us, Lord God, to trust you not for ourselves alone, but also for those whom we love and who are hidden from us by the shadow of death; that, as we believe your power to have raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, so may we trust your love to give eternal life to all who believe in him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Hymn: Tu has venido a la orilla

1. Lord, you have come to the seashore,
neither searching for the rich nor the wise,
desiring only that I should follow.

O, Lord, with your eyes set upon me,
gently smiling, you have spoken my name;
all I longed for I have found by the water,
at your side, I will seek other shores.

2. Lord, see my goods, my possessions;
in my boat you find no power, no wealth.
Will you accept, then, my nets and labour?

3. Lord, take my hands and direct them.
Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,
returning love for the love you gave me.

4. Lord, as I drift on the waters,
be the resting place of my restless heart,
my life’s companion, my friend and refuge.

Tú has venido a la orilla
No has buscado a sabios, ni a ricos
Tan solo quieres que yo te siga

Señor, me has mirado a las ojos
Sonriendo, has dicho mi nombre
En la arena, he dejado mi barca
Junto a ti, buscaré otro mar

Tú sabes bien lo que tengo
En mi barca, no hay oro, ni plata
Tan solo redes y mi trabajo

Tú necesitas mis manos
Mis cansancios que a otros descansen
Amor que quiero seguir amando

Tú pescador de otros mares
Ansia enterna de almas que esperan
Amigo bueno que asi me llamas

Blessing

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, make you perfect in every good work to do his will; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen