Service of Thanksgiving & Renewal, Sunday 5 September 2021, 3.00pm
The live stream has now finished.
Processional Anthem
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
♦ WELCOME
Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
We meet in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
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 binds us in his love. Amen.
Silence
♦ GATHERING PRAYER
Brothers and sisters
As we gather together, to worship God and renew our commitment to Christian unity and care for the whole creation
Let us pray
That the vision of Christian unity will one day be fulfilled in all its richness
In God’s own time, in its own pace, in its own way God our Father, Son and Holy Spirit lead your Church into the future and help us to live and work together for the wellbeing of our planet
Amen
HYMN
Bind us Together, Lord
Bind us together, Bind us together
with cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
bind us together,
bind us together with love.
There is only one God,
there is only one King
there is only one Body
that is why we sing:
Bind us together, Lord …
Made for the glory of God,
purchased by his precious Son,
born with the right to be clean,
for Jesus the victory has won.
Bind us together, Lord …
You are the family of God,
you are the promise divine,
you are God’s chosen desire,
you are the glorious new wine.
Bind us together, Lord …
♦ CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft.
Bishop of Oxford
Creator God, maker of heaven and earth,
We acknowledge our failure to live in unity as the body of Christ, and behave responsibly towards your creation.
We have pursued our self-interests and taken what we want, without considering the consequences; without thought for the future. We are truly sorry and repent.
KYRIE – Taize [Choir]
Beloved God have mercy on us.
Transform us with the power of your grace and open our hearts and minds to the signs of our times, to the inequalities of the world and the groanings of creation. Renew us by the power of your love so we may turn our indifference into action and become people of hope working together to see the world being made anew in Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen
♦ FIRST READING
Psalm 121
Zoe Littlecott-Prado
HYMN
The Earth is the Lord’s’ (Psalm 24)
(All sing)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is!
(Choir)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is:
The compass of the world and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas: And prepared it among the floods.
(All sing)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is!
(Choir)
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord:
Or who shall rise up in his holy place?
Even he that hath clean hands and a pure heart:
And that hath not lift up his mind into vanity
nor sworn to deceive his neighbour.
(All sing)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is!
(Choir)
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord:
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that week him:
Even of them that week thy face O Jacob.
(All sing)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is!
(Choir)
Lift up your heads O ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors:
And the King of glory shall come in.
‘Who is the King of glory’:
‘Even the Lord of hosts: He is the King of glory’.
(All sing)
The earth is the Lord’s and all that therein is!
♦ SECOND READING
Luke 24: 13-35
Katherine Wheldon
♦ CONVERSATION
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft. Bishop of Oxford in conversation with the Presidents of the Milton Keynes Mission Partnership
- Revd Helen Cameron
Chair of the Northampton District of The Methodist Church. - Revd Geoffrey Colmer
Regional Minister and Team Leader of the Central Baptist Association. - Revd Geoffrey Clarke
Moderator of the East Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church. - Rt Rev. David Oakley
Catholic Bishop of Northampton.
Choral response
♦ PROFESSION OF FAITH
Revd Fr Francis Higgins
We belong to the Creator in whose image we are all made.
In God we are breathing, in God we are living, in God we share the life of all creation.
We belong to Jesus Christ, the true icon of God and of humanity.
In him God is breathing, in him God is living, through him we are reconciled.
We belong to the Holy Spirit, who gives us new life and strengthens our faith.
In the Spirit love is breathing, in the Spirit truth is living, the breath of God always moves us.
We belong to the Holy Trinity, who is one in all and Three-in-One.
In God we are all made, in Christ we are all saved, in the Spirit we are all united.
Amen
♦ ACT OF RENEWAL
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft. Bishop of Oxford and the Presidents of Milton Keynes Mission Partnership
An opportunity to show a public and symbolic commitment to our pilgrimage together and advocacy for justice to all people and the planet.
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft.
Bishop of Oxford.
Let us stand to affirm our commitment to our pilgrimage together and care for God’s creation.
Revd Geoffrey Clarke
Moderator of the East Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church.
Lord of life and giver of hope, we pledge to work together, travelling as pilgrims on a journey that has already started and which will lead, we know not where, we are pleased to place our trust in God, in whose hands the future lies, and to be led forward by Him.
Lord, we come to do your will
Revd Helen Cameron
Chair of the Northampton District of The Methodist Church.
Lord of life and giver of hope, we believe that the unity of the Church is God’s will, therefore as ordained ministers, together with God’s people, we affirm that we have one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; and we share a Gospel which effects reconciliation between God and humankind and the whole creation.
Lord, we come to do your will
Revd Geoffrey Colmer
Regional Minister and Team Leader of the Central Baptist Association.
All Lord of life and giver of hope, we pledge to care for God’s creation, to reduce our waste, to live sustainably, and to value the rich diversity of life. May your wisdom guide us, that life in all its forms may flourish, and may be faithful in voicing creation’s praise.
Lord, we come to do your will
Rt Revd David Oakley
Catholic Bishop of Northampton.
Lord of life and giver of hope, keep us under the shadow of your mercy through the continuing uncertainty and distress of the pandemic.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lord, we come to do your will
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft.
Bishop of Oxford
May the commitment we have made this day be matched by our faithful living.
Amen.
WE ARE LIVING STONES
Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
“As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5
During the HYMN the clergy and Lay Chairs representing their parishes are invited to come forward to collect a pebble as symbol of our commitment to Christian unity and care for the planet and placed in the altar.
Hymn
Brother, sister, let me serve you
Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey,
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christlight for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we’ve seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together
of Christ’s love and agony.
Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray thatl may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.
♦ THE PEACE
Revd Helen Cameron
We are the body of Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Let us then pursue all that makes for peace: and builds up our common life.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also, with you
Keeping our social distance let us share a sign of peace
♦ PRAYERS AND INTERCESSIONS
Revd George Mwaura
FINAL HYMN
Amen! Praise the name of the Lord – South African Traditional
Amen Siakudumisa
Amen Siakudumisa.
Amen Siakudumisa.
Amen bawo, amen bawo
Amen Siakudumisa.
♦ BLESSING
RT Revd Dr Steven Croft.
Bishop of Oxford
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.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen