An extraordinarily large congregation gathered to celebrate Mothering Sunday. It was good that we had the ‘Scouts; with us along with their Scout Leaders, Ian & Anne Anthony, Wendy MacMahon, Karen Kennedy and Janice Verity. They were joined by family and friends. And how pleased we were that Karen Barker was able to attend with Kyle and Imogen. The service was led by Tom Birch assisted by Wendy Slattery, Karen Abram and Ann Shadbolt. The duty elders were Jean Roby and Karen Abram. The organist was John Gibson. Flowers and bookmarks were distributed by the youngsters as directed by Sandra Davies, Denise Berry, Karen Kennedy and Joanne Leadbetter.
*****
WORDS ON WHICH TO MEDITATE AS
WE PREPARED FOR WORSHIP
Gracious God,
open our eyes to your goodness, greatness, love and mercy,
for so often we fail to see as clearly as we should.
We close our eyes to what we would rather not face,
allow the concerns of each day to obscure the wonder of your presence or simply take for granted what has become so familiar.
Touch our lives now as we worship you,
and grant us,
through all we share,
deeper insight,
a greater vision and a clearer picture of who and what you are.
In Christ’s name we pray.
AMEN
(Nick Fawcett)
GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
Let us arise to meet the Light:
The Light is Christ.
Let us rejoice in the hope of this new day:
Our hope is fixed on Christ.
Let us waken to what is real:
Christ is the real light.
Let us travel on into the Light:
The Light for our path is Christ.
HYMN: For the beauty of the earth (Tune: Noricum. Music: F James. Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint.)
PRAYERS OF ADORATION AND CONFESSION
A TALK ABOUT FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH FAMILY: Seeing is believing
HYMN: Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed (Tune: Irby. Music: HJ Gauntlett. Words: Cecil Frances Alexander.) [1]
NOTICES FOR THE COMING WEEK AND WE OFFERED OUR MORNING GIFTS
OFFERING PRAYER
Father,
you have given us all things in Christ.
In love and gratitude we offer these gifts to you now.
Accept them for his sake.
AMEN
THE WORD OF GOD
READING: Colossians, Chapter 3, Verses 12 to 17
Bench Good New Bible page 254: Ideals are important: they show us what we are aiming at, even if we fall short. Central to it is the word ‘love’, which is a slippery catch-all word because we all think we know what it means.
OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD
THE INVITATION TO THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
In Christ,
God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through his blood which was shed on the cross.
Draw near then in faith.
- HYMN: The King of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never (Tune: Dominus regit me. Music: JB Dykes. Words: HW Baker.)
- THE THANKSGIVING
- THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
- THE SHARING OF THE BREAD AND WINE
- A TIME OF QUIET REFLECTION
Blessed are you,
Lord our God,
for you love us with an everlasting love and sent your Son to be our Saviour.
He came and died that we might live.
Now he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
May we do your will and share in your kingdom.
Blessed are you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Father we give you thanks that in Christ Jesus you have redeemed the world.
He died that we might live.
He reigns with you and seeks us to be part of his kingdom.
We pray for all who are seeking to serve you in their daily lives.
Lord,
your kingdom come in us as in heaven.
AMEN
HYMN: Let love be real (Tune: Londonderry Air. Music: Irish traditional melody. Words: Michael Forster.)
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND REMEMBERING OTHERS AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
HYMN: He’s got the whole world in his hand (Tune: No name. Music: Traditional. Words: Traditional.)
PRAYER OF DISMISSAL
Blessed be God,
who has shown us a wonderful love,
a steadfast compassion.
Into God’s hands we commit our spirits, for the days to come,
and for all time.
May the peace of God find you amidst the storms and troubles of the world.
May the peace of God keep you now and into all eternity.
AMEN
[1] There were some eyebrows raised that we had a traditional Christmas carol during Lent. Read the words, please. They were so appropriate for Mothering Sunday. (And, to misquote a familiar quote, carols are not just for Christmas!)