Order of service: Sunday 22 March 2020

Greeting

Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you

and also with you.

Here or at home we gather in the presence of God

Who knows our needs,
hears our cries,
feels our pain,
and heals our wounds.

Words of welcome and introduction

Hymn

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord:
unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name:
make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name, the Lord, the mighty one.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might:
pow’rs and dominions lay their glory by;
proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word:
firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children and for evermore.

Invitation to Confession

Human sin disfigures the whole creation,
which groans with eager longing for God’s redemption.
We confess our sin in penitence and faith.

We confess to you our selfishness and lack of love:
fill us with your Spirit.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

We confess to you our fear and failure in sharing our faith:
fill us with your Spirit.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

We confess to you our stubbornness and lack of trust:
fill us with your Spirit.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

May God our Father forgive us our sins
and bring us to the eternal joy of his kingdom,
where dust and ashes have no dominion.

Amen.

The Collect (for Mothering Sunday)

God of love,
passionate and strong,
tender and careful:
watch over us and hold us
all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Reading from the Bible

A reading from the First Book of Samuel (1.20-end)

In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the LORD.’
The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow.
But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and remain there for ever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.’
Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only—may the LORD establish his word.’
So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him.
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh; and the child was young.
Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.
And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD.
For this child I prayed; and the LORD has granted me the petition that I made to him.
Therefore I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD.’
She left him there for the LORD

This is the word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

A short period of silence is kept to reflect on the reading.

Hymn

For Mary, mother of our Lord,
God’s holy name be praised,
who first the Son of God adored,
as on her child she gazed.

The angel Gabriel brought the word
she should Christ’s mother be;
Our Lady, handmaid of the Lord,
made answer willingly.

The heav’nly call she thus obeyed,
and so God’s will was done;
the second Eve love’s answer made
which our redemption won.

She gave her body for God’s shrine,
her heart to piercing pain,
and knew the cost of love divine
when Jesus Christ was slain.

Dear Mary, from your lowliness
and home in Galilee,
there comes a joy and holiness
to ev’ry family.

Hail, Mary, you are full of grace,
above all women blest;
and blest your Son, whom your embrace
in birth and death confessed.

Reading from the Bible

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (2.33-35)

Glory to you, O Lord

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary,
“This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you O Christ

A short period of silence is kept to reflect on the reading.

Sermon

Affirmation of faith

Do you believe and trust in God the Father,
source of all being and life,
the one for whom we exist?

We believe and trust in him.

Do you believe and trust in God the Son,
who took our human nature,
died for us and rose again?

We believe and trust in him.

Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
who gives life to the people of God
and makes Christ known in the world?

We believe and trust in him.

This is the faith of the Church.

This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Hymn

(Refrain)

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together
with cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together in love.

There is only one God,
there is only one King.
There is only one Body,
that is why we sing: …

Fit for the glory of God,
purchased by his precious Blood,
born with the right to be free:
Jesus the vict’ry has won. …

We are the fam’ly of God,
we are his promise divine,
we are his chosen desire,
we are the glorious new wine. …

Prayers of Intercession

Generous God, we thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit moving between us now wherever we are, drawing us together.

We ask that through this time of separation the bonds of love that unite us may be strengthened.

We pray for the Church in this Diocese, for Nick and Paul our Bishops and for the leaders of our sisters and brothers in different denominations.

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the wisdom of your Holy Spirit.

We pray for those who are guiding this and the nations of the world at this time, that they may make wise decisions:

We pray that you would help us make wise decisions in the choices before us each day.

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the gifts of your Holy Spirit.

We pray that we will work together for the good of all in this community and beyond and that you equip us for the work before us, to help and serve others in any way can.

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the healing of your Holy Spirit.

Hear us as we pray for all who are affected by coronavirus, for the lonely and the fearful that they may find relief and recovery:

For doctors, nurses and medical researchers, that through their skill and insights many will be restored to health:

We pray too for those amongst our church family who have asked for our prayers at this time, among them

A list of those to pray for will be read

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the breath of your Holy Spirit, given by the risen Lord that sustains us daily.

We pray for those who have drawn their last breath on this earth. Those who have died recently, among them

A list of those recently died will be read

And those whose anniversary of death falls around this time

A list of those whose anniversary of death falls will be read

We ask you to keep the whole Church, living and departed, in the joy of eternal life.

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

We thank you for the fruit of your Holy Spirit and for the life breathed into us in our Mother’s womb.

We pray for all Mother’s that they may never lose heart nor ever be taken for granted.

We pray for all for whose relationship with their Mother is complicated.

We pray for all who are unable to be Mothers.

May your Church open wide her arms to embrace all who come to her at this time.

Lord, come to bless us.

Fill us with your Spirit.

Generous God, you sent your Holy Spirit upon your Messiah at the River Jordan, and upon the disciples in the upper room.

In your mercy fill us with your Spirit.

Hear our prayer,
and make us one in heart and mind
to serve you with joy for ever.

Amen.

Hymn

For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
sun and moon and stars of light:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For the joy of human love
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
pleasures pure and undefiled:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For thy Church which evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
off’ring up on ev’ry shore
her pure sacrifice of love:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.