The Gathering

Our worship begins at the sound of the bell, please stand as the sacred ministers enter, during which the introit hymn is sung.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; 
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art, 
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night, 
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light. 

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word, 
Be thou ever with me, and I with thee, Lord, 
Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son, 
Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one. 

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight, 
Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might, 
Be thou my soul’s shelter, be thou my strong tow’r, 
O raise thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r. 

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, 
Be thou mine inheritance now and always, 
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart, 
O Sov’reign of heaven, my treasure thou art. 

High King of heaven, thou heaven’s bright Sun, 
O grant me its joys after vict’ry is won, 
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, 
Still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.  

Words: Irish (c. 8^th century)
translated by M. Byrne (1880-1931) and E. Hull (1860-1935)
Music: Traditional Irish melody
Hymn Tune: SLANE

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Greeting

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

and also with you.

Words of Welcome

Invitation to Confession

As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of God’s love,
revealed in Word and Sacrament,
let us call to mind our sins.

Silence is kept.

Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour,
in what we have thought,
in what we have said and done,
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded your love,
and marred your image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed,
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and lead us out from darkness
to walk as children of light.
Amen.

May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Gloria in Excelsis

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

The Collect

The president introduces a period of silent prayer with the words ‘Let us pray’.

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Please sit.

The Liturgy of the Word

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Galatians 5.1,13-25

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Please stand as the gradual hymn is sung. To symbolise our desire to turn to Christ in our daily lives, at the end of the hymn we remain standing and turn to face the place where the Gospel is proclaimed.

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know,
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you, and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind,
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare,
Will you let me answer prayer
In you, and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the pris’ners free,
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you, and you in me?

Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside,
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you, and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you,
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you, and you in me.

Words: J. L. Bell (b. 1949) and G. Maule (1958-2019)
Music: Scottish traditional melody arr. C. Tambling (1964-2015)
Hymn Tune: KELVINGROVE

Gospel Reading

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

When the days drew near for him be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Luke 9. 51-62

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Please sit after the preacher leads us in prayer.

Affirmation of faith

Please stand with the president.

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.

We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

cf Ephesians 3

Prayers of Intercession

Following an invitation to pray from the intercessor we sit to pray.

The response to the bidding:

Lord, in your mercy.

Hear our prayer.

then at the end:

Merciful Father,

accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The Liturgy of the Sacrament

Please stand with the president.

The Peace

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.
If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit.

cf Galatians 5.22,23

The peace of the Lord be always with you

and also with you.

Preparation of the Table

The table is prepared and bread and wine are placed upon it.

A hymn is sung. During this hymn a collection, our financial offering in support of the work of the church both at St. Mary’s and across our diocese, is taken.

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Saviour, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep,
And calm, amid its rage didst sleep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O sacred Spirit, who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
Who bid’st its angry tumult cease,
And gavest light and life and peace:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and pow’r,
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour.
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them whereso’er they go:
And ever let there rise to thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Words: W. Whiting (1825-1878)
Music: J. B. Dykes (1823-1876)
Hymn Tune: MELITA

Taking of the Bread and Wine

Wise and gracious God,
you spread a table before us;
nourish your people with the word of life
and the bread of heaven.

Amen.

The Eucharistic Prayer (G)

Please kneel or sit.

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.

Blessed are you, Lord God,
our light and our salvation;
to you be glory and praise for ever.
From the beginning you have created all things
and all your works echo the silent music of your praise.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
the crown of all creation.
You give us breath and speech, that with angels and archangels
and all the powers of heaven
we may find a voice to sing your praise:

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.

How wonderful the work of your hands, O Lord.
As a mother tenderly gathers her children,
you embraced a people as your own.
When they turned away and rebelled
your love remained steadfast.
From them you raised up Jesus our Saviour, born of Mary,
to be the living bread,
in whom all our hungers are satisfied.
He offered his life for sinners,
and with a love stronger than death
he opened wide his arms on the cross.

On the night before he died,
he came to supper with his friends
and, taking bread, he gave you thanks.
He broke it and gave it to them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and said:
Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.

Father, we plead with confidence
his sacrifice made once for all upon the cross;
we remember his dying and rising in glory,
and we rejoice that he intercedes for us at your right hand.
Pour out your Holy Spirit as we bring before you
these gifts of your creation;
may they be for us the body and blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy things in your presence,
form us in the likeness of Christ,
and build us into a living temple to your glory.

Remember, Lord, your Church in every land.
Reveal her unity, guard her faith,
and preserve her in peace
that in communion with Stephen our Archbishop,
Nick our Bishop we may be faithful to our calling as your people.
Bring us at the last with Blessed Mary,
Cyril of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Peter and Paul and all the saints
to the vision of that eternal splendour
for which you have created us;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
by whom, with whom, and in whom,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven,
we worship you, Father almighty, in songs of everlasting praise:

Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours for ever and ever.
Amen.

Silence is kept.

The Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Breaking of the Bread

The president breaks the consecrated bread.

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.

The Agnus Dei is sung as the bread is broken for distribution.

Jesus, Lamb of God,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, bearer of our sins,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, redeemer of the world,
grant us peace.

Invitation to Communion

Jesus is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
Blessed are those who are called to his supper.

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word, and I shall be healed.

The president and people receive communion. All baptised Christians are welcome to receive the sacrament. Please follow the guidance offered by the stewards.

If you are not baptised, or would prefer to not receive then do still come forward for a blessing bringing this book with you so the president knows your intention.

The sacrament is available in both kinds, however if you wish to only receive the bread please do so and then return to your place. Receiving in one kind is still considered to be full communion by the Church of England. Please do not dip bread in the wine (sometimes called ‘intincting’).

To the words “The Body/Blood of Christ” the communicant replies “Amen”.

For those at home it might be helpful to use this prayer during the distribution.

Lord God, Almighty, rule in our hearts:
direct our decisions, guide our actions,
let your kingdom grow in us,
that we may live and work to your praise and glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen.

Choir Anthem

‘Dear Lord and Father’

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Re-clothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper rev’rence praise,
In deeper rev’rence praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee,
Rise up and follow thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love,
Interpreted by love!

Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace,
The beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm,
O still small voice of calm!

Words: J. G, Whittier (1807-1892)
Music: C. H. H. Parry (1848-1918)
arr. H. A Chambers (1880-1967)

One or two communion hymns may be sung during the distribution as time allows. Please remain seated.

Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.

O magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt his name;
When in distress to him I called,
He to my rescue came.

The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliv’rance he affords to all
Who on his succour trust.

O make but trial of his love:
Experience will decide
How blest are they, and only they,
Who in his truth confide.

Fear him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you his service your delight,
Your wants shall be his care.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God whom we adore,
Be glory as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Words: Psalm 34 in ‘New Version’ (Tate and Brady, 1696)
Music: G. T. Smart (1776-1867)
Hymn Tune: WILTSHIRE

Fight the good fight with all thy might;
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.

Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes and seek his face;
Life with its way before us lies;
Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.

Cast care aside, lean on thy guide;
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its life, and Christ its love.

Faint not nor fear, his arms are near;
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.

Words: J. S. B. Monsell (1811-1875) alt.
Music: melody attributed to J. Hatton (d. 1793)
Hymn Tune: DUKE STREET

The Post Communion Prayer

Please stand with the president who introduces a time of silent prayer with the words ‘Let us pray’.

Loving Father,
we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son:
sustain us with your Spirit,
that we may serve you here on earth
until our joy is complete in heaven,
and we share in the eternal banquet
with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Father of all,
we give you thanks and praise,
that when we were still far off
you met us in your Son and brought us home.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.
May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life;
we who drink his cup bring life to others;
we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.
Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,
so we and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

A hymn is sung.

Go forth and tell! O Church of God, awake!
God’s saving news to all the nations take:
Proclaim Christ Jesus, Saviour, Lord and King,
That all the world his worthy praise may sing.

Go forth and tell! God’s love embraces all;
He will in grace respond to all who call;
How shall they call if they have never heard
The gracious invitation of his word?

Go forth and tell! where still the darkness lies;
In wealth or want, the sinner surely dies:
Give us, O Lord, concern of heart and mind,
A love like yours which cares for all mankind.

Go forth and tell! the doors are open wide:
Share God’s good gifts — let no one be denied;
Live out your life as Christ your Lord shall choose,
Your ransomed pow’rs for his sole glory use.

Go forth and tell! O Church of God, arise!
Go in the strength which Christ your Lord supplies;
Go till all nations his great name adore
And serve him, Lord and King, for evermore.

Words: J. E. Seddon (1915-1983)
Music: W. Greatorex (1877-1949)
Hymn Tune: WOODLANDS

The Dismissal

The Blessing

The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen.

The Dismissal

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ. Amen.