(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
This service has been compiled for use at our Circuit Service on 21st July, at Northcliffe Church. This will be our farewell service for Rev Christine Crabtree as she moves to take up a new appointment in the Coventry and Nuneaton Circuit. We give thanks for Christine’s ministry in the circuit and ask a blessing upon Christine and Stephen as they journey on to a new place.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Call to worship
In our comings and our goings
Be with us in our journeying, Lord.
In the welcome we give
and in the farewell which we offer
Be present in our relationships, Lord.
In times of gathering and in times of sending
Be there in the midst of us, Lord,
and as we worship you.
Song – StF 41 – Blessed be your name
Be in our midst, and gather us together
© Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission
Be in our midst, and gather us together,
and let your loving-kindness be our guide.
Help us discern your image in each other,
and walk with humble footsteps by your side.
Send us to work, O Lord, Almighty Giver,
‘till all who thirst and hunger now are filled.
Let justice thunder like a mighty river,
And let the storms of strife and conflict now be stilled.
When all the world’s great sorrows overtake us,
and we are crushed by centuries of pain,
lend us your strength, and lovingly remake us
that by your grace we may be whole again.
And when the sins of passing generations
make all the wounds of hist’ry still fee raw,
send out your healing power among the nations,
and fill this broken earth with heaven’s piece once more.
Grant us that peace beyond the mind’s discerning,
Help us to live the truth that sets us free.
And may the Spirit’s fire within us burning
help us become who we are called to be.
In eager longing for your new creation,
a world reshaped by love and hope and grace,
with Christ the Prince of Peace as our foundation,
we’ll build your kingdom now, in this and every place.
Bible Readings:
To think about
Reading for prayer and reflection: ‘Summon out what I can be’
Jesus, God incarnate, living love,
healing and mending brokenness;
giving blind folk sight; insight;
showing those paralysed by themselves
how to leap and dance again;
miracle-worker who releases from self-imposed captivity
prisoners who have forgotten how and what it is to live.
Look kindly on your people gathered here;
identify what is lacking in us;
and work your work so we might become
all that heaven intends.
Jesus, God incarnate, living love;
restorer and reshaper;
life creator and new-life maker;
look kindly on your people gathered here,
and see all the potential that remains dormant and unused
for love lies latent within is.
Summon out the best in us:
the way we might care for each other more gently;
the way we might be more generous with our time;
the way we might support your precious people
in all their difficulties.
Release the energy from within us
so we can help others to live life to the full.
Jesus, God incarnate, living love;
set your seal upon our hearts,
so that we are more willing
to embrace the pain and needs of a suffering world,
for many are disabled
by those whose intention is to direct and control.
Many are too weak to stand up for themselves against authority.
Many have no other option but to do as they are told.
And many, far, far too many,
are forced into only existing, and no more than that.
Summon out the good in us, to work new miracles for you,
by taking your light, your hope, your freedom,
your peace and your security
to those who don’t know it,
and who need heaven’s power to make their being more content and complete.
To consider
Look at the photographs of decorated crosses printed on these sheets. These and other similar pictures will be shared during Christine’s farewell service. Christine suggested that church members might like to decorate crosses in their own homes during the time of lockdown in 2020. Photos of the crosses were shared as a means of encouraging one another at a difficult time and as a reminder of the new life which is to be found in Jesus. Today’s gospel reading encourages us to ‘take up our cross’ as we follow Jesus. How might you offer yourself in service at the present time in ways that share the Good News of Jesus with others?
Prayers of Intercession
We pray for:
Those on the move voluntarily, their leaving and arriving.
God who walks with us: Take our hand and steer our path.
Those on the move involuntarily, and those seeking to make them welcome.
God who walks with us: Take our hand and steer our path.
Those staying put, especially those who feel trapped.
God who walks with us: Take our hand and steer our path.
One another, in all our journeying, great and small.
God who walks with us: Take our hand and steer our path.
The church in every place, from fine cathedral to shanty hut, and in this place.
God who walks with us: Take our hand and steer our path.
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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Song – StF 662 – Have you heard God’s voice? – Jacqueline G. Jones
Have you heard God’s voice; has your heart been stirred?
Are you still prepared to follow?
Have you made a choice to remain and serve,
though the way be rough and narrow?
Will you walk the path that will cost you much
and embrace the pain and sorrow?
Will you trust in One who entrusts to you
the disciples of tomorrow?
Will you use your voice; will you not sit down
when the multitudes are silent?
Will you make a choice to stand your ground
when the crowds are turning violent?
Will you walk the path that will cost you much
and embrace the pain and sorrow?
Will you trust in One who entrusts to you
the disciples of tomorrow?
In your city streets will you be God’s heart?
Will you listen to the voiceless?
Will you stop and eat, and when friendships start,
will you share your faith with the faithless?
Will you walk the path that will cost you much
and embrace the pain and sorrow?
Will you trust in One who entrusts to you
the disciples of tomorrow?
Will you watch the news with the eyes of faith
and believe it could be different?
Will you share your views using words of grace?
Will you leave a thoughtful imprint?
We will walk the path that will cost us much
and embrace the pain and sorrow.
We will trust in One who entrusts to us
the disciples of tomorrow.
Words for a blessing:
God go with you this day and every day
As you walk in the way of Jesus
And in the presence and power of the Spirit.
Amen.
Acknowledgments: Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ‘Summon out what I can be’, copyright, Glendon Macaulay, from Dirt, Mess and Danger, published by Wild Goose Publications, 4th Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3DH, with permission to use in worship services. Prayers produced by the Circuit Ministry Team.
