(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) Mission Praise (MP) and Hymns and Psalms (H&P) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Northcliffe Church Shipley, a local ecumenical partnership between the Methodist and United Reformed Churches and led by Rev Nick Blundell, one of our Circuit Ministers. This is Action for Children Sunday, and we are using material produced by the charity in our service today. I’ve included some of the stage directions from the Action for Children material, so You’ll have to use your imagination and picture what’s going on! For example……..
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Introduction
“Ask: Who likes tomatoes? (hold up tomatoes) Has anyone ever tried growing them? I’ve got some things that might help – A pot – it’ll hold the compost. Some instructions – I might need them later. A watering can – because plants need water. Plant food – food to help the plant grow. Seeds. A garden cane – that will come in handy to support the plant as it grows. String – useful to tie it to the cane to support it as it grows bigger. Secateurs – very useful to snip off any dead leaves and broken bits. Well, I’m all set now. I wonder if we’ll hear anything more about growing plants today? “
Prayer
Loving Lord, in your love you call us together to spend time with you and one another. Be in our listening, our speaking, our wondering and our pondering. Support us and challenge us, so that we in turn can support and challenge people and places and systems – in your name. Amen.
Song – H&P 631 – Awake, awake to love and work
‘To give and give and give again what God has given thee, to spend thyself nor count the cost, to serve right gloriously the God who gave all worlds that are, and all that are to be.’
Reading
Micah 6:8
‘God has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’
Drama
(Two people are sitting across a table, each with a mug of coffee).
Chris: What did you make of that bit we heard the preacher go on about this morning?
Mel: What bit?
Chris: Well, ‘acting justly’ for a start.
Mel: I suppose I thought that was about being fair; you know, not cheating.
Chris: Oh, like not throwing yourself down in the box to get a penalty.
Mel: Yeah, I suppose; but maybe there’s a bit more to it.
Chris: Oh no, sounds like we’re going deep here!
Mel: It’s not just about not cheating, it’s about being unfairly treated, like…(Chris interrupts)
Chris: Like the ref giving the penalty after the dive in the box.
Mel: Well, I suppose you’d have one set of happy fans and one set who were far from it.
Chris: More like ‘riot on’, I’d say.
Mel: Hmm. What I mean is that some have all they need and some, through no fault of their own, have nothing.
Chris: I wouldn’t say all they need – they’d like a few more goals – nothing like a trouncing!
Mel: It’s like the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Chris: No, they still get their pay, win or lose – footballers get thousands, you know.
Mel: (firmly) I’m not talking about football.
Chris: Well, you’ve lost me now.
Mel: I’m just thinking outside the box.
Chris: The penalty box?
Mel: I was thinking about some people having all they need and some not having enough!
Chris: Oh, right.
Mel: And it’s got me thinking about the folks we hear about on the news who cannot make ends meet.
Chris: Never mind on the news – there’s folk in my street.
Mel: Well, don’t you sometimes think it’s not fair?
Chris: I’ve not thought about it much to be honest.
Mel: Well, me neither until today, until I heard that bit about ‘walking justly’.
Chris: I wouldn’t be too hard on your self – the cost of living crisis isn’t your fault.
Mel: That’s not the point – I just feel I have to do something.
Chris: Don’t know what – unless you win the Lottery; it’s a ‘roll over’ tonight.
Mel: (thoughtfully) Maybe I can sign a petition.
Chris: What for?
Mel: Something to be done.
Chris: Half price tickets to the match – I’d sign that one.
Mel: No – to cut rents or raise allowances or do something to help families live better.
Chris: Might be worth a try.
Mel: Or maybe I can find a charity that helps, and give them a pound or two.
Chris: What’ll that do then?
Mel: It might at least show people someone cares, and it might help to make things better.
Chris: Could be worth a punt.
Mel: (smiling) It might help to ‘level up the playing field’.
Chris: (looking at his watch) Kick off! Let’s get going. (both drink up their coffee).
Song – MP 806 or StF 693 – Beauty for brokenness
‘God of the poor, friend of the week, give us compassion we pray: melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain; come, change our love from a spark to a flame.’
Introduction to Bible reading
“Show a growing plant in a pot, a tomato plant if possible. Ask if anyone knows what it is. Continue with the props bag from the Introduction. Ask if anyone remembers what was in the bag to help grow a tomato plant. Display the relevant items again. Today’s reading mentions a gardener and a plant, not a tomato plant but a grape vine. When you hear the word ‘fruit’, can you shout out the words ‘or tomatoes’? Read the passage, pausing each time the word ‘fruit’ is said to allow everyone to shout ‘or tomatoes’.”
Reading
John 15:1-12 The Vine and the Branches
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Song – StF 629 or MP 792 or StF 258 – You are the vine, we are the branches, keep us abiding in you
Reflection
I wonder if you have seen a vine growing grapes? The vine can be long and spindly, often growing up and along canes to support it. The grapes hang from the vine in bunches. To grow really good grapes you need to look after the grape vine. It needs planting in soil it likes, watered just enough, and tied up for support as it grows. The vine carries the nutrients to the branches that grow the grapes. If the vine doesn’t get what it needs it cannot feed the branches. The grapes that grow will be little and not as tasty and juicy. It might not be able to produce any grapes at all.
In the story, we heard Jesus using the example of a vine to talk about God’s love and support. God is like the gardener, providing the food and the place to thrive that we need. Jesus is the vine itself, the roots and heart of the plant. We are the branches connected to it. The vine gives us food and water and all we need for our lives – the fruit, the grapes – to be the best that we can be. The story reminds us that we need to stay connected to Jesus, learning from him and living like him. If our choices lead us away from Jesus then we won’t be as ‘fruitful’ as we could be.
But there is even more to this story. After talking about the vine growing, Jesus commanded his followers to ‘Love each other as I have loved you’. As Jesus cares for and guides us, he commands that we, in turn, care for and help others to have positive life opportunities. If we don’t have enough food and water, if we don’t have a good living environment, if we are not supported, then we – like the vine – can struggle to reach our potential. To be fulfilled.
That is true of others too, which brings Jesus’ command into focus. Today, as we focus on the work of Action for Children, we realise that many children do not have all that they need. Many families are struggling to make ends meet, sometimes choosing between food or fuel. Some are caught up in a cycle of debt. Some working families bring home insufficient money to pay the bills. Children living this reality, like the weakened vine, are at risk of not having what they need to thrive.
Loving each other as we are loved is a challenge to us. A challenge to support as we are able though prayer, action, with our voices, in listening to and supporting others, by being aware of what is happening around us, and more. Together, as we are loved and supported by Christ and each other, we can grow strong. Together we can make a difference. And together we can be all that God created us to be.
Offertory prayer
Generous God, thank you for equipping each of us for the work you have called us to do in your name. Accept the gifts we offer here today. May Action for Children use them wisely, as they work to make sure each child has a safe and happy childhood and the foundations they need to thrive.
Compassionate Lord, thank you for your presence in the hearts of those working alongside parents and carers who are struggling; accept the prayers we offer here today. May the practical support Action for Children gives, overturn the poverty, abuse and mental health challenges that stop children from experiencing love in all its fullness.
Encouraging Holy Spirit, thank you for the hope and love you bring to the lives of people forgotten in the shadows. Help us not to accept the ways in which children are robbed of brighter futures. May their voices be heard in Action for Children’s campaigns, and bring lasting improvements for the children. We bring our gifts, our prayers, our hopes in the name of Jesus, who called us all to be branches of the one true vine. Amen.
Song – HP 552 or StF 526 – Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy
Alice’s story
Alice always worked full-time, but after tragically losing her husband to Covid, she had to give up work to support her daughter’s additional care needs. Our recent research showed single-parents like Alice face many practical and financial difficulties as the main carer for a child. It can be much harder to enter and progress in work, afford childcare, or pay for essentials. Many are completely reliant on the social security system and the support of friends, family and charities. Many will have no choice but to get into debt to pay the bills. We’re calling on the government to act now to bring families out of poverty.
Terri’s story
When Terri discovered she was pregnant she found it hard to cope, and the news hit her “like a ton of bricks.” Terri’s two older children live with her Mum. During her pregnancy with Keagan, Terri received support from Action for Children’s programme, Baby Steps, which helped support her with parenting Keagan and keeping in contact with her two daughters.
Anita Jones from Action for Children who has supported Terri says the parenting course covers areas such as babies’ brain development, attachment patterns, parental mental health, and confidence building. Keeping in touch with Terri was also an important part of the course. Terri was given a tablet on which she recorded lots of videos. Anita says, “When you saw the interaction between mother and baby, you could just see how well Terri was doing.”
Speaking about the Action for Children staff who supported her she says, “They were nice, they were calming, they were always helpful. I never felt judged.” And as a result she says, “I believe in myself more as parent.”
“I didn’t think I would pass my assessments to be a Mum again but they have showed me that people with a background like mine can overcome certain stuff in life. And it is about asking for help and it is about receiving the help and accepting it. They have helped me in more ways than I can imagine.”
Prayers
Lord, we hear your words to love one another, but we hardly know where to begin. We see poverty around us. We see children in families that struggle. Help us not to be overwhelmed, but to discover the opportunities we have to loving as you love us. Bless the work of Action for Children in giving practical meaning to love in action. Bless Alice and her daughter, Terri and Keegan, and all with whom Action for Children is working. Amen.
Lord, we pray for those known to us who are in our minds and on our hearts at present. As we name them in the silence, we ask you to bless them, and offer our words and work as part of your blessing.
We bring our prayers with the Spirit’s help and in Jesus’ name. Amen.
We share together in praying the Lord’s Prayer.
Song – HP 436 or StF 518 – Father hear the prayer we offer
Sending and blessing
In the sound of children’s laughter may we hear the joy of God the Creator,
At the fall of excluded children’s tears may we know the anger of God the Son.
In the work of those who care for children may we witness the life of God the Spirit,
And so may the blessing of God, Creator, Son and Spirit, remain with us, and all those we love, now and always. Amen.
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Action for Children Material available at www.media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/Worship_booklet_English_May_2023.pdf
To support Action for Children go to www.actionforchildren.org.uk or if you would like to discuss making a donation please contact the Supporter Services team on 0300 123 2112 (open 9am to 5pm, Mon to Fri)
(CCLI 119945. Service prepared by Rev’d Nick Blundell nickcblund@gmail.com 8 Cecil Ave, BD17 5LH.)
