Printable services for those unable to attend St C

MC900155368[1]

St Clement Church Community Easter Season Service

Good morning to you all on this last Sunday of Easter.

Thursday 9^th was Ascension Day and next Sunday 19^th May is the day of Pentecost. There will be a Eucharist in our church building, this service is for you to read at home if you’re unable to worship with us in person.

Much love and prayers and may Christ’s love sustain you always.

Rev Di and family xx

It is still the season to say; Alleluia! Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Let us pray;

Heavenly Father, we are not people of fear: we are people of courage. We are not people of greed: we are people of generosity. We are your people God, giving and loving, wherever we are, wherever you call us.

Amen.

Hymn; ‘Alleluia, sing to Jesus’

Our prayers of Penitence

Jesus Christ, our triumphant risen Lord, as this Easter season comes to a close, we confess to you our weakness and unbelief.

When we have lived by our own strength, and not by the power of your resurrection. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.

When we have lived by the light of our own eyes, as faithless and not believing. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.

When we have lived for this earthly life alone, and doubted our home in heaven. In your mercy, forgive us and help us.

May Almighty God have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins and failings, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray our Collect for the seventh Sunday of Easter

Risen ascended Lord, as we rejoice at your triumph, fill your Church on earth with power and compassion, that all who are estranged from us might find your peace, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Readings:

Acts 1. 15-17, 21-end

1 John 5. 9-13

Hymn; ‘Jesus shall Reign where’er the Sun’

The Gospel Reading

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (17. 6-19)

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’

Jesus said; ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Reflection

For those of us who have had children, looking around at our ages, I think it’d be safe to assume that they have probably flown the nest, thankfully, we might say. But our parenting role never ends does it? Those of us who are grandparents worry just as much about our grandchildren as we do our children.

Somehow our eldest grandson moved in with us at the vicarage during covid and never went back home, we’re still trying to work out how that happened! And we used to call our eldest daughter ‘Boomer’ short for boomerang as she kept returning to us!

But mainly, our children are their own people now, the children who used to curl up on the sofa next to us to watch TV or listen to a story, are now very much out into the world. And we never stop worrying about them do we, whatever their age; because ‘the world’ can be a scary place.

And as we think about this parenting image, we can get a glimpse of how Jesus must have been feeling as he prayed in our gospel reading today.

Jesus had spent three years with his disciples. He’d lived with them, taught and encouraged, chastised and cared for them. They’d laughed and cried together, shared their ministry, and now the time had arrived when Jesus was about to leave them. And so, as Jesus prays, he’s reflecting on the reality of what’s to come, he’s aware that, when he leaves, the disciples will be without him until given the gift of the Holy Spirit. And even then, they wouldn’t be physically with him again in this earthly life. Last Thursday, was Ascension Day, Jesus returned to his Father and the disciples were left ‘in the world’.

But when we hear about ‘the world’ in this sense, it’s not the created order which is being referred to: the sea, the sky, and the earth beneath our feet… instead ‘The world’ is being used as a metaphor for all that is anti-Christ. So Jesus spends time praying for the disciples, aware of the dangers that lie ahead of them.

And I think for us, as disciples of Jesus, there are two themes that come through here. Firstly, just as there was a purpose then for the disciples being left behind in the world, that mission continues in us, in our world today. Jesus once said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Few we are – and there is much to do. And the reality is that, if we’re to complete the mission, we must work together.

Unity of purpose is crucial if we are to be effective, and that’s just what Jesus prays for. “Protect them so they may be one…”

But Christian unity isn’t about us all being one denomination and worshipping in the same way. Thank goodness for that you might think……When Jesus says, “May they be one, as we are one…” I believe he means our unity should reflect the nature and one-ness of God.

Because even in the Trinity, there’s diversity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – one God but three separate Persons, three separate functions, if you like, all striving towards the same goal, undertaking the mission of God. But that’s a theory for a sermon on Trinity Sunday, and wish me luck with that one, I’ve not been able to dodge it this year, have I Liz?!

Secondly, Jesus prays for protection for those left behind. “They are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them…” The disciples would face dangers; we read in the Acts of the Apostles about these, we know from church history that all of them, except John, were martyred. The history of the church is one of persecution by ‘the world’, and even in our small way, we too may face difficulties through our profession of faith.

We often have to make certain choices in life, we’re not always able to choose the easy path; and Jesus prays for our protection in the midst of this. Which is good for us to remember, I think at this particular time, as we face changes in our church life we need to know God is with us, guiding and leading the way ahead.

The gospel today gives us the assurance we need. Jesus is interceding for us, praying for us, providing protection for us in the difficulties we face.

So this is a beautiful passage for us to share this morning.

We are reminded of our purpose in life; that we have a mission to engage with, and though we may all be different, and offer different gifts, our mission is essentially the same. We are to engage our whole being, everything we are, to glorify God’s name.

And even though life may throw us obstacles, difficulties and struggles, Jesus continues to pray for us and God will protect us.

We are in the world. But we go out in the strength and grace of God, and that is all we need. In the words of St Julian of Norwich, ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’ Amen.

Hymn; ’Breathe on me, Breath of God’

Affirmation of our faith

Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;

he was buried; he was raised to life on the third day and afterwards he appeared to his followers and to all the apostles:

this we have received, and this we believe.

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

Our Intercessions are written by Helen Dunbar

Let us pray for the church and for the world and thank God for his goodness.

We pray for Church leaders, family members and friends whose influence has led us to worship here this morning.

We give thanks for those who seek to make peace in this divided world; for all the leaders of nations that they may have the courage and wisdom to do what is right for all, that their hearts may be turned to you in the search for righteousness and truth; for those working to improve international relationships, that they may find the true way of reconciliation, for those who suffer as a result of war; that the plight of refugees, the homeless and hungry may be addressed.

Bless all who work to bring about relief. Inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts and guide the nations of the world towards that day when all will rejoice in your kingdom of justice and peace.