Dear Friends
Licentiate Paul Jeffrey's has very kindly put together a resource for home worship for those who may not be able to use Facebook or Youtube or who may not have access to the internet.
It could be printed off and put in a persons postbox if they are in need of such a resource. Please click on the link Worship from the Home for a pdf version.
See below for the text:
WORSHIPPING FROM HOME
ORDER OF SERVICE
It is recommended that you read the prayers and readings aloud.
Before starting, consider taking a few moments of silence to prepare yourself for worship; and to dedicate this time to God. You could use this time to review the past day or week; thanking God for the blessings in your life; asking God for forgiveness for what you got wrong; and asking for God’s help with things or situations that are causing you to worry. If there is anything in particular on your heart or mind, take a moment to pray about it now.
Opening Words
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.
Readings of the Day
(See below)
Silence
Concluding Prayer
You may add a prayer of thanksgiving of your own choosing before concluding with:
Now, let your servant be in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation. Which You have prepared in the sight of all people; To be a light to lighten all Nations and to be the glory of your people Israel.
Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Sunday19 April 2020
Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20: 19-31
Sunday 26 April 2020
Acts 2: 14a, 36-41; Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19; 1 Peter 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 13-35
Sunday 3 May 2020
Acts 2: 42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2: 19-25; John 10: 1-10
Sunday 10 May 2020
Acts 7: 55-60; Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2: 2-10; John 14: 1-14
Sunday 17 May 2020
Acts 17: 22-31; Psalm 66: 8-20; 1 Peter 3: 13-22; John 14: 15-21
Thursday 21 May 2020
Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1: 1-11; Psalm 47 or Psalm 93; Ephesians 1: 15-23; Luke 24: 44-53
Sunday 24 May 2020
If Ascension not observed here:
Acts 1: 6-14; Psalm 68: 1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4: 12-14; 5: 6-11
Sunday 31 May 2020
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
1 Samuel 2: 1-10; Psalm 113; Romans 12: 9-16b; Luke 1: 39-57
Day of Pentecost
Numbers 11: 24-30; Psalm 104: 24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13 or Acts 2: 1-21; John 20: 19-23 or John 7: 37-39
The readings after Sunday 31 May 2020 can be found here:
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE
OR
LECTIO DIVINA
This is a dynamic way of reading the Scriptures that has been around since AD 300. It has four steps; (i)Reading; (ii)Meditation; (iii)Praying; and (iv)Contemplation.
It invites you to savour and mull over God's word quietly, slowly and intently. It gives you the space to respond to what you feel God is saying and helps you build a vital bridge between your encounters with God and everyday life with its joys, humdrum routine and challenges.
Rather than approaching the Bible as a text to be studied, this approaches the Bible as the living word and seeks an increased knowledge of Christ through a prayerful reading of Scripture. A useful way is through a continuous reading of the Gospels. Starting with Matthew, read and reflect on a small number of verses every day. When you eventually reach the end of John, go back to Matthew. Another way is to use the Sunday Gospel reading. If a Gospel reading is particularly long, you could break it down and work your way through it in the week ahead.
Instructions
Preparation – Centering Prayer:
Choose a sacred word (for example, Maranatha, meaning “come our lord”) or short phrase (for example, “Lord, have mercy”, “Lord hear us” etc) as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within. When engaged with your thoughts*, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes. *Thoughts include body sensations, feeling, images, and reflections.
Step 1 – Reading: Read through the Bible verses of the day slowly and aloud. Listen for a word or a phrase that feels significant right now and is capturing your attention – even if you don’t know why. Gently repeat this word to yourself in silence.
Step 2 – Meditation: As the same Bible verses are read again, allow the word or the phrase that caught your attention in the first step to spark your imagination. Savour the word or the phrase with all your senses; notice what smells, sounds, tastes, sights, and feelings are evoked. Then listen for what images, feelings, and memories are stirring, welcoming them in, and then savouring and resting into this experience.
Step 3 – Praying: As the Bible verses are read for a third time, listen for an invitation rising up from your experience of prayer so far. Consider the word or phrase and what it has evoked for you in memory, image, or feeling; what is the invitation? This invitation may be a summons towards a new awareness or action.
Step 4 – Contemplation: We move into a time for resting, and allowing your heart to fill with gratitude. Slow your thoughts and reflections even further and sink into the experience of stillness. Rest here for a few minutes, and allow yourself to simply be. Return to your breath if you find yourself distracted.
Closing – The Lord’s Prayer.
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SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Amen.
Silent prayer of intercession
“The tradition which I received from the Lord, and handed on to you,” wrote the Apostle Paul to the Church in Corinth, “is that the Lord Jesus, on the night the he was betrayed, took bread and gave thanks, and broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, given up for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. And so with the cup, when supper was ended, This cup, he said, is the new testament, in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, for a commemoration of me.
So it is the Lord’s death that you are heralding, whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, until he comes. (1 Cor 11: 23-26)
Scripture
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Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me. (Rev 3: 20)
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You prepare a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Ps 23: 5-6)
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I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me, you can do nothing. (John 15: 5)
Silent prayer of confession
The Lord’s Prayer
The Communion
Lord Jesus Christ, just as the hem of your garment, touched in faith, healed the woman who could not touch your body, so may my soul be healed by like faith in you, whom I cannot receive now in bread and wine. Come spiritually into my heart as I unite myself to you; praying that I should never be separated from you. Amen.
Silent prayer of thanksgiving
Concluding Prayer: A prayer for your nearest and dearest; and for yourself
The Lord bless us and keep us; The Lord make his face to shine upon us
And be gracious to us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us;
And give us peace. Amen.