Holy Communion
Easter Season All Age Communion and baptism of Henry Trounson
A warm welcome to the parish church of All Saints with Holy Trinity.
In this Easter season we are continuing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. After the sombre tone of Lent and Holy Week the church is now adorned with flowers and the cry of Alleluia fills our worship.
Today we gather for an All Age service of Communion where Henry Trounson will be baptised and welcomed formally into the church family. The liturgy we use today echoes some of what is used in Children’s Church that gathers in Fearon Hall on other weeks. Please be aware the service is being live streamed to our YouTube channel so if you would prefer your children are not seen on camera please sit in the outer aisles.
All those who have been baptised in any church tradition are welcome to receive communion here. Currently the bread is dipped into the wine by the minister and then placed in your hand. If you need a gluten free wafer please speak to one of the stewards before the service.
We are still asking members of the congregation to wear a face mask (unless exempt) when entering and moving around the building and to consider leaving it on throughout the service and sit in the outer aisles and towards the back of church if you wish to remove it. This is to support members of our congregation who would otherwise feel unable to attend worship.
We are part of the Inclusive Church network and as such we seek to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ. We are a work in progress and welcome anyone who wishes to journey with us.
To stay in touch and receive regular email updates from All Saints send your contact details to [email protected] or speak to a steward and leave your name, address and phone number if you would prefer this way to be contacted.
Before the service begins there is an informal welcome.
The Gathering
The introit Psalm 150 by Bob Chilcott is sung.
Processional hymn 208
Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky
All stand to sing the first hymn as the music begins.
The Greeting
In my head
In my heart
And all around me
Jesus is here
In my head
In my heart
And all around me
Jesus is here
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The theme of the service introduced
Presentation of the Baptism Candidate
Henry is presented to the congregation
Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me. Do not stop them.’
We thank God for Henry who has come to be baptised today. Christ loves him and welcomes him into his Church.
So I ask you all:
Will you support this child as he begins his journey in faith?
We will
Will you help him to love and grow within God’s family?
We will
The minister then says to the parents and godparents
God knows each of us by name and we are his.
Parents and godparents, you speak for Henry today.
Will you pray for him and help him to follow Christ?
We will
Gloria in Excelsis
We stand to sing the ancient hymn of praise to the familiar tune of ‘Thine be the Glory’
Glory to God! Our hearts to you we raise!
Joy and peace on earth, in highest heaven praise!
Songs of adoration, Lord to you we bring,
praising your great goodness, Father, heav’nly King.
Glory to God! Our hearts to you we raise!
Joy and peace on earth, in highest heaven praise!
Son of the Father, bearing this world’s sin,
Lamb of God, have mercy, grant us peace within.
You, O Christ are holy, you alone are Lord,
with the Holy Spirit ever more adored.
Glory to God! Our hearts to you we raise!
Joy and peace on earth, in highest heaven praise!
The Collect
The president introduces a period of silent prayer with the words ‘let us pray’. All remain standing for the period of silence and the collect - the special prayer for the day.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
We sit to listen to the reading appointed for the day.
Here ends the reading
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
We stand and sing together Halle, Halle, Halle-lu-jah! as the Gospel book is carried to the middle of the church and the congregation turn to face the reader.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to n.
Glory to you, O Lord.
The deacon or assisting minister reads the Gospel for the day.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
We sing Halle, Halle, Halle-lu-jah! as the gospel is carried to the credence table.
Talk
Prayers of Intercession
The prayer may use one of the following responses and close with :
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
OR
Lord hear us; Lord graciously hear us
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Liturgy of Baptism
The Decision
The minister addresses the candidates through their parents and godparents
In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
To follow Christ means dying to sin and rising to new life with him.
Therefore I ask:
Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?
I reject them.
Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?
I renounce them.
Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?
I repent of them.
Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I turn to Christ.
Do you submit to Christ as Lord?
I submit to Christ.
Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?
I come to Christ.
Signing with the Cross
The minister makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of Henry saying
Christ claims you for his own
Receive the sign of his cross
Others may also make the sign of the cross on the candidates
Henry do not be ashamed of Christ.
You are his forever.
Stand bravely with him
Against all the powers of evil
And remain faithful to Christ to the end of your life.
May almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness
And lead you in the light and obedience of Christ.
Amen
We all stand to sing and as we do the ministers and baptism family process to the font, please turn to face them and feel free to move so you can see what is happening.
Processional hymn to the font
Hakuna Wakaita Sa Jesu (There is no one like Jesus)
Sung in Shona
Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu
Hakuna wakaita saye
Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu
Haku hakuchina repeat
Ndamhanya mhanya kwese kwese
Ndatenderera kwese kwese
Ndatsvaga tsvaga kwese kwese
Haku hakuchina repeat
Prayer over the Water
Praise God who made heaven and earth,
who keeps his promise for ever.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ
was baptized in the river Jordan,
we thank you for the gift of water
to cleanse and revive us.
Saving God, give us life.
We thank you that through
the waters of the Red Sea
you led your people out of slavery
to freedom in the Promised Land.
Saving God, give us life.
We thank you that through
the deep waters of death
you brought your Son,
and raised him to life in triumph.
Saving God, give us life.
Bless this water,
that your servants who are washed in it
may be made one with Christ
in his death and resurrection,
to be cleansed and delivered from all sin.
Saving God, give us life.
Send your Holy Spirit upon them,
bring them to new birth in the household of faith
and raise them with Christ to full and eternal life;
for all might, majesty, authority and power are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Profession of Faith
Brothers and sisters I ask you to profess together the faith of the Church
Do you believe and trust in God the Father,
Source of all being and life,
The one for whom we exist?
I believe and trust in him
Do you believe and trust in God the Son,
Who took our human nature,
Died for us and rose again?
I believe and trust in him
Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
Who gives life to the people of God
And makes Christ known in all the world?
I believe and trust in him
This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
The Baptism
The minister pours water on the head of the candidate
Henry Patrick, I baptise you
in the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit. Amen
May God, who has received you by baptism into his Church,
Pour upon you the riches of his grace,
That within the company of Christ’s pilgrim people
You may daily be renewed by his anointing Spirit,
And come to the inheritance of the saints in glory.
Amen
The Welcome
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism:
By one Spirit we are all baptised into one body.
Henry we welcome you into the fellowship of faith;
We are children of the same heavenly Father;
We welcome you.
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.
Alleluia!
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you. Alleluia.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace
We offer a sign of peace to one another as return to our seats and the following hymn is sung
Offertory Hymn 806
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
During this hymn bread and wine are brought forward and the altar-table is prepared. Gifts of the people are symbolically presented in the offertory plate and the president gives thanks for the gifts of time, talent and finance that are offered to the church.
Many people make their financial gift through their bank via PGS but you can also make a one off gift any Sunday through cash or card at the back of church before or after the service.
Taking of the Bread and Wine
Be present, be present,
Lord Jesus Christ,
our risen high priest;
make yourself known in the breaking of bread.
Amen
The priest washes their hands symbolising our desire to come together at the Lord’s table with pure hearts and minds.
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord be with you
And also with you
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.
It is right to praise you, Father; Lord of all creation;
in your love you made us for yourself.
When we turned away
you did not reject us,
but came to meet us in your Son.
You embraced us as your children
and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
In Christ you shared our life
that we might live in him and he in us.
He opened his arms of love upon the cross
and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the night he was betrayed,
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and 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.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his body is the bread of life.
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 for the forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance of me.
Father, we do this in remembrance of him:
his blood is shed for all.
As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory,
send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine
may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink these holy gifts
make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.
With your whole Church throughout the world
we offer you this sacrifice of praise
and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:
Holy, most holy, all holy the Lord,
in power and wisdom for ever adored!
The earth and the heavens are full of your love;
our joyful hosannas re-echo above!
Blessèd, most blessèd, all blessèd is he
whose life makes us whole and whose death sets us free;
who comes in the name of the Father of light,
let endless hosannas resound in the height!
We kneel or sit and observe a moment of silence
The Lord’s Prayer
All the nations of the earth are gathered at the table of the Lord. Let us pray with the words our Saviour taught us each praying in our own mother tongue:
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
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
Jesus says I am the bread of life whoever eats this bread will live for ever
Lord our hearts hunger for you; give us this bread always
While the remaining consecrated bread is broken and the communion assistants come to the front we join in with the sung response in the ancient prayer known as the Agnus Dei (Tune: Blaenwern/Love Divine)
Jesus, Lamb of God, Redeemer,
Lamb of God, have mercy on us,
Jesus, Lamb of God, Redeemer,
Lamb of God, grant us your peace.
You, who took on flesh to save us,
Set us free from sin and death,
Jesus, Lamb of God, Redeemer,
Lamb of God, grant us your peace.
Giving of Communion
Alleluia. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
Please come forward when directed by the stewards and fold your arms across your chest if you wish to receive a prayer instead of then bread & wine.
As we share communion the choir sing And I saw a new heaven by Bainton then if there is time we all join in singing the communion hymn number 330 Do not be afraid.
Prayer after Communion
A brief silence is kept before the president says the post communion prayer for the day followed by:
Father of all,
we give you thanks and praise,
what when we were still far of
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 rise 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
The Dismissal
Notices and publishing of the Banns of Marriage.
The Blessing
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen you to walk with him in his risen life;
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you, and remain with you always.
Amen.
Recessional Hymn 766
Praise my soul the King of heaven
During the singing of this hymn Henry receives a candle lit from the Easter Candle. The servers and ministers process along with the baptism family, others children are welcome to join the procession. Please turn to face the ministers.
Giving of a Lighted Candle
God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
And has given us a place with the saints in light.
Henry you have received the light of Christ;
Walk in this light all the days of your life.
Shine as a light in the world
To the glory of God the Father.
The Dismissal
He is not here. He is risen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the name of Christ. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia.
An organ voluntary is played.
Henry (and his Mum and Dad!) would be very pleased if you would join them for refreshments afterwards which are served in the chancel.