Sunday Holy Communion
Before the service begins there is an informal welcome. Once the service starts please join in with the words in bold type. The parts in red are instructions or an indication of what is happening. You will find throughout the service there are notes to stand, sit or kneel. These are invitations not commands, so please do whatever helps you to worship.
The Gathering
The choir may sing an Introit a piece of choral music reflecting the theme of the service or the music group may play a song that similarly leads us into worship.
Introit
Praise to the Trinity – Hildegard von Bingen
Processional Hymn - Lord of all power 714
All stand to sing the hymn as the music begins and the servers and ministers process.
Lord of all power, I give you my will,
in joyful obedience your tasks to fulfil.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song,
and, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.
Lord of all wisdom, I give you my mind,
rich truth that surpasses man's knowledge to find.
What eye has not seen and what ear has not heard
is taught by your Spirit and shines from your word.
Lord of all bounty, I give you my heart;
I praise and adore you for all you impart:
your love to inspire me, your counsel to guide,
your presence to cheer me, whatever betide.
Lord of all being, I give you my all;
if e'er I disown you I stumble and fall;
but, sworn in glad service your word to obey,
I walk in your freedom to the end of the way.
The Greeting
Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you.
and also with you.
Additional words of welcome from the president may be given and the theme of the service introduced.
Prayers of Penitence
The deacon or lay assistant invites us to confess our sins using this prayer or with other words and the responses that follow. You may wish to kneel.
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we confess that we have sinned
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy
forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may do justly,
love mercy,
and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen.
OR
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
The president says words of forgiveness in a prayer of absolution.
Amen.
Gloria in Excelsis by Margaret Rizza
We stand to sing this ancient hymn of praise together using either this setting with the choir or the one opposite with the music group.
Gloria in Excelsis by John Foley
Give glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
(Repeat)
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Give glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy upon us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
Give glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Give glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
(Repeat)
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 - and all respond.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
Readings
We sit to listen to one or two readings appointed for the day taken from the Christian scriptures, the Bible. Usually this will be one reading from the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures as it is also called, and then the second from the New Testament which is mostly made up of letters sent to some of the earliest churches.
At the end of each reading the following is said:
Here ends the reading
Thanks be to God.
First Reading: Genesis 1.1- 2.3
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
27 So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ 29 God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
Here ends the reading
Thanks be to God.
Second Reading: Romans 8.18 - 25
18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Here ends the reading
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
We stand and sing together Alleluia as the Gospel book is carried to the middle of the church and the congregation turns to face the reader. The Gospels are the books of the Bible which contain the stories and words of Jesus hence we stand to show how important they are to us.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Matthew 6.25 - end
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
The Gospel for the day is proclaimed.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
We sing Alleluia as the gospel is carried back. We sit after the preacher offers an introductory prayer.
Sermon
After the sermon an anthem, song or piece of music may be played or there is a brief pause for reflection and then all stand to declare the faith of the Church either in the words of the Creed or the Affirmation of Faith on page 10.
The Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
OR
Affirmation of Faith
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
From whom every family
In heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son,
Who lives in our hearts through faith,
And fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit,
Who strengthens us
With power from on high.
We believe in one God;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Prayers of Intercession
All kneel for the prayers, which are led by a member of the congregation, sometimes from the back of the church or from their seat. One of the following responses may be used or another response may be given.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer.
or
Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us
The prayers may conclude with these words:
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
The Peace
We stand. The president introduces the peace with some appropriate words and then says:
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace
Members of the congregation turn to one another and greet their neighbours by saying ‘peace be with you’ and making a sign of peace.
Offertory Hymn - Let us build a house 365
During this hymn bread and wine are brought forward and the altar-table is prepared. The offertory plate is presented, symbolic of the financial gifts of the people, and the president gives thanks for these while the deacon or lay assistant is laying up the altar-table.
Let us build a house where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
all are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground,
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
Taking of the Bread and Wine
When the altar-table is prepared the president offers this prayer.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation:
through your goodness we have this bread to set before you,
which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed be God for ever.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation:
through your goodness we have this wine to set before you,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become for us the cup of salvation.
Blessed be God for ever.
The president 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.
The president praises God for His mighty acts and all respond by singing one of the two settings below.
The Sanctus by Margaret Rizza
OR
The Sanctus by James Macmillan
Holy, holy, holy Lord
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is he, Oh blessed is he
Who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest.
The president recalls the Last Supper and then this acclamation is used.
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.
The prayer continues leading into the final words of praise.
. . . in songs of everlasting praise:
Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours for ever and ever. Amen.
OR
. . . for ever and ever. Amen
We kneel or sit and observe a period of silence.
The Lord’s Prayer
We say this prayer together, each in whichever language is closest to our hearts.. It may be led by a member of the congregation using one of the global languages that make up our intercultural community.
As our saviour taught us, so we pray
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
We break this bread
to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in one bread.
While the ministers break the remaining consecrated bread and the communion assistants come to the front we sing together the ancient prayer known as the Agnus Dei.
Agnus Dei by Margaret Rizza
OR
Agnus Dei by James Macmillan
Lamb of God you take away
The sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away
The sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away
The sins of the world
Grant us peace.
Communion Hymn - Seek ye first 775
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness;
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!2
Ask, and it shall be given unto you;
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!3
Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by every word
That proceeds out from the mouth of God.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!
Prayer after Communion
A brief silence is kept. The president says the post communion prayer for the day before we say the following prayer together:
We thank you Lord,
that you have fed us in this sacrament,
united us with Christ,
and given us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet
prepared for all peoples.
Amen.
The Dismissal
Notices and publishing of the banns of marriage.
The Blessing
We stand for the president to give the blessing to which all respond.
Amen.
Recessional Hymn - O Lord my God 546
As we sing our final hymn the servers and ministers process. Children are welcome to join the procession. Please turn to face the ministers for the dismissal.
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee,
‘How great thou art! How great thou art!’
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee,
‘How great thou art! How great thou art!’
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin:
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home — what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim, ‘My God, how great thou art!’
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen.