Gathering
7pm at the strike – ‘Bring ‘em’ all in
https://www.vimeo.com/158154571
At “God is here. Make yourselves at home”…
Anna – Welcomes & Introduces the theme.
Stand:
We are the body of Christ
In the one Spirit
We were all baptised into one body
We are one body
We affirm all that is good in each other:
Our God given dignity and integrity,
Our companionship and common pilgrimage:
We are one body.
We acknowledge the wounds we share:
In our society and in ourselves,
Our brokenness and our dis- ease
We are one body.
We are one body.
We are the body of Christ.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you
Let us share the peace of Christ….
All share the peace
Song: All are Welcome
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:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
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:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
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:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
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:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
Gospel
Let us remain standing if we are able for the Gospel reading.
(A Hoodie processes the Gospel book through the congregation and raises it aloft and turns to face the screen.)
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
Glory to you O Lord.
‘And Mary said,’
CONGREGATION READ THE GOSPEL TOGETHER
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ.
The congregation is seated.
Meditation – Buttons
https://www.vimeo.com/158514327
A simple round inanimate object
Easily overlooked when lying on the ground
Designed, made and created for the purpose of joining things
Yet …All different in size, depth, orientation, age and composition
What attracted you to your button?
What made it stand out for you?
Turn it over, examine it closely
Look at the beauty
Yet….All united in purpose, usefulness, pleasure and shape
Hold the button
You are the button
Precious, unique, important, useful, designed and different
Value yourself
Love yourself
Love God
Is your button lost or found?
Is it damaged or mint?
Is it worn or shiny?
Is it used or unused?
Is it Chipped or perfect?
Buttons fit into buttonholes, but they need to be the right size and fit
Before God we are all unique, he has a purpose for each of us just like the hole.
Reflect on that purpose right now before God
Each button needs a thread to hold it firm; Love is that thread it must be tied strong to keep it from unravelling.
How strong is your thread today?
What can you say to God now?
Lord when we pre-judge help us to open our eyes
Lord have mercy
Christ when we turn away from those in need, help us to open our eyes
Christ have mercy
Lord in a world that is often too busy to engage, help use slow down and look around us, to open our eyes.
Lord have mercy
Asperges – Blessing of Water (same video)
Lord God almighty, creator of all life, of body and soul, we ask you to +bless this water: as we use it in faith forgive our sins and save us from all illness and the power of evil.
Lord, in your mercy give us living water, always springing up as a fountain of salvation: free us, body and soul, from every danger, and admit us to your presence in purity of heart.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
The people are sprinkled.
After the Asperges
Screen: You are forgiven
May almighty God +cleanse us of our sins, and through the Eucharist we celebrate make us all worthy to sit at his table in his heavenly kingdom, where there is no seating plan and we are all welcome. Amen.
Congregation hold silence after the meditation.
Collect
Let us pray…
Stigmatised God
In Christ you tasted the bitterness of rejection
And bore the fear and prejudice of others.
Give strength to those who carry
That same weight today,
Living hope to those in despair,
And the fullness of your love to the exhausted.
And give your people grace
That we may see in others the face of your son
Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.
Conscious of the buttons we hold and what they represent to us and about us we affirm our faith:
(Right and Left side antiphonally)
We rejoice to believe in God both holy and mysterious,
both Mother and Father, in whose image we are made.
Who gives us freedom, purpose and order.
Who embraces, protects and provides.
Whose eternal arms reach out through Christ, to bring us home.
We believe and depend upon the God of love
Who created us in all our glorious difference
Who sustains us through all our numerous trials
And who heals, reinvigorates, and holds us in time and beyond
Always forgiving, accepting, and surprising us, as the Spirit moves.
God, you are our rock
Our place of safety in our journey through life
You are our companion in our dark places
The strong hand for our uncertain steps
Our creator and recreator who forgives us and heals us
Our journey’s end
In whom all shall be well
Offertory Song – We come to your feast
We place upon Your table a gleaming cloth of white
The weaving of our stories, the fabric of our lives,
The dreams of those before us, the ancient hopeful cries,
The promise of our future, our needing and our nurture
Lie here before our lives.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast:
the young and old, the frightened, the bold, the greatest and the least.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast
with the fruit of our lands and the work of our hands, we come to Your feast.
We place upon Your table a humble loaf of bread:
the gift of field and hillside, the grain by which we’re fed;
we come to taste the presence of Him on whom we feed,
to strengthen and connect us, to challenge and correct us,
to love in word and deed.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast:
the young and old, the frightened, the bold, the greatest and the least.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast
with the fruit of our lands and the work of our hands, we come to Your feast.
We place upon Your table a simple cup of wine:
the fruit of human labour, the gift of sun and vine;
we come to taste the presence of Him we claim as Lord,
His dying and His living. His leading and His giving,
His love in cup outpoured.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast:
the young and old, the frightened, the bold, the greatest and the least.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast
with the fruit of our lands and the work of our hands, we come to Your feast.
We gather ‘round Your table, we pause within our quest,
we stand beside our neighbours, we name the stranger “guest.”
The feast is spread before us; You bid us come and dine:
in blessing we’ll uncover, in sharing we’ll discover
Your substance and Your sign.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast:
the young and old, the frightened, the bold, the greatest and the least.
We come to Your feast, we come to Your feast
with the fruit of our lands and the work of our hands, we come to Your feast.
Offering Prayer
Be gentle
When you
Touch bread.
Let it not lie
Uncared for,
Unwanted
So often bread
Is taken for granted.
There is such beauty in bread,
Beauty of sun and soil,
Beauty of patient toil.
Wind and rain have caressed it,
Christ often blessed it.
Be gentle when you touch bread
Be careful
When you
Pour wine.
Let it not be
Overlooked,
Disregarded
So often wine
Is taken for granted.
There is such beauty in wine:
The sweetness of love,
The power of blood.
Wind and rain have raised it,
Christ often blessed it.
Be careful when you pour wine
Blessed be God for ever
Preface
[vimeo.com 158687903
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 him thanks and praise
1. Father, all loving, all embracing, ever living God
Mother of creation,
Spirit of truth and wisdom,
We gather in your presence to give you thanks and praise
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
2. For you know us better than we know ourselves.
You know our thoughts,
our weaknesses,
our motivations,
our sins.
And you love us still.
3. You love us when we don’t believe such love is true or possible;
You love when we wonder how you could love us just as we are,
when we forget our intricate construction,
fearfully, wonderfully made,
in your image!
3. Your Son opened wide his arms for us,
Sought out the marginalised, the oppressed, the feared
And showed us that your love has no boundaries,
No favourites
No fear
And call us to do the same for all
4. Remove from our minds every thought which keeps us from you.
Break down the walls,
push aside our self-centred desires, our prejudices, our fears
and help us to trust anew.
5. And so joining the limitless worship of the whole company of heaven
Every race and language, colour, gender and sexuality
Angels, Saints, Sinners and Redeemed
We praise you saying…
Sanctus
https://www.vimeo.com/158687899
Eucharistic Prayer
https://www.vimeo.com/158687900
6. This table is God’s offer of grace
and an invitation to community
where forgiveness is found and
we are called to be the body of Christ.
7. In that body, we find
all shapes, sizes, and abilities,
the young and the old,
all colours and shades,
and the created diversity of loving relationships.
8. Let your +Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy
that broken bread and wine outpoured
may be for us the body and blood of your dear Son.
9. On the night before he died he gathered them in
and, taking bread, he praised you.
He broke the bread, gave it to them and said:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
10. When supper was ended he took the cup of wine.
Again he praised you, gave it to them and said:
Drink this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
11. Help us to work together for that day
when your kingdom comes
when justice, inclusion and mercy
will be seen in all the earth.
12. Gather us in your loving arms
and bring us with S. Peter, patron of this Cathedral,
all the angels, saints, prophets and patriarchs
to feast at your table in heaven.
13. Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours, O loving Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Invitation
God’s holy gifts for God’s holy people
Jesus Christ is holy
Jesus Christ is Lord
To the glory of God the Father
Beware! In this Holy Ground we practice
the inclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This means you may well be mixing with tax collectors, sinners, adulterers, hypocrites, Greeks, Jews, women as well as men, female and male priests, homosexuals, lesbians, the disabled, thieves and other sinners, the dying, white people, black people, Asians and people from other races, Muslims, Bishops, bigots, people of other faiths, strangers, Deans, heretics and people with no particular faith etc. etc. In fact, anyone like those with whom Jesus himself mixed.
So beware – this is not a private club.
We Welcome All.
We invite you to take the button you have prayed with earlier, and take it to the place of unity: the font, where baptism unites us in Christ, and then afterwards to make your way to one of the three stations at the side and in front of the altar to receive the other sacrament of unity in diversity, of inclusive love made manifest in the holy mysteries of communion.
This is not a private club. We welcome all.
The people are invited to take their buttons to the font, to place them in it and then to disperse and receive Holy Communion
Post Communion Prayer
We say together…
Lord, we thank you for inviting us
to share your meal.
Simple.
Elegant.
Refreshing.
Re-creating.
May we hear the call to
Love one another
as you have loved us:
One body, many members,
the body of Christ.
Amen.
Go in the peace of Christ
Go into the hamlets and the villages
The estates and the towerblocks
And bring them all so we may be one in Christ
Thanks be to God.