Mothering Sunday Liturgy, Year A

I don’t do All Age Service. If the Mass isn’t All-Age then you obviously aren’t doing it right. Every Sunday is therefore All-Age. This is for Sunday…

 The Make and Do will be a bookmark with tissue-paper flowers, the homily around it is still to be decided. It is also Church Parade, so unashamed about the over-use of Sydney Carter hymns – overused they may be, but they are actually very good

Introit Hymn

1 One more step along the world I go,
One more step along the world I go.
From the old things to the new
Keep me travelling along with you.
And it’s from the old I travel to the new.
Keep me travelling along with you.

2 Round the corners of the world I turn,
More and more about the world I learn.
All the new things that I see
You’ll be looking at along with me.
Chorus

3 As I travel through the bad and good
Keep me travelling the way I should.
Where I see no way to go
You’ll be telling me the way, I know.
Chorus

4 Give me courage when the world is rough,
Keep me loving though the world is tough.
Leap and sing in all I do,
Keep me travelling along with you.
Chorus

5 You are older than the world can be,
You are younger than the life in me.
Ever old and ever new,
Keep me travelling along with you.
Chorus

Sydney Carter (born 1915)
© 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd.

Greeting

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

Introduction

My dear friends in Christ, welcome, for we come together as the people of God this Mothering Sunday as people of all ages. We gather to hear God’s holy word and to receive his holy sacraments.

Each Mothering Sunday, we remind ourselves of three important sources of care and love: firstly, Our Blessed Lady, whose devotion and care of Our Lord is an inspiration and model to us all; secondly Holy Mother Church, which provides us all with shelter and welcome when we are in needs and reflects our joy and celebration when we are in the good times, and lastly, those who care for us and love us within our families.

One of the natures of God is as our Heavenly Father, but elsewhere in scripture, God is also described as a Mother, who succours his beloved children on his lap (Isaiah 66:12-13) and as a Mother Hen, protecting his chicks under her wing (Matthew 23:27). But we recognise that sometimes we do not always do what is right by God, and so we come to say sorry to God, seeking his forgiveness.

Penitential Rite (Saying Sorry to God)

My friend Jesus, help me to be good
to do the things and say the things
all good children should.
And if I sometimes slip a bit
and do get out of hand.
Then please, my friend Jesus,
make the grown-ups understand
that it isn’t always easy
to be as good as good can be.
But I am getting better Lord,
’cause you are helping me.

Kyrie Eleison

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy

Absolution

May God who loved the world so much
that he sent his Son to be our Saviour
+forgive us our sins
and make us holy to serve him in the world,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Collect

God of Compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen

Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

The Reading comes from one of the Letters of Saint Paul

Dear Friends,
Don’t forget that God wants to get to know you,
because he loves you.
But you must help each other
to know how much God loves you ‘
by singing his songs. And remember!
When you sing these songs, say ‘thank you’ to God
for he is your Father in heaven

This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Gradual Hymn

Praise Him, praise Him,
all His children praise Him,
He is love, He is love;
Praise Him, praise Him,
all His children praise Him,
He is love, He is love.

Thank Him, thank Him,
all His children thank Him,
He is love, He is love;
Thank Him, thank Him,
all His children thank Him,
He is love, He is love.

Love Him, love Him,
all His children love Him,
He is love, He is love;
Love Him, love Him,
all His children love Him,
He is love, He is love.

Words and Music – Anon.

Gospel: John 19:25-27

The Lord be with you
And also with you

Hear the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Glory to you, O Lord

When Jesus was on the cross, his mother stood beside him, and her sister was there as well, and Mary of Magdala.

Jesus looked at his mother,
and he looked at John, his best friend,
who was standing beside her,
and he said,

‘Mother, John will take care of you
as if he was your own son.’
Then he said to John, ‘I know she will be like a mother to you.’

And when Jesus had died, John took Mary home to stay with him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ

Homily & Make and Do — Fr. Simon

Creed – I believe in God Almighty (tune: Hyfrydol)

I believe in God Almighty,
he who made both heaven and earth.
I believe he is our Father,
and through him we have our birth.
I believe and trust in Jesus,
God the Father’s only Son.
I believe he came to save us
for he loves us, every one.

And I love his Mother Mary,
for through her my Lord was born;
born to suffer death and sorrow,
born to rise on Easter morn.
I believe he lives for ever,
death for him was not the end.
He returned to God his Father
that his Spirit he might send.

I believe his Holy Spirit
lives within our Church today.
And he gives his truth and guidance
so that we will know the way.
I believe, when life is over,
Christ will take us home with him,
and in joy we’ll live for ever,
evermore in peace Amen.

Intercessions
With bubbles blown throughout the congregation

Peace

God has made us one in Christ. He has set his seal upon us and, as a pledge of what is to come, has given the Spirit to dwell in our hearts. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
and also with you.

Offertory Hymn

1 I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

2 I danced for the scribe
And the Pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John –
They came with me
And the Dance went on. Chorus

3 I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there
On a Cross to die. Chorus

4 I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black –
It’s hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I’d gone,
But I am the Dance,
And I still go on. Chorus

5 They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you
If you’ll live in me –
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he. Chorus

Offertory Prayer

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made, it will become for us, the bread of life.
Blessed be God forever!

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God forever!

Pray, my dear friends, that this our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his church.

Lord God, we bring you these gifts of your
creation, so you may transform them, as you transform us by your love.

Amen

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.

Thank you, God our Father.
You made us to live for you and for each other.
We can see and speak to one another,
and become friends,
and share our joys and sorrows.

And so, Father, we gladly thank you with every one who believes in you; with the saints and the angels, we rejoice and praise you, saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full
of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Yes, Lord, you are holy;
you are kind to us and to all people, for this we thank you.

We thank you above all for your Son, Jesus Christ.
You sent him into this world
because people had turned away from you
and no longer loved each other.

He opened our eyes and our hearts
to understand that we are brothers and sisters
and that you are Father of us all.
He now brings us together to one table and asks us to do what he did.

Father, we ask you to bless these gifts of bread and wine and make them holy.
Change them for us into the body + and blood of Jesus Christ, your Son.

On the night before he died for us,
he had supper for the last time with his disciples.
He took bread and gave you thanks.
He broke the bread and gave it to his friends, saying:

Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you.

In the same way he took a cup of wine.
He gave you thanks
and handed the cup to his disciples, saying:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all people
so that sins may be forgiven.

Then he said to them:
Do this in memory of me.

God our Father,
we remember with joy that Jesus died to save us.
In this holy sacrifice,
which he gave as a gift to his Church,
we remember his death and resurrection.

Father in heaven,
accept us together with your beloved Son.
He willingly died for us,
but you raised him to life again.
We thank you and say:
Glory to God in the highest!

Jesus now lives with you in glory, but he is also here on earth, among us. We thank you and say:
Glory to God in the highest

One day he will come in glory
and in his kingdom
there will be no more suffering,
no more tears, no more sadness.
We thank you and say:
Glory to God in the highest

Father in heaven, you have called us
to receive the body and blood of Christ at this
Table and to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Through this sacred meal give us strength to please you more and more.

Lord, our God, remember Kenneth our bishop before you
Help all who follow Jesus to work for peace and to bring happiness to others. Bring us all at last together with Mary, the Mother of God, and all the saints, to live with you and to be one with Christ in heaven.

Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever.
Amen.

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

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.

Deliver us Lord for all evil
And grant us peace in our day
In your mercy keep us free from sin
And protect us from all anxiety,
As we wait for the coming of your Son,
Jesus Christ, Our Lord

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
for ever and ever. Amen.

Fraction

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.

Agnus Dei

Invitation

This is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to his supper
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Communion Hymn

1 Lord Jesus Christ,
You have come to us,
You are one with us,
Mary’s Son;
Cleansing our souls from
all their sin,
Pouring your love
and goodness in;
Jesus, our love for
you we sing,
Living Lord.

2 Lord Jesus Christ,
Now and every day
Teach us how to pray,
Son of God.
You have commanded us to do
This in remembrance, Lord, of you;
Into our lives your
power breaks through,
Living Lord.

3 Lord Jesus Christ,
You have come to us,
Born as one of us,
Mary’s Son;
Led out to die on Calvary,
Risen from death to set us free,
Living Lord Jesus, help us see
You are Lord.

4 Lord Jesus Christ,
I would come to you,
Live my life for you,
Son of God.
All your commands I know are true,
Your many gifts will make me new,
Into my life your power
breaks through,
Living Lord.

Patrick Robert Norman Appleford (born 1925)
© Josef Weinberger Ltd

Post Communion Prayer

Loving God,
as a mother feeds her children at the breast
you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life:
help us who have tasted your goodness
to grow in grace within the household of faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Notices

Blessing

The Lord be with you
And also with you

The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God almighty, the + Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.

Dismissal

The Mass is ended, go in the peace of Christ
Thanks be to God

Recessional Hymn

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Savior shall my heart rejoice.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age to same;
his holy Name–the Lord, the Mighty One.

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.

Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to childrens children and for evermore!

Coffee and Mingling!