I am deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to this evening’s
worship.
Let
us continue our worship with a hymn for the Changing of the Year: I’ll read the
second verse: His providence has brought
us through another various year; We all with vows and
anthems new before our God appear.
Hymn
360 Sing to the Great Jehovah’s praise
Let us praise God and confess our
weaknesses. Lord’s
prayer
Loving God
We
come to worship you, called by your love. We rejoice that though you are a
great God far beyond anything we can imagine, we know that you are close to us
and love each one of us, you know our failings and yet you love us as we are,
and can see what we can be. We are your family. We know that your love is as
great as your power. We thank you for
sending Jesus, your son to show us this love and that through it we may enter a
new relationship with you. We look forward to renewing our vows at the
‘covenant service.
We
thank you for the summer season, the sunshine, the rain the green countryside
and the coming autumn with its browns and golden leaves. Despite all its
heartbreaks life goes on, seasons come and go but your love remains.
We
ask you to forgive us that our love for you is so weak, by our words and our
actions we deny your love, we hurt others, ourselves and you. We rejoice that
you are a God of mercy who forgives us constantly. Help us to see you in all
the people we meet and to show your love in all we do. We ask this prayer
through Jesus our friend and redeemer.
The 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.
New Testament: Luke 4 16- 21 Jesus declaration in
his home town to his own community of
Here and Now, a reflection on the reading, by Jan
Pickard (Janet)
Hymn
HP 708 Believe not those who say this was written by Anne Bronte one of the Bronte sisters. She died when
she was 29.
Now
Serena and Geoff are going to reflect on the past year, then after a time of
silent prayer I will close and then Diane will lead us in sing O Lord hear our
prayer.
Serena
then Geoff
Silent prayer gathered together by
Janet.
Lord, we bring before you the joys
and sorrows of this past year. We
rejoice in the life and fun of the Junior church, the support given to the
church charity, and the continuing service of members of this congregation to
the local community and the continuing prayers of the congregation.. We look forward to receiving new members at the Covenant
Service. We remember Stan Jordan, Marian Hall, Len Wilson, and Joan Hancox who died this year.
And we remember those in hospital: Ron Taylor and Robin Phillips and
those for whom life hard, especially Esme Scott and
those living in nursing homes. May they be assured of your continuing love
supported by our community at
Looking forward; Ian Wragg,
Janet Patrick: Looking forward.
The
Church has always been a vital part of my life.
I became a member 40 years ago and its worship is part of my life. I have been proud of the social witness of the
Methodist church and I have been a member of many church committees at many
levels. The Methodist church cares for its members, and with other churches,
seeks justice for the poor. Yesterday I overheard this snippet of conversation
in Beeston between a well known homeless man and another: He said the Church is very good for those who go but
for those who don’t …. I didn’t hear
the rest .
Yet
these are the words that constantly echo in my mind. If the church is so important to me, why is
it not to others? I cannot forget a
conversation I had with two teachers from school last year. Both declared that
they had no need of the church: one described herself as spiritual, yet
God had no place in her life. More
recently a member of our Tuesday Group declared that the church did not answer
the important questions in their life.
Surely the church exists for everyone in God’s world. Have we gone wrong? If so, where have we gone wrong?
Perhaps
there is a clue in this extract from a poem by Jan Pickard:
You never noticed me except as a
person in the pew, never looked me in the face though that would have been hard
as I always sat at the back in a Methodist crouch doubled up in private
devotion or ducking to avoid the blows of life.
So I returned home - to a private
place but in no way safe - to violence, rejection, loneliness and shame. You
had prayed for me under several heads but didn’t recognise me in the flesh.
How
are we to meet people’s needs? How are
we to bring good news to the poor? Who
are the oppressed we are to set free? We
live in a Western world, sometimes called Christian, where great emphasis is
placed on individualism and making money. This has led to a culture of
materialism and to a society that depends on debt. We are all part of it: John and I had banked money with IceSave and Northern Rock. We wanted the best return for
our money. In these difficult economic
times, one in six families has no wage-earner, this means a generation is
growing up that may have little expectation of employment; thousands have lost
their homes, and many are in debt leading to family breakdown and mental health
problems. Among the poor are the
asylum-seekers, exploited by many and discriminated against by many British people.
Yet our leaders are not providing advice on leading a debt free life nor do
they take responsibility for the situation.
So
what do I want from the Church? Let us
begin with worship. For me worship is
having time out to meet with God, to rest as I listen to the music, to sing
what I believe and be comforted and challenged by the service. I always ask whether the service is in a
language understood by people in the street and whether they would feel at home
here.
What
do I want the Church to do? I want it to
meet the needs of the poor: those in the grip of money lenders, those who are
bowed down with debt. The Credit Union branch we started a year ago in Inham Nook only scratches the surface. I want the Church to speak out against a
culture of indebtedness and material success.
It needs to re-examine how it spends its time and to question for what
purpose we put so much energy into Church activities. We are the body of Christ
as well as being a company of sinners. Have we got our priorities right?
Pause. If time allows invite the
congregation to speak very briefly on their hopes for the future of the Church.
Hymn
326 There’s a spirit in the air a song of joy and encouragement
Offertory prayer. Intercessory prayers:
Let
us pray for all people
everywhere according to their need.
Let
us pray for the church throughout the world that it fulfils its mission to bring good news to the poor, to work for
peace and justice and to declare your love to all people. We pray for all ministers of religion, especially for Rev David
Gamble incoming president of Conference and Dr Richard Vautrey,
vice president of Conference and all new ministers in this
We
pray for our world,
remembering countries torn apart by war:
We
pray for all who will go hungry today, those dying of AIDS, or other illnesses connected with poverty. Give
us, who are rich a change of priorities that we may
make poverty History.
Let
us pray for our local community, for those whose life is burdened by unemployment and stress, for those
who are lonely or sick that they may know your love and know your comfort.
Finally
we pray for ourselves at
the opening of a new year, as we renew our covenant that we are no longer our own but yours and that your will be done in all
things.
We ask these prayers through Jesus
our friend and redeemer. Amen..
Hymn 277 This, this is the God we adore .We’ll praise him for all that is
past and trust him for all that’s to come. This was Jennie and Geoff’s wedding hymn and
is sung at conference every year.
Blessing from
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you
in the palm of His hand.