Opening Prayer Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. A Thought for today Today we recall Jesus’ final ride into Jerusalem which was full of visitors and pilgrims getting ready to celebrate the Passover. The people of God who knew their scriptures would have known that the prophecies foretold that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem through a particular gate riding on a donkey. It is therefore of no surprise that when Jesus did exactly this – that the people recognised the meaning and reacted with joy. For God had fulfilled his promise and sent them their long awaited Messiah – the promised one of God, the anointed one and their King. Today we remember that the final week of Jesus’ life began with joy, a sense of expectation and the waving of palm branches – but also recall that this joy evaporated even more quickly than our way of life has changed during this pandemic. For in less than a week, Jesus would be put to death and die for our sins, so we might live forever in heaven.Let us Pray Lord, be with us today and everyday. Pour out your holy spirit that we may see your plans and purposes for our generation. Lord help us this week to recall the last week of your life. AmenPalm Sunday Collect Almighty and everlasting God, who in your tender love towards the human race sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross: grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, AMENPrayer of blessing - May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.Closing Note This message is sent to you with love and prayers. Thank you for joining us.
Passion Sunday Readings: Isaiah 43v16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3v4b-14; John 12v1-8. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In our readings today we hear about the way we fall short of what God expects of us. In Isaiah we hear about the time when God rescued his people from the Land of Egypt, at the time known as the Exodus. It recalls that after God opened the sea to let his people through that he permitted it to close again over the Egyptians who were pursuing his people, even though they had said they would let them leave. In John we hear that Judas has fallen away from his trust in Jesus because he was stealing, complaining about the anointing with precious oils and his readiness to betray Jesus. This is in the last week of Jesus’ life when Jesus was being fed and anointed by his friends in readiness for his death. In Philippians, we hear Paul sharing his background that even though he was a learned Israelite, he was also a persecutor of the Church. I believe that these readings remind us that we are a fallen people, a people so limited and weak and frail that we sin all too easily. However, this is not all that we hear for in Isaiah we hear about all the new things that God is doing as he cares for his chosen people in the wilderness of their lives. In the psalm, we hear a prayer that is asking for God to restore the fortunes of his people, just as he did in earlier times, a time that made them so glad that they rejoiced. In Philippians, Paul explains that because of Jesus he has gained so much because he is now counted as righteous by God. For Paul, this is a journey, the journey God is calling him onwards to, to join him in heaven because through the suffering he experiences for his faith, Paul feels as though he is sharing in the suffering of Christ. I believe that these readings are words of encouragement that none of us is lost to God, if we turn back to him. Let us Pray: Loving God, you are like a mother to us, helping to grow in the goodness and grace. We thank you that Jesus your son grew up in a human home before dying on the cross to draw all people to you. We ask you to be with us in times of happiness and to fortify us in times of despair. We ask you to give us the ability to sense your presence in good and bad times and to shower us with the power that repairs and rebuilds us. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
What's on and whenPalm Sunday - We shall begin Holy Week with our Palm Sunday holy communion service at 10am on Sunday 13th April.Maundy Thursday - There will be no morning service this day because we shall gather in the evening for our service of remembering the origins of the Passover meal and our Lord's last supper, with a celebration meal together, hand/foot washing and holy communion at 6pm on Thursday 17th April.Good Friday - we shall gather for a quiet service of reflection at 10am on Friday 18th April. If the weather is kind we shall go for a walk of witness, if not we shall remain in Church.Holy Saturday - we shall gather for the Service of Light at which we light our new pascal candle, remember that Christ rose from the dead and celebrate with light refreshments, at 6pm on Saturday 19th April.Easter Day - we shall give thanks for our salvation and renew our Baptismal promises at our holy communion service at 10am on Sunday 20th April.
Mothering Sunday has always been both a day of celebration for many and a sensitive and emotional day for some. Wherever you are this Sunday please join us in prayer as we call to mind those who are sick or anxious, and all involved in our Health Service, caring and the nurturing of children.Mothering Sunday Prayer: 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
