Sunday Orders of Service
Spiritual Communion for Trinity Sunday7th June, 2020
¶ Preparation: You may wish to find a space for prayer in front of a cross, a candle, or a special place.
In the name of the Father, All: Amen.
The Lord be with you All: and also with you.
HymnHoly, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy, holy! Early in the morning
Holy, holy, holy!
Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God,
Silence is kept.
Prayers of PenitenceKyrie Eleison
Father, you come to meet us when we return to you: All: Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins: All: Christ, have mercy.
Spirit, you give us life and peace: All: Lord, have mercy.
Gloria in Excelsis
All: Glory to God in the highest,
The Collect
Let us pray: A period of silent prayer is kept. Holy God, All: Amen.
¶ The Liturgy of the Word
New Testament Reading2 Corinthians 13:11-end
Final Greetings and Benediction
Jesus said: ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.’ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
At the end: This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.
Gradual HymnThou, whose almighty word
Thou, whose almighty word Thou, who didst come to bring
Spirit of truth and love,
Holy and blessèd Three,
Gospel ReadingMatthew 28:16-20 Alleluia, alleluia. All: Alleluia.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. All: Glory to you, O Lord.
The Commissioning of the DisciplesNow the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
At the end: This is the Gospel of the Lord. All: Praise to you, O Christ.
ReflectionRevd SallyThe doctrine of the Trinity is spelt out for us in the words of the Nicene Creed, but can still be hard to understand. One God = three equal ‘persons’! There is an alternative to the Gloria, which I have found helpful: Glory to God, Source of all being, So, it is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit that we baptize new Christians, as Jesus commanded us to do. God, the source of life; God, the Word made flesh; God, the Spirit who inspires and sustains us in our faith. Fr Christopher and I, along with about 165 others from our Diocese, attended a webinar on Tuesday, hosted by Bishop Graham. Under the title “Living in the truth: thinking about prayer and action together”, the morning was led by Dr Rowan Williams. I’d like to proffer some of what Archbishop Rowan shared with us. Asked about what makes Christian prayer distinct, he said that we are brought to stand where Jesus stands. We are caught up in the relationship between the eternal Son, the eternal Father and the eternal Spirit. Prayer, he said, is never private. Even when we pray alone, it is communal, as we are members together of the Body of Christ. Whether we choose to pray with Scripture, through the Sacraments, or in a less structured way, our prayer leads us to action – or witness. We join in the Spirit’s work, tying us in with all those caught up in Christ’s self-offering to God the Father. Archbishop Rowan then gave us the following analogy: try as I might, I cannot see the back of my head. If I want to know what the back of my head looks like, I need someone else to see it and tell me. Similarly, we cannot see the ‘back’ of our souls. However self-aware we may think we are, we need others – a spiritual companion maybe - to help us to explore those parts of our being that may be ‘out-of-sight’. But what of ‘living in the truth’; what does that mean? Archbishop Rowan took his analogy of ‘seeing’ partially one step further: only the whole Church knows the whole Truth. I was reminded of St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (13:12, KJV): For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: All of this has certainly given me much spiritual food to inform my own prayer. A final thought that I am often reminded of when we do come together in our church buildings, whose very stones seem to be steeped in the prayers of all those who have gathered to worship there. As we pray, we are caught up in that great cloud of witnesses, past and present, who have been brought to stand where Jesus stands. Every Blessing, Sally
Affirmation of Faith
All: We believe and trust in God the Father,
We believe and trust in God the Son,
We believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit,
This is the faith of the Church. This is our faith. We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Prayers of Intercession
Pray for the needs of the world, for our local communities, our loved-ones and our friends.
We come boldly to the throne of grace, All: We plead before your throne in heaven.
Father of heaven, whose love profound All: We plead before your throne in heaven.
Almighty Son, incarnate Word, All: We plead before your throne in heaven.
Eternal Spirit, by whose breath All: We plead before your throne in heaven.
Thrice holy! Father, Spirit, Son, All: Holy, holy, holy Lord,
The Lord’s Prayer
All: Our Father, who art in heaven,
HymnHow great Thou artText and arrangement in copyright Here is a link to a YouTube version [based on Psalm 8: 1-9]
Closing Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, All: Amen.
Virtual Blessing & DismissalRevd SallyThe Lord bless you and keep you: All: Amen.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, All: Amen.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you All: Amen.
The Lord God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, All: Amen.
Norman JohnsonGo in peace to love and serve the Lord. All: Amen.
VoluntaryDirector of Music: James Lilwall |
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