INTRODUCTION
Good morning everyone and I hope you have been enjoying our start of summer. The church starts a new season of Trinity as we move on from Easter. Traditionally we used to admit children to Holy Communion but we hope to do that in a couple of weeks time.
We have our coffee morning for Christian Aid this Saturday the 10th June and we are raffling off a hamper, its also the rotary duck race next weekend so get you tickets ready to see who wins. We would like the rotary for sponsoring this for us as we get to keep the ticket money, fingers crossed someone at church wins the first prize of £1,000. Last week was our APCM which went well and thanks go to Rev Simon Cook our Area Dean for attending as a guest adviser. We will be looking for a Treasurer in the coming months and also next year a PCC Secretary so if you are interested and would like to know more or shadow these good people let us know.
The reflection and intercessions today are by myself.
God bless
Jan B.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal; have mercy on us
Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal; have mercy on us
Eternal God, source of all blessing, help us to worship you with all our heart soul mind and strength; for you alone are God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER OF PENITENCE
The Holy Spirit fills the world and knows our every word and deed. Let us then open ourselves to the Lord and confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Almighty God, long suffering and of great goodness; I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God forgive me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in his great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to al those who with heartfelt repentance and true faith turn to him; have mercy on us and deliver us from our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE GLORIA
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us. You are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COLLECT
Holy God, faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
THE OLD TESTAMENT READING
GENESIS 1. 1-2,4a
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
And God saw that the light was good;
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Glory to you O Lord
MATTHEW 28. 16-20
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.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you O Christ.
REFLECTION
This reading seems out of context with the theme of Trinity Sunday, especially as we have also just celebrated the Ascension and Pentecost, but this reading is the final verses of Matthew’s gospel, so knowing that it makes more sense. It was probably one of the last times the disciples saw Jesus before he ascended to heaven. He reiterates that they should baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the latter of which they would receive at Pentecost.
It is quite a difficult concept to get your head around, God is three things. He is the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Our faith tells you that this is true, otherwise God would not be able to do the things he does. i.e., listen and answer prayers, give us guidance and support, perform miracles etc. When I was teaching, myself and colleagues had to try and explain this to pupils in simple terms and these are some of them. God can be compared to water, it is H2O but it can be ice, liquid or water vapour, it is still H2O in composition but has different forms. A clover leaf has three fronds with only two it wouldn’t be a clover leaf and a triangle can only be a triangle if it had three sides otherwise it would be a V or an arrow head, certainly not a triangle. So God can only do the things he does for us because he is three things in unity Tri meaning three and unity make the word trinity
It really is amazing, all this so that God can be with us, at all times. But it comes with conditions we have a job to do. Jesus asks his disciples to make more disciples to spread the word and get others to do the same, their second task was to baptise, to publicly show they were Christians and by naming to be part of the living God. The third thing he asked them to do was to teach, he trained them up to teach others about God and what Jesus had told them, most people couldn’t read at this time so teaching by word of mouth was very important. We are still following those guidelines that Jesus asked us to do. In this technological age we can still live as Jesus asked us by being an example and ensuring the Holy trinity is part of our lives.
A quote from Jane Williams says. “What tremendous energy was released on that first Pentecost! What tremendous energy is still released into the church by the Holy Spirit so that we, today’s disciples, may work in communion with each other renewing the face of the earth.”
Jan B.
THE CREED
I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of the Father; he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSIONS
Here we pray for the church, for the world, those in need and those who have died, you can follow your own prayers or these below on today’s theme.
Father we give you thanks for the wonders and mystery of creation. We thank you for life and your love in the coming of your Son Jesus Christ who has guided and led us to be part of your kingdom. We thank you for the Holy Spirit that lives among us helping and guiding us on our way. We pray for our church, our team and mission community and all clergy and lay ministry teams working to bring your word and guidance to us all.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
Father we give you thanks for the wonders of your creation, its beauty and diversity, may we work hard to care for it and preserve its resources. We pray for all nations of the world as they strive for unity and peace and for all who work in conservation and in growing food
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.
Jesus you gave your life for us so that we may live, thank you for your love and your guiding light, we remember in your presence all those who lack love or are isolated or ignored by society. We come to give our love to you and may we then show this love to others.
Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer
Holy Spirit, inspirer and giver of talents, we thank you for artists craft people and all who beautify the earth. We remember in your presence all who are unable to use their talents. We remember those who are restricted by poverty or oppression.
Lord on your mercy. Hear our prayer
Holy and blessed Trinity, Three persons and one God, we thank you for your love which is eternal, we pray for those that are sick especially Rev Peter Reiss, Thomas Causton,
Sue Roberts, Colin Roberts, Stanley Schofield and Stephen Haslam, we think also of their families and those looking after them. We remember in your presence friends and loved ones departed from us and from our book of remembrance Albert Wood, Walter Gerald Colley and Annie Dewhurst. May they rejoice in the fullness of life eternal in your presence in your kingdom.
Merciful Father. Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the Kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
God the Father, who gave his Son the name above every name, strengthen us to proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord. Amen.
God the Son, who is our great high priest passed into the heavens, plead for us at the right hand of the Father. Amen.
God the Holy Spirit, who pours abundant gifts upon the church, make us faithful servants of Christ the King. Amen.
And the blessing of God almighty, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us now and for ever. Amen.
