INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our Remembrance service at home, I know it will not be the same but hopefully you can find a quiet place to reflect and remember those who have gone before us that so much so that we can live our lives.
We also will hold a memorial service for loved ones lost more recently on the 28th November in church at 3pm. Names will be read out and we have some lovely hymns and prayers to join in with. Rev Canon Peter will be taking our service. Please let Chris Sutcliffe or one of us know if you would like your loved one added to this service and give us an idea of numbers attending so that we can ensure your safety.
Please remember in your prayers the 21 children being admitted to Holy Communion next week and the 6 young people being confirmed by Bishop Mark at St. Peter’s Belmont next week. They have worked and listened with interest and enthusiasm and we wish them all well.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
We meet in the presence of the Lord
Who knows our needs, hears our cries, feels our pain and heals our wounds.
PRAYER OF PENITENCE
When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, he will disclose the purposes of the heart. Therefore in the light of Christ let us confess our sins.
Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbour as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. 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 sins of the world: have mercy upon 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
God, our refuge and strength, bring near the day when wars shall cease and poverty and pain shall end, that earth may know the peace of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE OLD TESTAMENT READING
MICAH 4, 1-5
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. Glory to you O Lord.
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you O Christ.
REFLECTION
Micah speaks of a time when there will be peace and security for all, when swords and spears are made into farming implements and people can sit in peace, on their own land and no one will make them afraid. It is a beautiful vision of how the world should be.
Mark records Jesus speaking about the future – that the wonderful Temple building put up by Herod as a symbol of Jewish success would become a heap of stones. Some have tried to date the particular events as if they are a code to be deciphered; rather they are simply a reminder to the disciples that just because Jesus has come, even though he will be raised from the dead, the world will continue to be a place where there is fighting and suffering. Natural disasters also will continue to happen. Jesus speaks of how the world is.
We could take this as a fatalistic – “God does not make any difference then”, or we might see it as a reminder that Christian faith is no shortcut to prosperity, success or a life free of trouble.
God has given humanity freedoms which we can enjoy or exploit. We can do wrong ourselves and we can find ourselves on the receiving end of the wrongdoing of others. When we think ethically we sometimes think as if in a pure world. Christians have disagreed on the ethics of war, as well as on the ethics of particular wars and the ethics of how those wars have been waged. There are no easy and sensible answers.
Jesus lived in a time of Occupation, occupying soldiers on the streets often making demands on ordinary people, a time when some joined resistance movements. Paul and Peter wrote their letters in a similar context except that they wrote to people living in more cosmopolitan areas, Roman Provinces where the majority accepted Roman Rule, but who may have found aspects of it harsh or arbitrary. Caesar’s rule was just how things were.
We have been “blessed” with nearly 80 years of peace in this country, though not without fear and not without terrorism. Today we remember those who fought against Oppression, whose lives were cut short, who died often in terrifying circumstances. We must work for peace, be peace-makers; we must wrestle with the reality, not theorise from an arm-chair. We can and must pray for peace, and the end to aggression. ‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ is at the heart of our prayers, along with ‘Deliver us from evil’, where us is both you and me, but also our brothers and sisters in other places where evil is so close and real.
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 Holy Spirit, born of 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; ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come 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.
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.
During today’s prayers please remember these brave men from our own roll of honour.
Lord help us to understand that because of your coming to us in the power of the holy spirit, prayer is no longer the knocking at a door but the opening of a window .
Let us pray:
O Lord on this day of remembrance we especially ask that you hold forever all who have suffered during war especially those who we commemorate on our cenotaph who were killed in the two great wars of the last century.
We pray for those who mourned their loss, those who returned home wounded and those communities that were diminished and suffered loss.
As we remember them, remember us O Lord; grant us peace in our time and a longing for the day when we may all be brought into the unity of Christ’s kingdom.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
A prayer about poppies for our young children:
Look at your poppy. Poppies are bright and cheerful flowers: give thanks to God for the lives of those have died in war, remembering all the joy they brought to families and friends and all the good things they did for their home and their country.
Then look at the red petals: red reminds us of danger and harm. Ask God to be close to those who still face danger each day and give courage to our armed forces.
Place your hand over the poppy: poppies are also fragile and need to be handled gently. God cares for those who are hurting and those who are sad. Ask God to comfort all who are grieving the loss of someone they love and ask God to help you play your part in working for peace in the world.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
We pray for our Turton Team ministry and give thanks for the help we are receiving from the team during the present interregnum. We pray for our visiting Area Dean and the work he is doing to establish our new combined Deanery of Bolton.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
Mighty God, we pray for those who we know who are ill, in hospital or care home and we remember to give thanks for those who are on the road to recovery.
We remember especially Katy Taylor – Hamilton.
Lord in your mercy –hear our prayer
Father God you know our hearts and sorrows. We are hurt by our parting from those we have loved: when we are angry at the loss we have sustained , when we long for words of comfort yet find them hard to hear – turn our grief to a firmer hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. From our book of remembrance we remember Alice Wood, Rebecca Ashton, Kevin Hulme, Kenneth Taylor, Lucy Haslam, Karen West, David Buxton and Gillian Paula Gent.
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.
If you are lonely, may God hear your prayers. If you are anxious may peace surround you. If you are troubled, may he who shares all burdens hear your prayers.
I sit down Lord, to watch television, to rest my feet, to listen to music to shut my eyes and forget.
You sit down Lord, to wait for me to be ready for you.
Help me among other things for which I sit, to remember you waiting for me.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St. Maxentius and the Saints of our Deanery churches, we commend ourselves and the whole of your creation to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. 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 forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
God grant to the living, grace; to the departed, rest; to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth, and all people, peace and concord; and to us and all his servants, life everlasting; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon us and remain with us always. Amen.
War Memorial Roll of Honour
Roland Ashcroft, John Baines, Thomas A Baines, Frank Booth, James Bowker, John Bowker, David Brockbank, John Brooks, William S Butterworth, Joseph Henry Cairns, John Clemmett, John Clough, William Cooke, Alfred Crompton, Herbert Crossley, John J Edgell, George Glaister, John Green, Joseph Greenhalgh, E Milner Grime, Albert J Ham, Frank Hamer, James O Hamer, William Hamer, James Hargreaves, Clare Harrison, Alfred Haslam, George A Holt, Joseph Holt, Samuel Horrocks, C. Kingsley Howarth, Herbert Hulme, Joseph E Hulme, George F Hunt, Ernest Isherwood, Maurice Jones, William Jones, James Roland Kay, John Kilburn, Norman Kitchen, Charles Lowe, Harry Lowe, Thomas Marsden, Jack Mills, Charles Morgan, James Oddie , Harold Ormerod, Thomas Pomfret, Samuel Ramsden, John Schofield, Walter Schofield, Harold Scholes, Thomas Shaw, Harold Slater, Ronald Shepherd Cross, Fred Shipsides, Harold Slater, James Smith, Dan Southworth, James A Southworth, Ebenezer Southworth, Dudley C Spencer, Edward Stanley, Robert Stephenson, William Street, Harry Taylor, James Kingsley Tootill, James Vickers, Harry Waldron, Herbert Whittle, Samuel Wild, Fred Winter, John Dixon, E Fielding, William Holt.