Happy Easter to you all, we hope to see as many of you actually in church this Easter Sunday but if you prefer not to come into church to worship, here below we have an outline of our service for you to follow at home. Choose a quiet reflective space and to make it more meaningful have a cross, bible and candle to make your sacred space.
INTRODUCTION
It was lovely to see so many of you in church last week for our Palm Sunday service and many thanks to Rev Robin for leading the worship. We have been blessed with lots of support and material for Holy Week and Lent thanks to the team clergy and everyone else who has photocopied, downloaded and distributed all the material. It shows us the importance of the Team in all we do and how we have such hard working people trying to bring us together.
Our service today in church will be taken by Rev Canon Peter and hopefully we have calculated our numbers correctly so we can get everyone in safely. Just to let you know Jo and myself have been holding the children’s service on Wednesday evenings as we normally do but have been doing them on zoom. Our theme up to Easter gas been” meals with Jesus” and we have looked at the stories of Zacchaeus, Martha and Mary and of Jesus and his disciples and of course the last supper. We have made it interactive and still had the children doing something practical in it and it has gone really well and numbers have increased each week. Thanks to Rev Peter for the reflection and Alison Greaves for the intercessions today
Have a lovely Easter at least we can now meet with family outdoors under the rule of six. Take care.
Jan B.
THE GREETING
Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia
Christ yesterday and today. The beginning and the end
Alpha and Omega all time belongs to him and all ages. To him be glory and power through every age and forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF PENITENCE
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, 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
Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity. Amen
THE NEW TESTAMENT READING – ACTS 10, 34-43
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
This is the word of the Lord – Thanks be to God
THE GOSPEL – MARK 16, 1-8
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. I am the first and the last says the Lord, and the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. Alleluia
Hear the Gospel of our Lord according to Mark. Glory to you O Lord.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.
This is the Gospel of the Lord – Praise to you O Christ
REFLECTION
Alleluia – Christ is risen: He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
The four gospels have four different accounts of the Resurrection – four different ways of describing some of what happened would be a more accurate way to word it.
Mark, which is almost certainly the earliest gospel, has a brief 8 verses, in which we learn that Jesus has been raised – the women are told this by a young man in a white robe. They are told to tell the disciples but, Mark says, they ‘fled from the tomb’ and ‘said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid’. For much of the gospel Jesus has forbidden people to say who he is and they did. Now the women are told to tell, and they are silent!
They were afraid, because this news is earth-shattering and mind-bending. Maybe we have heard it too often. Two things to note – Jesus was crucified (the women had seen this brutal execution) and was buried. And then we hear Jesus has been raised. He didn’t get up himself, but the power of God raised him and now he is risen. He did not come back to life (as Lazarus did), but he was raised to new life, having not only passed through death but broken its hold on the world. He has broken the chains of death and opened the gate to life.
In John’s gospel which is the alternative reading for today, John gives two whole chapters to the resurrection and further appearances of the risen Jesus. Again, the women are the first to the tomb, but then John focuses on what Peter and John saw when they arrived. The word “saw” is used a lot. We are told what the evidence is. When they are gone Mary is left outside and she meets a man who she does not recognise at first –she does not see clearly – is it the light and / or her tears which have clouded her vision, but then she sees more deeply still.
Mary is weeping as she thinks the body is taken, only to discover Jesus is alive. John goes on to share other times when Jesus appeared to the disciples.
In John’s gospel, if we wish, we can put ourselves in the shoes of Mary, or John or Peter or Thomas; we can imagine how we would feel in these encounters. But we need to remind ourselves that resurrection, being raised to new life, is not something that they expected, nor something they knew would happen. Whether told through the pen of Mark or of John, this is a life-changing moment quite literally. And if it hasn’t changed our life, we have not “seen” it.
Matthew and Luke also expand on Mark’s short version, giving some other accounts of Jesus’ appearing to the disciples. Each of the gospel writers takes the material they have and shapes it to help their readers and listeners make sense of who Jesus is, what he achieved and what the resurrection means and should mean, for them.
The deeper meaning is probably better gained through either fear or tears in the first instance, and time to reflect and be still in the second.
And for us, today, in a world which is still battered by a virus we did not even know existed 18 months ago, and unsettled in so many areas by ongoing violence and disturbance, where too many are ruled by oppressive or self-seeking rulers, and, nearer to home, we try and make sense of the pains and difficulties, the opportunities, choices, and impacts we live with, what does the resurrection mean for us? Has it been life-changing? Is it? Are we too fearful to speak about it, or maybe too familiar with the story to be moved by it? Is this good news for us and will we share this good news with others?
The church gives us seven Sundays to celebrate and reflect on the Resurrection, leading up to Pentecost – let’s use the time to rejoice, to ponder, to reflect, to proclaim, to discover and to know that God is with us, Jesus offers new life, and we are loved and saved. Alleluia!
Rev Canon Peter
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.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
During the intercessions, we pray for the church, our country, our government, people in difficulty and those who have died. You can use your own prayers or if you prefer here are some on today’s theme.
Christ is risen, and the power of his resurrection fills the world today with new life, hope and expectation and so we bring to him our needs.
Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Faithfull God, we think of your church today celebrating the Resurrection all over the world. Language, race and nationalities may be different but our worship and our joy on the Day of Resurrection make us one in the Gospel. We pray that the Holy Spirit may guide and strengthen us in mission and service praying that day by day we may grow in love for you and for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, alleluia.
We pray for your Church here in Bradshaw ,the Turton Moorland team, and Churches, all over the world, giving thanks for the continuing support and encouragement of our Churches during the pandemic .We pray for those who administer in our Church –our Bishops, and Canon Peter and Revd. Robin for their Ministry especially during this Eastertide.
Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, alleluia.
Creator God, we pray for the leaders of the nations of the world that they may give priority to those with greatest need in the distribution of the world’s basic resources. We also remember today those involved in the fight against terrorism around the world and to all those defending their democracies against violence and pray for the resulting refugees and those who are striving to help them. Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, alleluia.
Father God, at this joyful Eastertide we pray for our families and friends especially as they are unable this year to join us here or at home. We thank you for the joy of sending and receiving Easter cards and messages of love and for modern communication systems which bring our loved ones so close even when we are separated by great distances and by the pandemic.
Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, alleluia.
Creator God we pray for those who are in need and ask you to look with pity on those who suffer. We especially pray for all those in our thoughts or unknown to us who have asked for our prayers.
Especially Ann Hall and Craig Mochrie .Father of all we pray for those who mourn and for those they love and miss, commending all who have died to the everlasting arms of the God of love in whom there is life in all its fullness. From our book of remembrance we pray for George Maycraft
Christ is risen – he is risen indeed, alleluia.
A Celtic prayer- Risen Christ, come. Raise the fallen, strengthen the weak, support the weary. Give peace to the troubled, Comfort to the anxious. Uplift all who are down, Give wholeness and healing. Be with us now and forever. Risen Christ, come, now and forever.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
THE BLESSING
God the Father, by whose love Christ was raised from the dead open to us who believe the gate of everlasting life. Amen
God the Son, who bursting from the grave has won a glorious victory, give us joy as we share the Easter faith. Amen
God the Holy Spirit who filled the disciples with the life of the risen Lord, empower you and fill you with Christ’s peace. Amen.
