St Clement Church Community All Saints & All Souls Service

 

 

Good morning and welcome to our service.

 

All Saints Day followed by All Souls Day – a time when we remember all those close to us whose journey here on earth has ended.  A time when we remember, those who have had such an influence on our lives, and so many memories.

May we also, at this time, remember how much influence we, still on our earthly journey, can have on others and may it be for the good of all.

With love to you all

Liz

 

Let us pray:

 

Blessed are you, O God, for you are holy, gracious, and good, the hope of all the faithful. Empower the meek and encourage the poor. Comfort those who mourn and fill humble hearts with gladness. Give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, peace to the peacemakers, mercy to the merciful and honour to the despised. Amen

 

We say together:

Lord Jesus Christ, you told Mary and Martha that you are the Resurrection and the Life.

You promised your disciples that you would prepare a place for them.                You promised the repentant thief that he would be with you in Paradise. And through the disciple John, you revealed to us that you will wipe away every tear from our eyes in the Day when there is no death or sorrow or crying or pain.                                                                                       Fill our hearts with these firm and certain promises. Comfort us with the assurance that those who have died in faith now see you face to face. Strengthen us with these words of your Gospel; you live and reign with the Father sand the Holy Spirit, surrounded by a great multitude that no one can count, one God, now and forever. Amen

 

Hymn: 949 Thy kingdom come, O God

 

Prayer of Penitence

 

What God has prepared for those who love him, he has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything.

Therefore, let us in penitence open our hearts to the Lord, who has prepared good things for those who love him.

 

We are ashamed, O God, for our carelessness in worship, for wandering mind and thoughtless prayer. We are ashamed that words of praise come so swiftly to our lips but so slowly to our hearts. We are ashamed that we hear the name of Jesus but act as if he were a stranger.

 Forgive us for our jealousies in the church, and for the irritations which so easily win the day. Forgive us for the times when we can see so plainly what needs to be done, and complain that others do not do it.

Give us, O Lord, a vision of our church set as it is among people who do not know Christ as Lord, and give to us a deepened faith, an understanding love, a ready wit, and the Holy Spirit’s uncommon sense. So may we live, and so speak, that our neighbours may want to know the source of the joy we shall have, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

 

Let us pray our Collect for All Saints Day

 

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for all those who truly love you; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Amen.  

 

Readings:                                                                                                                              

 

Revelation 7. 9 – 17

1 John 3. 1 - 3

 

Hymn: 16 All my hope on God is founded

 

Gospel: Matthew 5. 1 - 12

(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. 

Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)

 

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’

 

(This is the Gospel of the Lord.    Praise to you, O Christ.)

 

Reflection

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself asking ‘How am I supposed to deal with all the challenges, uncertainties and difficulties that seem to pop up in my life? I find myself looking for and wanting reassurance that there is a point to my life and that its direction will offer meaning and connect me to something larger than just my insignificant story.

So, how do we navigate life? This is the age-old question. And, it doesn’t matter whether we are talking about nations, organisations, families or individuals - the question is the same. But, regardless of whether they are personal struggles or family matters, they are just as real and of no less concern to God.                                                                                                 Each of us could tell stories about the questions we face, the challenges we confront and the difficulties we must overcome. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don’t.

At the beginning of a new school year, a class teacher stands up in front of her pupils holding a £20 note. ‘Put your hand up if you would like this.’ Every hand in the room goes up. The teacher says, ‘I am going to give this money to someone here, but first, let me do this…’                                           She takes the note and crumples it in her hands, before asking, ‘Who still wants it?’

The hands still stay up.

The teacher then drops the note on the floor, stamps on it, grinds it into the ground, and then picks it up again.

‘How about now?’ she asks again.

The hands still stay up.

‘Everyone, I hope you see the lesson here. It doesn’t matter what I do to this money, you still want it because its value has stayed the same. Even with the creases and dirtiness, it is still worth £20.

It’s the same with us. There will be similar times in your life when you’re dropped, bruised, and muddied. Yet no matter what happens, you never lose your value.’

Let’s be honest, most of us have been taught to navigate the waters of life through power, strength, accomplishment and acquisition. Look around the world – isn’t this why there is so much unrest, dissatisfaction, and trouble? You have it, I want it, I’ll take it.                     We’ve been taught to work to be rich so we can have what we want. We seek power so we can take what we want. We argue to be right so we can have our way – oh dear, I’ve been doing a lot of that in the ‘On the Way’ discussions! We compete to win so that we’ll be respected and admired. We want to be beautiful so we’ll be liked and desired. Oh dear, any of that seem familiar? Ever tried any of those ways to get through life?

Those attitudes fill headline news, magazine articles, tabloid pictures, television, and our own lives. They find their origin in the idea that we are self-made men and women, that we are to build up ourselves and make a life. After all, we must look out for number one because if we don’t, no one else will. At least, that’s what many of us have been told. For too long that has been the myth with which we have lived. Jesus’ life and teaching fly in the face of that myth. Jesus offers a different way of navigating life.

He tells us that the waters of life are navigable. But, it’s not through power, strength, accomplishment, or acquisition. The way forward is not the way we’ve always done it. It is not enough for us, as believers and followers of Jesus, to simply make over a little piece of our world or life. It is not enough to just reform a political or economic system. Navigating life is not about overcoming circumstances or other people. It is about overcoming ourselves.

 

An old Cherokee chief sat down to teach his grandson about life.

“There’s a fight going on inside me,” he tells the young boy, “a fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. It’s full of malice, anger, greed, self-pity and false pride. The other is good. It’s full of peace, love, joy, kindness, and humility. This same fight is going on inside you and everyone on the face of the earth.”

The grandson was quiet, pondering this revelation for a moment before asking, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?”

The old man smiled and replied, “The one you feed.”

 

If you want to know what overcoming yourself looks like – then look at the Beatitudes.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit.
• Blessed are those who mourn.
• Blessed are the meek.
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
• Blessed are the merciful
• Blessed are the pure in heart
• Blessed are the peacemakers
• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake

 

This is how we should navigate life. This is how we should meet the challenges, the uncertainties, and the difficulties of life. A lifetime of living the Beatitudes, day after day, year after year, is how we overcome ourselves.

The Beatitudes are not simply Jesus’ hints for happy living. They are descriptive of God’s mind and Jesus’ heart.

As we hear Jesus’ words and consider the Beatitudes, it’s easy to look at ourselves and say, ‘That’s not me, that’s not the world, that is not even the Church.’ And we’d be right, it’s not. We tend to look at what we’re not. God, however, focuses on what we can become, who we are called to be.

The temptation is to think that the Beatitudes are rules or conditions for being blessed or receiving our heavenly reward. They are not at all. They are not about building up, accomplishing, or acquiring. They are about letting go, surrendering, living with a vulnerable and open heart. We need to trust God more than the external circumstances of our lives. They invite dependence on God rather than self- reliance.

Let’s face it, in the trauma and setbacks of life we discover that we cannot do life by ourselves. I’ve certainly learnt that.                                                   As we admit our need of God, we find purity of heart.                                                    The arrogance of self-sufficiency gives way to meekness.                                                We realise that all we are and have, is from God and we begin to know ourselves as poor in spirit.                                                                                                      Our own misfortunes awaken and connect us to the pain of the world for which we cannot help but mourn.                                                                   We think less about ourselves and become merciful to others.

We have no where else to go and so we turn our gaze to God. The longer we gaze at God the more we hunger and thirst for righteousness, for God’s life, and we become peacemakers reconciling ourselves to God and our neighbours.                                                                                                                This is the life for which Christ’s disciples are willing to be persecuted, a life of righteousness, the life for which Christ died and rose again.

The Beatitudes are not so much about what we do, our actions, but how we do, our being. They are less about actions and more about relationships.

We have already been blessed by God. We should live the Beatitudes as a response to God blessing us. That is the way of Christ. That is not only the way forward through life, it is the way to life.

If we are to follow Christ it must become our way.

Amen

 

Affirmation of our faith

Do you believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist?

We believe and trust in him.

 

Do you believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again?

We believe and trust in him.

 

Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world?

We believe and trust in him.

 

This is the faith of the Church.

This is our faith.

We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen

 

Hymn: 449 Love divine, all loves excelling

 

Our Intercessions by Helen Dunbar

 

Great is the rejoicing in heaven among the saints of God as they worship their Lord in glory.

 

Let us still our bodies and open our hearts and minds to pray.

 

We pray for all the saints on earth,

all those walking as friends of Jesus

through the light and shadows of life,

in grassy meadows and scaling bare rock;

that we may all persevere with joy,

supporting one another along the way.

 

Lord, hear us; Lord, graciously hear us

 

We pray for all the kingdoms and nations of the earth,

For their leaders and their people,

Their policies and needs,

That under God’s overarching love

They may learn his ways and his will.

 

Lord, hear us; Lord, graciously hear us

 

We pray for those we love and care for

And those who love and pray for us,

For the wisdom to learn

From all we experience in this life,

So that we are not damaged,

But rather grow from the difficult times.

 

Lord, hear us; Lord, graciously hear us

 

Lord, you are the Father of us all and we come before you today with our prayers knowing that you will hear us, help us and guide us. Be with us as we go about our daily lives. Help us to appreciate all we have.

 

We pray for the Church, both here in St Clement and throughout the world, and all who call themselves Christians, that they may go forward in unity and strength. Help us to respect the beliefs of others even if we do not share them, to celebrate what we have in common and to accept our differences.

 

Lord, hear us; Lord, graciously hear us

 

We pray for all those in need, for the homeless and hungry, for all refugees, travelling about to find a place of safety and never knowing where the next meal is coming from.

 

We pray for our community here at St Clement and the surrounding area.  We pray for all the people we know and love and we think of all those whose lives are blighted by emotional and financial upheaval and for all those coping with stress at work, at home, or in life generally, feeling the world is a dark and dismal place.

 

Lord, hear us; Lord, graciously hear us

 

 

We ask your blessing on King Charles 111 and Queen Camilla and members of the royal family.

 

We pray for all those who are suffering and those too weak to pray;

for all who are searching for life’s meaning and those who find it hard to believe they are loved and cherished by the living God.

We pray for all people known to us for, Ken and Reverend Diane, May, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Pam and David, Brian,

Rupert and Linda, Diana, Jan and family, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Stella, Alison, Callum, Jay, Julie and Andy.

 

We pray for all those who have died in faith,

giving thanks for the shining lives of the saints,

and asking that with them we may come to share in the endless joy of heaven.

We remember all those whose anniversary falls at this time, we pray for Vincent Frost, a much-loved husband and father.

 

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

 

Gathering our prayers and praises into one, let us pray with confidence as our risen Lord taught us:

 

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

 

A Last Beatitude by Malcolm Guite

 

And blessed are the ones we overlook;

The faithful servers on the coffee rota,

The ones who hold no candle, bell, or book

But keep the books and tally up the quota,

The gentle souls who come to ‘do the flowers,’

The quiet ones who organise the fete,

Church sitters who give up their weekday hours,

Doorkeepers who may open heaven’s gate.

God knows the depths that often go unspoken                                                    Amongst the shy, the quiet, and the kind,

Or the slow healing of a heart long broken

Placing each flower so for a year’s mind.

Invisible on earth, without a voice,

In heaven their angels glory and rejoice.

 

Prayer of Peace

 

God has called us to live in peace.

 

The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

 

Hymn: 424 Lo! He comes with clouds descending

 

Blessing

 

May God’s Word be in your heart.

May God’s Word be on your lips.

May God’s Word be in your touch.

May God’s Word direct your feet.

On this day and all your days to come

may God’s Word be the life you live.

 

Amen