Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.’ (Psalm 62:1-2)Hymn: All my hope on God is founded...Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Hebrews 9:24-28In life and death we are with the Lord. Let us turn to the Lord, who is full of compassion and mercy, and ask that he will forgive us our sins and extend his healing love upon our broken world: 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 neighbours 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.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Lord of the nations, Saviour and judge of all: remove from human hearts all bitterness and hate, grant to those who have died in war your mercy and forgiveness and bring us all to the peace of your eternal Kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who suffered and died, and now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.Mark 1:14-20Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for God’s loving presence to be known to everyone: We pray for the Church throughout the world, that God’s love will be revealed through us;We pray for the world, for compassion and loving kindness to grow in people’s hearts so that all will flourish, and conflict, poverty and injustice will cease;We pray for our friends, families and neighbours, that our relationships will thrive;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know God’s healing presence;We pray for the departed, and that all who mourn will receive comfort.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus 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.Hymn: Eternal Father, strong to save...May the love of our Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts: and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
A procession through the town will arrive at the War Memorial by 10:45am on Remembrance Sunday for our Act of Remembrance. This is followed by the Town Service in St Peter's Church at 11:15am.You are welcome to attend either or both of these events, whoever you are.You may place a cross on our Field of Remembrance outside the church if you wish.There is a votive candle stand inside the church if you would like to light a candle in remembrance of a loved one.There are interactive prayer stations for peace in the Chapel of Prayer which you may engage with.We will remember them.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament, if not in the whole Bible. Mention the Sermon on the Mount and most people think of it as a lovely collection of Jesus’s main teachings. It tends to be seen as a Good Thing. Our Gospel reading this morning is from Matthew, and is a list of circumstances or happenstances known as the Beatitudes. In this passage, Jesus tells his listeners that when certain unpleasant things happen to them, or if they are poor, for instance, they are to consider themselves ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’. We may have heard these words so many times that the disturbing and surprising nature of this teaching washes over us but I doubt that is how the disciples first heard them! Rather, I expect that they were confused and somewhat affronted. What do you mean that we are blessed when people say all kinds of unpleasant things about us? One can only hope that they had the opportunity to talk later with Jesus about his strange teachings and to get him to expand on what he meant. Now we understand that he wanted his followers to understand that whatever happened to them and regardless of their circumstances, if they trusted in him and remained faithful to him, their eternal salvation was assured. But was that all Jesus meant? Was what he said only intended to be about pie in the sky by and by? I believe that at the core of his teachings was the message that by trusting in him, by following his Way of love and forgiveness, they would see and experience everything they were going through with new eyes. If they looked to Jesus in the midst of their troubles, they would begin to see with the eyes of Christ. They would be transformed from within and given the grace and strength to endure. In their own strength the disciples would have known this was impossible. Jesus wasn’t really telling his friends how he wanted them to TRY to react to difficulties. He was telling them that by trusting in him this is how they WOULD react. Revd Christina Rees
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.’ (Psalm 33:22)Hymn: Who are these like stars appearing...2 Esdras 2: 42-48As we celebrate the joy of the saints, 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 neighbours 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.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: God of holiness, your glory is proclaimed in every age: as we rejoice in the faith of your saints, inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Matthew 5:1-12Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for God’s loving presence to be known to everyone:We pray for the Church, that all people will be drawn together by God’s love;We pray for the world, that compassion and loving kindness will grow in people’s hearts;We pray for our communities as we share God’s love, building relationships;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know God’s healing presence.We pray for the departed, remembering all who mourn. We especially think today of our own loved ones who have gone before us and all those who have passed away recently.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught Peter and all of the saints: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.Hymn: For all the saints who from their labours rest...May the love of our Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts: and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
