- The Vicarage
- Church Street
- Harston
- Cambs
- CB22 7NP
01223 873284
Online every Tuesday at 8 pm
Intro
In our Christian calendar we are approaching Ascension Day.
For several weeks after the Resurrection, Jesus has come in and out of the disciples' lives, giving them reassurance, restoration, teaching, and breakfast!
Reading 1
John 16:7
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth:
it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate
will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
The Holy Spirit to go amongst us, at home, on our gardens, in our walks, in our meetings with friends, colleagues and neighbours.
Silence
Psalm
84
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns,
even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of
Baka, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than
a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents
of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
We miss our own parish church, the quiet homeliness of it, the ancient stones and beautiful glass, we give thanks to God for its beauty, serenity and its memories that speak to us, of those who have gone before us, and those around us and those new joining us.
Silence
Music
Be still my soul
So this week I was particularly struck by an email from someone in our parishes who said how thankful she was for home at this time, for a place of love and quietness, for contentment.
Reading 2
Psalm 128
1 Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, •
and walk in his ways.
2 You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; •
it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.
3 Your wife within your house
shall be like a fruitful vine; •
your children round your table,
like fresh olive branches.
4 Thus shall the one be blest •
who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord from out of Zion bless you, •
that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity
all the days of your life.
6 May you see your children’s children, •
and may there be peace upon Israel.
- the contentment of domesticity.
Music
Find rest my soul
Prayers
Song of Simeon
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
At last all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to your people, Israel.
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
Blessing:
May God grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.
Music
The Ground: Ola Gjeilo.
A candle is lit.
Lighten our darkness, Creator, Redeemer and Friend.
I’m thinking about distance tonight.
We have had to think a lot about this business of near and far and how near and how far, in recent weeks.
I was listening to Simon Armitage, our Poet Laureate this week and he has two very different poems on distance and I want to include them tonight.
Many of the Psalms deal with distance. feeling the distance of God is a common human experience, and was even the experience of the man that God called his friend, King David.
Psalm 13
1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
Silence
Poem :
All Right? Simon Armitage
Music
and from an album by
Sara Groves: called
All Right Here : You Cannot Lose My Love
Psalm
84
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns,
even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of
Baka, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than
a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents
of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Silence
Poem:
Dear London: Simon Armitage
God doesn’t, like an unwelcome lover, sit on our shoulder, directing our every move.
God is the great respecter of persons, calling us, but allowing us to answer. Loving us but letting us demonstrate our willingness to be loved.
Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
Music
Jesu, Joy of man’s desiring: Chloe Agnew
Prayers:
Great God of closeness and distance,
give us faith to see you when you are not visible,
let us trust in your unfailing love
We pray this night
for those now safe within their walls,
for those who watch and those who wake, for all who work and all who
sleep,
for your name’s sake.
Bless, Christ, this night
our friends, our thoughts, our memories,
our neighbours near and far,
in fear, in peace, in rest and hope.
We recall our neighbours here
those who will wake to work, to pressure, who may have power to change lives
near and far away and those with power to care for lives near and far away.
We pray for all who live in tense
homes who strive for reconciliation amid demands and expectations;
who pay a price in drink, drugs, Internet or finance.
We pray for their children.
We pray for those who sleep without a
roof, for refugee and stranger, for those who support and those who turn away,
for those who seek new paths through life,
for those who know loneliness, loss, and languishing,
We pray, good Lord that here this
night there may be peace
and the sleep of restfulness,
that we may wake refreshed
and explore again the gift of life in its fullness.
We say:
Spirit of the living God, present with us now, enter into us, body, mind and spirit, and heal us of all that harms us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Song of Simeon:
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
At last all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to your people, Israel.
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
Blessing:
May God grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.
Music and leaving
The Ground: Ola Gjeilo
5 May 2020
Intro music
from Jacob and Luke Fitzgerald: Fauré: Après un Rêve
A candle is lit. (do light one in your own space)
Lighten our darkness, Creator, Redeemer and Friend.
Opening poem
For those who are exhausted: A Blessing
John Donohue
Music
In beauty may I walk - Voces 8
NT Reading
John 10:24-30
The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Silence
Psalm
84How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a
thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents
of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Silence
Music
NT Reading
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Music
Shackleton's cross - Howard Goodall
Prayers:
Song of Simeon:
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
At last all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to your people, Israel.
Save us, Lord, while we are awake, protect us while we sleep, that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. Amen.
Blessing:
May God grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. Amen.
Music and leaving
UK Blessing