TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE GOD KNOWN
TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE GOD KNOWN
Trinity Sunday and the following Sundays are called Ordinary Time in the church's calendar. These services are prepared by Rev Elaine and the ministry team of St Laurence.
A reflective service for Trinity 16. There are three hymns, the words of which are below.
Music: Kyrie from Requiem, by Victoria, 1605. The Sixteen
Help us to help each other, Lord,
each other's cross to bear;
let each a helping hand afford,
and feel each other's care.
Up into thee, our living head,
let us in all things grow,
and by thy sacrifice be led
the fruits of love to show.
Touched by the magnet of thy love
let all our hearts agree;
and ever towards each other move,
and ever move towards thee.
This is the bond of perfectness,
thy spotless charity.
O let us still, we pray, possess
the mind that was in thee.
Charles Wesley
From heaven you came helpless babe
Entered our world, your glory veiled
Not to be served but to serve
And give Your life that we might live
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
There in the garden of tears
My heavy load he chose to bear
His heart with sorrow was torn
'Yet not My will but Yours, ' He said
Come see His hands and His feet
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered
So let us learn how to serve,
And in our lives enthrone Him;
Each other’s needs to prefer,
For it is Christ we’re serving.
Graham Kendrick
May the mind of Christ, my Saviour,
Live in me from day to day,
By his love and power controlling
All I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through his power.
May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me,
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.
May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.
Kate Barclay Wilkinson
A reflective service for Trinity 15. There are three hymns and a Taize chant, the words of which are below.
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
to his feet your tribute bring;
ransomed, healed,
restored, forgiven,
who like you his praise should sing?
Alleluia, alleluia!
praise the everlasting King.
Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to blame and swift to bless;
Alleluia, alleluia!
glorious in his faithfulness.
Father-like, he tends and spares us,
All our hopes and fears he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Alleluia, alleluia!
widely as his mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face;
sun and moon,
bow down before him,
praise him all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
praise with us the God of grace.
Lord, today your voice is calling,
Lifting thoughts to things above;
Life is wonderful, enthralling,
Touched by your unfailing love.
Suddenly I see the beauty
Often hidden from my gaze;
So, I come, not out of duty,
But with glad and grateful praise.
Lord, I sometimes fail to value
All your blessings as I should.
Slow to make the time to thank you,
Blind to so much that is good.
Days are lived in such a hurry
There’s no time to stop and stare,
Joy is crushed by weight of worry,
Happiness obscured by care.
Lord, today I come rejoicing,
Vowed to waste your gifts no more;
Bringing praise and gladly voicing
What I should have voiced before.
Pouring out my adoration,
Scarcely knowing where to start,
With a song of exultation,
Lord, I thank you from the heart.
Nick Fawcett (b. 1957) © Copyright 2004 Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Guide me, O thou great redeemer,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
Feed me now and evermore,
Feed me now and evermore.
Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fiery cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield,
Be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs and praises, songs and praises,
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.
-----------------------
Taize song
Bless the Lord, my soul
And bless God’s holy name
Bless the Lord, my soul
who leads me into life
A reflective service for Trinity 14. There are three hymns the words of which are below.
Opening music: Gabriel’s oboe, Morricone. Played by Tom Cameron
Closing music: Prayer, by Secret Garden
Inspired by love and anger,
disturbed by need and pain,
Informed of God's own bias,
we ask him once again:
"How long must some folk suffer?
How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self-interest
turn prayer and pity blind?"
From those forever victims
of heartless human greed,
Their cruel plight composes
a litany of need:
"Where are the fruits of justice?
Where are the signs of peace?
When is the day when prisoners
and dreams find their release?"
To God, who through the prophets
proclaimed a different age,
We offer earth's indifference,
its agony and rage:
"When will the wronged by righted?
When will the kingdom come?
When will the world be generous
to all instead of some?"
Amused in someone's kitchen,
asleep in someone's boat,
Attuned to what the ancients
exposed, proclaimed and wrote,
A saviour without safety,
a tradesman without tools
Has come to tip the balance
with fishermen and fools.
Iona Community, Tune: Sally Gardens
O Lord of our Salvation
the pains of all creation
are born upon your cross
the failure of compassion
revealed in starkest fashion
exposes all our gold as dross.
We hear your voice protesting
to love and hope attesting
where justice is denied.
Where innocents are dying,
where hate is crucifying,
you call us to your bleeding side.
O give us faith to stay here,
to wait, to watch and pray here,
and witness to your cry
in scarred and tearful faces,
in countless painful places,
you give us hope that will not die.
Michael Forster, Music: Bach
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
this our song shall ever be;
for we have no hope, nor Saviour,
if we have not hope in thee.
All for Jesus! thou wilt give us
strength to serve thee, hour by hour,
none can move us from thy presence,
while we trust thy love and power.
All for Jesus! at thine altar
thou wilt give us sweet content;
there, dear Lord, we shall receive thee
in thy holy sacrament.
All for Jesus! thou hast loved us;
all for Jesus! thou hast died;
all for Jesus! thou art with us;
all for Jesus glorified!
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
this the Church's song must be;
till, at last, the flock is gathered
one in love and one in thee.
A reflective service for Trinity 13. There are three hymns the words of which are below. Also below is the response to the prayers.
.Jesus calls us here to meet him
as, through word and song and prayer,
we affirm God's promised presence
where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise;
praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us,
to our hopes and fears attends.
Jesus calls us to confess him
Word of life and Lord of all,
sharer of our flesh and frailness,
saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story;
tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory
came to earth to meet us here.
Jesus calls us to each other,
vastly different though we are;
creed and colour, class and gender
neither limit nor debar.
Join the hand of friend and stranger;
join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter
in their common search for truth.
Jesus calls us to his table
rooted firm in time and space,
where the Church in earth and heaven
finds a common meeting place.
Share the bread and wine, his body;
share the love of which we sing;
share the feast for saints and sinners
hosted by our Lord and King.
Iona - John L. Bell and Graham Maule
Sweet Sacrament divine,
Hid in thine earthly home,
Lo, round thy lowly shrine,
With suppliant hearts we come;
Jesu, to thee our voice we raise
In songs of love and heartfelt praise:
Sweet Sacrament divine.
Sweet Sacrament of peace,
Dear home for every heart,
Where restless yearnings cease
And sorrows all depart;
There in thine ear all trustfully
We tell our tale of misery:
Sweet Sacrament of peace.
Sweet Sacrament of rest,
Ark from the ocean's roar,
Within thy shelter blest
Soon may we reach the shore;
Save us, for still the tempest raves,
Save, lest we sink beneath the waves:
Sweet Sacrament of rest.
Sweet Sacrament divine,
Earth's light and jubilee,
In thy far depths doth shine
The Godhead's majesty;
Sweet light, so shine on us, we pray
That earthly joys may fade away:
Sweet Sacrament divine.
Longing for light, we wait in darkness
Longing for truth, we turn to You.
Make us Your own, Your holy people
Light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts,
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in Your church gathered today.
Longing for peace, our world is troubled
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has pow'r to save us.
Make us your living voice.
Christ, be our light…
Longing for food, many are hungry
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us Your bread, broken for others
Shared until all are fed.
Christ, be our light…
Longing for shelter, many are homeless
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us Your building, sheltering others
Walls made of living stone.
Christ, be our light…
Many the gift, many the people
Many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another
Making Your kingdom come.
Christ, be our light!
As we are gathered Jesus is here
One with each other, Jesus is here
Joined by the Spirit, washed in the blood
Part of the body, the church of God
As we are gathered Jesus is here
One with each other, Jesus is here
A reflective service for Trinity 12. There are three hymns and a Taize chant the words of which are below.
Jesus, where'er thy people meet,
there they behold thy mercy seat;
where'er they seek thee, thou art found,
and every place is hallowed ground.
For thou, within no walls confined,
inhabitest the humble mind;
such ever bring thee when they come,
and going, take thee to their home.
Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few,
thy former mercies here renew;
here to our waiting hearts proclaim
the sweetness of thy saving name.
Here may we prove the power of prayer
to strengthen faith and sweeten care,
to teach our faint desires to rise,
and bring all heaven before our eyes.
Lord, we are few, but thou art near;
nor short thine arm, nor deaf thine ear;
O rend the heavens, come quickly down,
and make a thousand hearts thine own.
(William Cowper 1731-1800)
Be still for the presence of the Lord
The Holy One is here
Come bow before him now
With reverence and fear
In Him no sin is found
We stand on holy ground
Be still for the presence of the Lord
The Holy One is here
Be still for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around
He burns with holy fire
With splendour He is crowned
How awesome is the sight
Our radiant King of light
Be still for the glory of the Lord
Is shining all around
Be still for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place
He comes to cleanse and heal
To minister His grace
No work too hard for Him
In faith receive from Him
Be still for the power of the Lord
Is moving in this place
(David Evans)
---------
Within our darkest night
You kindle the fire that never dies away
Never dies away
Taizé (from Taizé Reflections, 2016)
We love the place, O God,
wherein thine honour dwells;
the joy of thine abode
all earthly joy excels.
We love the house of prayer,
wherein thy servants meet;
and thou, O Lord, art there
thy chosen flock to greet.
We love the sacred font;
for there the holy Dove
to pour is ever wont
his blessing from above.
We love thine altar, Lord;
O what on earth so dear?
for there, in faith adored,
we find thy presence near.
We love the word of life,
the word that tells of peace,
of comfort in the strife,
and joys that never cease.
We love to sing below
for mercies freely given;
but O we long to know
the triumph-song of heaven.
Lord Jesus, give us grace
on earth to love thee more,
in heaven to see thy face,
and with thy saints adore.
(William Bullock 1798-1874)
A reflective service for Trinity 11. There are four hymns, the words of which are below.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,
bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him the Lord is his name.
Low at his feet lay your burden of carefulness,
high on his heart he will bear it for you,
comfort your sorrows
and answer your prayerfulness,
guiding your steps in the way that is true.
Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
of the poor wealth you would count as your own;
truth in its beauty and love in its tenderness
these are the offerings to bring to his throne.
These, though we bring them
in trembling and fearfulness,
he will accept for the name that is dear;
mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
trust for our trembling and hope for our fear.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,
bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him the Lord is his name.
Father, hear the prayer we offer:
Not for ease that prayer shall be,
But for strength, that we may ever
Live our lives courageously.
Not for ever in green pastures
Do we ask our way to be;
But the steep and rugged pathway
May we tread rejoicingly.
Not forever by still waters
Would we idly rest and stay;
But would smite the living fountains
From the rocks along our way.
Be our strength in hours of weakness,
In our wanderings be our Guide;
Through endeavour, failure, danger,
Saviour, be thou at our side.
Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey,
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we've seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.
Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that l may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.
Jesus, you are the bread we long for.
Jesus, you are the word we need.
Jesus, here in your gathered people today,
you live to show us the way.
For those who starve you become bread,
For those who thirst you become wine.
Do this in memory of me
For those in need you became poor.
For those in shame your love is sure.
Do this in memory of me
For those who weep your arms are wide.
Those who are lost you sit beside.
Do this in memory of me
For those alone you speak your word.
For those oppressed your cry is heard.
Do this in memory of me
King of all Kings, choosing to serve.
To the world’s eyes failed and absurd.
Do this in memory of me
(Bernadette Farrell)
A reflective service for Trinity 10. There are three hymns, the words of which are below.
O Lord, all the world belongs to You
and You are always making all things new.
What is wrong, You forgive,
and the new life You give
is what’s turning the world upside down.
The world’s only loving to its friends,
but Your way of loving never ends,
loving enemies too;
and this loving with You
is what’s turning the world upside down.
The world lives divided and apart,
You draw us together, and we start
in our friendship to see
that in harmony we
can be turning the world upside down.
The world wants the wealth
to live in state,
but You show a new way to be great:
like a servant You came,
and if we do the same,
we’ll be turning the world upside down.
O Lord, all the world belongs to You
and You are always making all things new.
What is wrong, You forgive,
and the new life You give
is what’s turning the world upside down.
God of mercy, God of grace,
show the brightness of your face.
Shine upon us, Saviour, shine;
fill your world with light divine;
all your saving health extend
unto earth's remotest end.
Let the people praise you, Lord;
be by all that live adored.
Let the nations shout and sing
glory to their gracious King;
at your feet their tribute pay,
and your holy will obey.
Let the people praise you, Lord;
earth shall then its fruits afford.
Unto us your blessing give;
we to you devoted live,
all below and all above,
one in joy and light and love.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest
drought and storm.
What heights of love,
what depths of peace
When fears are stilled,
when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The love of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
A reflective service for the Festival of St Laurence. There are three hymns, the words of which are below.
God, eternal and unchanging,
Though unbound by time or place,
yet with constant, tender yearning
you sustain our human race.
History in all its colours,
present moment where we stand,
hidden future, still to open –
all are gathered in your hand.
God who sees all human stories,
You in each your touch display;
Sometimes known and sometimes hidden
You have met us on our way.
Though we may have failed or faltered,
doubted love, resisted grace,
yet, persistent, you walked with us,
as we travelled to this place.
God, whose life pervades each moment,
meet us in this present hour,
as we open thought and action
to your life’s transforming power.
Startle, challenge and confront us,
touch our hearts and free our hands
so that we may see and serve you,
yield to all your love demands.
God who stands beyond the future,
what’s to come is still unknown.
Yet, unchanging, you are with us
and we will not walk alone.
Go with us through doubt and darkness,
Stand with us in hopeful place,
‘til the chain of time is broken
And we see you face-to-face.
(Pat Bennett Tune: Blaenwern)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways:
re-clothe us in our rightful mind;
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence praise…
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord
let us, like them, obey his word:
'Rise up and follow thee!...
O sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
when Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity interpreted by love…
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace…
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and your balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire,
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm…
Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part:
Praise in the common things of life,
Its goings out and in;
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of Thee and of Thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I be and weak.
So shalt thou, Lord, receive from me
The praise and glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.
So shall each fear, each fret, each care
Be turn-ed into song
And every winding of the way
The echo shall prolong.
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free,
But all my life, in every step,
Be fellowship with Thee.
A reflective service for Trinity 8
There are three hymns, the words of which are in the file below. If you click on the actual filename it will open directly in your computer/device. If you click download it will go to your folder assigned for downloads and you can print from there.
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