Outside Eastertide.
Leader: God is one & God is three: Creator, Redeemer & Sustainer.
All: Let us worship God.
Leader: Our God is the God of the New Covenant & says to us, ‘I will be your God’.
All: And we will be your people. Let us live as the people of God.
We will listen to, or join in with,
Talbot’s ‘I am the Resurrection’ (Songs for Worship I&II)
Refrain: I am the Resurrection, I am eternal life
All who believe in me will never die
I Am the Resurrection, eternal life,
All who believe will live forever.
I am the Resurrection and the life,
And I ask you now do you believe in me?
I am the Son of God, believe in Christ
Who lays down His life for the world. Refrain.
You should not be surprised,
When all the world despises you
For the world despised the Son of God
And he has been raised up. Refrain.
Please sing the psalm as indicated.
Cantors: Before the angels
I will bless you, my God.
Side 1: I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing your praise.
Side 2: I will bow down towards your holy temple and praise your name
Because of your love and faithfulness.
Side 1: For you have glorified your name,
And your word above all things.
Side 2: When I called you answered me;
You increased my strength within me.
Side 1: All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of your mouth.
Side 2: They will sing of the ways of the Lord,
That great is the glory of the Lord.
Side 1: Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly;
He perceives the haughty from afar.
Side 2: Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You keep me safe.
Side 1: You stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies,
Your right hand shall save me.
Side 2: O Lord, your love endures forever;
Do not abandon the work of your hands.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
World without end, Amen.
All: Before the angels
I will bless you, my God.
We will listen to, or join in with, a musical version of this psalm. (Iona)
Beside the streams of Babylon we sat ourselves & wept,
Remembering the land we loved & all the hope it kept.
On willow trees we hung our harps, while adding to their wrongs
Our captors snapped a cruel request, ‘Sing one of Sion’s songs’.
How shall we ever sing God’s song, in such a foreign land?
If I my birthplace did forget, let strength desert my heart,
And let my tongue stick in my mouth if I forget
Jerusalem – which far above all other joys I set.
Reading: The death of Bede the Venerable.
Reader: Bede died on Thursday, 26 May 735, Ascension Day, on the floor of his cell, singing Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit and was buried at Jarrow. Cuthbert, a disciple of Bede’s, wrote a letter describing Bede’s last days and his death. According to Cuthbert, Bede fell ill, with frequent attacks of breathlessness but almost without pain, before Easter. On the Tuesday, two days before Bede died, his breathing became worse and his feet swelled. He continued to dictate to a scribe, however, and despite spending the night awake in prayer he dictated again the following day. At three o’clock, according to Cuthbert, he asked for a box of his to be brought, and distributed among the priests of the monastery “a few treasures” of his: “some pepper, and napkins, and some incense”. That night he dictated a final sentence to the scribe, a boy named Wilberht, and died soon afterwards.
Please sing the Magnificat as indicated.
Cantors: O holy Doctor, Saint Bede, light of the Church, lover of the law of God,
Pray for us to the Son of God.
Side 1: My being proclaims your greatness
And my spirit finds joy in you, God my Saviour,
Side 2: For you have looked upon me, your servant, in my lowliness;
All ages to come shall call me blessed.
Side 1: God, you who are mighty have done great things for me.
Holy is your name.
Side 2: Your mercy is from age to age
Towards those who fear you.
Side 1: You have shown might with your arm
And confused the proud in their inmost thoughts.
Side 2: You have deposed the mighty from their thrones
And raised the lowly to high places.
Side 1: The hungry you have given every good thing
While the rich you have sent away empty.
Side 2: You have upheld Israel, your servant,
Ever mindful of your mercy
Side 1: Even as you promised our ancestors;
Promised Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants for ever.
All: Give praise to the Father Almighty,
To his Son Jesus Christ our Lord
To the Spirit who dwells in our hearts
Both now and for ever, Amen.
All: O holy Doctor, Saint Bede, light of the Church, lover of the law of God,
Pray for us to the Son of God.
Intercessions:
Reader: Mindful of the recent great feast of Pentecost, we
pray for all new members of Christian churches
especially any known to us ……… silence ………. we ask,
All: Holy Spirit of God, remain with us.
Reader: For all seeking to discover their call from God – ………
silence ………. we ask,
All: Holy Spirit of God, remain with us.
Reader: For all who seek to follow God’s call – ……… silence
………. we ask
All: Holy Spirit of God, remain with us.
Reader: For all who feel lost in their search – ……… silence
………. we ask
All: Holy Spirit of God, remain with us.
Reader: For all who, like St Bede, use their intellectual gifts in
the service of the Gospel ……… silence ………. we ask
All: Holy Spirit of God, remain with us.
Reader: We pray for people who have died today – for those
who will die tonight – and for those whose
anniversaries occur tomorrow, remembering
especially:………
Pause for people to add silently or aloud any further intentions.
Leader begins the Our Father….
Leader: Lord God, you enrich your Church with the grace of St Bede’s learning. In your love grant to us who serve you that his wisdom may always enlighten us, & his prayer help us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
All: Amen
We will conclude with a sung blessing: Marty Haugen’s ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’ from ‘The Song & the Silence’.