Welcome to our online worship on this the Second Sunday in Advent. Welcome to our worship as we are gathered in heart and spirit if not in physical proximity with one another. It is a reminder that the church is not the building but rather it is the people of God who are the church.
We cannot meet physically in church, but we can still celebrate the life of God, and pray for one another. There will also be a live worship service using zoom at 10am, which will be open 15 mins beforehand for technical sound checks & notices. For any children we have weekly activities which follow the same theme and are used for junior church and for children joining the Zoom Meeting - click here for activity sheets for this week.
If you are unable to join the Zoom Meeting using the link, you can phone in on 0203 051 2874 and use the appropriate meeting ID & passcode
You may like to light a candle as a reminder that the love of God is like a light in our darkness
Welcome To Worship
Music: “Yesterday, Today and Forever” by Vicky Beeching, played by Caroline Bushman
Yesterday, Today and Forever
Be still and rest in the peace of God.
Be strong and trust in the tranquility of God.
Be quiet and rejoice in the beauty of God.
Be open and be drawn into the depths of God.
Be courageous and set sail in the sea of God.
Be yourself and be enveloped in the heart of God,
who has made all things, loves all things,
redeems all things, today and always.
Opening Prayer
God, you called and prepared your people through John,
a strange man in a strange place.
May we, sometimes strange, sometimes not,
all gather to worship you, O God,
who calls all kinds of people to gather together,
turning towards the eternal Word
that does not fade, that welcomes all,
making strangers friends for ever. Amen.
Hymn
Longing for Light
Prayer of Praise
God, you have comforted your people,
making paths where there seemed no path.
You have lifted up valleys,
relieved droughts,
and made high places low.
You have gathered your people
in the eternal place of love.
You speak to our hearts,
and you forgive us for our wandering ways.
Your light and love and faithfulness and work
are true, ever true, always lasting.
We praise you, for the goodness you are,
and the pathways you make before us. Amen.
Confession
We have looked at the rough,
and judged it for not being smooth.
We have looked at the valley,
and thought it could not be raised.
We have observed the mountain,
believing it would be unscalable,
and in so doing, we have become complacent.
Forgive us, God,
for our complacency and our judgements.
Make us see with the eyes of a pilgrim,
knowing that you who have called us on this way,
will make a pathway before us. Amen.
Collect
Almighty God, purify our hearts and minds,
that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour
we may be ready to receive him,
who is our Lord and our God. Amen
Bible Readings
Mark 1: 1 – 8
1The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way’ – 3‘a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.”’
4And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. 6John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
Prepare the way for the Lord!
Come, reveal yourself within our world, Lord.
We pray Lord for the world where there is suffering due to the global pandemic.
In some parts of the world this is made worse due to war and violence in places like Yemen, Ethiopia and Syria. We pray that there will be peace. We pray that world leaders may prepare for better days ahead, after the pandemic is over, and do more to protect your creation by promoting peace, social justice and reducing pollution.
Loving God: Help us prepare the way for Christ
Prepare the way for the Lord!
Come, reveal yourself in our country, Lord.
We pray for the Government as they navigate the nation through the Coronavirus pandemic. We give thanks for the health care professionals who have cared for so many people during the pandemic and for the scientists who have developed vaccines. We pray that as a nation we look forward to 2021 as we prepare for the mass vaccination programme and enter our new relationship with the European Union. Loving God: Help us prepare the way for Christ
Prepare the way for the Lord!
Come reveal yourself in the church Lord.
As we look to what our worship and fellowship will be like over Christmas and beyond, we pray that you will be with us. May the Holy Spirit guide the church leaders, and inspire us all to stand firm in the hope we have in you, even when there are frustrations linked to the current regulations. We thank you for the way you have touched people’s hearts to help and support others in this church and community, thinking of all the different activities that continue to run and new initiatives that have started. We pray that we may continue to seek ways to share your love and hope with others this Advent, Christmas and into the new year.
Loving God: Help us prepare the way for Christ
Prepare the way for the Lord!
Come, that we may know you with us in our need, Lord.
Come with all-sufficient love: to the sick and anxious and to lives overshadowed by sorrow. We pray for people on our prayer list who need our prayers at this time, thinking in particular of John Clements, Nicky, Ivor Williams, David and Lynda, Lorna Nodder, Joyce Baldock, Melanie, her niece, Joan Mandry, Trevor Owen, Derek Martin, Anne Hallowes, Peter and Sue Allen. We pray for those who have recently died remembering from our prayer list Sally Gale, David Bourne, George Patch and Teresa Horsfall; we give thanks for their lives and pray for their families and other families who are missing loved ones.
Loving God: Help us prepare the way for Christ
By our words, prayers and actions
Loving God: Help us prepare the way for Christ
We ask these prayers in and through the holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen
The Lord's Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray,
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
Offertory
Lord God as we look forward to your coming Kingdom, we offer these our gifts to prepare the community in which we live and indeed the world, for your wonderful love that is coming to all people. Amen
Giving to our Churches
See our giving page for more information about how you can give to our churches
We have gathered around stories of strange people in wild places. For you, O Lord, no desert is a desert only. It is a place where wild things grow and nurture us, in all the places of our lives. Nurture us, as we go, so that we can find more nurture, and be more nurture, in all abandoned places. Because you see life and light where we do not. And so we follow your light into all places. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ. Amen.
