Welcome to our service - 19 March - Mothering Sunday
This service sheet can be used individually or with households.
We would encourage you to say (or even sing) hymns and songs out loud.
Prayers, other liturgy or readings can be said out loud or silently, corporately or individually.
Easter @ St Gabriel's
Compline/ Night Prayer during Holy Week
Join us at 9pm each evening, Monday - Thursday, for a short time of prayer and reflection at the end of each day.
At The Table Maundy Thursday Meal - 6 pm
Join us on Maundy Thursday in the church hall as we eat together as a church family and remember the final Passover meal that Jesus had with his family.
Good Friday All-age Service - 10 am
In church and on Zoom.
Good Friday Meditation - 2 pm
In church and on Zoom.
An hour of prayer and meditation as we gather around the cross. Cuppa and Cake will proceed immediately afterwards.
Easter Sunday All-age Service on Zoom - 10 am
in church and on Zoom
Easter Sunday Holy Communion - 11:30 am
A Covid safe service of Holy Communion.
SERVICE
Opening
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
Blessed are those who have endured temptation;
they have stood the test and will receive the crown of life.
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
Prayer for Mothering Sunday
Loving God,
Thank you for mums and children
and for all the joy of family life.
Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother;
Be close to those who are struggling because they have no children;
Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love.
Let your love be present in every home,
And help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SING:
LORD, ENTHRONED IN HEAVENLY SPLENDOUR,
First-begotten from the dead,
Thou alone, our strong Defender,
Liftest up Thy people’s head.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus, true and living Bread.
Here our humblest homage pay we,
Here in loving reverence bow;
Here for faith’s discernment pray we,
Lest we fail to know Thee now.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou art here, we ask not how.
Though the lowliest form doth veil Thee
As of old in Bethlehem,
Here as there Thine angels hail Thee
Branch and Flower of Jesse’s stem.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
We in worship join with them.
Paschal Lamb, Thine offering, finished
Once for all when Thou wast slain,
In its fulness undiminished
Shall forever more remain,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Cleansing souls from every stain.
Life-imparting, heavenly Manna,
Stricken Rock with streaming side,
Heaven and earth with loud hosanna
Worship Thee, the Lamb who died,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Risen, ascended, glorified!
George H. Bourne (1840–1925)
CONFESSION
The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. Let us come to the Lord, who is full of compassion, and acknowledge our transgressions in penitence and faith.
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, and mind, and strength.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Lord, have mercy.
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Lord, have mercy.
We confess to you, Lord
All our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy and impatience of our lives.
Lord, have mercy.
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people.
Lord, have mercy.
Our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves.
Lord, have mercy.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts and our dishonesty in daily life and work.
Lord, have mercy.
Our negligence in prayer and worship and our failure to commend the faith that is in us.
Lord, have mercy.
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.
COLLECT
God of love,
passionate and strong,
tender and careful:
watch over us and hold us
all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyDr9-Mpc_s
BE STILL AND KNOW that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.
I am the Lord that healeth thee … (etc.)
In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust … (etc)
READINGS
John 9
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Then he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
His neighbours and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
“Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
“But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
“Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
“Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
“You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshipped Jesus.
Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgement—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Thanks be to God.
Questions for reflection
I would invite you to re-read the reading from John’s gospel. As you do, imagine you are the man healed by Jesus. Focus on what he must has been feeling throughout the passage.
· Jesus said of the blind man: ‘This happened so the power of God could be seen in him’. How is the power of God seen both when someone is healed and when the healing doesn’t come yet?
· How did the Pharisees respond to this miracle? The actions of Jesus cause ‘deep division of opinion among them’ (v. 16). Is that still the case today?
· What did the Pharisees do to try to discredit the healed man's testimony about Jesus and how does the healed man repeatably respond to the questions about his healing and about what Jesus did? What can we learn from this as to how we share our own testimony?
· Verse 18 says: ‘The Jewish leaders still refused to believe’. What can we learn from this about what might happen when we share our faith with others?
· Much of John’s gospel talks about spiritual blindness. Here it is directly linked to the healing of sight and how that leads to the healed man having his spiritual eyes opened. What might be causing you to be spiritually blind to Jesus? Pray that God’s Spirit would open the eyes of your heart.
· What did Jesus say about his purpose in coming into the world, and how did this relate to his healing of the blind man?
· The man says: “Yes, Lord, I believe!” and he worshipped Jesus. Spend some time responding to this for your own life.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand
of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
O LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
When I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer:
Come and listen to me.
Jacques Berthier/Taizé.
Copyright © 1982 Ateliers et Presses de Taize (France).
Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead,
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us;
in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness,
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us
Anselm (1109)
PRAYERS - written by Linda Chambers
Although our prayers today highlight mothers in particular much is also relevant to fathers and parents - and I hope there will also be something that resonates with each of us in some way.
God of Love, thank you for your love for each of us and your involvement in our lives. Thank you for motherhood at its best with its potential for love, encouragement, security, generosity … Thank you for those who have mothered and nurtured us in some way during our lives whether our real mothers or not. But we also remember those who have been scarred by negative experiences of motherhood – and those for whom today is a reminder of loss - we pray for your healing and wholeness …
Thank you for nieces, nephews, friends’ children, children in our church family we can all share and enjoy. May our church be a place of care and support for all. Thank you for our Mother Church, the Cathedral. We pray your blessing on Dean Abi, the staff and all involved with the life and worship of the Cathedral.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
God of Love, we pray for those hoping to be parents one day, those whose hopes are constantly dashed, those for whom parenthood may never happen. Give strength and patience to parents whose children have additional needs of any kind. Empower them as they tussle with the authorities for extra support or a diagnosis.
We pray for mothers often coping with children on their own, juggling home, school, work … those struggling to make ends meet. Bless the work of Baby Basics in Sheffield who support new mums, teenage mums, women fleeing domestic abuse.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
God of Love, we pray for mothers whose children struggle with various addictions, those estranged from their children or separated by distance, mothers who have lost a child whatever age and in whatever circumstances. We remember too those concerned about an elderly mother or father, especially if some distance away and those who’ve lost a parent in recent times and continue to grieve.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
God of Love, mothers in many countries are traditionally the ones who hold their families together. Please protect them as they fetch water, take children to the nearest clinic, work in the fields to support the family …
We pray for mothers in Ukraine and other war torn countries who have fled to safety with their children leaving the men behind to fight. Comfort and sustain those in many areas who are separated from their children due to floods, earthquakes, kidnapping or trafficking …
And now a pause for your own prayer for Mothering Sunday …
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
God of Love, just as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings, you long to gather us to yourself. Watch over us and hold us in your care this coming week and always. AMEN
LORD’S PRAYER
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
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8eorCEMIK4
MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE.
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love;
Where there is injury, Your pardon, Lord;
And where there’s doubt, true faith in You.
Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of Your peace.
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light;
And where there’s sadness, ever joy.
Oh, Master, grant…
Make me a channel of Your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
In giving to all men that we receive,
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Oh, Master, grant…
Sebastian Temple. Dedicated to Mrs Frances Tracy
Copyright © 1967 OCP Publications
OFFERTORY - Take a moment to consider how you are going to continue to give to the life of the church and support other aid agencies and mission organisations.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour, and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CJT-6nsl8c
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 shall Thou, gracious Lord, from me
Receive the glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song forever new.
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free;
But all my life, in every step,
Be fellowship with Thee.
Horatius Bonar (1808–89) (1808–89)
FINAL BLESSING:
May God, who gave birth to all creation, bless you:
may God, who became incarnate by an earthly mother, bless you: may God, who broods as a mother over her children, bless you.
May almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen