Welcome to our service - 8 May
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.
If you are able, we would also like invite you to join us for our main Sunday service, 10am, live on Zoom. Even if you have never been to St Gabriel’s before we would love you to join you. Please get in touch with the vicar Alistair (vicar@saintgs.co.uk) and he will send you the Zoom details.
Please join us for public worship in the church building this Sunday, 11:30am, for a service of Holy Communion.
OPENING
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one;
I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.
Alleluia, alleluia.
SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SG3a7PTSFE
There is a Redeemer
Jesus, God's own Son,
precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
holy One.
Thank you, O my Father,
for giving us your Son,
and leaving your Spirit
till the work on earth is done.
2. Jesus, my Redeemer,
name above all names,
precious Son of God, Messiah,
Lamb for sinners slain:
Thank you, O my Father...
3. When I stand in glory
I will see his face,
and there I'll serve my king for ever
in that holy place.
Thank you, O my Father...
Melody Green (c) Word Music (UK)
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
CONFESSION
Christ died to sin once for all, and now he lives to God. Let us renew our resolve to have done with all that is evil and confess our sins 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.
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.
ABSOLUTION
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
COLLECT
Risen Christ,
faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:
teach us to hear your voice
and to follow your command,
that all your people may be gathered into one flock,
to the glory of God the Father.
SING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsVAGsG_aGA
LORD, YOU ARE MORE PRECIOUS than silver,
Lord, You are more costly than gold.
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds,
And nothing I desire compares with You.
Lynn DeShazo.
Copyright © 1985 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music./Adm. Integrity Music Europe
READINGS
Job 38 New International Version
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
“Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
“Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
“What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who gives the ibis wisdom
or gives the rooster understanding?
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
This the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
TALK written by Jo Chamberlain
The five marks of mission are five characteristics you would expect to see in the life of a church which is fulfilling its calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. These are the signs that we are an outward-looking, servant-hearted church, doing what God wants. Today we are looking at the fifth mark of mission:
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Or: to treasure
But although, over these weeks, we’ve looked at each mark in turn, they all belong together. As Alistair said at the start, we don’t get to pick and choose which ones we like and which ones we don’t. A missional church will exhibit all these signs. And they all reinforce each other. For example, last week we were looking at transforming injustice, but in my group, we ended up talking about climate change. And whether or not other people will listen to us when we tell or teach about Jesus depends, I believe, on whether they see the church active in its mission to tend, transform and treasure.
So, where do we begin when it comes to safeguarding creation, sustainability and renewing the life of the earth? I wanted to start with the poem from the book of Job, which is our reading today. I love the imagery in the poem – so many startling ways of looking at the world. Close your eyes. I wonder which image struck you? The one that sticks in my mind is the storehouses of snow – in my imagination I see a door high up in the side of a mountain. I’m dressed in a parker with a furry hood, and I open the door and I’m bowled over by this avalanche of snow with rushes out as I do so. Or perhaps we can imagine flying high above the earth at night, while God points out all the constellations and tells us all their names. As we fly in the proper darkness there are so many more stars than we ever saw from the ground. But God knows all their names. Job also shows us that God is not only in charge of the vastness of the heavens and the oceans, but the detail of life on earth – the ibex and the rooster, the lion and the raven. [you can open your eyes now!]
It’s good to start here, thinking about the diversity and complexity of creation. All of creation is a complex, interdependent web of plants, animals and habitats. But nature is facing a crisis. Habitats and ecosystems are being lost as humans take them over to build or to farm. The changing climate is also devastating to plants and animals. Seasons are out of kilter and species are going extinct at an alarming rate. Scientists talk about this being the sixth mass extinction. The fifth mass extinction was when the dinosaurs were wiped out. That’s not a good sign. Biodiversity loss is a major calamity.
Climate change too, is a major calamity. I know that many of you here in church are greatly concerned about climate change. We know that the way we live our lives today means that more and more greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are being pumped into the atmosphere and are heating up the planet as we burn coal, oil and gas. And while things haven’t changed greatly in the UK, in other parts of the world, the climate has already changed enormously. We are seeing more frequent and more severe droughts, storms and flooding. These events destroy homes, communities, livelihoods and lives, and they recur and drag on, making it difficult for people to recover. Next week is Christian Aid week, and Stuart will be talking about “tend”, the mark of mission to respond to need by acts of loving service. But as you’ll see next week, one of the reasons that the need is so great is because of climate change. Another example of how the marks are all joined up together!
In the last few months, two big reports from international climate scientists have been published – two reports from the IPCC, the intergovernmental panel on climate change. You may have heard about them in the news. One was about the impact of climate change on the lives of people all round the world, and the other was about what we need to do to stop it. Both of these make pretty terrifying reading. Millions of people will suffer from catastrophic storms, floods or drought. And we need to act immediately and much, much more extensively if we are going to stop the worst things from happening. No part of how we live our lives can remain untouched.
In the face of these reports it’s easy to feel paralysed. There is just so much to do and we don’t know where to start. We feel like there’s nothing that we can do which will make a difference and so we bury our heads in the sand. So many people are suffering. The questions are too big. We don’t know the answers. Which brings us back to Job. Those verses in chapter 38 come quite near the end of the book. Job has suffered greatly. He has lost everything that he ever cared about. He is looking for answers, but there are none, and his friends are no help at all. He, like many of us, does not know how to move forward in the face of such confusion.
And God comes to Job, not with answers, but with this magnificent tour of creation. It is a good example for us too. This tour of creation shows up as many mysteries as revelations. There is much to wonder at, but even more that we cannot understand. Yet God is in command of all of it. Creation is vast, but God knows it intimately. Creation is infinitely complex, yet God understands every last detail. To wonder at creation is to wonder at its creator, to open our eyes to understand more about God and put our trust in God. That is a much better place to be. And it’s not just people of faith who have understood that this kind of contemplation is good for us. Science has also discovered that spending time in nature is good for us. It’s good for our mental health and wellbeing, it leads us to appreciate the natural world and leads us to take action to care for it.
So let’s not be paralysed into inaction. Let’s try not to watch the news and despair. Start with a tour of God’s creation – even if that’s only Endcliffe Park! But from here you can walk all the way up the Porter Valley and smell the wild garlic and admire the bluebells. Or you can venture a little further afield up out onto Stanage Edge and see Hope Valley laid out before you. And remember that you know the one who marked off its dimensions, who stretched a measuring line across it. Our call to strive to safeguard creation is one we share with the creator. Together we are co-workers with the Holy Spirit in the reconciliation of all things to their creator.
So that’s where we can start, be encouraged and renew our energy and motivation. What might our mission to sustainability look like next? There are lots of things we can do as individuals so that the way we live treasures creation rather than does it harm. Things that become part of our way of life, an expression of our faith if you like. Sometimes they cost a bit more, or take more effort, but they are often more healthy for us and better for the people around us, as well as better for the planet.
Our biggest harm comes from our carbon footprint. Everything we do and buy has a carbon footprint, because of the fossil fuels burned to make the energy needed, which lets off those damaging greenhouse gases. A lifestyle which treasures the earth is one which tries to use less energy or to use it from a renewable source. In practice, that could mean things like driving less, walking or taking the bus; switching to a renewable energy provider or even installing solar panels or a heat pump; mending and fixing things rather than buying something new; choosing a plant-based diet and food in season, rather than food that comes on an aeroplane. We could choose bee-friendly plants in our gardens and not keep everything too neat and tidy so there are spaces for other small creatures. And we can try to keep plastic waste to a minimum by choosing reusable instead of throw-away things like bags and cups and drink bottles. I’ve got lots more ideas, so please do come and talk to me!
We can do all these things as a church too. The PCC has agreed that we will follow the eco church scheme, and the environment and social justice group signed the church up just this week. We will look at where the environment and creation care fits into our worship, into how we look after the building and the garden, and what we do more widely to encourage eco-action. I think we are already doing lots of these things and we will be able to reach the bronze award quite soon. This week, two more churches in Sheffield Diocese got their silver award – St Leonard’s Dinnington and Christ Church Stannington. Who will be first to gold?
We also have a stake in the bigger picture. I hope you all voted on Thursday! Whichever way you voted, green issues were mentioned on every election leaflet I saw – the city council knows these things matter. It declared a climate emergency a couple of years ago, and we can continue to ask for progress. Olivia Blake, the MP here also talks about environmental matters a lot – I’m sure she would love to hear from you all about the things you would like her to do. And in November last year, leaders from all over the world met in Glasgow to discuss what to do to stop rising global temperatures at COP26. They agreed that the world needs to stop burning coal, to stop cutting down trees and that everyone needs to be more ambitious in their targets to cut carbon emissions. But they also recognised that most countries are not ambitious enough yet. So they agreed that instead of reviewing targets in 5 years time, every country needs to come back with a new target in one year’s time – when they meet again in Egypt in November. I am convinced that the presence of ordinary people on the streets of Glasgow on the middle Saturday calling for action gave the leaders the courage to make these decisions.
One last thought which I hope will make you feel empowered to act. Martin Luther King said this: “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. He was encouraging people to call out injustice and take a stand against it. But it got me thinking. I wonder if we can turn that around? Can we say: Justice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere. That means that every tiny step of justice you take today – to change your light bulbs, to buy Fairtrade, to walk instead of drive – all of those things are a threat to injustice. Every step you take, no matter how small, extends the reach of justice in the world, whether that’s environmental justice or the things Sam spoke about last week. Each act for justice creates a space where injustice is pushed back, and is an act which witness to the love of God for people and nature everywhere. Amen.
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).
PRAYERS
Prayer for the Restoration of Creation
Before our existence your Spirit hovered over the waters, and we declare
Our world belongs to God.
You created life and breath, light and dark, land and sea, every sight, every sound.
Our world belongs to God.
You declared creation good. Our stewardship brought you glory.
Our world belongs to God.
But we turned away from you—thinking only of ourselves, in spite of ourselves. Our relationship with you, with creation, with one another was broken.
We lost sight of you, but you did not forget us. Our world belongs to God.
We need your salvation. We fall in front of you in honest awareness that the gift you gave, though still full of beauty and every good thing we could ever need, is polluted.
The water, the soil, the air are not the way you meant them to be.
We dump, emit, and pollute.
We flounder out of harmony with the way you meant the world to be. We don’t know how to move back into tune, but we do know that
Our world belongs to God.
Teach us again to live in sync with your creation. May your Spirit move in the hearts of leaders, giving courage in the face of the climate crisis. May your Spirit move in the voices of youth who call on us to consider future generations. May your Spirit empower the poor with resilience to weather storms, drought, and floods. May your Spirit lift the conscience of the church to do what is right. May our actions bear witness that
Our world belongs to God.
These prayers have been sourced from here: https://network.crcna.org/sites/default/files/documents/Prayer%20for%20the%20Restoration%20of%20Creation.pdf
Prayer for climate change
You spoke into the silence
Light suffusing darkness.
You spoke into the silence
Blowing clean life giving air into the space
You spoke into the silence
Warmth and cold infusing the air
You spoke into the silence
Solid ground formed out of gushing water.
You spoke voice carrying over the sound
People, plants and animals came to life.
You spoke each creation balanced against the next so life would be abundant and sustainable.
You saw everything you had made and declared it to be very good.
You spoke choosing to give us humans stewardship over all that You had made.
We speak and act
Darkness of pollution limits light levels and damages the air we breathe.
We speak and act
Ground poisoned, burnt, stripped bare.
We speak and act
Spoiling, limiting, destroying quality of life and life itself.
We speak and act
Without hearing Your call over the noise of the world to be good stewards.
You speak. You create. You want us to be stewards of Your creation.
We come to You to re-learn how to care for the earth and people you have made. Amen
Katrina Rowland, April 2017. (https://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/worship/prayer-climate-change)
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
SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQkzHwz2eLE
I will offer up my life in spirit and truth,
Pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You.
In surrender I must give my every part,
Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart.
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring,
to so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung,
as a praise of Your name
for the things You have done?
O, my words could not tell, not even in part,
of the debt of love that is owed
by this thankful heart.
2. You deserve my every breath
for You've paid the great cost,
giving up Your life to death,
even death on a cross.
You took all my shame away,
there defeated my sin,
opened up the gates of heaven
and have beckoned me in.
Jesus, what can I give,
Matt Redman: (c) 1994 Unveiled Music/Kingsway's Thankyou Music
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.
SAY:
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=sT0r9DaGbmQ
IN HEAVENLY LOVE ABIDING,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here:
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?
Wherever He may guide me,
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack:
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.
Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o’er me,
Where darkest clouds have been;
My hope I cannot measure,
My path to life is free;
My Saviour has my treasure,
And He will walk with me.
Anna L. Waring (1820–1910)
BLESSING:
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, make you perfect in every good work to do his will; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always.
Amen