Regular services at St Mary's

 

Service of the Word

Sunday next before Lent February 14th 2021

To worship with us, please listen to the audio file and join in the responses in bold.

Listen to the Service of the Word

Hymn

'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.

’Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold,
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.

Fulfiller of the past,
Promise of things to be,
We hail thy Body glorified,
And our redemption see.

Before we taste of death,
We see thy kingdom come;
We fain would hold the vision bright,
And make this hill our home.

'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since you bidst us leave the mount
Come with us to the plain.

O Lord open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.


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.

Prayers of Penitence

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ
to save us from our sins,
to be our advocate in heaven,
and to bring us to eternal life.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith,
firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments
and to live in love and peace with all..

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
Amen.

May Almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

 

 

The Collect

Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Readings

A reading from the Second book of Kings
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’
 Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’
 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.


This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.

The Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away says the Lord
Alleluia

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

 

Sermon

You can listen to the sermon on the audio file.

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.

Intercessions

These responses are used

Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer


Prayers for the departed include:
Years Mind: Eric Earl, Dorothy Roeber.

And at the end:
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers,
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

 

The Benedictus

You have raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,  who has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, 
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets God promised of old 
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

To show mercy to our ancestors, 
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham:  to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

Free to worship him without fear,  holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,  for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,  and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

You have raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
born of the house of your servant David

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.

Anthem

The choir sing the anthem Christ, upon the mountain peak

 


The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his son Jesus Christ our Lord,
and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you all, evermore
All :  Amen.

Voluntary

The organ voluntary is Processional by William Mathias 

 

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Music scholarships at St Mary'sCalendar

February
7 Second Sunday before Lent
14 Sunday next before Lent
17 Ash Wednesday
21 Lent 1
28 Lent 2

March
7 Lent 3
14 Lent 4 (Mothering Sunday)
21 Passion Sunday (Lent 5)
28 Palm Sunday