This week, on Sunday 30 January, there is a joint Windmill United Benefice service of Holy Communion at 11am at St John the Baptist, Outwood. (There will be no services in Burstow or Horne) And as always, we have an online service here, too, led this week by the Revd Nicholas Calver with a talk by the Revd Charles Sargent
You may like to have a candle by you that you could light later in the service
To follow today’s service just click on the arrow here and find the words below.
Angel-voices ever singing round thy throne of light,
Angel-harps for ever ringing, rest not day nor night;
Thousands only live to bless thee,
And confess thee Lord of might
Thou who art beyond the farthest mortal eye can see,
Can it be that thou regardest our poor hymnody?
Yes we know that thou art near us
and wilt hear us constantly
Yea, we know that thou rejoicest o’er each work of thine;
Thou didst ears and hands and voices for thy praise design;
Craftsman’s art and music’s measure
For thy pleasure all combine.
In thy house, great God, we offer of thine own to thee;
And for thine acceptance proffer, all unworthily,
Hearts and minds and hands and voices
In our choicest psalmody.
Honour, glory, might, and merit thine shall ever be:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, blessèd Trinity:
Of the best that thou hast given,
Earth and heaven render thee.
Dear friends in Christ, forty days ago we celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we recall the day on which he was presented in the Temple, when he was offered to the Father and shown to his people.
Let us pray:
Collect for Feast of Candlemas
Almighty and ever-living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever, Amen.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
The Gospel reading from Luke 2: 22-40
by Phyllida Dallman
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Talk
by Revd Charles Sargent
Let us pray to the Father through Christ who is our light and life.
Father, your Christ is acclaimed as the glory of Israel:
look in mercy on your Church, sharing his light.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
Father, your Christ in his temple brings judgement on the world:
look in mercy on the nations, who long for his justice.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
Father, your Christ, who was rich, for our sakes became poor:
look in mercy on the needy, suffering with him.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
Father, your Christ is the one in whom faithful servants find their peace:
look in mercy on the departed, that they may see your salvation.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
Father, your Christ is revealed as the one destined to be rejected:
look in mercy on us who now turn towards his passion.
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
Lord God, you kept faith with Simeon and Anna,
and showed them the infant King. Give us grace to put all our trust in your promises, and the patience to wait for their fulfilment;
Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer
And now, let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
In church the congregation’s candles are now lit from the crib.
If you have a candle by you, light it now.
God our Father, Source of all light,
At Christmas we celebrated the birth of Jesus,
the light of the world.
Today you revealed to Simeon
your light of revelation to the nations.
As we light these candles,
may they be a sign to us of that light,
that we may bring your light to others
and walk in the light of your presence
throughout the coming year,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading Christmas Carol (GA Studdert-Kennedy)
Father, here we bring to an end our celebration of the Saviour’s birth.
Help us, in whom he has been born,
to live his life that has no end.
Here we have offered the Church’s sacrifice of praise.
Help us, who have received the bread of life,
to be thankful for your gift.
Here we have rejoiced with faithful Simeon and Anna.
Help us, who have found the Lord in his temple,
to trust in your eternal promises.
Here we have greeted the Light of the world.
Help us, who now extinguish these candles,
never to forsake the light of Christ.
All now extinguish their candles
The anthem is a setting of the Nunc Dimittis
It was written for the choirs of the Windmill United Benefice by Roger Hind and recorded by them before its first performance at Candlemas in 2019
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace:
according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles:
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen.
In church the congregation will be turning from the crib to face the font,
as we now turn from Christmas towards Lent and Easter:
Here we now stand near the place of baptism.
Help us, who are marked with the cross,
to share the Lord’s death and resurrection.
Here we turn from Christ’s birth to his passion.
Help us, for whom Lent is near,
to enter deeply into the Easter mystery.
Here we bless one another in your name.
Help us, who now go in peace,
to shine with your light in the world.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Lord, the light of your love is shining,
In the midst of the darkness, shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth you now bring us,
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light.
Lord, I come to your awesome presence,
From the shadows into your radiance;
By the blood I may enter your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light.
As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness,
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light.
Graham Kendrick
© 1987 Make Way Music, P O Box 320, Tunbridge Wells TN2 9DE
Organist: Peter Nye
Hymn words reproduced under CCLI: 845257
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000), material from which is included in this service, is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2000.