Family Service
at
St. Augustine's

30 May 2004


Key :

directions
instructions for congregation
movements during service
prayers and readings
sections of the service

Other information :

There are some notes on our production of the service.

A rough plan of the church is available.

A note on copyright.


THE SERVICE

TRUST AND OBEY !

NarratorWe welcome you here in the name of Jesus. May He speak to each one of us in the stillness of our hearts.

There will be no collection taken during this service. There is a donation box at the back of the church for anyone who would like to give a donation.

Some "house keeping" information -

  • If anyone would like the music for our hymns today, please put up your hand up and Alan will bring it to you;
  • Toilets are between the church and the hall;
  • If anyone is new here and would like to go on the Church list, which entitles you to receive the Messenger three or four times a year, and other benefits, then please fill in the card at the end of the seats and hand it to one of the helpers after the service.

Thank you.

NarratorPlease stand for the hymn

For all the saints.

At the end of this hymn the story-teller and helper come to the front and sit on their chairs;
Mimer 1 ( not Jonah ), Mimer 2 ( Jonah ), Mimers 3 ( sea and the people of Nineveh ) come to front and stand behind the story-teller.
1.   For all the saints, who from their labours rest,
  Who to the world by faith their Lord confessed,
  Your Name, O Jesus, be for ever blessed :

Alleluia, alleluia !

2.   You were their rock, their fortress, and their might;
  You, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight,
  And in the darkness their unfailing light.

Alleluia, alleluia !

3.   So may Your soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
  Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
  And win with them the victor's crown of gold.

Alleluia, alleluia !

4.   And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
  Far off we hear the distant triumph-song;
  And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.

Alleluia, alleluia !

NarratorPlease sit for

The story of Jonah

Story tellerChildren, please come to the front to hear this story better.
( Wait for any children to come to the front and settle down. )
Narrator Did you know that there is a story in the Bible about a whale - or it may have been a big fish ?

I'm going to tell it to you now - The people standing behind me will help by miming parts of the story.

( SHOW CARD 1 )
  One day God spoke to Jonah -

"Jonah, go to the big city, Nineveh, and tell the people that I am very angry with them because of all the naughty and wicked things they are doing".

( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - keep still )
 Jonah was much too scared to do this ! He was so scared that he shook with fear at the thought, so instead he ran in the opposite direction.
( Mimer 2 - Shake with fear )
 He ran and ran and ran until he reached the sea.
( Mimer 2 - Run on the spot )

( SHOW CARD 2 )

 He found a boat about to sail to Spain.

He ran up the gangway, bought a ticket and ran down into the darkest part of the boat and went to sleep.

( Mimer 2 - Go to sleep )
 Surely now he would be safe from God.

But he was wrong - for God is everywhere.

He's at home, at school, at work - God and His love is everywhere.

You can't run away from Him.

( SHOW CARD 3 )
 The boat set sail to Spain, and Jonah slept.
( Mimer 1 - quiet sea; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 Then there was a big storm.

The waves got bigger and bigger, and still Jonah slept.

( Mimers 3 - stormy sea; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 The waves got so big that they kept breaking over the boat, and still Jonah slept.
( Mimers 3 - even more stormy; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 The waves got so big that the sailors were frightened and thought the boat was about to sink.
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 - frightened; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 They were so frightened that they threw everything they could overboard to lighten the boat and stop the waves from coming on board, and still Jonah slept.
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1- throw stuff overboard; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 The storm got worse and the sailors started crying out to their gods - "Save us, Save us" but the storm continued and still Jonah slept.
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 - kneel and pray; Mimer 2 - sleep )
 Then the Captain realised that Jonah was not with them so he went looking for him.
( SHOW CARD 4 )
 The Captain found Jonah in the darkest corner of the hold still fast asleep.

"Jonah, Jonah, wake up !" he said, shaking him.

( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 - shake him; Mimer 2 - wake up )
 "The boat's about to sink in this terrible storm - come up on deck and pray to your God that we might be saved !"

They went on deck.

( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 and Mimer 2 -walk )
 The sailors asked Jonah, "Who are you ? Where do you come from ?"
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 and Mimer 2 talk to each other )
 Jonah said, "I'm running away from God - the God Who created heaven and earth and all living things. That's what I'm doing".

"What shall we do with you ?" they asked.

Jonah said, "The storm is my punishment for disobeying God. If you throw me into the sea it will stop".

The sailors were horrified, and replied, "We can't do that ! It would be murder".

"Just do it", said Jonah.

"No, no", they said, "we'll try to row to safety".

So the sailors rowed as fast as they could but the storm still kept raging and the sailors were too tired to row any more.

( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 - row; Mimer 2 - watch )
 "You must throw me overboard", Jonah said.
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 and Mimer 2 talk to each other )
 So the sailors lay themselves on the deck and asked Jonah's God to forgive them for throwing Jonah overboard.
( Mimers 3, stormy; Mimer 1 - pray; Mimer 2 - watch )

( SHOW CARD 5 )

 They got up, picked up Jonah, and threw him into the sea. SPLASH !
( Mimers 3 - stormy; Mimer 1 - throw Jonah overboard; Mimers 3  - on word "splash", STOP; Mimer 2 - lie down )
 When Jonah hit the water - the storm stopped immediately;

The wind stopped roaring, the rain stopped falling and there was silence.

( Mimer 1 - be still )
 The sailors were so amazed that they once more threw themselves down onto the deck of the boat and worshipped the God of Jonah.
( Mimer 1 - pray )
 What about Jonah ?

He sank and sank and sank right down into the water. He was sure he was drowning.

( SHOW CARD 6 )
( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - open hands and on word "gulp" bang them shut )
 But suddenly he saw a big mouth opening up before him and GULP.

He was in the stomach of a huge fish ! and, most amazing of all, he could breathe !

It was dark and smelly and yucky in there but he was alive.

( Mimer 1 - sit down )
 Jonah was so pleased that he was safe that he began to sing praises to God right there in the stomach of the whale, and thanked God for rescuing him from drowning.
( Mimer 2 - sing )
 and after three whole days

God told the fish to spit Jonah out onto a beach and he did. YUCK !

( Mimer 2 - move a bit )
 I think Jonah needed a good wash in the sea to get rid of the slime from the fish's stomach. Don't you ?
( Mimer 2 - wash )
 Then Jonah heard God telling him -
( Mimer 2 - listen )
 "Jonah ! Go to the big city Nineveh and tell the people that I am very angry with them because of all the naughty and wicked things they are doing".

and this time Jonah did as God said.

( SHOW CARD 7 )
 He walked and walked and walked - trudge, trudge, trudge towards Nineveh.
( Mimer 2 -walk )
 When he got to Nineveh he found it would take three days to walk through it.

So on he went trudge, trudge, trudge for a whole day.

( Mimer 2 - walk )
 Then he stood on a street corner, so frightened that he was shaking like a jelly, and he yelled as loud as he could :
( Mimer 2 - shake )
 "God has told me that in forty days Nineveh will be destroyed."
( Mimer 2 - shout )
 He expected to be killed, or at the very least taken prisoner - but he couldn't believe it : the people who heard him believed him and told others WHISPER WHISPER WHISPER
( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - stand up and whisper )
 and soon everyone had heard God's message and all believed - even the King !

"What shall we do ?", they said to each other, "What shall we do ?"

( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - whisper, Mimer 2 - sit down )
 "We need to put ourselves right with God. How can we do that ?"
( SHOW CARD 8 )
 The King issued an order -

"Everyone must stop eating and drinking, everyone must take off their good clothes and wear dirty old sacks, everyone must sit in ashes to show God that they are sorry for all the wicked and naughty things that they have done".

( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - change clothes and sit )
 And they did. Even the king !
( SHOW CARD 9 )
 God was pleased at their changed ways and he said "I will not punish you."

And the whole city washed themselves, dressed in their best clothes and went out on the streets dancing and singing and praising God -

( Mimer 1 and Mimers 3 - Dance and mime singing )
 - all except Jonah, who went away sulking because God had been merciful to the people of Nineveh.
( Mimer 2 - sulk )
NarratorTogether we pray -
AllThank You, Lord God, that You are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to forgive us, when we say we're sorry and are willing to change our ways.
NarratorPlease stand for the action song

Who did swallow Jonah ?

1.   Who did, who did, who did, who did,
        Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah ?
  Who did, who did, who did, who did,
        Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah ?
  Who did, who did, who did, who did,
        Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah ?
  Who did swallow Jonah,
  Who did swallow Jonah,
  Who did swallow Jonah
  down ?

2.   The whale did, whale did, whale did, whale did,
        Whale did swallow Jo, Jo, Jonah, ( three times )
  The whale did swallow Jonah ( three times )
  up !

3.   What did, what did, what did, what did,
        What did Jonah pray to God for ? ( three times )
  Jonah asked forgiveness, ( three times )
  please !

4.   How did, how did, how did, how did,
        How did God reply to Jonah ? ( three times )
  He made the whale bring Jonah ( three times )
  home !

NarratorPlease sit. Thank you, children - you did very well. You can go back to your seats now.
Children and actors return to their places.

The story of St. Augustine

( Child 1 and child 2 and Granddad sit at front, monks with the cross stand at the back of the church on the organ side )
NarratorThis church is named after St. Augustine of Canterbury. May is the month when we remember him in our church calendar, so we decided to tell you some of his story today. But then we thought it would be better to get the story from someone who was with him then - so here's an outside broadcast from 625 A.D.
Child 1Go on, Granddad - tell us a story.
GranddadBut I told you one last night.
Child 2Please tell us another one !
GranddadWhich one should I tell you ?
Child 1How you came to Canterbury and met Grandma and settled down here.
GranddadOh, not that one again !
Child 2Yes, yes, it's a great story.
Child 1Please tell us, please !
GranddadWell, it's simple really.

I was employed as a guide to bring Augustine and all his monks to England in 596 AD.

End of story.

Child 1No - we want more than that.
Child 2Tell us about their journey.
Child 1And their clothes, tell us everything.
GranddadOh, all right. Well, it was like this. As a young man I was a bit of a wanderer and travelled all over France and England. I just couldn't seem to stay in one place for very long.
Child 1Like our baby - he just can't keep still.
Child 2Were you as young as me ?
GranddadNo, I was older than both of you put together, and you know the baby will keep still once he's older.

Well, at this particular time I was on the South Coast of France, near Arles. I was looking for work and someone told me about a group of monks from Rome, who were looking for someone to guide them to England.

Child 1Monks. What are they ?
GranddadThey are people who have dedicated their lives to Jesus and want to follow His way and have joined a religious order. I went and spoke to the head guy. He was a man named Augustine and he employed me to guide him and forty other monks to England where they had been sent by Pope Gregory.

To begin with I was embarrassed being near them.

Child 2Why, Granddad ?
GranddadThey wore different clothes - all of them identical - like a uniform.
Child 1And what else ?
GranddadWell, they walked behind a cross -
( Monks walk behind cross from organ side to hospital side as the story continues and prop cross up against the wall. )
Child 2Why did they do that ?
GranddadIt was their sacred symbol - because Jesus had been killed on a cross, and rose again, so they carried a special cross with them AND a lot of the time they sang scriptural songs as they walked.
Child 1Oh, that would be so embarrassing !
GranddadEventually I got used to it and at each stop I got to know them all a bit better.

They sure were scared people.

Child 2What were they scared of ?
GranddadBandits, thieves and robbers - and there were a lot of them around. Also, wild animals, and there were plenty of those too. But mostly, I think they were scared of the English.
Child 1Who ? Us ?
Child 2But there's nothing wrong with us !
GranddadWell, they kept hearing all these stories in France about how terrible England was. People kept saying how much worse it was there than in France and they found France frightening enough. In fact one night they nearly all gave up and went back to Rome.
( Monks act scared )
Child 1Why was that, Granddad ?
GranddadThey had all worked themselves up into a state of fear - they seemed to have forgotten about Jesus and how to follow Him. They were just plain scared. After their evening meal ...
( Monks sit down in hospital corner )
 ... they sat around Augustine and had a complaining session.
Monk 1We want to go back to Rome.
Monk 2We can't go any further.
Monk 3We're all too frightened.
Monk 4And there's still the English Channel to cross.
All MonksWe won't go any further.
Child 2What happened then ?
Child 1Did they go back ?
GranddadNot quite. Augustine talked them into staying where they were whilst he went back to tell Pope Gregory of their fears.
Child 2Did that take a long time ?
GranddadYes, Augustine and I set off back to Rome.
( Augustine moves back to organ side )
 I was glad to get away from all their complaining. Augustine was so sad and discouraged. Then when we got to Rome Augustine had a meeting with Pope Gregory and they prayed together. I've never seen such a transformation. Augustine was miserable when he went in to see the Pope but he came back to me radiant and excited about returning to his monks and going on to England.
Child 1That was brave of him.
GranddadYes, it was. It also had something to do with that prayer-time with the Pope. He had also been given a letter asking other kings for safe-conduct for them all through their territories.

So off we hurried to France again. While we were at Arles, in the South of France, Augustine was made a Bishop.

( Augustine moves to centre of altar hospital corner )
 And amazing things had been happening to those monks waiting in France.
Child 2Like what ?
GranddadAs soon as Augustine was seen approaching, the monks came hurrying out to see him.
( Monks move to meet Augustine in the centre behind Granddad. )
Monk 2I've decided to go to England - God spoke to me about it in a dream.
Monk 1And I'm going too; God gave me a vision about going there.
Monk 4Yes, God spoke to me and I'm ready to die for Jesus in England.
Monk 3God's given me such a peace I'm ready to go too.
GranddadRight through the whole forty of them, God had been at work and they were all eager to go.
Child 1What did you think of that, Granddad ?
GranddadWell I found it hard to understand - but they surely were changed, and off we hurried to England.
( Monks move with the cross to front hospital side, and prop cross against the wall again. )
 We arrived on the Isle of Thanet in Kent and rested there. Augustine sent a message to King Ethelbert.
Child 2Was that our King ?
GranddadYes, our King Ethelbert, and he himself came to the Island and welcomed them all. He offered them an old church building and land to build a monastery in Canterbury. They all went there and cleaned up the old church and built a monastery too.
( Monks build )
 But the monks did so much more than that. They went throughout all the neighbouring land and told people about Jesus.

The people listened and many of them became Christians. After a few years Augustine was sending back to Pope Gregory for more people to help convert England and eventually Augustine was able to make twelve other people Bishops too.

Child 1Why did you stay here, Granddad ?
GranddadWell, I met your Grandmother and no longer wanted to wander everywhere.
Child 2Is that when you became a Christian ?
GranddadYes, I saw so many changes in those monks that I wanted to be a Christian too.
Child 1Did every thing work out well for Augustine ?
GranddadSome things went amazingly well. But other things didn't.

The Pope had hoped that Augustine would be able to combine the church in southeast England with the Celtic church in Wales but that just never happened.

Now you must both go to bed.

ChildrenOh, must we ?
Granddad Yes, off you go !
( Children run to back, with Granddad following more slowly, monks return to their places. )
NarratorThanks to our correspondent in 625 for that outside broadcast. And that's why Canterbury still holds a very important role in the Anglican Church today. Now we return to our normal 2004 programme.
NarratorPlease stand for the hymn

Christian soldiers onward go

1.   Christian soldiers, onward go !
  Jesus' triumph you shall know;
  Fight the fight, maintain the strife,
  Strengthened with the bread of life.

2.   Join the war and face the foe !
  Christian soldiers, onward go;
  Boldly stand in danger's hour,
  Trust your Captain, prove His power.

3.   Let your drooping hearts be glad,
  March in heavenly armour clad;
  Fight, nor think the battle long -
  Soon shall victory be your song.

4.   Sorrow must not dim your eye,
  Soon shall every tear be dry;
  Banish fear, you shall succeed -
  Great your strength if great your need.

5.   Onward then in battle move !
  More than conquerors you shall prove;
  Though opposed by many a foe,
  Christian soldiers, onward go !

( At the end of this hymn Jonah and Augustine come to the front down different side aisles. )
NarratorPlease sit for

Joe and Gus

Narrator :Now for our second outside broadcast we cross to our camera crew in heaven.
( Heaven. Jonah and Augustine enter from opposite sides, meet in the middle. Jonah always speaks in a chatty way, Augustine is prim and correct. Don't overdo it ! )
JonahGidday !
AugustineGood morning ! It is a particularly good day, isn't it ? Have you been here long, Mr. ... er ... ?
JonahAh, they usually call me Joe. Me real name's Jonah, but that's ....
Augustine ( excited )JONAH ? Well, that's a surprise ! We know about your rugby even up here. I wasn't expecting to see you here yet, though. And you look a lot smaller than your pictures on television and in the newspapers.
Jonah ( waves hands dismissively )Nah, not that Jonah. I been here about two and a half thousand years. How about you ?
AugustineOh, that makes me quite a newcomer ! I've been here only about half as long as that. And - er - call me Gus. It's short for Augustine, but that's a bit formal for friends, so I usually stick to Gus.
JonahHey, you're not Saint Augustine, are you ?
Augustine ( embarrassed )Well, actually, yes, but .....
Jonah ( excited )That's great ! I've wanted to meet you for ages ! I've been a fan of yours ever since you saw through all that pagan stuff in Africa and became a Christian, ....
Augustine ( also waves hands dismissively )No, no ! Not that Augustine ! He was Augustine of Hippo. I was much later than that - I'm Augustine of Canterbury.
JonahAw - yer a Kiwi, then ? No wonder you got mixed up with the Jonahs !
Augustine ( now deeply embarrassed )No, Joe - it's not that Canterbury either. My Canterbury's in England.
JonahAw. You mean there are two of them as well ? Why don't different things have different names ? Well, never mind. It was just that I'd hoped to meet the other Augustine some day, because of the hippo - I've had something to do with big animals meself, and I thought we might have an interesting chat, like.
AugustineLook, I think you've got it wrong there; it isn't the hippo - just Hippo. The other Augustine's Hippo wasn't an animal - it was a place in North Africa.
JonahReally ? There's another illusion gone. But it was a long shot anyway - I've had more to do with whales.
Augustine ( reacts strongly )Wales ? I had quite a bit of trouble with people from Wales.
JonahYou mean there are more of them too ? I thought I was the only one.
Augustine ( puzzled )But Wales is full of people. Lots of them are Celtic Christians, and they do things differently. And, come to think of it, they're very fond of rugby. Are you sure you're not that Jonah ?
Jonah ( somewhat worked up )Look ! If this weren't heaven, I'd get cross. First of all, I am not that Jonah; I'm this one. Furthermore, I bet I've more experience of being in whales than you have, and I know there was only me there, and I'd have noticed a rugby team. And, finally, yer grammar's going off - it should be "Whales are", not "Whales is".
AugustineWhat ? Wait a minute. If you've been here 2500 years, are you the other Jonah ? - the one with the whale ?
JonahYeah, that's me. I said I had experience of whales. I don't flash it about, though, 'cause I'm not exactly proud of all of it. But what's that got to do with grammar ?
AugustineWell, it's a bit like Hippo. A whale is an animal, but Wales is a place, next to England.
JonahThis must be my day for learning things ! But in any case go easy on the whale stuff.
Augustine ( surprised )Why ? It's a good story. And what's wrong with the whale ?
JonahIt's a good story of some idiot always trying to get out of the job he was supposed to be doing, and having to be knocked back by God time and time again. And I don't know whether it was a whale or not.
Augustine ( astonished )You mean there's some doubt ? Why don't you know ?
JonahWell, Gus, just think. When I was thrown into the sea, I didn't waste time studying the local wild life, and when I came out I'd been inside it for three days, and didn't feel like doing anything at all. And it's hard to tell from inside a large sea creature what's on the outside.
Augustine ( impressed by the argument )I'd never thought of it quite like that. But you're not the only one who tried to get out of doing his job. You didn't want to go to Nineveh - I didn't want to go to England. There were little tribes all over the country always fighting each other, and a lot of them were pagans. They were quite barbarous, and didn't speak any civilised language.
JonahDoesn't sound that much different from now, but if you say so ....
AugustineIt was certainly enough to put us off. We tried to get out of it, but we ended up turned round going back to England.
JonahNow, that sounds very familiar. I ended up going to Nineveh. Even trying to escape by ship didn't help me, thanks to that dratted whale. Or whatever it was.
AugustineWe had a sea voyage too, but once we got to England, there was nothing for it but to go ahead and do what we knew we had to do. So we did that - and all the dreadful things we'd imagined just didn't happen !
JonahSame here again. As I walked up that road to Nineveh I thought it'd be the last time I walked anywhere. But then I gave 'em me speech, and they all agreed !
AugustineYes - that's the sort of thing that happened to us ! We were extraordinarily relieved. I bet you were too !
JonahWell, yes. But I was pretty cross about it at the time. I'd done me job, told 'em all that they'd been wicked so God was going to destroy the lot of them - but they all caved in, said they'd do better, and God let 'em off. Made me look a right Charlie.
AugustineOh, come on ! Because of you, a catastrophe turned into a triumph ! - and you're complaining about a bit of embarrassment ? We had to go on working for years, and it wasn't always rewarding. I suppose that's how it is for most people. Looking back now, it was all worthwhile, but we didn't always think so at the time.
Jonah ( thoughtful )I suppose that's true. If we hadn't done what we did, a lot of people would have been a lot worse off. ( Likes the idea. ) Hey, we're pretty good fellas, aren't we ?
AugustineNo, Joe, we're not. We're just the same pig-headed idiots as we were ten minutes ago - but we have a pretty good God Who's willing to keep pushing us in the right direction however unwilling we are. And if we'd given up, then perhaps God would have found someone else to do it anyway. Like you said, we haven't a lot to be proud of.
JonahThat's true enough. But I'm glad God kept on at me until I did the right things. It's nice to know that I did do something right at last.
AugustineGod's like that. He'll always give us another chance. But wouldn't it be better if we took the first chance ?
JonahMaybe so - but nobody's perfect, and we all miss chances because we're not looking, or because we're too fond of our own comfort, or because we don't even realise the chance is there ....
Augustine... or maybe because we don't expect God to be asking us to do things for Him ? So what we should do is keep looking out for the next chance to do something for God !
JonahSounds good. Look, thanks for the chat ! You've sorted quite a few things out for me !
( They start to walk out together down the centre aisle. )
AugustineWell, Joe, thanks to you as well - I've learnt something too. I wish I'd worked that out while I was alive !
JonahYes - it's a pity we can't tell all those people on earth. If only they could overhear us .....
NarratorWell, that's what I call reality television. But now we must return to our studio broadcast.
NarratorPlease remain sitting for the Message.
PreacherMessage
NarratorPlease remain sitting for the poem

Obedience

by George MacDonald.
I said, "Let me walk in the fields,"
He said, "Walk in the town."
I said, "But there are no flowers there !"
He said, "No flowers, but a crown."

I said, "But the air is thick,
And the smoke is veiling the sun !" :
He answered, "Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone."

I said, "But the sky is black;
There is nothing but noise and din !"
He wept as He turned me back -
"There is more," He said, "there is sin !"

I said, "But I shall miss my friends;
And they will miss me, they say,"
He answered, "Choose tonight
Whether I shall miss you or they."

I pleaded for time to be given
He said, "Is it so hard to decide ?
It will not seem so hard in heaven
To have followed the steps of Your Guide."

I took one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town,
He whispered, "My child, do you yield ?
Will you trade the fields for the crown ?"

Then into His hand went mine,
And into my heart came He;
And I walk in a light divine
The path I had feared to see.

NarratorBefore we sing the next hymn, the organist will play through the tune. During this time, we invite you to meditate on your personal relationship with Jesus.
NarratorPlease remain sitting for the hymn

Here I am, Lord

Omitted for copyright reasons; further details.

Giving thanks

NarratorPlease sit or kneel for the prayers, which we will end by singing The Lord's Prayer.

Thank You, Lord God, for the Love that You have for us.
Thank You for the place You desire us to fill.
Help us to know where this place is;
help us to do Your will.
Forgive us when we disobey You,
and give us the strength to turn from wrong-doing,
that all our lives may be centred in You.
Amen.

We pray for our families, our friends, our community, that we may all work together for Your glory, and that we may build good relationships with You and with one another.
Amen

We pray for the world, asking that Your peace, Your calm, Your love and Your provision may be spread throughout the world.
Amen

We lift before You those who are sick or in trouble.
( Please mention by name anyone who is in need )
......... Lord, You have heard our prayer for each of these people and we entrust them to Your care.

Amen

NarratorPlease join in singing together the Lord's Prayer :
All Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done,
in earth, as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil,
for the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and for ever.  Amen.

NarratorPlease stand for the hymn

Trust and obey

1.   When we walk with the Lord
  In the light of His Word
  What a glory He sheds on our way !
  While we do His good will,
  He abides with us still,
  And with all who will trust and obey.

Chorus :

  Trust and obey,
  For there's no other way
  To be happy in Jesus,
  But to trust and obey.

2.   Not a shadow can rise,
  Not a cloud in the skies,
  But His smile quickly drives it away;
  Not a doubt nor a fear,
  Not a sigh nor a tear,
  Can abide while we trust and obey.

Chorus

3.   Then in fellowship sweet
  We will sit at His feet,
  Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
  What He says we will do,
  Where He sends we will go,
  Never fear, only trust and obey.

Chorus

NarratorPlease remain standing for the Blessing

Blessing.

We invite you to join us for a cuppa in the Hall ( behind the church ) at the end of this service.


Those taking part :

Augustine, Child 1, Child 2, Granddad, Jonah, Monk 1, Monk 2, Monk 3, Monk 4, Narrator, Story teller