Family Service
at
St. Augustine's

May 20, 2007

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

Peace ! Be still

Reader We welcome you here in the name of Jesus; may we be receivers of God's peace today.
Narrator No collection will be taken during this service. There is a donation box at the back of the church for anyone who would like to give a donation.
If anyone would like the music for our hymns today, please put your hand up and we will bring it to you.
Toilets are between the church and the hall.
There are toys at the back for children to play with.
Please don't feel embarrassed if the children are a bit noisy; we welcome everyone here.
Reader Our theme for today is "Peace ! Be still";
Our sentence for today is from John Chapter 14 verse 27 :

Jesus said "Peace is what I leave with you : it is My own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid."

Narrator Please stand to sing the hymn "The kingdom of God is justice and joy."
During this hymn Reader returns to seat.
Omitted for copyright reasons; further details.
Narrator Please sit for the play "Peace after turmoil".
It is early on a weekday morning in the Shambles' house.
Mother comes hurrying down centre aisle, shrugging on a dressing gown as she comes. Her hair is dishevelled.

Ben hurries along behind her.

Mother ( in a tiz ) The useless alarm clock didn't go off this morning. We're all going to be late. Ben, will you set the table for me, please ?
Mother hurries to the stove and puts on the porridge in the pan on the stove. Then she grabs the bread and puts two slices into the toaster.

At the same time Ben starts to lay the table, muttering to himself -

Ben It's not fair. It's not my turn to set the table. I did it yesterday.
Once the table is set Ben sits down at the table.

While they are doing this, Bunty ( her older daughter ) rushes down the centre aisle.

Bunty Mum, Mum ! Have you seen my homework ? I can't find it. I have to hand my project in this morning - Hardcastle will kill me if I don't, she's already given me an extension.
Mother No, you'll have to look for it yourself. It's time you took responsibility for your own things.
Bunty starts rummaging around looking for her homework. She finally finds it on a shelf and sits down at the table to write the finishing paragraph.

Father now comes dashing down the centre aisle; he has trousers and a singlet on and he's trying to struggle into his shirt.

Father ( at the front ) Oh heck : There's a button missing from this shirt and we've got a meeting this morning with some clients. ( to Mother ) Can you sew this button on, Iris ?
Mother Oh, give it here. ( Father gives Mother the shirt ) Lucky I've got a spare button and a needle and thread ( Mother picks up button and needle and thread from Hospital side of altar ).
Mother ( to Father ) You stir the porridge and watch the toast while I do it. You'd better make the coffee too.
Mother takes the shirt and begins to sew the button on.

Father picks up the paper and stands beside the stove reading it and absent-mindedly stirs the porridge but doesn't watch it.

Grace and Kate come down the centre aisle, skipping and singing happily. When they get to the table they sit down on chairs near to Bunty who is still trying to finish her homework. As they sit down they accidentally bump into Bunty.

Bunty Can't you be more careful, you two ? Now I've made a mistake. It looks awful and how am I going to correct it ? It's not like a computer, you know.
The twins come down the centre aisle, Twin 1 carrying a toy, Twin 2 trying to take it off Twin 1, pushing, shoving and shouting at each other.
Twin 1 It's mine, I had it first !
Twin 2 No, you didn't - I had it first !
Twin 1 Mine !
Twin 2 Mine !
Twin 1 ( to his Mother ) It's not fair - I had the toy and he took it off me.
Twin 2 No, that's not right - I put it by my bed last night so I could play with it in the morning. It's mine.
Mother ( takes the toy ) I'm sick of you children fighting over toys. Every time one of you has something the other wants it. Sit down, both of you, and have your breakfast.
Twin 1 and Twin 2 sit at the table.

Jon comes down centre aisle with his hands over his ears.

Jon It's so noisy, I can't stand this noise, I wish they'd all stop quarrelling.
Jon sits down at the table as far away from the twins as he can get.

After a few seconds of peace and quiet -

Ben ( wrinkling his nose and sniffing ) What's that horrible smell ? Look out, Dad ! Something's burning !
Mother pushes the shirt at Father who drops the paper as he grabs the shirt, Father puts the shirt over his shoulder, Mother grabs the burning pot.
Mother For goodness sake get out of my way and get your shirt on. What am I going to do now ?
She slumps over the stove in tears.

Father picks up the paper and as he straightens it he notices the Bible text at the bottom of the page.

Father STOP, all of you ! listen to this !
They all look up at Father in surprise.
Father ( pointing to the bottom of the page of the newspaper ) Look - at the bottom of this page is a Bible verse. I hadn't noticed it before; it says "Peace, be still". We could all do with that this morning. Peace, be still !
Mother ( stops crying ) Peace, be still. ( She hands them each a slice of bread saying to each one : ) Peace, be still.
The family sit round the table miming buttering and eating the bread whilst the congregation sing the next hymn.
Narrator Please stand to sing "Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin."
Notice as you sing that, in every verse except the last, the first line is a question, and the second line is the answer.
  1.   Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin ?
  The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. 		 
  2.   Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed ?
  To do the will of Jesus, this is rest. 		 
Family stand up and help stagehand move kitchen table, chairs and breakfast table to Hospital side then go down the Hospital side to their places.
  3.   Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round ?
  On Jesus' bosom nought but calm is found. 		 
  4.   Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away ?
  In Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they. 		 
Poem reader comes to the front in time for the end of the hymn.
  5.   Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown ?
  Jesus we know, and He is on the throne. 		 
  6.   Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours ?
  Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers. 		 
  7.   It is enough; earth's struggles soon shall cease,
  And Jesus call us to heaven's perfect peace. 		 
Narrator Please sit for the poem "Peace".
Poem reader Peace.
 
  Peace ! Peace ! You talk to me of peace ?
The world is in a turmoil
And you talk to me of peace ?
Each day the news breaks loud and clear
Of strife and war and grief,
Volcanoes, floods and earthquakes,
Starvation and disease;
Of people who are missing
Or dying in the street.

Peace ! Peace ! What do you call peace ?
The pain within my bleeding heart
Is that what you call peace ?
The woman raped upon her bed;
The solo mum alone;
The drunken man asleep in the park;
The child abused at home;
The teenager cold stoned on drugs;
The death of a loved one ?

Peace. Peace. Oh, the search for peace !
The journey of a lifetime -
Is this the search for peace ?
There are books galore for one to read;
Classes to attend;
Meditations 'on a theme,'
Brokenness to mend.
Each religion has its way,
The methods never end.

Peace. Peace. Where does one find peace ?
Away from this world's disquiet -
Is this where one finds peace ?
St. Francis wandered in the trees,
Beside the river too.
Elijah went into a cave
His solitude to woo.
David played upon his harp.
But none of these would do.

 
( Psalm leader prepares to move to the front. )
 
  Peace. Peace. There's only one way to peace.
The Spirit of the Living God
Is the only way to peace.
It doesn't matter where we're at,
Whether life is grand or grim -
Jesus offers it as a gift
When we acknowledge Him.
It brings forgiveness, love and strength,
God's peace that dwells within. 		 
Narrator ( Name of psalm leader ) will now lead us in Psalm 29.
( Psalm leader comes to the front and Poem Reader returns to her seat as the narrator speaks. )
 

Refrain :
  You, Lord, will give Your people the blessing of peace.

1.   Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly powers :
  Ascribe to the Lord all glory and might,
  Ascribe due honour to God's holy name :
  Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Refrain

2.   The voice of the Lord is upon the waters :
  It is the glorious God who makes the thunder upon the great waters.
  The voice of the Lord is power :
  The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Refrain

3.   The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar-trees :
  The Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
  The Lord makes Lebanon skip like a calf :
  And Sirion like a young wild bull.

Refrain

4.   The voice of the Lord divides the lightning :
  The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
  The voice of the Lord makes the oaks to writhe, and strips the forests bare;
  While in God's temple all cry, 'Glory'.

Refrain

 
 
( Mime leader and Jesus wait at Hospital side for the mime; Reader comes to lectern. )
   
5.   The Lord sits enthroned above the waters :
  The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
  The Lord will give strength to your people :
  You will give your people the blessing of peace.

Refrain

 
Reader Please sit for the Bible reading which is taken from Mark Chapter 4 verses 35-40. It can be found on Page 1098 of the church Bibles.

Jesus calms a storm.

On the evening of that same day Jesus said to His disciples. "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took Him with them. Other boats were there too. Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with His head on the pillow. The disciples woke Him up and said, "Teacher, don't You care that we are about to die ?".
Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, "Peace ! Be still", and He said to the waves "Peace ! Be still". The wind died down, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Why are you frightened ? Do you still have no faith ?"

Narrator Well, there's a story about a boat, and here we are in Devonport where everyone naturally knows everything there is to know about boats, so we can't just leave it like that. So we're going to mime this scripture and find out just what it was like - except for the wind and the waves and the boat, of course, but you can't have everything. Performer's name will take the part of Jesus and he will lie on this pillow.
Mime leader places pillow on middle step towards the organ, then gets ready for the mime. Jesus lies on the floor with his head on the pillow.
Narrator We invite all of you to come for a ride on this boat.
All other actors come to front, encouraging members of congregation to come too.
Narrator All stand facing leader's name and copy her.

Let us go across to the other side.

Mimers pull up the sail;

Mimers rock gently as the boat 'begins to move'.

Narrator Suddenly a strong wind began to blow.
Mimers begin to rock and sway and make whooshy wind noises.
Narrator The wind got stronger;
Mimers begin to pull sail down still swaying and making sound of the wind.
Narrator The boat began to fill with water;
Mimers begin to bail the boat still swaying and making sound of the wind.
Narrator It got rougher.
Mimers rock even more and bail and become seasick and continue making sound of the wind

Disciple stumbles along boat and wakes Jesus up, rest of mimers still rocking, and bailing, and being seasick and making sound of the wind.

Disciple ( shaking Jesus, says very loudly ) Teacher, don't You care that we are about to die ?
Jesus stands up, facing the congregation. He speaks commandingly, up to the wind and down to the sea, making appropriate gestures.
Jesus Wind ! Peace ! be still.
Mimers on the word "still" stop making wind noises but continue to rock etc.
Jesus Waves ! Peace ! Be still.
Mimers on the word "still" are still.
Jesus ( to the "crew" ) Why are you frightened ? Do you still have no faith ?
PAUSE
Narrator Thank you, please return to your seats.

Please stand to sing the hymn "Peace ! Be still !".

During this hymn stagehand places paper dove handouts on small table between altar rails.

1.   Master, the tempest is raging !
  The billows are tossing high !
  The sky is o'er-shadowed with blackness,
  No shelter or help is nigh.
  "Carest Thou not that we perish ?
  How canst Thou lie asleep,
  When each moment so madly is threat'ning
  A grave in the angry deep ?"

Chorus :
  "The wind and the waves shall obey My will,
  Peace, be still !
  Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
  Or demons, or men, or whatever it be,
  No waters can swallow the ship where lies
  The master of ocean, and earth and skies :
  They all shall sweetly obey My will;
  Peace, be still ! Peace, be still !
  They all shall sweetly obey My will;
  Peace, peace, be still !"

2.   Master, with anguish of spirit
  I bow in my grief today;
  The depths of my sad heart are troubled;
  Oh, waken and save, I pray !
  Torrents of sin and of anguish
  Sweep o'er my sinking soul;
  And I perish ! I perish ! dear Master;
  Oh hasten, and take control !

Chorus

3.   Master, the terror is over,
  The elements sweetly rest;
  Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
  And heaven's within my breast;
  Linger, O blessèd Redeemer,
  Leave me alone no more;
  And with joy I shall make the blest harbour,
  And rest on the blissful shore.

Chorus

Narrator Please sit for the message.
Preacher Message.
Explanation and the blessing of the dove-shaped card handouts.
Narrator Please remain sitting as we prayerfully sing the hymn "Be still for the presence of the Lord";
at the end of this hymn we invite anyone who desires to come forward and take one of these dove-shaped cards.
Omitted for copyright reasons; further details.
Organist quietly plays tune again until people have stopped coming forward.
Narrator Quietly we sing the first verse again.
Omitted for copyright reasons; further details.
PAUSE
Narrator Let us pray.
Lord God, forgive us for the times we have found it difficult to be peaceful.
ALL Forgive us, Lord.
Narrator Fill us with Your peace so that we may be peacemakers rather than peace destroyers.
ALL Fill us with Your peace, Lord. Amen.
Narrator Prayerfully we sing "Make me a channel of Your peace".

1.   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 :

Chorus :
  O 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.

2.   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 :

Chorus

3.   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.

Narrator We will now have a time of silence as we each ask God to show us the way that we can be channels of His peace.
SILENCE
Narrator Thank You, Lord, for Your guidance. Amen.
Together we sing -
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.
Narrator Please stand to sing the Blessing : "May the Lord, mighty God".
May the Lord, Mighty God,
Bless and keep you for ever,
Grant you peace, perfect peace,
Courage in every endeavour.
Lift your eyes and see His face,
And His grace for ever,
May the Lord, Mighty God,
Bless and keep you for ever.
PAUSE
Narrator We invite you to join us for a cuppa in the Hall at the end of this service !

Those taking part :

Ben, Bunty, Computer person, Disciple, Father, Grace, Jesus, Jon, Kate, Mime leader, Mother, Narrator, Poem reader, Preacher, Psalm leader, Reader, Reader, stagehand, Twin 1, Twin 2