A member of the Central Highlands Cluster Ministry St George s, Trentham 9.00am St Mary s, Woodend 11.00am 5 th June, 2016 Third Sunday after Pentecost We acknowledge the Woi wurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung people, the traditional custodians of this land where we gather to worship. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and pray for ongoing efforts for reconciliation.
GATHERING IN GOD S NAME Gathering Hymn 547 Be thou my vision The Lord be with you. And also with you Sentence for the day A great prophet has risen among us! God has visited his people! Luke 7:16 The Prayer of preparation (page 119 of the prayer book) Almighty God Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, with a sincere and true heart. Merciful God The Gloria (page 121 of the prayer book) Glory to God in the highest Let us pray O God, the consoler of the afflicted, you illumine the mystery of suffering and death by the light that shines from the face of Christ: grant that, in all the trials of our earthly pilgrimage, we may remain united to your Son in his passion, so that there may be revealed in us the power of his resurrection; for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
MINISTRY OF THE WORD A reading from the first book of Kings, chapter 17 verses 8 to16 He answered him, It is I. Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here. And he said, How have I sinned, that you would hand your servant over to Ahab, to kill me? As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, He is not here, he would require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. But now you say, Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here. As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth. Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred of the LORD s prophets fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water? Yet now you say, Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here ; he will surely kill me. Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Psalm 146 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD! A reading from Paul s letter to the Galatians chapter 1 verses 11 to24 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord s brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to
the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me. For the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Gospel Hymn 628 In faith and hope and love Alleluia, alleluia Your word, O God, shines as a light on my path. Alleluia The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Luke, chapter 7 beginning at the 11 th verse Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, Do not weep. Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, rise! The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen among us! and God has looked favourably on his people! This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. For the Gospel of the Lord praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ The Sermon The affirmation of faith (page 123 of the prayer book) The Prayers of the People
The Greeting of Peace We are the body of Christ His Spirit is with us. The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you. Offertory Hymn 560 All my hope on God is founded (tune ii) *a collection to assist the mission of God in this parish will be taken up during this hymn we thank you for responding to God s generosity with your gift. THE GREAT THANKSGIVING please turn to page 128 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is 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.
The Sending out of God s people Living God, in this holy meal you fill us with new hope. May the power of your love, which we have known in word and sacrament, continue your saving work among us, give us courage for our pilgrimage, and bring us to the joys you promise. Most loving God... you send us into the world you love. Give us grace to go thankfully and with courage in the power of your Spirit. The Notices Final Hymn 571 Forth in your name I go The Blessing and Dismissal 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 among you and remain with you always. Amen Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ.
***some thoughts from Rev. Mel On Tuesday, at morning prayer in Trentham, we celebrated the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. This, most beautiful account of a relationship between two remarkable women, holds within it two of my most loved verses of scripture Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy (Luke 1:42-44). I make no secret of my deep love for Mary; her faith and her ability to trust in God inspire me (one of many reasons that I am so happy to be in a parish where Mary is one of the patrons). In the original Greek writing of the gospel of Luke, Mary s response to the angel is assertive and strong. She had the choice of saying no, but instead says a vibrant YES to God s most impossible request. Likewise, this visit to Elizabeth is a strong and assertive thing to do. Geographically Mary travels about 100kms to see her cousin a young, unmarried and pregnant women traveling that far would have been almost unheard of! The two women greet each other and the child in Elizabeth s womb, who we will come to know later as John the Baptist, begins his ministry by proclaiming Jesus before either of them are born. The words of Elizabeth that I love so well, lead to Mary s song of praise The Magnificat, the song that sets the scene for Luke s gospel as one focussing on social justice and inclusion. Often, Anglicans are not so in love with Mary as I confess to be. Many Anglicans think that it is a very Catholic thing to pray for Mary to intercede for us. It is true that the Roman Catholic church uses Mary as a prayer focus but they don t pray TO her; they still worship God but they ask Mary to support them in prayer. Mary, the mother of our Lord is a mother to us all in that. Interestingly, Mary is held in very high esteem and with much love in the Islamic tradition also. December 8, the festival of the Immaculate Conception (the conception of Mary, not Jesus as is often thought), is a major festival in Islam and there is an entire chapter of the Qur an named in her honour (Chapter 19 if you re able to get hold of a copy). Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and relate stories of angel visitations to Mary. This coming Tuesday marks the beginning of Ramadan, the month of fasting that commemorates the period during which the prophet Muhammad received his first prophetic call. Ramadan is determined by the moon cycles
and during this time followers of Islam are not permitted to eat or drink anything during daylight hours, and are required to take on extra prayer, spiritual reflection, charity work and obedience to God.sounds a lot like what Lent is all about to me! Please continue to pray for our fellow followers of God they are so vilified in the world today and face terrible persecution. Pray for a peaceful Ramadan in which they can feel closer to God - perhaps even ask Mary to intercede for you as you pray. She s very good like that. Shalom, Mel ************************** Pew Bulletin Trentham Guild Meeting The next meeting of the Guild will be on Thursday June 9, 1.30pm at the Trentham Library Congregational Meeting We will have a congregational meeting at St Mary s on June 12 after the 11am service. We will be specifically talking about lay ministry roles and the special part that each of us can play during the services each week and in the community between services. Gay and Pray movie screening Gayby Baby will be screened in the Norma Richardson Hall on June 11 th at 7pm. Entry is by donation and everyone is welcome. Food Drive for Refugees Macedon Ranges Rural Australians for Refugees will hold a sausage sizzle and food drive outside Coles on June 18 with all donated foods and monies going to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Part of our outreach mission is to assist and raise awareness of the plight of asylum seekers so, if you can spare something, please do. Rev d Mel will deliver them to Woodend for you.
Intercessions our prayers are asked for: Penny and Keith, Robyn, John, Sam, Jim, Andrea, Alison, Ethan, Kirsten, Heather, Grace, Claire, Barbara, Bernice, Joyce. Please let Rev d Mel or Rev d Neil know if there is someone who is in need of prayer and they will be included here. Birthdays! Birthday blessings tomorrow to Judy Hansford and on Saturday to Ron Austin. Years Mind and those who have died recently Please let us know if there is someone whose life you would like to celebrate this week. Readings and Clergy for next week Next week Rev. Mel and Rev. Charles will be looking after Trentham and Woodend and our readings will be: 1 Kings 21.1-10, 15-21a Psalm 5.1-7 Gal 2.15-21 Luke 7.36-8.3 Our seasonal colour will be green.
St Mary's Woodend (1864) - St George's Trentham (1927)* A member of The Central Highlands Cluster Ministry *These dates refer to the current buildings on the sites. The founding years of the two centres are Trentham 1864 and Woodend 1859 PO Box 699, Woodend, VIC 3442 www.woodendanglican.org.au Rector: Rev d. Ian Howarth 5422 2500/0437 655 702 Deacon: Rev d Melissa Clark 0411 722 718 Deacon: Rev d Neil Fitzgerald 0439 337 252 Hon. Assoc. Priest: Rev d Dr. Charles Sherlock 0423 020 699 Wardens: Mark 0437 354 318; John 5424 1127 www.facebook.com/woodendanglican/ WELCOME! It is good to have you here. Please join us for a cuppa and a chat after the service around the table near the font at St George s or in the Norma Richardson Hall at St Mary s. If you have children with you they are very welcome to use the children s corner at St Mary s.