Pentecost

Welcome to our Pentecost Sunday service online. Please click on the items below to follow the service at your own pace.
You may like to have a candle ready to light with John. There is audio or video accompaniment to hymns, readings and prayers.
The hymns were recorded remotely by the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields in their homes, and edited together.

Our opening hymn is 'Come down, O love divine'.

1       Come down, O Love divine,
          Seek thou this soul of mine,
          And visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
          O comforter, draw near,
          Within my heart appear,
          And kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

2       O let it freely burn,
          Till earthly passions turn
          To dust and ashes, in its heat consuming;
          And let thy glorious light
          Shine ever on my sight,
          And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

3       Let holy charity
          Mine outward vesture be,
          And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
          True lowliness of heart,
          Which takes the humbler part,
          And o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

4       And so the yearning strong,
          With which the soul will long,
          Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
          For none can guess its grace,
          Till he become the place
          Wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.
Discendi, amor santo Bianco da Siena (died 1434) translated Richard Frederick Littledale (1833-1890)

Reflect on the last week and on your relationships.

- What good things have come from God last week?
- Where have I fallen short?
- What might I do next week?

You may wish to say or pray:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The special prayer for this Sunday.

God, who as at this time
taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever, Amen

Our next hymn is 'Be still, for the presence of the Lord'.

Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here;
come bow before Him now with reverence and fear.
in Him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground;
be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here.

Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire, with splendour He is crowned.
How awesome is the sight, our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.

Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place;
He comes to cleanse and heal, to minister His grace.
No work too hard for Him, in faith receive from Him;
be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.

David J Evans (born 1957)
© 1986 Thankyou Music/Adm. by worshiptogether.com songs excl UK & Europe, adm. by kingswaysongs.com. www.kingswaysongs.com.

The Bible reading for today is from John 7. 37-39

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Sue will now share some thoughts on this passage.

We now have our next hymn, 'I give you a new commandment'. after which Paul will lead us in our intercessions.

I give you a new commandment:
love one another, love one another;
as I have loved, as I have loved you,
so you are to love one another.
I give you a new commandment:
Love one another, love one another.

If there is this love among you,
then all will know, all will know that you are my disciples,
that you are my disciples, that you are my disciples.
Peter Aston (b.1938)
John 13.34-35

Our intercessions include 'With our whole selves we pray' to which the response is 'come, Holy Spirit of God'

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. 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.

We say together the prayer of General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks
for all your goodness and loving kindness.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And give us, we pray, such a sense of all your mercies
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,
and that we show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up ourselves to your service,
and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be all honour and glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Before John closes our service, we sing 'O Jesus, I have promised' .

1       O Jesus, I have promised
          to serve thee to the end;
          be thou for ever near me,
          my Master and my Friend:
          I shall not fear the battle
          if thou art by my side,
          nor wander from the pathway
          if thou wilt be my guide.

2       O let me hear thee speaking
          in accents clear and still,
          above the storms of passion,
          the murmurs of self-will;
          O speak to reassure me,
          to hasten or control;
          O speak, and make me listen,
          thou guardian of my soul.

3       O Jesus, thou hast promised
          to all who follow thee,
          that where thou art in glory
          there shall thy servant be;
          and, Jesus, I have promised
          to serve thee to the end:
          O give me grace to follow,
          my Master and my Friend.

4       O let me see thy foot-marks,
          and in them plant mine own;
          my hope to follow duly
          is in thy strength alone:
          O guide me, call me, draw me,
          uphold me to the end;
          and then in heaven receive me,
          my Saviour and my Friend.

John Ernest Bode (1816-1874)

You may like to watch and listen to Jonathan Scott performs his solo organ arrangement of Nimrod (Enigma Variations Op. 36) by Edward Elgar on the organ of WeiWuYing - National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Taiwan

Bishop Martyn speaks about pastoral care during Lockdown with Anthony Lees-Smith