THE IRONSTONE BENEFICE OF CHURCHES
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Welcome to our Online Sunday service for the nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, also St. Luke's Day. Please click on the items below to follow the service at your own pace. The theme for the service is St. Luke.
You may like to have a candle ready to light with Paul.  There is audio or video accompaniment to hymns, readings and prayers.

All 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 'Brother, sister, let me serve you'.
1. Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.

2. We are pilgrims on a journey,
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

3. I will hold the Christlight for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

4. I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we've seen this journey through.

5. When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.

6. Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that l may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.

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 St Luke.

Almighty God,
you called Luke the physician,
whose praise is in the gospel,
to be an evangelist and physician of the soul:
by the grace of the Spirit
and through the wholesome medicine of the gospel,
give your Church the same love and power to heal;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
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 'I cannot tell'.
1       I cannot tell why he, whom angels worship,
          should set his love upon the sons of men,
          or why, as Shepherd, he should seek the wanderers,
          to bring them back, they know not how or when.
          But this I know, that he was born of Mary,
          when Bethlehem's manger was his only home,
          and that he lived at Nazareth and laboured,
          and so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.

2       I cannot tell how silently he suffered,
          as with his peace he graced this place of tears,
          or how his heart upon the cross was broken,
          the crown of pain to three and thirty years.
          But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted,
          and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
          and lifts the burden from the heavy-laden,
          for still the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is here.

3       I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
          when, at his bidding, every storm is stilled,
          or who can say how great the jubilation
          when every heart with love and joy is filled.
          But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
          and myriad, myriad human voices sing,
          and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer,
          at last the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is King.
 
William Young Fullerton (1857-1932)

Our Gospel  comes from St. Luke 10. 1 - 9 , 
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise be to you O Christ
 John will now share some thoughts on the reading.
 We now have our next hymn, 'There is a wideness in God's mercy'. 
1       There's a wideness in God's mercy
          like the wideness of the sea;
          there's a kindness in his justice
          which is more than liberty.
          There is no place where earth's sorrows
          are more felt than up in heaven;
          there is no place where earth's failings
          have such kindly judgement given.

2       For the love of God is broader
          than the measure of our mind,
          and the heart of the eternal
          is most wonderfully kind.
          But we make his love too narrow
          by false limits of our own;
          and we magnify his strictness
          with a zeal he would not own.

3       There is plentiful redemption
          through the blood that has been shed;
          there is joy for all the members
          in the sorrows of the head.
          There is grace enough for thousands
          of new worlds as great as this;
          there is room for fresh creations
          in that upper home of bliss.
         
          Second half of tune:
4       If our love were but more simple
          we should take him at his word;
          and our lives would be all gladness
          in the joy of Christ our Lord.


Frederick William Faber (1814-1863)
John will now lead us in our intercessions.
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 'Will you come and follow me' .
Will you come and follow me
 if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown
in you and you in me?
 
Will you leave your self behind
if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
should your life attract or scare,
will you let me answer prayer
in you and you in me?
 
Will you let the blinded see
if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean
and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean
in you and you in me?
 
Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
to reshape the world around
through my sight and touch and sound
in you and you in me?
 
Lord, your summons echoes true
when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
in you and you in me.

 
©1987  WGRG, Iona Community, Govan, Glasgow G51 3UU, Scotland
William Lloyd Webber was an English organist and composer who held positions at All Saint's, Margaret Street, Westminster Central Hall, and the London College of Music. He was father to composer Andrew, and 'cellist Julian. This prelude is based on the tune Winchester New and is played by the Canterbury Cathedral's Assistant Organist, David Newsholme.
  • Home
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    • Chadwell
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    • An act of Spiritual Communion
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