To view the Hymns, Readings and Notices please refer to the Church News Sheet which can be found by clicking here.
Welcome to Worship
Parish Communion Third of Easter 4 May 2025
Celebrant: Revd Jonathan Swindells
Preacher: Revd Jacquie Peal
Gospel: John 21: vv1-9
We Gather
The service is introduced and we open our worship with Easter joy saying:
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
We sing our opening song of praise:
Make way, make way, for Christ the King
in splendour arrives.
Fling wide the gates and welcome him
into your lives.
Make way! Make way
for the King of kings!
Make way! Make way
and let his kingdom in!
He comes the broken hearts to heal,
the prisoners to free.
The deaf shall hear, the lame shall dance,
the blind shall see.
And those who mourn with heavy hearts
who weep and sigh,
with laughter, joy and royal crown
he’ll beautify.
We call you now to worship him
as Lord of all,
to have no gods before him:
their thrones must fall!
We say Sorry
We keep a short time of silence as we prepare to say sorry for our sins saying:
Like Mary at the empty tomb, we fail to grasp the wonder of your presence.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Like the disciples behind locked doors, we are afraid to be your followers.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Like Thomas in the upper room we are so slow to believe.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
We are offered God’s forgiveness and join with the angels singing:
Gloria (clap, clap), Gloria (clap, clap)
in excelsis Deo. (Repeat)
Lord God, heavenly King,
peace you bring to us;
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we sing our of praise. (clap – 4 slow 8 fast!)
Glory Father and Son, Glory Holy Spirit,
to you we raise our hands up high,
we glorify you name. (clap)
We offer today’s special prayer The Collect.
We Listen to God’s Word
We listen to a reading from the Acts of the Apostles 9.1-7 and stand to greet The Gospel of John (21. 1-12) singing the Gradual hymn:
Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord. Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to
His name.
Spread the good news o’er all the earth.
Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain.
The Talk – Revd. Jacquie Please sit
We Believe
During the Easter season we affirm our faith renewing our Baptismal vows saying:
Do you turn to Christ?
I turn to Christ.
Do you repent of your sins?
I repent of my sins.
Do you renounce evil?
I renounce evil.
Do you believe and trust in God the Father, who made the world?
I believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed humanity?
I believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in the Holy
Spirit, who gives life to the people of God?
I believe and trust in him.
This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith. We believe and trust in One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We pray
Prayers of intercession are offered with the response:
Risen Lord, hear our prayer.
We share in Holy Communion
We stand to share The Peace
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you’.
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia!
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you. Alleluia!
We are invited to share The Peace with those around us. We return to our seats in preparation to offer our gifts and the bread and wine. The Collection is taken. We sing the Offertory hymn and gifts of bread and wine are offered.
All heaven declares
the glory of the risen Lord.
Who can compare with
the beauty of the Lord?
Forever he will be
the Lamb upon the throne;
I gladly bow the knee
and worship Him alone.
I will proclaim
the glory of the risen Lord,
who once was slain
to reconcile the world to God…
The Eucharistic Prayer
We remain standing to offer the great pray of thanksgiving.
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up you hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give thanks and praise.
We listen to all the wonderful works of God and remember the special events of the Last Supper that Jesus is the Bread of Life - Risen life!
The prayer ends as we sing The Sanctus:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord,
Holy is the Lord God Almighty. x2
Who was, and is, and is to come
Blessed, blessed, blessed
is the Lord.
Rejoicing in God’s new creation let us pray as our Saviour taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven...
We break this bread, to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many we are one body because we all share in one bread.
All are invited to receiving a blessing.
Those who have been confirmed share in bread and wine. This is a special time when we can feel the presence of Jesus very close to us.
Communion Prayer
We say together:
Loving God,
we have seen with our eyes and touched with our hands the bread of life: strengthen our faith that we may grow in love for you and for each other; through Jesus Christ our Risen Lord. Amen.
We go out to serve God
We celebrate May birthdays and highlights of church life. We stand to receive God’s blessing.
And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown,
through Christ my own. Bold I approach…
Go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!
Thank you for sharing in today’s worship.
Please do stay for fresh coffee and yummy things. We hope to see you soon!
Faith, Hope & Love at the heart of our community