A communion liturgy designed for use in an all age setting for the Christmas season.
I share the PDF and PowerPoint versions here so that it can be freely used by others. I simply ask that if used, attribution to its source is made.
If a word file, rather than PDF, would be more helpful to you, please contact me.
A liturgy for communion written in July 2024, for use as part of an All Age Worship at Leatherhead Methodist Church themed around living a thankful life.
I share the PDF and PowerPoint versions here so that it can be freely used by others. I simply ask that if used, attribution to its source is made.
If a word file, rather than PDF, would be more helpful to you, please contact me.
Come Holy Spirit.
One of the shortest and simplest prayers in all history.
Yet a prayer with power and breath and depth beyond measure.
For in praying Come Holy Spirit,
We invite you, God, to come to us.
We know you’re already here.
Already with us.
But we forget, sometimes.
Sometimes we go about our lives, our discipleship, our worship,
Forgetting, that Spirit, you’re with us.
So we pray,
Come Holy Spirit.
We open ourselves to your already present presence.
Come Holy Spirit.
Come and encourage us.
Come and inspire us.
Come and heal us.
Come and strengthen us.
Come and empower us.
Come and hold us.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Originally written for an ecumenical Pentecost service in Effingham and Little Bookham, Surrey, 19th May 2024.
The prayer ‘Come Holy Spirit’ was inspired by the work of Rabanus Maurus, a 9th Century Frankish Monk, who wrote a song ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’, (Come, Creator Spirit). in the 13th Century it developed into a familair prayer across the Western Church, ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus’ (Come Holy Spirit).
“So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him.”
“Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”
John 18:14 & 24
Over the season of Lent 2024 I’ve been journeying with the theme ‘Unbounded Love’, a phrase that appears within Charles Wesley’s Hymn ‘Love Divine’, and the title of the 2024 lent resources from The Methodist Church.
So as I began to prepare worship for Holy Week, I have been struck by the way John 18 refers to how Jesus was bound by those who arrested him, leading me to write this meditative reflection.
It could be used on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, as a tool to reflect on the arrest of Jesus, and the uncertainty this would have left his followers with.
They bound him,
After they arrested him,
After the betrayer had kissed him,
After he had told Judas to do what he had to do.
What now?
They bound him.
The one who said come to me and I will give you rest.
The one who said he had come to give us life in all its fulness.
The one who said he would quench our thirst.
What now?
They bound him.
The one who showed compassion to the marginalised.
The one who offered release to those bound by evil.
The one who healed the sick and brought hope to so many.
What now?
Jesus – the one who came and showed us what real love looks like,
Compassionate, caring, nurturing, welcoming,
Love unconditional,
Love unlimited,
Love unbounded,
And his unbounded love angered them.
And so they bound him.
Unbounded love, bound up.
What now?
And so we come,
To say farewell,
To 2023.
Through twists and turns,
And ups and downs,
An adventure we did see.
When the year began,
Home was still,
By sea in Bognor Regis.
Sea winds gusting,
Sea gulls squawking,
And lots that now we miss.
The months preparing,
To say goodbye
Were hard to say the least.
Letting go of what’s known,
And beginning the new,
Can be a scary beast.
Amidst it all,
Life threw some punches,
With Lydia unexpectedly under the knife.
One appendix less,
And now she’s better,
And back to being full of life.
Louise kept on crafting,
Wool, fabric and stiches
Stashed in every available corner.
Rebekah keeps writing,
And singing and dancing,
And Dan, well he just got a bit bolder.
The country saw a coronation,
And more u-turns than we want to remember,
Though at least Rwanda is paused for the mo,
And yet again
we didn’t win Eurovision,
But at least it Sam gave a good show.
And so we said
our fond goodbyes,
To work, to school, to friends.
Our lives packed up,
Into boxes on vans,
Our time in Bognor now ends.
And then we landed
In a new place,
Leatherhead was to become home.
It took some time,
But it’s become exciting
to have new spaces to roam.
We’ve felt loved, accepted,
And touched by the welcome
We’ve received from new neighbours and friends.
It’s made it much easier,
To let go of what was,
Though we still miss the people we’ve left.
So thanks to all those
Who’ve been part of our year,
Whether you’re near or far.
In the year that’s to come,
We pray you will know,
just how loved and appreciated you are.
The 3rd in a 3 part series for the start of Advent
Advent.
A time of wanting.
What do you want for Christmas?
A new bike, a new microwave,
A box of chocolates, but not one with the minty ones in…
This world is filled with wants.
Adverts, telling us what we want.
Watching the news and desperately wanting peace where there is conflict.
Business Enticing us with wants.
Hearing of friends suffering, and longing for them to be freed of their pain.
Supermarkets tempting us with treats and tantalizing tastes.
Wanting to live in a world where the most basic of human needs are met by all in this world.
But how do we distinguish our desires between selfishness and selflessness.
How do we keep our wanting in check with God’s wanting for us?
And in that moment,
advent connects with the climax of the story.
Christs words in Gethsemane echo in our ears:
“Father, not what I want, but what you want.”
Advent.
A time of wanting.
Wanting as Jonah did, inside the belly of a fish, for 3 nights praying, re-orientating himself from his own wants and desires.
Not what I want, but what you want Lord.
Wanting as Mary did, as she accepted the angel’s word: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
Not what I want, but what you want Lord.
Advent.
A time of wanting.
Yet – what are we wanting?
A time of watching.
Yet – what are we watching for?
A time of waiting.
Yet – What are we waiting for?
The 2nd of a 3 part series for the start of advent.
Advent.
A time of watching.
Watching the news.
Watching the world go by
Watching children, and grandchildren play.
Watching the sun rise and set,
Watching the seas roll and break on the shore,
Watching the trees bend under the weight of the wind
Yes watching, it seems, is not merely seeing.
Watching goes deeper than simply observing and acknowledging what we see.
Watching involves interpreting, it involves foreseeing,
Looking at both the now, and the not yet,
The present and the yet to be.
Advent.
A time of watching.
Watching, as Noah did, for the waters to recede.
Watching as All Israel did,
watching for the Messiah,
But when messiah came, they rejected, ignored, dismissed.
The Messiah that came was not what they had been watching for.
Advent.
A time of watching.
What are we watching for?
Watching for what we want God to do?
Or watching for God’s voice, God’s action in this world?
Advent.
A time of watching.
A time of waiting.
The first of a 3 part reflection for Advent.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
Waiting for the bus,
the TV programme to start,
waiting for test results,
for an appointment,
for a child to be born,
for dinner to cook
still waiting for the bus.
Waiting inhabits most areas of our lives, in one way or another.
Sometimes waiting passes by unnoticed.
At others, waiting is a heavy millstone around our necks.
Sometimes waiting can be a joyous and uplifting time,
At others, it can be draining of life.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
Waiting as Abraham and Sarah did, waiting for God’s unexpected and seemingly impossible promise to come true, that in their old age, they would bear a child.
Waiting as Joseph did, rejected by his brothers, imprisoned for years, yet when all hope seemed lost, his liberation comes as he interprets dreams, and finds purpose.
Waiting as the Israelites did, time and time again, for 40 years, to reach the promised land. Waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled.
Waiting as Mary did, having been visited by an angel, and told she would conceive, waiting for this Christ-child to be born.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
A Call to Worship based on Psalm 149.
PPT and PDF downloads also available below.
Praise the Lord!
Sing to our God a new song.
Sing praise as you gather as God’s people.
Faithful ones, rejoice in your Maker.
Praise with dancing,
Sing for joy!
Worship with tambourine and harp,
Exalt our God with all you have and are,
For God delights in us.
This is the glorious privilege
of being part of God’s family,
the company of the faithful.
Sing to God a new song.
Praise the Lord!
A reflection on grief, based on words found in Psalm 46.
Download the text of this reflection below:
Rev Dan Balsdon's Blog 