Patrick Comerford
Introduction:
The Government is slowly lifting the restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, and many of us are preparing to open our churches on Sunday 5 July, which is also the Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
Of course, many of our churches are not going to reopen on that Sunday, either for practical reasons, or because of the rota systems we have in our parishes. Some churches may open the following Sunday (12 July) or even later than that.
But each church, when it opens, will open with a set of expectations among the people.
How do we balance the joy of reopening a church with the obvious restraints surrounding that special Sunday?
How do we balance our celebrations with the real mourning and grieving families, parishes, communities, the diocese and the nation need to acknowledge?
Many people are going to ask where God has been in the midst of this crisis. Has God been present in the church? Has God heard our prayers? Is God going to hear and answer our prayers?
No two churches are going to open in the same circumstances, with the same set of questions, or with the same set of expectations.
These resources are designed to assist and help us to prepare for that first, opening service. It would be impossible to have one, grand, diocesan event celebrating the re-opening of churches: that would appear too triumphant to some, would be impossible as guidelines continue to discourage large gatherings, and would be unfair to people who still worry about travelling or leaving their own areas.
No parish is going to have had the same experiences, or face the same future. No parish is going to have the same hopes or fears. But, of course, it would be impossible address all these concerns on one Sunday alone.
Nor should these resources be seen as some effort to bring uniformity to how we worship and celebrate in our churches. Instead, they try to bring a shared focus, in our readings, our prayers, the hymns or canticles we hear in the background, and so on.
Using these resources:
These resources offer two or three sets of readings for each section in a Sunday liturgy, whether this is Morning Prayer or the Eucharist.
There is hyperlink in the title or heading for each reading, and this allows you to access each reading and to copy and paste it by clicking on the link.
The notes on the readings provide resources for reflections or sermons, and link the themes of the readings together.
For celebrations of the Eucharist, these resources include a suggested Collect, Peace, Preface, Post-Communion Prayer and Prayer.
Most parishes may find they are not singing hymns for some weeks. But the suggested hymns could be played by the organist while people read the words in their hymnals, on service sheets or on a screen.
The propers, including collects, intercessions, post-communion prayers, are suggestions, and the usual Sunday resources based on the Book of Common Prayer and the Revised Common Lectionary will be available on this site from the previous Sunday.
Suggested Readings:
First Reading:
I Kings 8: 22-30:
In this reading, Solomon stands before the altar of God in the Temple, in the presence of all the people. He acknowledges God’s majesty and faithfulness, and the need for the people to follow in God’s ways.
But where is God to be found? Is God found only in the Temple? Is God found only in the highest heaven? Or is God found among the people who pray to him today?
Solomon realises that God listens to prayers day and night, in the good times and the bad times, and hears the prayers of the people, heeds their pleas, and forgives them.
or:
Genesis 28: 11-18:
Where do find those places where we know we are in the presence of God?
Has God been absent from our lives while we have not been present in our church buildings?
God is found in the most unexpected places and circumstances, and reaches down into our very human plight, at day and night, whether we are awake or asleep.
Jacob finds this when he sleeps, even resting his head on a stone as an unlikely pillow.
And, wherever we find God’s presence, we can say, as Jacob said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’
Now, the question may be, how do we share this joyful understanding with others?
or:
Lamentations 3: 22-26, 31-33:
Despite all sufferings, God is with us. In our grief, he shows us compassion, and ‘he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.’
Psalm:
Psalm 121:
As we come into God’s presence, we are promised that he will guard us and look after our well-being, our health, and our lives, both day and night.
The Lord will keep us from all evil. ‘The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and for evermore.’
or:
Psalm 122:
The author of Psalm 122 is ‘glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ He has a vision not of Jerusalem as it was at the time, but of the heavenly city where God dwells and where all people dwell in unity.
His response to this vision is to pray for the peace of the heavenly city and for all who live within its walls, for his family, and for the house of God.
This psalm is well-known because of its setting by Sir Hubert Parry, and it might be appropriate to play a version of this (readily available on YouTube) in the background instead of the psalm, or as an anthem either at the beginning or conclusion of a service, or as a reflective piece before a service.
Second Reading:
Hebrews 12: 18-24:
The author of the letter reminds the readers that they have come out of darkness into light in response to God’s call. They need not fear death, for they have come into God’s presence, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and need not fear death.
or:
I Peter 2: 1-10:
In this reading, we are told, we have come out of darkness into God’s light, and have received God’s mercy. We are asked to put behind us all the problems that marked previous ways of living and to enjoy being in the presence of God.
We are reminded that the Church is not just bricks and mortar – or, we might say, the buildings that have been closed for months – but that the Church is a living presence in the world today, and we are like living stones, being built into a spiritual house.
The cornerstone of this house is Christ himself. Though he has been rejected by others (the builders), he has become the very cornerstone of this new edifice that is the Church. As for us, we are the Church because we are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.’
or:
Revelation 21: 9-14:
The church should be a living example of the hope we have for the kingdom of God, the new Jerusalem, the living Jerusalem.
After a time of great and many plagues, Saint John, the author of the Book of Revelation, is taken to see the new Jerusalem and in this vision he finds he has an encounter with the glory of the living God.
The Gospel Reading:
Matthew 21: 12-16:
This Gospel reading is Saint Matthew’s account of Christ’s cleaning of the Temple.
After cleaning our churches and returning to them, are we sure that they are houses of prayer? And will the blind and the lame, whoever they may be in our society today, welcome in this church?
or:
John 10: 22-29:
If we have been waiting in suspense for this Sunday for many months, then Christ in this Gospel reading reminds us what all our waiting has been for, and not just our patient waiting during the past few months.
He promises us not immediate satisfaction but eternal life: ‘I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.’
No matter what fears we may continue to have in the times to come, Christ in his love for us ensures that we cannot be separated from God’s love for us and God’s care for.
Suggested intercessions:
The intercessions should include prayers for:
the universal Church of God;
here we may pray for the bishops of the Church of Ireland and staff of the RCB who have continued to work throughout the crisis, monitoring guidelines and regulations, and working towards the day when our churches reopen; the bishops of the Anglican Communion, in the face of the postponement of the Lambeth Conference; our own bishop, and the two cathedrals and their deans who have continued to broadcast services Sunday after Sunday; and our neighbouring churches and parishes.
the nations of the world;
Here we pray for our own government and all governments that have tried to find ways of dealing with this crisis, thanking God for the blessings of wise decision makers and advisers …
the local community;
Here we give thanks for frontline workers, essential services that have kept working …; our schools, children, parents and teachers …; community volunteers who have kept in touch with the housebound …; those who return to work and those who wait to return to work …; business owners who try to keep going …
those in need;
Here we may name particular individuals, families, care homes, hospitals, voluntary groups …
and remembrance of, and thanksgiving for, the faithful departed.
Here we may name particular individuals, families …; those who grieve and mourn …
During the prayers, a large bowl of water could be placed in an open area, and people could be invited individually to place a lighting tealight on the surface of the water.
Prayer Resources:
Introductory prayers:
Lord, be with us as we open the door.
Come in with us, go out with us.
Do not sleep when we sleep,
but watch over us, protect us and keep us safe,
our only help and maker. (cf Psalm 121)
For use in intercessions and the occasional prayers:
God of all consolation,
in your unending love and mercy
you turn the darkness of death
into the dawn of new life.
Your Son, by dying for us, conquered death
and, by rising again, restored us to eternal life.
May we then go forward eagerly to meet our redeemer
and, after our life on earth,
be reunited with all our brothers and sisters
in that place where every tear is wiped away
and all things made new;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
O God, who brought us to birth,
and in whose arms we die,
in our grief and shock
contain and comfort us;
embrace us with your love,
give us hope in our confusion
and grace to let go into new life;
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Concluding Prayers:
And now to him who is able to keep us from falling,
and lift us up from the dark valley of despair
to the bright mountain of hope,
from the midnight of desperation
to the daybreak of joy;
to him be power and authority for ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father,
you have not made us for darkness and death,
but for life with you for ever.
Without you we have nothing to hope for;
with you we have nothing to fear.
Lift us from anxiety and guilt
to the light and peace of your presence,
and set the glory of your love before us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name;
through Jesus Christ or Lord, Amen.
Liturgical Prayers:
The Collect:
Almighty God,
we praise you for the many blessings
you have given to those who worship you here:
and we pray that all who seek you in this place may find you,
and, being filled with the Holy Spirit,
may become a living temple acceptable to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Introduction to the Peace:
Peace to you from God our heavenly Father.
Peace from his Son Jesus Christ who is our peace.
Peace from the Holy Spirit the Life-giver.
The peace of the Triune God be always with you.
And also with you.
Preface:
You have revealed your glory
as the glory of your Son and of the Holy Spirit:
three persons equal in majesty, undivided in splendour,
yet one Lord, one God,
ever to be worshipped and adored:
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Father in heaven,
whose Church on earth is a sign of your heavenly peace,
an image of the new and eternal Jerusalem:
grant us in the days of our pilgrimage
that, fed with the living bread of heaven,
and united in the body of your Son,
we may be the temple of your presence,
the place of your glory on earth,
and a sign of your peace in the world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A note on Liturgical colours:
Green is the colour for Ordinary time. But it may be appropriate to use White, the colour of celebration and major days in the Church Calendar, or Red, the colour symbolising both the Holy Spirit and the witness of the Church in the lives of the great saints and martyrs.
Suggested Hymns:
Introductory note:
We may not be singing hymns on these Sundays, but there are imaginative and creative ways of using these resources. For example, an organist may play the tune, while people follow the words in their own hymnals, on service sheets or on a screen. Or churches may use recorded music and ask people to sit and listen.
Entrance or introduction hymns:
325: Be still, for the presence of the Lord
329: Father, again in Jesus’ name we meet
330: God is here! As we his people
334: I will enter his gates with thanksgiving
335: Jesus calls us here to meet him
336: Jesus, where’er they people meet
343, We love the place, O God
362, O God beyond all praising
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
366, Praise my soul, the king of heaven
468, How shall I sing that majesty
482, Jesus bids us shine
494, Beauty for brokenness
Gradual hymns:
333: How lovely are thy dwellings fair!
338: Jesus stand among us
344, When morning gilds the skies
357, I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
358, King of glory, king of peace
368, Sing of the Lord’s goodness
374, When all thy mercies, O my God
386, Spirit of God, unseen as the wind
489, Tell me the old, old story
492, Ye servants of God, your master proclaim
497, The Church of Christ, in every age
499, When I needed a neighbour
Offertory hymns:
331: God reveals his presence
341, Spirit divine, attend our prayers
345, Adoramus te, Domine
346, Angel voices, ever singing
359, Laudate Dominum
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
496, For the healing of the nations
501, Christ is the world’s true light
Post-Communion or dismissal hymns:
349, Fill thou my life, O Lord my God
350, For the beauty of the earth
352, Give thanks with a grateful heart
353, Give to our God immortal praise
360, Let all the world in every corner sing
361, Now thank we all our God
365, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation!
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
375, When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed
377, You shall go out with joy
478, Go forth and tell! O Church of God, awake!
479, Go, tell it on the mountain
481, God is working his purpose out
485, Rise up and serve the Lord
486, People of God, arise
488, Stand up, stand up for Jesus
490, The Spirit lives to set us free (Walk in the light)
Additional hymns remembering those who died:
461, For all thy saints, O Lord
466, Here from all nations, all tongues and all peoples
467, How bright those glorious spirits shine!
468, How shall I sing that majesty
469, In our day of thanksgiving
Suggested Canticles:
It seems inappropriate to use the Canticle Venite (Psalm 95) on this occasion, as it may lead some people to think Covid-19 was a divine punishment visited on the world. In a similar way, the canticle Jubilate (Psalm 100) may sound too triumphant at a time when we are still living with great uncertainty, and when so many people are suffering and grieving.
Instead, the following canticles may be suitable (the numbers and pages refer to the canticles in the Book of Common Prayer, pp 117-135):
8, Benedictus (p 122, and pp 107-108).
11 and 12, Te Deum (pp 125-127; 106-107).
14, Magnificat (pp 128-129; pp 110-111).
25, Ecce Nunc (p 133 and pp 109-110).
15 and 16, Nunc Dimittis (p 129, p 111).
17, Great and Wonderful (pp 129-130).
19, Saviour of the World (p 130).
21, Glory and Honour (p 131).
27, Deus Misereatur (p 134).
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
Material from Common Worship is © The Archbishop’s Council, the Church of England.
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