Services for the coming week
Sunday, 11th June, Barnabas the Apostle
8.00 am Holy Communion (BCP)
9.30 am Holy Communion at Levisham
10.00 am Parish Communion
10.45 am Holy Communion at Lockton
6.00 pm Evensong
Wednesday, 14th June
10.00 am Holy Communion
Sunday, 18th June, The Second Sunday after Trinity
8.00 am Holy Communion BCP
10.00 am Parish Communion
10.00 am Holy Communion at Marishes
6.00 pm Evensong
Welcome to our worship for
Sunday, 11th June
Bidding Prayers
Christ came to call sinners. Let us consider what is truly important in our lives as we ask for God’s loving forgiveness for the times things have gone wrong.
We are sorry for things we have failed to do.
Lord, have mercy.
We are sorry for the times we thought we knew better.
Christ, have mercy.
Help us to hear and answer your call.
Lord, have mercy.
We are sorry for things we have failed to do.
Lord, have mercy.
We are sorry for the times we thought we knew better.
Christ, have mercy.
Help us to hear and answer your call.
Lord, have mercy.
Collect
Bountiful God, giver of all gifts, who poured your Spirit upon your servant Barnabas and gave him grace to encourage others:
help us, by his example, to be generous in our judgements and unselfish in our service;
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
help us, by his example, to be generous in our judgements and unselfish in our service;
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
Readings for Today
First Reading: Job 29. 11-16
When the ear heard, it commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
Psalm 112
Response : “Blessed are those, those who fear the Lord.”
Alleluia. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments. Their descendants will be mighty in the land, a generation of the faithful that will be blest. R
Wealth and riches will be in their house, and their righteousness endures for ever. Light shines in the darkness for the upright; gracious and full of compassion are the righteous. R
It goes well with those who are generous in lending and order their affairs with justice, For they will never be shaken; the righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance. R
They will not be afraid of any evil tidings; their heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their heart is sustained and will not fear, until they see the downfall of their foes. R
They have given freely to the poor; their righteousness stands fast for ever; their head will be exalted with honour. R
Second Reading: Acts 11. 19-end
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they associated with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.
At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Gospel Reading: John 15. 12-17
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
When the ear heard, it commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
Psalm 112
Response : “Blessed are those, those who fear the Lord.”
Alleluia. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments. Their descendants will be mighty in the land, a generation of the faithful that will be blest. R
Wealth and riches will be in their house, and their righteousness endures for ever. Light shines in the darkness for the upright; gracious and full of compassion are the righteous. R
It goes well with those who are generous in lending and order their affairs with justice, For they will never be shaken; the righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance. R
They will not be afraid of any evil tidings; their heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their heart is sustained and will not fear, until they see the downfall of their foes. R
They have given freely to the poor; their righteousness stands fast for ever; their head will be exalted with honour. R
Second Reading: Acts 11. 19-end
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they associated with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.
At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Gospel Reading: John 15. 12-17
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Thoughts on the readings for this week.
From 'Lost for Words'
Since 1965 the Royal Air Force's Aerobatic Team - the Red Arrows - have completed over four thousand displays. If you've seen them, you'll know that the breathtaking precision of their manoeuvres is an excellent antidote to thinking the world is full of bungling idiots. They are part of a tradition of highly skilled airmen and women whose proficiency and poise in high-risk situations are a good reminder of what human beings, given the right training and experience, are capable of.
It is more than sixty years since another group carried out an airborne feat of amazing precision and boldness during World War II. The attacks on German dams on 17th May 1943 used a specially developed "bouncing bomb" The dams had been identified as prime targets for the Allied Forces, but the technical problems were thought to make it impossible, until engineer Barnes Wallis invented a drum-shaped bomb capable of spinning and skimming on the surface of water. An accurate drop could bypass the dam's protection, but to pull this off from a height of only 60 feet, while flying at 240 miles per hour, required the bang-on precision and nerves of steel shown by members of Number 617 Squadron - or the Dambusters, as they're better known.
Jesus says something which is both astonishing and moving in todar's reading from John: "I do not call you servants any longer... but I have called you friends." But something else he says might take us aback: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" Now we don't tend to think of friends as issuing rules, and we don't think of friendship as dependent upon keeping them.
So let's think about the Red Arrows again for a moment. To get to that level of precision and skill takes years of training - and of course training requires obedience. So with such high stakes you can bet that fighter and aerobatic pilots take obedience extremely seriously - because they know their lives depend upon it. Of course we're fine, down here on terra firma. Since we don't have earth spinning towards us at hundreds of miles an hour, we don't have to obey commands in order to save our lives. Or do we?
Throughout the Gospels Jesus spells it out with stark warnings and parables - the slave who fails to use his talents, the wicked vineyard tenants, the unproductive fig tree - they all end up cast out of heaven because they disobeyed God's commandments. So in fact our eternal lives aso depend upon obedience - the stakes could hardly be higher. And it would be a poor friend who didn't do anything in his power to save our lives - even if that meant laying down the law.
One problem we, in our modern, individualistic age, have is that we confuse obedience with spineless submission. But it depends who were obeying and why. We don't think of the Red Arrows as being spineless in obeying orders during training or manoeuvres. We admire them for their dedication and discipline and understand that, when it’s a matter of life and death, obedience is essential.
Another problem is that we tend to think it's dull to be obedient. The answer to this dilemma can be found in today's reading from 1 John. We hear that God's commandments are "not burdensome, and get a tantalising glimpse of obedience leading to faith which, in turn, leads to victory.
A third problem is that we don't think we’re very good at obedience, so we give up before we've tried. What's at the root of this crisis of confidence? Perhaps it's because obedience involves a deep faith commitment. Søren Kierkegaard said: "It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey." The deeper we go into the Christian life, the more we find that faith and Obedience are inextricably intertwined. Because obedience is not a sideline to faith, but a key element of it - it is no less, in fact, than faith in
action.
Obedience is not simply saying "yes" to everything, but making a deeper commitment to live in faith and, above all, to obey Jesus' commandment to love one another. It's a skill like any other. In order for it to work for us as individuals we have to make it our own, incorporate it into the very fabric of our lives, and that takes training. But as our eternal lives depend on it, the stakes could hardly be higher.
It is more than sixty years since another group carried out an airborne feat of amazing precision and boldness during World War II. The attacks on German dams on 17th May 1943 used a specially developed "bouncing bomb" The dams had been identified as prime targets for the Allied Forces, but the technical problems were thought to make it impossible, until engineer Barnes Wallis invented a drum-shaped bomb capable of spinning and skimming on the surface of water. An accurate drop could bypass the dam's protection, but to pull this off from a height of only 60 feet, while flying at 240 miles per hour, required the bang-on precision and nerves of steel shown by members of Number 617 Squadron - or the Dambusters, as they're better known.
Jesus says something which is both astonishing and moving in todar's reading from John: "I do not call you servants any longer... but I have called you friends." But something else he says might take us aback: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" Now we don't tend to think of friends as issuing rules, and we don't think of friendship as dependent upon keeping them.
So let's think about the Red Arrows again for a moment. To get to that level of precision and skill takes years of training - and of course training requires obedience. So with such high stakes you can bet that fighter and aerobatic pilots take obedience extremely seriously - because they know their lives depend upon it. Of course we're fine, down here on terra firma. Since we don't have earth spinning towards us at hundreds of miles an hour, we don't have to obey commands in order to save our lives. Or do we?
Throughout the Gospels Jesus spells it out with stark warnings and parables - the slave who fails to use his talents, the wicked vineyard tenants, the unproductive fig tree - they all end up cast out of heaven because they disobeyed God's commandments. So in fact our eternal lives aso depend upon obedience - the stakes could hardly be higher. And it would be a poor friend who didn't do anything in his power to save our lives - even if that meant laying down the law.
One problem we, in our modern, individualistic age, have is that we confuse obedience with spineless submission. But it depends who were obeying and why. We don't think of the Red Arrows as being spineless in obeying orders during training or manoeuvres. We admire them for their dedication and discipline and understand that, when it’s a matter of life and death, obedience is essential.
Another problem is that we tend to think it's dull to be obedient. The answer to this dilemma can be found in today's reading from 1 John. We hear that God's commandments are "not burdensome, and get a tantalising glimpse of obedience leading to faith which, in turn, leads to victory.
A third problem is that we don't think we’re very good at obedience, so we give up before we've tried. What's at the root of this crisis of confidence? Perhaps it's because obedience involves a deep faith commitment. Søren Kierkegaard said: "It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey." The deeper we go into the Christian life, the more we find that faith and Obedience are inextricably intertwined. Because obedience is not a sideline to faith, but a key element of it - it is no less, in fact, than faith in
action.
Obedience is not simply saying "yes" to everything, but making a deeper commitment to live in faith and, above all, to obey Jesus' commandment to love one another. It's a skill like any other. In order for it to work for us as individuals we have to make it our own, incorporate it into the very fabric of our lives, and that takes training. But as our eternal lives depend on it, the stakes could hardly be higher.
Prayers for this week.
from Gina Southey
Jesus, you are the vine; we are the branches and through you we pray to our gracious and loving Father. May we, like St Barnabas, be encouragers to bring people to the faith.
You are the vine; we are the branches: we know we should be generous at passing your love to all, and we want to produce good fruit in abundance. We give thanks for the nurturing we have received and pray for those who do not yet know you and the young in the faith, that they may be given the opportunity to grow and bear fruit, nurture us as branches of the true vine, train and prune us where necessary and may our spiritual harvest make rich wine, wine of your kingdom.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: clearly we see around the world the tragic and expensive consequences of branches cut off from the true vine. We pray for a seeking of your truth and a desire to act rightly and justly in all areas of human society. We pray for the nations of the world and especially those who are not at peace at this time, especially for those living through the Ukraine war and the floods. We ask for your guidance on all who care for the world’s poor refuges and war torn peoples.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we pray for those to whom we are linked by family, friendships or work: especially we pray for those who are separated from their loved ones or their home. We give thanks for all those who have shared their faith with us. In our turn, may we also bear fruit and bring others into your love and presence. Lord bless our homes with the glory of your presence. Help us all to live in and share your peace.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we long for healing and wholeness for all those who suffer and in those communities where there is discord. Guide us to understand how we can be part of that healing. We pray for the people who are still struggling through the after effects of Covid and the economic crisis that has followed. For those whose mental health has and still is affected. We pray for all those for whom candles have been lit and for all those we know.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we know that you live with us through life and we live with you through death, so death cannot separate us from your love, we give thanks for that great gift and in that knowledge we commend to your blessed and joyful keeping all those who have died and pray for peace and hope for all who mourn them.
Especially praying at this time for anyone known to us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we thank you that we can live in the joyful kingdom of your love, so we dedicate ourselves to serving others through this following prayer.
Love of Jesus- fill us
Joy of Jesus- surprise us
Peace of Jesus- flood us
Light of Jesus- transform us
Touch of Jesus- warm us
Strength of Jesus- encourage us
O Saviour in your agony- forgive us
In your wounds- hide us
In your risen life take us with you.
Direct us Lord and we will follow.
Merciful father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
You are the vine; we are the branches: we know we should be generous at passing your love to all, and we want to produce good fruit in abundance. We give thanks for the nurturing we have received and pray for those who do not yet know you and the young in the faith, that they may be given the opportunity to grow and bear fruit, nurture us as branches of the true vine, train and prune us where necessary and may our spiritual harvest make rich wine, wine of your kingdom.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: clearly we see around the world the tragic and expensive consequences of branches cut off from the true vine. We pray for a seeking of your truth and a desire to act rightly and justly in all areas of human society. We pray for the nations of the world and especially those who are not at peace at this time, especially for those living through the Ukraine war and the floods. We ask for your guidance on all who care for the world’s poor refuges and war torn peoples.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we pray for those to whom we are linked by family, friendships or work: especially we pray for those who are separated from their loved ones or their home. We give thanks for all those who have shared their faith with us. In our turn, may we also bear fruit and bring others into your love and presence. Lord bless our homes with the glory of your presence. Help us all to live in and share your peace.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we long for healing and wholeness for all those who suffer and in those communities where there is discord. Guide us to understand how we can be part of that healing. We pray for the people who are still struggling through the after effects of Covid and the economic crisis that has followed. For those whose mental health has and still is affected. We pray for all those for whom candles have been lit and for all those we know.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we know that you live with us through life and we live with you through death, so death cannot separate us from your love, we give thanks for that great gift and in that knowledge we commend to your blessed and joyful keeping all those who have died and pray for peace and hope for all who mourn them.
Especially praying at this time for anyone known to us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer
You are the vine; we are the branches: we thank you that we can live in the joyful kingdom of your love, so we dedicate ourselves to serving others through this following prayer.
Love of Jesus- fill us
Joy of Jesus- surprise us
Peace of Jesus- flood us
Light of Jesus- transform us
Touch of Jesus- warm us
Strength of Jesus- encourage us
O Saviour in your agony- forgive us
In your wounds- hide us
In your risen life take us with you.
Direct us Lord and we will follow.
Merciful father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
Please pray for:-
the sick, and those who care for them, including Robert Heal, Angus Macdonald, Georgina, Tony Lindsay and
Patricia Gordon-Duff
those who have lit candles and those for whom candles have been lit
those who have recently died, including Vivian Trevor Richardson
and those whose anniversary of death falls at this time, including Margaret Cheetham, Annie Hugill and Frank Dixon
the sick, and those who care for them, including Robert Heal, Angus Macdonald, Georgina, Tony Lindsay and
Patricia Gordon-Duff
those who have lit candles and those for whom candles have been lit
those who have recently died, including Vivian Trevor Richardson
and those whose anniversary of death falls at this time, including Margaret Cheetham, Annie Hugill and Frank Dixon
Post Communion Prayer
Almighty God, who on the day of Pentecost sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit strengthen us to witness to your truth and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit strengthen us to witness to your truth and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
From The Church of England
You are invited to our Live service on Sunday from 9am on our website, Facebook or YouTube . It will be available for playback immediately after as well.
All of our weekly service content is manually subtitled and contains British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation throughout.
CHURCH GIVING
A few people have asked how they can support the church financially if they can't do their normal weekly giving. Please continue to use Pam’s letterbox to drop off church donations – either envelopes, cheques (made payable to PCC of Pickering Parish Church) or other loose cash (In a sealed envelope marked for the Church). If you are unable to go outside, please ring, and we will see if there is an alternative way to collect.
Pam Robb at 16 Garden Way, Pickering, YO18 8BG. 07769 801708
WITH VERY MANY THANKS.
