HOLMBURY
ST MARY
SELF-SERVICE for SUNDAY, 31st JANUARY 2021
ORDER OF SERVICE
for Presentation of Christ / Candlemas
ORGAN VOLUNTARY
James Stanton plays Oh my soul rejoice in gladness
by Sigfrid Karg-Elert
WELCOME by Martha
HYMN Click and join in or listen to
the Benefice Choir singing:
Judge eternal, throned in splendour
1 Judge eternal, throned in splendour,
Lord of lords and King of kings,
with thy living fire of judgment
purge this realm of bitter things:
solace all its wide dominion
with the healing of thy wings.
2 Still the weary folk are pining
for the hour that brings release:
and the city's crowded clangour
cries aloud for sin to cease;
and the homesteads and the woodlands
plead in silence for their peace.
3 Crown, O Lord, thine own endeavour;
cleave our darkness with thy sword;
cheer the faint and feed the hungry
with the richness of thy word;
cleanse the body of this nation
through the glory of the Lord.
Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)
A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION
Join Martin Richards (Coldharbour) in saying this prayer
God our Father,
At this time of crisis when so many are suffering,
We pray for our nation and our world:
Give our leaders wisdom, our Health Service strength, our people hope.
Lead us through these parched and difficult days to the fresh springs of joy and comfort
That we find in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
FIRST READING
The messenger of the covenant
James Friend (Wotton) reads Malachi 3: 1 – 5
INSPIRATION Vernon White talks about
Dag Hammerskjold
ANTHEM
Click and listen to the Benefice Choir singing:
Teach me, O Lord by Thomas Attwood (1765 - 1838)
with words from Psalm 119, verse 33:
Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes,
and I shall keep it unto the end
GOSPEL READING
The child Jesus is presented in the temple
Simon Hall reads Luke 2: 22 – 40
SERMON Preached by Hilary Swift (Lay Reader, Abinger)
HYMN Click and join in or listen to
the Benefice Choir singing:
Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
1 Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old
was strong to heal and save;
it triumphed o'er disease and death,
o'er darkness and the grave:
to thee they went, the deaf, the dumb,
the palsied and the lame,
the beggar with his sightless eyes,
the sick with fevered frame.
2 And lo, thy touch brought life and health,
gave speech and strength and sight;
and youth renewed and frenzy calmed
owned thee, the Lord of light:
and now, O Lord, be near to bless,
almighty as of yore,
in crowded street, by restless couch,
as by Gennesareth's shore.
3 Be thou our great deliverer still,
thou Lord of life and death;
restore and quicken, soothe and bless,
with thine almighty breath:
to hands that work, and eyes that see,
give wisdom's heavenly lore,
that whole and sick, and weak and strong,
may praise thee evermore.
Edward Hayes Plumptre (1821-1891)
PRAYERS Led by Virginia
Let us join with David, saying
THE LORD'S PRAYER:
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. And 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
HYMN Click and listen to the Benefice Choir singing:
Jesus Christ is waiting
Words by John L. Bell (b.1949) and Graham Maule (b.1958)
© WGRG / The Iona Community 1988
BLESSING given by David
ORGAN VOLUNTARY
James Stanton plays Elegy in B-flat by George Thalben-Ball
COLLECTION If you would like to make a donation to St Mary's Church, please click here to make a secure credit card payment.
Heart-felt thanks to all who are supporting the work of the church.
The link below now takes you to a secure online donation platform for churches, Give a Little, which is fully supported by the
Church of England.
Background illustration:
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
fresco by Giotto di Bondone (d. 1337)
Lower Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy