St Mark’s Parish News

24 May 2020 Seventh Sunday of Easter

Joy comes in the morning

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,

and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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St Albans Cathedral Sunday Worship

Join the worship each Sunday at 10.00am The Cathedral has its own

YouTube channel which you can visit here.

Church of England Online Service

Click here to join this week's service with The Duke of Cambridge who is urging people who are concerned

about their mental health or that of others to reach out and start a conversation, in this Mental Health Week. The service, led by Rev Professor Gina Radford, a Vicar in Devon and former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, includes a series of prayers for all those whose mental health has been

Praying together

As a church family we unite our prayers together for ten minutes this week on Sunday & Wednesday at 12 noon. Here are some suggested themes to guide us in our prayers. Our focus today is on the economic impacts of the pandemic

For the economic future of our country and the global economy For those who have already lost their jobs and are finding it difficult to find

new employment For companies and their staff who have closed down and will not be able to

re-open For the poor and vulnerable who were already struggling with grinding

poverty and hardship before the pandemic For our role in bringing help, support and Christian love to those in need

Mike & Janet Warren

St Mark’s Church Worshipping together every Wednesday

Morning Worship at 10.00am on Zoom

Click here at 10.00am

or Telephone 0131 4601196 Meeting No 88151161300 #

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Verse of Scripture Collect Prayer for the Day Before we read we pray O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. First Reading Acts 1:6-14 When the apostles had come together, they asked Jesus, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. (This is the word of the Lord - Thanks be to God) Second Reading 1 Peter 4:12-14 & 5:6-11 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all

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grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (This is the word of the Lord -- Thanks be to God) Gospel Reading John 17:1-11 Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and

I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. (This is the word of the Lord -- Thanks be to God) Post Communion Prayer Eternal God, giver of love and power, your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world to preach the gospel of his kingdom: confirm us in this mission, and help us to live the good news we proclaim; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Commentary I I am not a Trekkie, which if you don’t know means a fan of Star Trek. But I thought I knew one of the most memorable expressions from the series and films. Captain Kirk when he got into trouble would pull out his transponder, which looked very like a Nokia flip phone and he would utter those words many of us have used from time to time ’Beam me up Scotty’! Now those of you who are real Trekkies will immediately correct me and say that these exact words were never actually said. We all think that they were and with good reason, the actor who played Scotty James Doohan even used them as the title of his biography Apparently Captain Kirk did say “Scotty, beam us up” and “Beam me up.” He did so when he was on a strange planet faced with a dangerous situation. Good old Scotty back on the Starship Enterprise would turn some special knobs on a transporter machine and magically Captain Kirk and whoever was with him would dissolve and the reappear in the safety of the Enterprise. I have to say that over the past few years there have been several times when I would have liked to utter the words “Beam Me Up” to escape what appears to be the madness of planet earth. I sometimes think that the world has truly gone mad and I know that many of you share my utter confusion. I do not think that there are any circumstances in which I could have imagined many of the things which have happened over the past few years, I am absolutely sure I could not have imagined the current COVID 19 crisis ever becoming a reality. So now is the time when perhaps we would like Captain Kirk say it was time to escape! I don’t think that any of us would have blamed Jesus if he had uttered a ‘Beam Me Up’ prayer on the occasion of the Last Supper. Or at least bring about some kind of ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ moment. The words in our Gospel reading today are a prayer spoken by Jesus just before he is betrayed, arrested and crucified. His language in the prayer is not that of somebody who is daunted by the task ahead. Indeed Jesus speaks about ‘glory’. In human terms ‘glory’ means winning, which would be the opposite of being captured and killed. This might be seen as Jesus burying his head in the sand while the world falls apart all around him. Instead these words are spoken by a Jesus conscious of his own divinity and praying for his followers to be united with the Father as he is united, that they may know the assurance of eternal life. Jesus is not burying his head to the problems he faces, he is rising above them to see things from an eternal perspective. This week we have remembered the Ascension. This was the moment after the crucifixion and his forty days on earth, Jesus ascended to the Father. In the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we read that the disciples saw Jesus leave them and they were obviously confused about what to do. In that moment they saw two men in white robes who stood by them and said ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?’ These are challenging words for us today. Jesus is no longer with us but we are not to stand looking up to heaven wondering. Rather the work of God has been delivered by Jesus into our hands. The sheer beauty and wonder of creation is beyond us to fully tell. Yet we also live in a

very broken world, a world which as St Paul said is groaning, waiting to be mended by the creator. At the moment that brokenness is transparent and our inability to deal with the problems has overwhelmed us. In our own country we are living through a crisis the like of which most of us have never seen. In other parts of the world life is seen to be of a low value and the bodies of the dead are disposed of with little dignity befitting a child of God. Never before in most of our lifetimes have we ever needed more the Holy Spirit of God to empower us for service in Jesus name. Jesus prayed for us who are left in the world ‘Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.’ May that protection for which Jesus prayed, surround you and your families in the coming days, that you may be faithful in worship and service and come to that promise of eternal life in knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ. Charles Royden

Meditation The Very Reverend Jeffrey John preached at St Albans Cathedral last week, if you missed it you can still click here to listen to the service. It is worth reflecting on the essence of what he said in the context of the Coronavirus epidemic and the response of key workers. Dean Jeffrey reflected upon the Unknown God that Paul preached about. Paul knew that educated Greeks were not persuaded by the Greek gods who simply reflected the worst of human nature. They knew that there must be something more which is why they had built a temple to an 'Unknown God'. Paul spoke of how God had come to make himself known in the person of Jesus Christ. Paganism is a reflection of nature and since nature is not very nice the gods were not too nice either!

Nature does not do compassion, its all about natural selection. The strong conquer and displace or devour the weak. Any religions based on nature would therefore be the same. This explains why the Nazi Heinrich Himmler wanted to stamp out Christianity and replace it with the old natural Germanic gods like Voltan and Freyer and Thor. The Nazis wanted a religion in tune with natural selection, one which would justify the domination of a Master Race. Christianity was dangerous because it said the opposite, it looked after the weak the sick and the uneconomically viable. Himmler hatred crucifixes and wanted them all removed from because German soil because his gods were armed warriors who were about getting and winning. The cross was an image of weakness and failure. Natural selection targets the weak and the vulnerable, just like the Coronavirus. That is why Christians do not worship nature, they worship the creator God whose purpose is to restore a fallen world, to redeem a world from decay. Jesus taught the opposite of natural selection. He taught that all human beings were equal in the sight of God. This included the sick, the weak, the old and the uneconomically viable. All were equal because they were all made in God's image and equally loved by God. God's love is opposed to many of our natural instincts. Loving people is difficult and dying for them reverses the way of the world. Jesus says that the world cannot receive his Spirit because it cannot make any sense of him. However his Spirit will be in his followers if they keep his commands and live by the same kind of love. This is a love which gives itself away for the sake of others and especially the weak, the frail, the sick and uneconomically viable. That Spirit is at work now in people who are loving in exactly the same way that Jesus did, risking their lives to save others. All of those doctors and nurses and care home staff and support workers, and cleaners and bus drivers and shopkeepers putting their lives on the line for others. Most would say that they are not doing anything particularly special but they are. This is because self giving love is not natural, it is not the way of the world, but it is the way of God. It is the way of human beings made in the image of God. It matters not whether they are Christians, or Muslims, or Bhuddists, or militant atheists or anything else. Jesus said, 'Whoever keeps my command will be loved by my Father.' They are doing the work of God by the Spirit of God. So thank God for them all.

Last Judgement, Stefan Lochner c. 1435. Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, tempera on oak

Stefan Lochner’s Last Judgement is one of the most compelling interpretations of the scene surviving from the late Middle Ages. The upper half of the painting has Jesus, Mary and St. John. Jesus sits on a double rainbow which emits beams, with his hand held outwards, the two angels by his feet play long trumpets, signaling judgement. Mary and John kneel at either side of him in poses of prayer as they beg for salvation for the souls beneath. Jesus' right hand is raised in the act of blessing the dead on his right who are to be admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven, his left hand is lowered as he condemns the sinners to eternal punishment. He is dressed in a red robe decorated with pearls. His robe is open to reveal the nails holes in his hands and the wound to his chest. The lower half of the panel shows a large body of mortals and demons. The dead rise from their graves, and depending on the judgement of Christ, are either received into heaven or banished into hell. As is traditional, the saved are accompanied by angels as they move towards the left. The damned, who occupy two thirds of the lower half of the panel, are scuttled and tormented by demons. The saved are greeted by St. Peter as they enter a heavenly city, while the lost are driven towards the blazing fires of hell. The faces and expressions of the damned are full of dread and physical pain. Some of the devils drag the condemned using a chain, in a passage in the lower right, four demons drag souls towards a pit where other devils wait at a raging fire. Here his readers are warned against the presumption of salvation. Hence, contrasting sharply with the jubilant procession entering heaven’s gates to the left of Lochner’s panel, is the disturbing scene at bottom right. A chained devil seizes a terrified group of twelve humans, pulling them down into hell. Visible among them are pillars of the medieval Christian community: a pope, a cardinal, a bishop, and a monarch. Judgement begins at the very door of God’s household, the Church. To whom more is given, more will be demanded.

St Mark’s Church Morning Worship on Zoom - Wednesdays 10.00am

Click here at 10.00am on Zoom ! Telephone 0131 4601196 Meeting No 88151161300 #

A quick guide to get you started on Zoom Come and join us on Zoom for morning Worship. You can download the Zoom app for an Ipad tablet or even a mobile phone. The best way is probably a home computer with a microphone so you can join the chat. Just type zoom.us in your browser and the downloads are right at the bottom of the page. You don’t have to but the first time you try to connect to a zoom meeting invite it will also ask if you want to download the free app. The app gives you the best experience so it is worth doing and it also works at its best on Google Chrome. You can also join us on zoom over the telephone ! On your phone, dial the teleconferencing number provided in your invite. You will be asked to enter the meeting ID number when using your dial pad. It is a good idea to keep your microphone on mute when the service starts unless you are taking part. Click here and remember to switch on your cameras on here so we can see you !

Handy Tip !

On a computer if you can’t see everybody move your cursor to the top of the page on the right and a menu will appear to change

to either speaker view or gallery view.

Use gallery view and you can see everybody !

Wednesday Morning Worship Click here at 10.00am on Zoom !

Telephone 0131 4601196 Meeting No 88151161300 # Today is the feast day of St Augustine

The service will be led by The Reverend Dr Sam Cappleman Please join with words in bold type - Please remember to MUTE your microphone ! Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. All and also with you. This is the day that the Lord has made. All Let us rejoice and be glad in it. We have come together in the name of Christ to offer our praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive God’s holy word, to pray for the needs of the world, and to seek the forgiveness of our sins, that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may give ourselves to the service of God.

Confession

Jesus says, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.' So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith. All Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight. We are sorry and repent. Have mercy on us according to your love. Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin. Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Almighty God who forgives all who truly repent have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord. All Amen.

Praise

Let everything be said and done in the name of the Lord Jesus, All giving thanks to God through Jesus Christ. Sing psalms, hymns and sacred songs: All let us sing to God with thankful hearts. Open our lips, O Lord: All and we shall praise your name. The night has passed, the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind. As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever. All Amen.

The Offering Thank you for your ongoing support of the work of the church

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of

your own do we give you.

The Word of God The Collect Prayer & Bible Readings

Almighty God, whose servant Augustine was sent as the apostle of the English people:

grant that as he laboured in the Spirit to preach Christ’s gospel in this land, so all who hear the good news may strive to make your truth known in all the world;

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.

1 Thessalonians Chapter 2:2b-8 Read by Ian Farthing We had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been ap-proved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we nev-er came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. Reader This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. Matthew 31:31-33 Read by Jean Kirk Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ Reader This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God.

Thought for the Day

The Reverend Canon Charles Royden

The Affirmation of Faith

Do you believe and trust in God the Father? All I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ? All I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit? All I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers Led by Reader - Wendy Waters

The following responses may be used Leader Lord, in your mercy: All hear our prayer. ending with Leader Merciful Father, All Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 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

Love is his word, love is his way. Recorded remotely by the Choral Scholars of St Martin-in-the-Fields in their homes, and edited together.

1 Love is his word, love is his way, feasting with all, fasting alone, living and dying, rising again, love, only love, is his way. Richer than gold is the love of my Lord: better than splendour and wealth. 2 Love is his news, love is his name, we are his own, chosen and called, sisters and brothers, parents and kin. Love, only love, is his name. 3 Love is his name, love is his law, hear his command, all who are his: 'Love one another, I have loved you.' Love, only love, is his law. 4 Love is his law, love is his word: love of the Lord, Father and Word, love of the Spirit, God ever one, love, only love, is his word.

Luke Connaughton (1917-1979) © McCrimmon Publishing Co. Ltd Copyright CCLI 429192 & Streaming & PRS 0020269

The Blessing

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life. All Amen Let us bless the Lord All Thanks be to God.

Rest In Peace The funeral of Christopher Roy Norfolk will take place The funeral service and cremation have been

arranged to take place at 12:15 pm on Friday 5 June at Bedford Crematorium.

On the Sunday following a funeral service we remember in church those who have died. We light a candle to symbolise the light of Christ which eternally shines and brings hope. If you would like a person remembered in our service when the candle is lit, perhaps on an anniversary or birthday,

please inform the ministers, or telephone the

May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise in glory . Amen.

St Mark’s Contact Information

The Reverend Dr. Sam Cappleman Assistant Rural Dean of Bedford

107 Dover Crescent, Bedford MK41 Tel: 266952 nsm@stmarkschurch.com The Reverend Canon Charles Royden The Vicarage, Calder Rise. MK41 7UY

309175 Mobile 07973 113861 vicar@stmarkschurch.com Reader: Mrs Wendy Waters Pastoral Support Team Co-Ordinator 342613 reader@stmarkschurch.com

St. Mark’s Church Centre www.stmarkschurch.com 01234 342613 613 office@stmarkschurch.com Treasurer: Mr Ian Farthing 210892 treasurer@stmarkschurch.com Gift Aid Administrator: Mr Jim

Williams 360605 Churchyard Administrator: Mrs Avril Williams 342613 garden@stmarkschurch.com Charity No 1164416 Copyright CCLI 429192 & Streaming & PRS 0020269

www.stmarkschurch.com

Prayers for Sunday and week ahead God of compassion, have mercy upon this nation and our world in this time of fear and confusion. We bring before you those who are suffering from the Coronavirus; the aged and those who are most vulnerable and for all who tend to their needs. We pray for those who are now in isolation; may they know your comfort and company. by prayer and in works of care and kindness. We pray for health professionals, doctors, nurses and hospital support staff as they answer their vocation under increasing pressure. We pray for those upon whose shoulders the yoke of leadership rests, that in their conversation and communication your still small voice may be heard. We ask this in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the One who stretched out his hands to bless and to heal even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Wednesday Zoom Morning Prayer If you would like to join in our Wednesday Zoom Morning

Worship but can’t print off the service then let us know and we will send you a printed copy ! Please call

342613 or email office@stmarkschurch.com

Congratulations

We are delighted to celebrate with

Margaret and Geoff Appleton the

good news of their Golden Wedding

Anniversary. May you both have

many more years of good health and

happiness and continue to be

blessing to our church .