Here you can find resources for our liturgy to pray at home or wherever you are.
The readings for today and some of the prayers of our liturgy are on the downloadable pew sheet.
Dear friends in Christ,
as we begin the season of Lent we are reminded
that, in our Christian lives, we seek to realise the death of Jesus
so that God may be glorified in our worship and through our witness in the world.
Saint Paul writes of ‘carrying around the death of Jesus in our bodies,
so that the life of Jesus may be clearly shown in our bodies’ (2 Cor 4. 10).
It is through baptism that we die into Christ’s death (Rom 6. 3– 4)
so that we may share in his resurrection.
In beginning our Lenten observance,
we are therefore reminded of our baptism,
and how Christ’s death on the cross may clearly be shown in our lives.
We now come before God in penitence, reflecting on our life in Christ.
We pledge ourselves to observe this season of self-examination, discipline, and self-denial
with sincerity, prayer, and reverent reflection on holy Scripture,
seeking God’s purpose for us, and modelling our lives on the example of Christ Jesus.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord,
grant that your faithful people
may enter this season of penitence with faithfulness,
and complete it with steadfast devotion;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
please join in saying the text, pausing shortly at the *asterisk
Refrain: Have mercy on me, O God.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *
in your great compassion blot out my offences.
Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, *
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned *
and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak *
and upright in your judgement.
Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
a sinner from my mother's womb.
For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins *
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence *
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
Refrain: Have mercy on me, O God.
God the Father, have mercy on us.
God the Son, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, have mercy on us.
From all evil and mischief: from pride, vanity, and hypocrisy:
from envy, hatred, and malice: and from all evil intent,
good Lord, deliver us.
From sloth, worldliness, and love of money:
from hardness of heart and contempt for your word and your laws,
good Lord, deliver us.
From sins of body and mind: from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil;
from error and false doctrine, good Lord, deliver us.
In all times of sorrow, in all times of joy: in the hour of death, and at the day of judgement,
good Lord, deliver us.
Govern and direct your holy Church: fill it with love and truth:
and grant it that unity which is your will.
Hear us, good Lord.
Give us boldness to preach the gospel in all the world, and to make disciples of all the nations.
Hear us, good Lord.
Enlighten your ministers with knowledge and understanding, that by their teaching and their lives they may proclaim your word.
Hear us, good Lord.
Give your people grace to hear and receive your word, and to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
Hear us, good Lord.
Bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived.
Hear us, good Lord.
Strengthen those who stand: comfort and help the faint-hearted: raise up the fallen;
and finally beat down Satan under our feet.
Hear us, good Lord.
Give us true repentance: forgive us our sins of negligence and ignorance and our deliberate sins: and grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to your holy word.
Holy God
Holy Strong
Holy Immortal
Have mercy on us.
Silence
Create in us clean hearts, O God:
and renew a right spirit within us.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth,
we confess that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed.
We have not loved you with all our being,
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves:
we have disfigured your image in which we are made.
In your mercy, forgive what we have been and what we have done,
guide us and help us to amend our lives, and bring us to fullness of life in you,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, you have compassion on all your children,
and hate nothing you have made;
you do not desire the death of sinners,
but that they turn from their ways and live.
May these ashes be for us,
who are redeemed through the cross of Christ,
a sign of our death to sin, and the pledge of our life in Christ;
who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
In church, we are invited to receive the mark of Christ’s cross, with which we are signed at Baptism, and by which we are forgiven our sins and live to the glory of God.
Lord God Almighty,
your people are washed clean in the saving flood of baptism, and born again:
As we follow the way of the cross,
we ask you to unseal for us the wellspring of your grace,
cleanse our hearts of all that is not holy,
and cause your gift of new life to flourish in us;
grant this through Jesus Christ your Son,
who sets us free from sin,
and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God, world without end. Amen.
We meet in Christ's name.
Let us share his peace.
In church, we continue with the Liturgy of the Sacrament
Let us present our offerings to the Lord.
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 we give you.
Please join in the prayer Jesus himself taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Thursday 3rd March
Saturday 5th March
Sunday 6th March
First Sunday of Lent
Readings
Deuteronomy 26.1-11
Romans 10.8b-13
Luke 4.1-13
online resources will be available on this website
Our Lent Book this year is Saying Yes to Life by Dr Ruth Valerio, who is an environmentalist and theologian working at Tearfund.
This is the blurb:
As people made in the image of God, we are entrusted to look after what has been created: to share in God’s joy and ingenuity in making a difference for good.
Ruth Valerio imaginatively draws on the Days of Creation (Genesis 1), as she relates themes of light, water, land, the seasons, other creatures, humankind, Sabbath rest and resurrection hope to matters of environmental, ethical and social concern.
Discussion Groups will meet (hopefully in person!)
on Wednesdays 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th March & 6th April at 10.30 a.m.
and on Thursdays 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st March & 7th April at 8 p.m.
You can sign up on the sheet in church
