St Mary’s BuckdenFamily

Communion

Welcome to St Mary’s. This service is designed to be accessible and engaging for people of all ages, and there will be opportunities for children to be involved at various points in the service. Children and families may wish to make use of a ‘Communion box’ particularly during the Eucharistic Prayer (pages 5-6). The tower room (at the back of Church) is available for any parent and child needing to retreat from the main service. If you or your family would like to be involved in Family Communion services by leading prayers, doing readings, learning how to serve at communion, or in any other way, please speak to one of the ministers.

If you are new to this kind of service and would like to know more, please ask for a copy of our leaflet on Holy Communion.You can find out more about what is happening at St Mary’s by visiting www.stmarysbuckden.org.uk.

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NOTICES - Welcome & any pew sheet notices and banns, as appropriate

This is a teaching communion service – that means that there’s not much of a sermon, but instead some reflections at various points in the service. Because today is also Pentecost, we’ll be reflecting particularly on the Holy Spirit.

Hopefully we’ll all find something today that deepens our experience of communion. Whether you’ve been receiving communion for years, or are still fairly new to it, or if you’re thinking about getting confirmed or preparing to receive communion for the first time, today is a chance to be part of this service as if it were the first time. See if you can approach the various parts of the service afresh today, and by doing that, grow in your relationship with God.

Holy Communion is one of Jesus' greatest gifts to us. When he shared his last meal with his friends, he took bread and wine and shared them, telling them to 'do this in remembrance of him'. So we still do this almost 2000 years later.

Holy Communion is all about meeting with God: God's people gathered around God's table on God's day.

In the service, we do four things: (1) We get ourselves ready to meet God(2) We listen to God's word to us in the Bible (3) We respond to that by praying and we receive God’s grace

by sharing bread and wine or through a blessing(4) We go out into the world changed In a moment we’ll hear the story of Pentecost read to us from the back of the church, as the start of our service.

AT THE BACK OF CHURCH David Riley to read the reading from Acts The story of Pentecost reminds us that God gathered his

people together from all nations of the world, and gave them the gift of his Holy Spirit: a way for him to be with them and to change them from being just a group of people into a church.

We gather here today, and ask God to fill us with his Holy Spirit. So let us stand to sing hymn 419: Lord, the light of your love

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We gather in God’s presenceStand

The Opening Hymn or Song is sung

Remain standing

The Lord be with youAnd also with you.

Ask the congregation to sit Ask 'where have we come from?' (ask some members of the

congregation) All from different places – most from Buckden, but some

from elsewhere. We have to gather together as God's people in this place just

as the people at the first Pentecost gathered from all over the world.

Children to front - bring kneelers to sit on To gather ourselves together in the presence of God

We've sung a hymn And now, the person taking the service (that’s Tim, the

president) says 'hello' and we say special words together Saying those words together reminds us that we're all here

for the same reason: to meet God and worship himWe’ll say them again now.

The Lord be with youAnd also with you.

Now if a very special visitor is coming to your house, what might we do? Get variety of answers...

We might clean the house - so that it's ready to meet our visitor

In a communion service- the special person we meet with is God, and we need to clean ourselves up before we meet him Not on the outside but on the inside We need to get rid of all the things in our lives that get in the

way The things we've done and said that are bad….

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That have hurt and upset people…. That have made us feel bad inside.

What sort of things? Ask for answers We need to 'wipe the slate clean…' and start again And the really good news about God is that he forgives us

He always lets us start again And so we now say all together the prayer of confession and

Tim will tell us of God's forgiveness - and his offer of a new start. I have some stickers here for the children that will remind them of this!

ConfessionPlease do sit or kneel as we pray together:

Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, We confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.In your mercy, forgive what we have been,help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[give out stickers]

Being forgiven is something that makes us happy – happy enough to sing. So we sing a special song called the Gloria. When we sing this song, like all songs of praise to God, we join in with the angels’ song in heaven. Being forgiven makes us close to God, almost as if we were in heaven ourselves.

So we stand to sing the Gloria, led by the children

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Glory to GodGloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!Lord God, heavenly King, peace you bring to us, We worship you, we give you thanks, we sing our song of praise: Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!

Jesus, Saviour of all, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away our sins, O Lord, have mercy on us all.Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!At the Father’s right hand, Lord, receive our prayer; For you alone are the Holy One, and you alone are the Lord.Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!Glory, Father and Son, glory, Holy Spirit,To you we raise our hands on high we glorify your name: Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo! Gloria ** Gloria ** in excelsis Deo!

Words & Music © Mike Anderson

The Collect

We now come to the second main part of our service We've got ourselves ready - and now it's time to listen to God

What's one of the main ways we can listen to God? Through reading / hearing the Bible

We’re about to hear a reading from one of the gospels – the gospel written by John. The Gospels are from the part of the Bible which is about Jesus himself. This bit comes from the part of the story where Jesus was sharing a last meal with his friends.

Gospel means 'Good News' - and Jesus is good news for all of us Often the Gospel reading will include words that Jesus spoke,

And so as we listen to it being read, it's almost as though we are listening to Jesus himself. It's as though he's with us in church

And we’re not going to read it from up here at the lectern. Instead, David will read the gospel right in the midst of us all.

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The children and I are going to gather round, too, just like Jesus’s friends gathered around Jesus when he used to teach them, almost 2000 years ago. This is to remind us that Jesus actually became one of us and

lived as a human being – in Jesus, that was God coming to us to meet us right where we are.

So let’s all stand again and turn to face the gospel, so that we can hear what the good news is for us today.

We hear God’s wordRemain standing

Gospel Reading (read from the midst of the people)

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to ...Glory to you, O LordAt the end of the gospel:This is the gospel of the LordPraise to you, O Christ.

Children to return to seats – but we stay standing. This reading is a promise: Jesus promised his friends that even

though he would be leaving them, they would never be on their own, because God would be with them always. Sharing in Holy Communion is one of the ways that we remind ourselves that God really is with us.

Normally we would have a talk or a sermon here. This is to explain the Bible readings and help us understand

them better so that we can live the sort of lives that God wants us to live

But today, I'm doing a lot of talking (!) - so we're not having an extra talk too, so we move on….

We've met with God and listened to him in the Bible. Now we have a chance to remind ourselves of what we believe about God.

We call this the creed. There are lots of different ways of saying the creed. In this version, Tim will ask questions about God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you all respond, ‘We believe and trust in him’. We are reminding ourselves that we

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believe in a God who is like the very best parent – he made us and loves us, and will never stop loving us. We remind ourselves that Jesus is God’s son – we can look at Jesus and see what God is like – Jesus is the love of God come down to earth. And we remind ourselves that through God’s Holy Spirit he can be with every person in every place and time.

The Creed - we affirm our faithDo you believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist?We believe and trust in him.Do you believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again?We believe and trust in him.Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in all the world?We believe and trust in him.This is the faith of the Church.This is our faith. We believe and trust in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Please do be seated. Now we turn to our prayers …. ………… is leading our prayers today In our prayers we bring to God all the needs of the church, of

the world, of our own community, and of those we love, and we remember those who have died.

While we are praying, I have a big prayer cube that the younger children can come and help me decorate and make – there’s one side for each of the main things that we pray for each week.

At the end of each section of the prayers, we’ll use the words ‘Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer’. As we do, I’m going to blow some bubbles, and any of the children who want to come and sit with me can watch the bubbles. Perhaps we might like to imagine we’re breathing our prayers into them. And that when they pop, that is God receiving our prayers. So, let us pray.

We pray7

This response may be used:Lord, in your mercy.Hear our prayer.

And at the end: Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

We share Christ’s peace The next part of the service reminds us that we are all part of

God's family - as we gather around God’s table on God' special day

Is it always easy to get on with people all the time? No! - find examples from the congregation – what sort of

things do people fall out over?How do we make it right when we’ve got into an argument?Church is like a family, and families sometimes argue. What does it feel like when nobody is getting along? And what does it feel like when we are all at peace with one another?

Jesus said that it was important that before we came to God's table together, we should be at peace with one another

And sometimes we have to go up to people and put it right That's what this next part of the service is - it's called the

Peace It's a good chance to go and see someone we know But also a chance to say 'sorry' if we know we've upset

someone And so, let us stand to share the Peace of Jesus Christ with one

another.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, and joy and peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.And also with you.Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

All are invited to share a sign of peace. We are gathered as the family of God, and desire to live in peace with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Children to the platform - sit on hassocks What do we have to do before we can eat a meal?

get it ready8

Set the table Prepare the food

And that's what we're going to do now Like any table setting, there are cups and plates, and napkins.

In Church we call them Chalices and Patens and purificators, but really they are just special versions of how we eat every meal together in our homes. That reminds us that the Communion service is based on a real meal – the last one Jesus had with his very best friends, the people he was closest to, before he died.

……………… are going to head to the back of the church to collect the bread and wine, and bring it back here. In the mean time, some of the older ones might like to help Tim get things ready on the table.

Everyone else watch what we do as we sing the next hymn: We will put silver plates and cups on the altar On them we put the bread and wine

Bread and wine because this is the food that Jesus used at the Last Supper, and that he told us to use in this special service

We stand to sing the hymn on the sheet: Here we sing ...

A Hymn is sung, during which bread and wine are brought forward, and an offering is taken and presented

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, and 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.

We share in communion Now everything is ready, but at the moment the bread and

wine are just ordinary bread and wine. Tim is going to say a special prayer – it’s quite a long prayer with a long name: 'Eucharistic prayer'

‘Eucharist’ is a greek word that means 'thank you' so this prayer is our chance to thank God for all that he gives

us and has done for us, and especially for the gift of Jesus And for the bread and wine, through which we remember

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There is a ‘thank you box’ here on the platform with little picture cards for each of the things we thank God for during the prayer. So some of the younger children might like the post the cards into the box while Tim says the prayer [they will need help for this]

Although Tim will be saying most of the words, he’s praying the thank you prayer for all of us.

When we’ve said thank you to God for his love for us and for the gift of Jesus, The prayer starts to talk about the bread and wine

We remember what Jesus said to his friends at their last meal – it is as if we are there with them, and we know Jesus is here with us through his Holy Spirit.

The Lord be with you.And also with you.Lift up your hearts.We lift them to the Lord.Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.It is right to give thanks and praise.

The priest leads us in giving thanks to God

It is always right, wherever we are, to give you thanks and praise, God our Father, holy and strong, king for ever. Through your Son, you made us and the whole universe.Your Holy Spirit came to Mary, and Jesus was born as one of us. When his time had come he suffered and died on the cross, to save us from our sins. He broke the chains of death, and returned to you in glory.

You send your Spirit to bring new life to the world, and fill us with power from on high. And so we join on earth with saints and angels in heaven to praise your name and sing:

SING: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might.Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might.Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

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Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

Sit or kneel, as we remember the Last Supper, at which Jesus used bread and wine to show his disciples that his body would be broken and his blood would be poured out, showing the depth of God’s love for us.

Father, on the night before he died, Jesus had a meal with his friends. He took the bread and thanked you. He broke it, gave it to them and said: Take this and eat it; this is my body, given for you.

After the meal, Jesus took the cup of wine. He thanked you, gave it to them and said: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, the new covenant of God’s love. Do this to remember me.

Christ has died. Christ has died.Christ is risen. Christ is risen.Christ will come again. Christ will come again.

And we pray that God would send his Holy Spirit on this bread and wine so that it might not just be bread and wine, but to those of us who eat and drink it trusting in Jesus, it might be what Jesus called his 'body and his blood' It's one of the things that gives us life as Christians

Watch what Tim does with his hands as he prays for the Holy Spirit

See if you can feel God's Spirit coming down first over the altar and then over all of us.

Father, as we remember his death and resurrection, send your Holy Spirit, [hand gesture please!]that the bread and wine we bring before you May be for us Christ’s body and his blood.

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Pour your Holy Spirit on us [second epiclesis please!]that we may live as children of your heavenly kingdom. Help us to love one another, as we work for the peace of the earth, and wait for Jesus to come in glory. For all honour and glory belong to you, Father, through Jesus Christ your Son, with the Holy Spirit: One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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As children of God, let us pray as our Saviour taught us: 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.

We know that when Jesus shared bread and wine with his friends, he broke the bread - and so we do the same

It reminds us that, when he died, his body was broken for us on the cross

The priest breaks the communion bread

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

Children to seats (so you can come to the altar rail with your families)

When we come to communion, some people will receive communion, others a blessing. But whether you have bread and wine, or a blessing, everyone receives God’s grace, and his love. And everyone receives the gift of the Holy Spirit – that is, knowing that God is closer to us than we can possibly ever understand.

All are welcome at the Lord’s table. If you usually receive the bread and wine in any Christian church, you are welcome to receive here (even if you have not done so for a long time). If you prefer to receive a blessing, please come forward to the altar rail, and simply keep your hands by your sides.

Draw near with faith. Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gave for you, and his blood which he shed for you.

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Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

Receiving communion is a quiet time; you may find these prayers helpful: Eternal God, whose Son is the way, the truth and the life:grant us to walk in his way, to rejoice in his truth, and to share his risen life. Amen.

Lord Jesus,You have blessed me today, and shown me your love. Help me take your blessing and your love into the world. Amen.

Prayer after CommunionAfter communion a short time of quiet is kept for personal prayer, then we pray together:

Lord, we have broken your bread and received your life.By the power of the Holy Spirit keep us always in your loveThrough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As we receive Communion or God's blessing at this service we meet with God. And it's impossible to meet God without being changed

When we go out from church, we are never the same people who came in

But we also go out with a job to do It's up to us to live our lives for God

To show his love in the way we treat others And to tell others of his love for us

This is what happened with the church on the very first Pentecost. Jesus’ friends started off as just that, but by the end of the day, they had become the leaders of the very first Christian church, and God was doing amazing things in the world through them.

This Pentecost, and every time we meet together, God can send us his Holy Spirit afresh and so can do amazing things in the world through us.

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We are sent out

Please stand to sing the Final Hymn: Share the light of Jesus (the words are on the pew sheet if you need them)

A prayer is offered asking God to help us and be with us in all that lies ahead, ending with a prayer for God’s blessing:

May Christ, who has fed us with himself, the living bread in whom all hungers are satisfied, make you joyful in praise and service, in work and in rest,alone and with othersnow and to the end of your days, and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

All sing:May God’s blessing surround you each day, as you trust him and walk in his way.May God’s presence within guard and keep you from sin,Go in peace, go in joy, go in love.

Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.In the name of Christ. Amen.

After the service a short time of quiet is kept in which we may pray for God’s grace in our lives ahead.

All are welcome to stay for tea or coffee after the service.

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