Welcome to the online service of worship for the Third Sunday of Ephiphany The YouTube playlist may be found here or view below.

MAYFIELD SALISBURY PARISH CHURCH 
Sunday Services of Public Worship
Online from 8.00am (onwards) Every Sunday

 

Sunday 24 January 2021

 

  

 

Third Sunday of Epiphany
 

It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has travelled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.
The river can not go back.

Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.

Fear, by Kahlil Gibran
(Lebanese-American Poet, 1883-1931)

 

 

AS A DIVERSE PEOPLE, THE CHURCH GATHERS TO WORSHIP ALMIGHTY GOD

 

Welcome and Introduction  Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

 

 

Opening Prayers   Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

Prayer of Approach, Confession and Lord’s Prayer

Let us now join together in our prayers of praise and confession to God, which we’ll conclude by saying the Lord’s Prayer together. Let us pray:

From all parts of this city and beyond in our country and word, From all the restriction and confusion of our changed lives under the pandemic, From the glints of light through the clouds that cause us happiness and the darkening gloom of times of trouble that we are experiencing.

We gather here this morning in this online space, as your trusting people, to praise you Lord God. To feed our minds, To fire our spirits, To free our hearts Lord God, You catch us when our hope and our faith is fading, You warm us when our love for You and those around us is cooling, You ignite us, Enlighten us, Consume us, You are our fire, and we welcome your flame.

You fill the yearning inside us for meaning and reasons to go forward, You call us and give us direction and purpose, You shape our lives when we are immersed in you, You clean us up, Refresh us, Flow through us, Renew us You are our water of life, and we travel on your tide.

You feed the seeds we plant in you. You strengthen the roots that we lay deep in you, You hold us, Nourish us, Sustain us, Bring life to us. You are our earth And in you, we can ground our being.

You fill the lungs of those who draw on you, You fill the sails of those who wait for you. You carry us Move us, Lift us up. You are our air And to breathe of you is life

Warm us, flame of heaven, Grow us, ground our being, Wash us, water of life, Inspire us, breath of God, Remake us, great Creator, In your elemental image

We come, with faith and with doubt, With our longings, and fears and hopes laid out before you We come, with our lives and thoughts, knowing that the intimate reflections of our heart are an open book to you, And so you know, Lord, our thoughts when we turn now to offer thanks for moments this week of your grace in our lives…

You know our thoughts when we turn to ask for strength for the days to come…

You know our thoughts when we turn to you for forgiveness, for all we regret, for words said, missed chances, hurts caused, all that we can’t leave behind…

Forgive us, Lord when we forget the gift of our every breath, Your care that sustains us every moment, Your grace that can transform our every day.

Set us free from the prison of grudging hearts, Mean desires, Resentful spirits, Give us courage to act with justice and generosity, And draw us into a love that does not calculate or keep scores.

We come, just as we are, knowing that no matter what we have done, where we might go, you love us now and will love us always, with no boundaries, no reservations, no qualms, no fear, forever…

Draw us to a life lived closer to your Son Jesus, as we pray to you in words that he used: Our Father….’

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  

Collect for the Day
Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; 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.

 

 

All-Age Address  Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

 

HYMN 340     When Jesus saw the fishermen  

When Jesus saw the fishermen
in boats upon the sea,
he called to them, 'Come, leave your nets
and follow, follow me'.
They followed where he healed the sick
and gave the hungry bread,
and others joined them as they went
wherever Jesus led.

And now his friends are everywhere;
the circle once so small
extends around the whole wide world,
for Jesus calls us all.
In this great circle we belong,
wherever we may be,
if we will answer when he calls,
'Come, follow, follow me'.

Edith Agnew (b.1897)
Played by Kate Pearson
Sung by the Chamber Group

 

  

WE LISTEN FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN SCRIPTURE

 

 

Reading  Jonah 3: 1 - 5, 10
NRSVA  Andrew Cubie

Reflection   Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

Fear, by Kahlil Gibran, (Lebanese-American Poet 1883-1931)

Do we inhabit right now that same space as the river? Think of ourselves as part of the water that is flowing irreversibly onwards towards the ocean, and at the moment before entering the sea, gasping at the new and vast space in which we might be lost and for which we feel unprepared and ill-equipped to navigate, gripped in a fear of the unknown. No matter how often we look backwards in our lives towards the slow, gentle streams in the hills, the quiet eddies of contentment and peace, we know that those places cannot be re-captured, we know that the current of time is drawing us outward.

Fear for our physical and mental wellbeing at this time of COVID-19 of what may lie ahead, fear too perhaps in our spiritual wellbeing of where God might be in all of this, of his presence beside us, of what might happen to our church, of the uncharted territory of where God might be leading us and our community.

The river in the poem cannot go back but only forward. Its destiny, its calling is inevitably set. But this is not a poem of terror or unrequited longing, but of hope and trust. It is a poem about a journey of ‘becoming’ the ocean. As there is a confluence of streams, they come together in new places, new circumstances, they form the new reality of the ocean. This ‘becoming’ is an ongoing and recurring process, as time and again we leave the river in the estuary. The poet writes:

‘The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear.’

What is our future in God’s hands as we take the risk, as we leave the safety of the river and enter the ocean? What is He calling each of us towards? A calling as a new minister, yes, but a calling for all of us, no matter how large or small, equally as important.

Standing on the steps of the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, the newly inaugurated President Biden addressed a nation so recently torn and divided, still swimming through tumultuous and dangers waters, and spoke of the task ahead, of the future. A task of unity, he said, of a laying down of anger, division and injustice. He reflected that ‘over the centuries through storm and strife in peace and in war we've come so far. But we still have far to go. We'll press forward with speed and urgency for we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibility. Much to do, much to heal, much to restore, much to build and much to gain.’

And in the words of Andrea Gorman’s inspiring poem that she read on that day, ‘We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be.’

At the fear of the vastness of the ocean ahead, at the risk of the soul of a nation, Biden and Gorman chose to step boldly, embracing the possibility of healing, restoration and re-building, of a new reality, a changed people and a renewed consciousness. A message of a calling towards ‘becoming’, of hope in a troubled land.

And what of the biblical characters in our passages for today in their unavoidable directions, the destinies and callings that God presented to them? What does it mean through them to hear a sense of almost inevitable calling from God? To whom is it given and where does it lead?

Jonah’s story is one of struggle and rejection of God’s calling. Directed to bring Nineveh to repentance, Jonah flees. Nineveh is the home of the Assyrians, a brutal occupying force, the home of the enemy, a deadly city for a Jew like Jonah. This is a fatal assignment, laced with fear and trepidation. So he rejects it and runs in the opposite direction towards the peace and tranquility of Tarshish.

Can you relate to that fear in the impossible situation you might want to avoid, the person you really do not want to engage with, the part of yourself that you do not want to confront? And he runs as well because he fears that God may not do as he would like. In 2 Kings 14, we learn that Jonah’s prophetic career was tied in with prophesying national greatness and triumph, he proclaimed a God that would trample other nations to Israel’s favour. ‘Make Israel Great Again’, said Jonah.

But Jonah knew in his heart of hearts that this might not be the God who was calling him to act. He knew in advance, as it indeed transpired, that God would be far too merciful for his tastes, that God might forgive even the Ninevites and leave them peacefully, answering Jonah’s half-hearted call to repentance. God is not calling us to fufill our own desires and agendas, as Jonah discovered. God’s will be done, and even cycles of violence and blame can be broken when God offers his mercy.

And what of the famous calling to ‘Follow me’ by Christ to Simon, Andrew, James and John on the shores of Lake Galilee. We notice when they heard Jesus’ call: what they were, ordinary people: it’s not so much who we might be now, but what God might make of us: what they were doing, called in the middle of their everyday work; how they were called, a simple instruction based on who Jesus was and is; and what he offered: a purpose, a goal, a life of service. To repent, to turn away from the agendas of themselves and others, and to embrace the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God; a call to discipleship to follow even to the cross. Discipleship becomes not a task, but an identity. As Rowan Williams puts it, discipleship is not just the way we live or the decisions we make, it is a state of being. A journey of ‘becoming’ indeed.

And with all four, they answer ‘immediately’ – Jesus breaks in and disturbs – rouses us from our slumbers and draws us to action, and the reaction, the answer, is based on a trust that comes from faith.

The sense of calling, the hearing and discerning of what God intends for us to do, begins then in our faith – a knowledge and presence of God within. A personal relationship with God which may also be part of our discipleship DNA, and our church ancestry.

As a Reformed church, in an echo perhaps of Monty Python, what did John Knox and the Scottish Reformation of the 16^th Century ever do for us? Is there something deeper in our psyche, that helps us to reflect on faith and calling?

On the negative side, some argue that the legacy of Knox and a Calvinist Scotland is in each one of us as Scots today in tendencies towards personal reserve and even dourness, inhibition, thrift, self awareness of our own sinfulness, as well as forms of dominance and repression. The political commentator, Tom Nairn, wrote that ‘Scotland will not be free until the last minister is strangled with the last copy of the Sunday Post’. A sense that the Kirk has somehow tyrannised the people.

But there is also a positive side. A deep feeling of a personal religion; people must be in direct contact with their Maker; that every action has an eternal significance.

Joe Biden swore his oath of office on his large family Bible, with the names of the generations written inside, formerly a mainstay too of Scottish family life. Everyday life in the family for centuries was linked with personal faith in God and devotion to Him.

Maybe that is the strongest legacy for us. A deep sense of personal piety, scripture opened, read, God revealed for each one of us, the image of the family bible. We celebrate Robert Burns tomorrow night. Burns in his poem ‘The Cottar’s Saturday Night’, wrote of the family of the farmworker in their humble cottage gathering round the fire to hear the father read from the family Bible, and Burns said how much more meaningful for God is that than pomp and circumstance, than grand cathedrals and places of power. Burns wrote:

Compar'd with this, how poor Religion's pride,
In all the pomp of method, and of art;
When men display to congregations wide
Devotion's ev'ry grace, except the heart,
The Power (God), incens'd, the pageant will desert,
The pompous strain, the sacerdotal stole;
But haply, in some cottage far apart,
(He) May hear, well-pleas'd, the language of the soul;
And in His Book of Life the inmates poor enroll.

And from that sense of a humble, personal faith, interacting with the nuts and bolts of everyday life, comes an expectation that the God we worship is deeply embedded in our lives, and for each one of us there is a calling: a sense of direction guided by God in how we might live, what we might do, what our identity is, how we should act and react to what is happening around us. It is individual, but also corporate. For ourselves, but also called in community to live life with others – to be inter-dependant.

A sense of purpose and meaning in life, because God has placed each one of us on His good earth for a reason. Personal faith brings discipleship, which brings being attuned to God, which leads to discernment of what God’s purposes are for us, which brings understanding and a sense of calling, which brings decision-making and action.

Like Simon, Andrew, James and John, the gruff fishermen, this is not only for some folk, in some way seemingly specially anointed by God, such as the minister. This is for each one of us, in whatever small way God calls us to lead our lives. A process of ‘becoming’ as we stand at thresholds, or at the edge of the ocean, a calling to action in whatever small way he leads. Each a part of the body; each contributing to the Kingdom.

In the weeks ahead, I would like to talk more about God’s mission in the world and our part in it. ‘Mission’ is a word that breeds fear by itself, especially when coupled with its awkward friend ‘evangelism’. But I know ‘mission’ as the heart of Christian expression in the world, the answer to the question, ‘well, what do we now do with our faith in life’?

We answer the call of God within God’s mission, not ours. God’s mission in not reliant on our human ingenuity alone, nor is the Church the sole object and agent of His mission. Our sense of calling is not necessarily hidebound to a fixed role for all time coming, but instead is a call to availability for God, depending on his purposes for us and for the world we live in. In answering the call, we are placing ourselves in His hands like the fishermen to ‘become’, to be led and directed towards any post, any task, any role; remembering always that He will provide us with the tools and the strength to prevail within our capabilities.

Frederich Buechner described the location of where God will lead us in answer to His call as where our ‘deep gladness’ meets the ‘deep hunger’ of the world. Answering a sense of call, and discerning its direction, is therefore an ongoing process of questing and development, with God changing our perspectives, enabling and empowering us to fulfil the goals, and opening and closing the doors to potential opportunities before us.

Whether in God’s mission to the world we feel called to proclaim the Gospel and nurture faith; or to care for the ill and bereaved; or to build His Church; or to promote community and peace; or to stand up against injustice, embracing the poor and the outcast; or to seek to reconcile people in dialogue, or to speak up for the environment and the care of God’s creation; to do our work to contribute to society and in a Godly and generous way, or in simple acts of kindness, care and friendship, we are moving towards the Kingdom; and in the process discerning further our ‘deep gladness’ meeting the world’s ‘deep need’; available and willing to answer God’s call in our lives.

May the hope and trust of God stay with us in these coming days, deep within our souls, as we leave again the river to the ‘becoming’ of the wide, enveloping ocean. ‘We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be.' Amen.

 

 

RESPONSE TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN

 

  

Anthem   Comfort, O Lord, the soul of thy servant

Comfort, O Lord, the soul of thy servant.
For unto thee do I lift up my soul.

Text: Psalm 86: 4
Music: William Crotch (1775-1847)
Sung by the Mayfield Salisbury Chamber Group

Note: William Crotch was an early nineteenth century
English composer and organist who was Professor of
Music at Oxford University.  Few compositions are now
known or performed, but this anthem, part of a larger
work, is an elegant  little gem. The text is repeated
four times each subtly different in harmony and shape
giving varying emphasis to the words of the text.

 

Prayer for Others   Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

Eternal and loving God, We bring to you what we have, we dedicate our gifts to you – the money we can spare, but also gifts within us that we can bring for your purposes, so that your Gospel of peace, love and reconciliation will be heard and felt around us, that we might help others, share our lives, our talents and our faith with them in whatever way you call us.

Take these gifts and use them and us for the good of our brothers and sisters around us in Edinburgh and beyond.

You have told us that the door is always open, that it can never be shut, you have told us to seek and we shall find. Yet that search is not always easy. As we look for meaning in our lives, and we struggle on through the stresses and the restrictions of the pandemic, there is so much that puzzles and perplexes us. The more we discover the more we realise how little we have understood. Give us determination to keep the faith, help us to hold on in these days to our spiritual wellbeing too, to take comfort and strength from you, to keep on seeking you in prayer and thought, in other people, in Scripture, in nature and in life all around us, despite all that might obscure you, until at last we are rewarded, we pass through the door and discover you again for ourselves.

We pray that we can hear your still, small voice once more, leading us forward, bringing to use a sense of direction or calling, helping us to negotiate obstacles and twists and turns ahead.

Holy, healing God, we give thanks that through your Holy Spirit, you have made us one body in your Son, and equipped us with gifts that we can use for shared love and service.

We pray for your Church here and throughout the world, that it may grow in health and spiritual vitality

And especially we pray for one another, That we may grow as fellow pilgrims.

Build us up in love,

draw us out in mission to others

and enable us to be a sign of your healing love.

We pray that your light shines into the dark places – corners where people we know are hiding – we pray for those that are unwell, unhappy, fighting, hurting, weeping, bereaved. Bring your light to shine upon them – your comfort, your new lease of life.

We pray for our world – the struggles, and pain, and loss of all those across the globe who are suffering from COVID-19, those self-isolating, those in hospital, those who are worried about relatives, or feeling the hardship of the restrictions. God of comfort, peace and strength, live within their hearts, tend, heal, offer hope. In a moment of silence, we pray for those we know, and offer thanks for all those who care for them….

And we pray for the United States of America, as President Biden and Vice President Harris take office, that the division, enmity and hostility that has caused fear, violence and destruction might calm, and that a new unity, tolerance, justice and truth might begin to emerge. We pray especially for the safety and peace of all those we know who live in the States, our family members and our friends, and also for those who have close ties with Mayfield Salisbury: for Rev. Seth Lovell and all at Olivet Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia; for Hillary’s family and friends and all at her home church, New Wilmington Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania; and for Kate’s family and friends and all at her home church, First Lutheran Church in Warren, Pennsylvania. Be with them all, Lord, in these times of anxiety, change and challenge.

Lord, where there are wounds that are so deep, we pray that you can bring people to touch lives, to challenge injustices, to resolve conflict with peace, to reconcile and to mediate.

We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ, through whom all things will be made new. Amen.

 

 

HYMN 519  Love divine, all loves excelling  

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver;
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation:
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee,
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Sung by the Chamber Group
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Closing Responses & Benediction  Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

To be said together:

Leader: Christ’s hands in our lives
All: OUR LIVES SHAPED BY HIS
Leader: Christ’s love in our hearts
All: OUR LOVE WARMED THROUGH HIS
Leader: Christ’s peace on our path ahead
All: OUR PATH JOINED WITH HIS

And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with each one of us, and everyone whom we love, this day and for evermore. Amen.

 

HYMN 825   Amen

Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen.

 

 

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INTIMATIONS

  

GRAPEVINE DEADLINE    The deadline for the February 2021 edition of grapvine is this Friday 29th at 6.00pm.

 

Newington Churches Together   Ecumenical discussion groups by Zoom - Lent 2021

This year’s NCT Lent groups will meet using Zoom. You can participate either on screen using a laptop, tablet or mobile phone, or with sound only, using a mainline phone.

Groups will meet weekly on Mon & Wed evenings for 5 weeks starting Mon 22^nd Feb.

There will be a choice of discussion material available:

• ‘Not A Tame Lion’ – looking at Christianity through the works of CS Lewis. This was the material used by the groups in 2020, which were abruptly curtailed by the coronavirus lockdown; some were keen to complete the course this year.

• One of the guides from the ‘Faith and Worship’ series produced by John Birch.

See www.faithandworship.com/shop.htm#lent 

Material from this series was well received by Advent 2020 groups in 2020.

If you would like to take part, please email or phone Ann Thanisch by Wed 17^th Feb (Ash Wednesday), confirming your preference for Mon or Wed, and for discussion material (‘Not A Tame Lion’ or ‘Faith and Worship’)

If you have not taken part in these groups before, why not give them a try this year? Using Zoom means you don’t have to leave home, you can opt out at any time, & you don’t have to use internet. And typically participants find them very interesting & friendly!

Ann Thanisch,   Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel 0781 494 9468

 

YOUTH GROUP    Tonight, Sunday 24 January, we will meet on Zoom for an online escape room! P6 - S1 from 6.30pm - 7.30pm and S2 - S6 from 7.30pm - 8.30pm. For Zoom log-in information, please contact Hillary.

  

PASTORAL CARE   A new year and new beginnings and if you would like to have a pastoral visitor or be added on to the telephone calls list, then do please contact me. For those of you involved in the various phone chains, thank you, and I would be grateful if you could keep them going during the current lockdown. Please remember to notify me if someone is ill so that the ministry team can respond appropriately. Kay. 07903 266 307.

FORTHCOMING SERVICES AT MAYFIELD SALISBURY PARISH CHURCH 

Sunday 31 January -  Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth
8.00am onwards Online Worship: Website
8.00am onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
Note: No Services in the Sanctuary

MIDWEEK PEACE AND PRAYERS  Midweek peace and prayers will not take place until further notice.

 

OFFERING  The Church is very grateful to all those who continue to support it through their regular and one-off donations, now possible through standing order or the ‘give.net’ facility on the website give.net/20311853 So many members have kindly changed from Freewill Offering Envelopes to standing order that envelopes will not be distributed in future. Because of ongoing concerns regarding Covid19 it is not known when open plate offerings will recommence. If you wish to discuss the manner of your future offerings please feel free to contact me using the details shown on the last page of the Grapevine parish magazine.  Hugh Somerville

Forthcoming Deadlines

Order of service for next week: Thursday at 6.00pm.

Next Grapevine: Friday 29 January 2021 at 6.00pm.

Please send submissions to the Church Manager, William Mearns.

Phone: 0780 801 1234 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Copyright Notices

SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.

All rights reserved worldwide.

Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church holds a CCLI Streaming License: #88916

Images – Some courtesy of Pixabay

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