Welcome to this Service of Worship from Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany Sunday 30 January 10.45am
‘I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another. Just as
I have loved you, you also should
love one another.’
John 13:34
WELCOME TO MAYFIELD SALISBURY PARISH CHURCH
This congregation is part of the Church of Scotland:
we are Reformed in our understanding of Christian faith,
Presbyterian in how we form our community, and a
member of the worldwide family of the Christian Church.
Whether you are in regular attendance at worship or this
is one of your first visits, you are very welcome as part of
this community and today’s service of worship. God bless
you. If you would like to keep in touch, please complete
the Connection Card on the back page of the printed
order or email
AS A DIVERSE PEOPLE, THE CHURCH GATHERS
TO WORSHIP ALMIGHTY GOD
Organ Voluntary
Welcome & Church News
The Grace
Preparatory Silence for Worship
Introit - View me Lord
Words: by Thomas Campion (1567 – 1620)
Music by Richard Lloyd (1933 - 2021)
View me Lord, a work of thine: Shall I then lie drowned in night?
Might thy grace in me but shine, I should seem made all of light.
Worldly joys like shadows fade when the heavenly light appears;
but the covenant thou hast made, endless, knows nor days nor years.
Call to Worship
One: In hope and trust we come,
All: We are all God’s people.
One: In seeking grace and peace,
All: We are all God’s people.
One: In unity on the journey with Him,
All: We are all God’s people.
One: In our faith and in our lives,
All: We are all God’s people.
Let us worship God!
Hymn 198 Let us build a house where love can dwell
(t. Two Oaks)
Let us build a house where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive;
built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God's children dare to seek
to dream God's reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God's grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground,
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space,
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they've known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God's face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
Marty Haugen (b.1950)
Prayer of Approach, Praise and Confession & 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, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Hymn 510 Jesus calls us here to meet him
(t. Lewis Folk Melody)
Jesus calls us here to meet him
as, through word and song and prayer,
we affirm God's promised presence
where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise;
praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us,
to our hopes and fears attends.
Jesus calls us to confess him
Word of life and Lord of all,
sharer of our flesh and frailness,
saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story;
tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory
came to earth to meet us here.
Jesus calls us to each other,
vastly different though we are;
creed and colour, class and gender
neither limit nor debar.
Join the hand of friend and stranger;
join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter
in their common search for truth..
John L. Bell (b.1949) and Graham Maule (b.1958)
First Reading Luke 4:21 - 30
Read by Ewan Brown
21 Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing.’ 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious
words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’
23 He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor,
cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your hometown the
things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”’ 24 And he said, ‘Truly
I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the
truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the
heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a
severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them
except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers
in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed
except Naaman the Syrian.’
28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29
They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the
hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.
30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
Anthem - Set me as a seal upon thine heart
Words: adapted from Song of Solomon 8: 6 - 7
Music: William Walton (1902 - 1983)
Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm:
For love is strong as death.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 13:1 - 13
Read by Ewan Brown
The Gift of Love
13 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so
as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give
away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for
tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For
we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the
complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish
ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to
face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been
fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and
the greatest of these is love.
Hymn 123 God is Love, Let Heaven Adore Him
(t. Ecce Deus)
God is love: let heaven adore him;
God is love: let earth rejoice;
let creation sing before him,
and exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth's foundation,
he who spread the heavens above,
he who breathes through all creation:
God is love, eternal love.
God is love, and is enfolding
all the world in one embrace;
with unfailing grasp is holding
every child of every race.
And when human hearts are breaking
under sorrow's iron rod,
then they find that selfsame aching
deep within the heart of God
God is love: and though with blindness
sin afflicts the souls of all,
God's eternal loving-kindness
holds and guides us when we fall.
Sin and death and hell shall never
o'er us final triumph gain;
God is love, so Love for ever
o'er the universe must reign.
Timothy Rees (1874-1939)
Sermon
‘What's So Funny about Peace,
Love and Understanding?’
Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth
‘As I walk through; This wicked world
Searching for light in the darkness of insanity
I ask myself: Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
And each time I feel like this inside
There's one thing I want to know:
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?’
Song by Nick Lowe, 1974
Hymn 193 God is Love: His the Care
(t. Personent Hodie)
God is love: his the care,
tending each, everywhere.
God is love -- all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that we all might know him:
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
None can see God above;
all must here learn to love,
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
sisters all, and brothers:
Jesus shared joy and pain,
lived and died, rose again,
rules our hearts, now as then;
for he came to save us
by the truth he gave us:
To our Lord praise we sing --
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty:
Percy Dearmer (1867-1936)
Prayer for Others
Honouring Holocaust Memorial Day
Hymn 519 Love divine, all loves excelling
(t. Hyfrydol)
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.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Closing Responses
One: As we go from this house of prayer into
a world of challenge and change
All: We remember the pain of the past.
One: As we follow God’s commandments and walk Christ’s way
All: We recognise life’s need for love.
One: As we seek the truth and glimpse
God in all people, all faiths and all places,
All: We go, to make the world a home for everyone.
Blessing
Threefold Amen
Organ Voluntary
THIS MORNING’S CHAMBER GROUP MUSIC Richard Hey Lloyd
was organist and Master of the Choristers at Durham Cathedral.
He wrote a considerable body of choral music. Much of it, like
this setting of two verses of a poem by the Tudor poet, Thomas
Campion, has an assured tranquility and gentle expressiveness.
The introit was written for the wedding of the daughter of the Earl
of Ilchester in 1938. The anthem has moments of acerbic sweetness
and lively movement. Tenor statements are echoed by the group
who carry the impetus into the strong text. A gentle coda is
overlaid by a soprano solo.
***
NEWS AND INTIMATIONS
YOUTH UPDATE
Youth Worship 30 January: Youth Worship will be meeting in the Bill
McDonald Hall at 7pm. All ages are invited to join together in prayer
activities, reflection and song!
Youth and Children volunteers needed for 'Youth Sunday' on 27
February! This will be a joint service at 10.30am. Hillary is looking
for young musicians (of all levels and abilities) to join with our music
group that morning, as well as those wanting to help out with
readings and prayers in the service. If this sounds like something
you'd like to be involved with, please contact Hillary by 13
February at the latest. There will be an optional meeting following
the 9.30 am service on 6 February in the Lower Hall for those
interested in getting involved!
Youth Weekend Away: P6-S6 youth are invited to the Youth
Weekend away from 3-5 June 2022 at the Whitaugh Park Rock
UK Centre - a weekend of outdoor adventure activities! Registration
deadline is 15 March. Flyers are available: please speak with Hillary
if you have any questions.
PASTORAL CARE – NEW CONTACT DETAILS!!! As winter approaches
perhaps you would now like to have a visitor assigned to you or
receive regular phone calls. Do you know of anyone who is ill or going
into hospital and would benefit from a visit from our pastoral care team?
Please contact Kay on 07587 043 191 or
NEXT WEEK – POST SERVICE COFFEE (and Tea!) will return after the
services NEXT WEEK, 6 February, in the Bill McDonald Hall. Single use
compostable cups will be provide but you are encouraged to bring your
own cup!
OFFERINGS During this time when Church attendance is restricted,
you may continue to give offerings to support the work of the Church.
Please contact our Freewill Offerings Treasurer, Hugh Somerville on
0131 466 2446 or
those who would have put offerings in the plate during the service to
do so at the close of the service. In the halls entrance and in the
vestibule, you will find a bowl or plate marked ‘Plate Collection’.
Regular and one-off donations, are still possible online through: www.give.net/20311853
PRAYER CHAIN Would you or someone you know appreciate being held
in prayer by our small group of prayer chain members. Once a week
we receive an email with a list of names of people who have asked for
specific prayers. We continue to pray for those people throughout
the week. If you would like to join our confidential, committed group
or have a request for a prayer, contact Kay McIntosh.
MIDWEEK PRAYERS You are most welcome to attend a time of peace,
prayer and reflection in the church sanctuary, this Tuesday at 10.00am.
CHRISTIAN AID – MARMALADE! It’s that time of year again so if you’re
making marmalade, please consider putting a little aside for Christian
Aid. We hope to be able to hold our popular sale again sometime soon,
and judging by the speed with which the marmalade vanished from our
stall in the Autumn, it’s in high demand! Don’t worry if you’re short of
empty jars – we have a plentiful supply to give away. If you would like
any please contact Kate O’Brien on 1031 667 4362, or
***
Books for the Journey
Steve Aisthorpe, Re-Wilding the Church (2020)
John Bell, Living with the Psalms (2020)
Alistair McIntosh, Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis
and the Survival of Being (2nd Ed., 2021)
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
Some images from Pixabay under licence.
Forthcoming Deadlines
Order of service for next week: Thursday at 6.00pm.
Next Grapevine: Friday 4 March at 6.00pm.
Ecotip
Opt for sustainably sourced products
Message from the Ministers and Session Clerks of Craigmillar Park,
Mayfield Salisbury and Priestfield congregations
As you know, Presbytery have issued proposals for consultation on a
draft Presbytery Mission Plan based on a focus for mission and the
better expression of the Gospel in Edinburgh and recognising the reality
of the challenges in resources which the Church of Scotland now faces.
The proposals for Edinburgh involve creating new Mission Districts
from the merging of parishes into new unions, and the potential
formation of team ministries within a reduced number of paid ministry
posts, as instructed by the 2021 General Assembly.
As congregations we will have an opportunity to discuss these proposals
and consider whether we wish to take them forward as they relate to us,
or to propose alternative solutions to the challenges the Church faces,
including how to reduce the number of ministries as required. The
proposal at a local level is that the congregations of Craigmillar Park,
Mayfield Salisbury and Priestfield form a union to support a new wider
parish, served by two full-time ministers that are centrally funded.
Our ministers and session clerks met recently for an informal discussion
ahead of talks within and across our congregations. Without seeking to
influence the direction of these congregational conversations in any way,
we felt it important to meet and share with you our initial thoughts.
Overall, our meeting was friendly, enthusiastic and positive. We recognised
the challenges faced by the Church and Edinburgh Presbytery in drawing
up the plan for consultation, and the considerable amount of work that
has gone into it. Whilst questions were raised about the nature and
priorities of the plan as a whole, the suggested union at a local level
resonated with previous thinking to a significant extent.
We saw potential for the new union to bring together different social
groups, as well as all of our gifts, skills, experiences, age groups,
resources and activities, in ways that might enhance God’s mission in
the community. There are potential opportunities as well to deploy
the ministry posts and physical resources in creative and dynamic ways.
There would, of course, need to be many areas for discussion over how
the union - and any buildings - might be sustained into the future. There
would be issues to address over the structure of the new parish and the
role of the two nationally funded ministerial posts. How might we best
use the buildings that would be retained? What might the worship
arrangements be? How would the Kirk Session, finances and business
aspects be run? How do we knit together the new congregation
harmoniously, recognising the different histories and backgrounds we
each have?
These are all issues for the coming months. However, our initial
meeting agreed that:
• change was required and had to be undertaken.
• any discussions should proceed in a spirit of openness and as
equal partners
• a shared vision and future mission was important: indeed,
central to how we embed the Church in our local communities.
Over the coming weeks, we will each be reflecting on the proposals and
the detailed issues. We will have discussions within our respective
congregations and with the relevant Presbytery committee, and as the
proposals firm up, we will look to work across the congregations as
appropriate in a collaborative way.
Whatever the final structure of the new Mission Districts and parishes
ends up being, we are all agreed that we need to seize the opportunities
this restructuring presents and look forward to engaging with each other
positively in the weeks and months ahead. May God bless us all as we
look forward in love and in hope.
***
Books for the Journey
Steve Aisthorpe, Re-Wilding the Church (2020)
John Bell, Living with the Psalms (2020)
Alistair McIntosh, Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis
and the Survival of Being (2nd Ed., 2021)
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
Some images from Pixabay / MotionWorship under licence.
Forthcoming Deadlines
Order of service for next week: Thursday at 6.00pm.
Next Grapevine: Friday 28 January at 6.00pm.
Ecotip
Opt for sustainably sourced products
***
Welcome!
We are glad to see you worship with us today
and hope to see you again soon.
We would love to get to know you better!
If you like, please send an email to:
With your name, email address
We have several lists/ Let us know if yoiu would like to receive:
1 - A phone call/email from the Minister/ Pastoral Assistant
2- Information on house groups and ways of getting involved
3- Weekly news emails
4- Monthly parish magazines
www.mayfieldsalisbury.org
Scottish Charity Number SC000785
www.give.net/20311853