The parish church of central Finchley
26 Hendon Lane, Finchley, London N3 1TR
Join us in church on Sundays at 8am & 10am, or online at 7pm
The parish church of central Finchley
26 Hendon Lane, Finchley, London N3 1TR
Join us in church on Sundays at 8am & 10am, or online at 7pm
St Mary-at-Finchley
The Gathering
Processional Hymn Beauty for Brokenness
Beauty for brokenness
Hope for despair
Lord in the suffering
This is our prayer
Bread for the children
Justice Joy Peace
Sunrise to sunset
Your Kingdom increase
Shelter for fragile lives
Cures for their ills
Work for the craftsman
Trade for their skills
Land for the dispossessed
Rights for the weak
Voices to plead the cause
Of those who can’t speak
God of the poor
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Refuge from cruel wars
Havens from fear
Cities for sanctuary
Freedoms to share
Peace to the killing-fields
Scorched earth to green
Christ for the bitterness
His cross for the pain
Rest for the ravaged earth
Oceans and streams
Plundered and poisoned
Our future, our dreams
Lord, end our madness
Carelessness, greed
Make us content with
The things that we need
God of the poor
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
Lighten our darkness
Breathe on this flame
Until your justice
burns brightly again
Until the nations
Learn of Your ways
Seek Your salvation
And bring You their praise
God of the poor
Friend of the weak
Give us compassion we pray
Melt our cold hearts
Let tears fall like rain
Come, change our love
From a spark to a flame
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Greeting
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Prayer of Preparation
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayers of Penitence
The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it. Let us confess our failure to receive with gratitude God’s gift of creation, and repent of the ways in which we have caused it harm.
Silence is kept.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you
and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry
and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us,
forgive us all that is past
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name.
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.
Gloria in Excelsis (Mass: Poston)
Gloria, gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo,
Glory, glory, glory be to thee,
And peace to his people here on earth.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te,
We praise thee, we bless thee, we adore thee,
We glorify thee, glorificamus, glorify thee, glorificamus,
We give thee thanks for thy great glory.
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens,
Only Son of the Father, Jesus Christ,
Thou who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us,
Thou who takest away the sins of the world,
Receive our prayer,
Thou who art at the right hand of the Father
Have mercy on us,
Solus sanctus, quoniam tu solus sanctus,
Thou alone art the Lord,
Thou alone most high, Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect
Let us pray
O God and Father of all that was, is and ever shall be,
help us to be thankful for all that is made
at the hands of your Son
and through the wisdom of your Spirit,
that we may care in heart and in deed for the life of our world,
to the praise and glory of your holy name.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel (33.7-11)
7 So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked ones, you shall surely die’, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?’ 11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 119.33-40
Lead me, O Lord in the path of your commands.
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
and I will observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me, O Lord in the path of your commands.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
Lead me, O Lord in the path of your commands.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
40 See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
Lead me, O Lord in the path of your commands.
A reading from the letter to the Romans (13.8-14)
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13 let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading
Alleluia, alleluia.
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things.
All Alleluia.
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John (1.1-14)
Glory to you, O Lord.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Preacher Sermon
The Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ,
let us pray to the Father.
at the end
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
The Peace
You shall go out in joy and be led back into peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
and also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace
The Offertory
Offertory Hymn 45 At the lamb’s high feast we sing
At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
praise to our victorious King,
who hath washed us in the tide
flowing from his pierced side;
praise we him, whose love divine
gives his sacred Blood for wine,
gives his Body for the feast,
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
Where the Paschal blood is poured,
death’s dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israel’s hosts triumphant go
through the wave that drowns the foe.
Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, Paschal bread;
with sincerity and love
eat we manna from above.
Mighty victim from above,
conqu’ring by the pow’r of love;
thou hast conquered in the fight,
thou hast brought us life and light:
now no more can death appal,
now no more the grave entral;
thou hast opened paradise,
and in thee thy saints shall rise.
Easter triumph, Easter joy,
nothing now can this destroy;
from sin’s power do thou set free
souls newborn, O Lord, in thee.
Hymns of glory and of praise,
Risen Lord, to thee we raise;
Holy Father, praise to thee,
with the Spirit, ever be.
Prayer at the Preparation of the Table
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation;
by your goodness the world was formed and filled with plenty.
As we set before you this bread and wine,
teach us gratitude for your gifts
and make us faithful stewards of your creation.
Blessed be God for ever.
Eucharistic Prayer
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.
It is indeed right and good, always and everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
For by your word the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of your mouth. You formed us in your image, the crown of your creation, and entrusted us with the works of your hands.
In your great goodness you sent your Son, the firstborn of all creation, who holds all things together in himself, and through whom you make all things new.
You have given us the first-fruits of the Spirit, as creation itself waits with eager longing to obtain the glorious freedom of the children of God.
And so, with angels and archangels
and with all that you have made, we join the song of your glory, forever praising you and singing:
Sanctus, sanctus Dominus, sanctus, Deus,
Holy, holy, holy one, holy Lord
Heav’n and earth are full of thy glory, glory be to thee, glory be,
O my Lord most high, glory be to thee,
Sanctus, sanctus Dominus, sanctus, Deus,
Holy, holy, holy one, holy, holy Lord
Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness;
grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit,
and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine
may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper
he took the cup and gave you thanks;
he gave it to them, saying:
Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.
And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross,
his perfect sacrifice made once for the sins of the whole world;
rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension,
and looking for his coming in glory,
we celebrate this memorial of our redemption.
As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,
we bring before you this bread and this cup
and we thank you for counting us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.
Send the Holy Spirit on your people
and gather into one in your kingdom
all who share this one bread and one cup,
so that we, in the company of Blessed Mary and all the saints,
may praise and glorify you for ever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord;
by whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Kneel for The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has 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.
Breaking of 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.
Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, grant us all of your peace.
Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.
Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, grant us all of your peace.
Giving of Communion
Jesus is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
Blessed are those who are called to his supper.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word, and I shall be healed.
Communicant members of all Christian Churches are welcome to receive Holy Communion in this Church
Anybody is welcome to come forward for to receive a blessing.
Anthem: Aston “I give you a new commandment”
Prayer after Communion
God our Creator,
by your gift the tree of life was set
at the heart of the earthly paradise,
and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:
may we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Almighty God,
we thank you for feeding us
with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ.
Through him we offer you our souls and bodies
to be a living sacrifice.
Send us out
in the power of your Spirit
to live and work
to your praise and glory.
Amen.
The Notices
The Blessing of Backpacks
Response to the prayers: Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
Creator God, we give you thanks for the new start which September brings.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
We thank you for schools, colleges and universities, and all who learn, teach and serve in them.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
We thank you for places of work, for colleagues and clients, challenges and tasks.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
We thank you for the opportunity to learn and grow at every stage; for the gift of making mistakes and trying again.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
We bring before you these bags, which through the year to come will carry the tools of learning and working.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
We bring to you those days when these bags feel heavy and difficult, and those days when they feel light and easy.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
Bless these bags, all that they will contain, and your children who carry them.
Lord of life and love: Hear our prayer
Help each of us to grow in our knowledge and love of you, that we may see you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly.
The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon you, now and always.
Amen.
Post Communion Hymn 571 You shall go out with joy
You shall go out with joy
And be let forth with peace,
And the mountains and the hills
Shall break forth before you.
There’ll be shouts of joy
And the trees of the fields
Shall clap, shall clap their hands.
And the trees of the fields shall clap their hands,
And the trees of the fields shall clap their hands,
And the trees of the fields shall clap their hands,
And you’ll go out with joy.
The Dismissal
The Lord be with you
And also with you
May God the Father, whose glory is proclaimed in the heavens, awaken in you a delight and wonder in this good creation.
May God the Son, the Word made flesh, through whom all things were made, fill you with his risen life.
May God the Holy Spirit, who hovered over the waters of creation and formed the world from chaos, form you in the likeness of Christ and renew the face of the earth.
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Some material included in this service is copyright: © The Archbishops’ Council 2000
Third Edition 2005
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