This Sunday, 30 March, we mark Mothering Sunday with services of Holy Communion at 10am in St Mary the Virgin, Horne and Morning Worship at 9:30am in St Bartholomew, Burstow and 11am in St John the Baptist, Outwood.

This week’s online service is led by the Revd Alan Bayes. To follow the service, click on the arrow here and find the words below.

For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light:

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
pleasures pure and undefiled:

For each perfect gift of thine,
to our race so freely given,
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven:

For thy church which evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

Folliot Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1917)
Tune: England’s Lane, Geoffrey Shaw (1879-1943)

The Lord be with you
And with your spirit

Your love gives us life from the moment of conception;
we fail to live as your children:
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

You call us to do good;
we seek our own good:
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy

You hear us when we cry for help;
we ignore the cries of others:
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

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.
Amen.

The Collect
God of compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal;
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.
Amen.

The readings
read by Rosemary Spruce

The first reading is from Colossians 3:12-17

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.

The Gospel reading is from Luke 13:1-9

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

Talk
by Revd Alan Bayes

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 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.

Holy God,
we see your glory in the face of Jesus Christ:
may we who are partakers at his table
reflect his life in word and deed,
that all the world may know his power to change and save.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Loving God,
as a mother feeds her children at the breast,
you feed us in this sacrament,
with the food and drink of eternal life;
help us who have tasted your goodness
to grow in grace
within the household of faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Blessing
May God, who gave birth to all creation, bless you:
may God, who became incarnate by an earthly mother, bless you:
may God, who broods as a mother over her children, bless you.
May almighty God bless you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth;
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
“Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance,” said he.
“I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the Dance,” said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on:

They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
“I am the Lord of the Dance,” said he:
“Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance,” said he.
“I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the Dance,” said he.

Words and music: Sydney Carter (1915-2004). CCLI 845257
Tune: Lord of the Dance

Organist: Peter Nye.
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000), material from which is included in this service,
is copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2000.
CCLI Streaming Licence™ 1942313
PRS for Music Church Licence (CCLI) 1545501