Bradford North Circuit

The Christian Way… Dealing with hardship Service Sheet (pdf) Introduction Welcome to our worship this morning from Bradford North. My name is Mervyn Flecknoe, I am one of the Lay Pastors at Baildon Methodist Church. Welcome, wherever you are, near or distant. We know that we have worshipping friends with us as far away as Kent and Cornwall this morning. This is the first of seven Sunday Worship sessions entitled “The Christian Way”. If you would like a booklet that covers this series and you have not got one yet, please send an email to laypastors@baildonmethodists.org and we will make sure you get one. The subtitle of the series is: “Learning lessons from the life, teaching, and example of Jesus, about how we can meet life’s challenges.” This first service is about dealing with hardship, and we shall be using the story of Mary as a starting point for our thoughts, so our first musical contribution is from the lockdown carols recorded in Baildon Methodist Church: Music The Ange

Just when you thought it was safe to go back... A lower R number, easing restrictions, vaccine(s) rolling out, surely a little light at the end of our long dark tunnel... and then a new rampant c-v strain, and the portcullis slams down once more.  Hopes dashed, plans ruined, livelihoods threatened or axed.  For how long, how long...? But that question “How long?” rings a Bible bell.  Haven’t we heard it in the Psalms, from people going through the wringer in their day?  Yes, I checked, and it’s at least fourteen times (eg, Ps 13), and for good measure once also in Revelation from martyrs awaiting God’s justice (6:10) – all addressed to God in heartfelt longing, just like us. And yet, even asking that question of God (or shouting it at him in protest) indicates some sort of trust: that he is there, and can be approached; that he does know our condition, and our future; and that he can act, however trying his timescale.  And from that realisation flows a sort of peace, because it dawns o

  Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome Hello and welcome to our Sunday worship today.  I’m Deacon Merry Evans one of the ministers working with Methodist churches, people and projects across the North of Bradford.   As the Covid19 restrictions have been eased to allow limited gathering of families and friends during this period I hope you all have been able to find safe ways to mark and celebrate Christmas in a meaningful way, hopefully in the company of some you know and love. There can be few of you who will be having anything like a ‘normal’ Christmas- and for those of you struggling or grieving at this time we offer our prayers and ask you to contact a pastoral visitor or minister if you find you have the need for extra support or a listening ear over the days ahead.  Call to worship  We start our worship for this first Sunday after Christmas by listening to our Sisters and Brothers in Victoria Methodist Church in Bristol singing “We see the eyes of Mary shine” – number 219 in Singing the

Service sheet (pdf) Call to worship: Light the candles – light up the darkness! Light the candles – Christmas has dawned! Light the candles – Jesus has been born! Carol We sing together our Carol StF 196/HP 97 Come and join the celebration. Prayers Loving God, we praise you that though we have walked a long time through the darkness, Christmas has come once again with its message of light and hope. In a year which has brought so many hardships to so many, we praise you that you came to us humbly, being born to a peasant family in a stable, in occupied territory. In a year which has seen so many go without, we praise you that you came naked and vulnerable into the world, needing the love of your mother. In a year which has seen people go the extra mile for love of friends, neighbours and strangers, we praise you that you came as a symbol of Love itself. In a year that has been waiting for the hope of a vaccine, we praise you that you came to be our hope, not just for this life but for t

Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome to worship for Christmas Eve. Wherever you find yourselves today, I invite you to join with us in celebrating the Good News of Christmas. Advent Candles.  In many churches an important part of the Advent season is the lighting of advent candles, one for each of the four Sundays leading to Christmas. Here, on the eve of the Christmas celebration, we remind ourselves of the message of those advent candles. The first is for the hope that lives in the people of God, as a people who live by the promises of God. The second is for the prophets who kept that message of hope alive in Old Testament times. The third is for John the Baptist, who relighted that prophetic hope, pointing to the coming Messiah. The fourth is for Mary, mother of Jesus, who carried the hope of the world within her. And so, as we stand even now at the cusp of Christmas, we have lit four candles of hope, shining light into the darkened room. As scripture tells us, the light shines in the darkn

Service Sheet (pdf) Call to worship: Today is the Sunday before Christmas! Five more sleeps. The times might be strange and the limitations hard to bear, but I hope and pray that you still have a sense of anticipation as we approach the Feast and Holy-Day of Christmas. With the Psalmist (Ps. 89:1-2) we proclaim: I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, for ever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. Let us pray: Faithful God, your steadfast love is the constant in these changing days. As we prepare to welcome your Son as the Light of the World, open our hearts once more to the deep reality of your presence, God who is with us always. Amen. Carol You might like to sing, or reflect on the words of the Basque Carol at Hymn StF 187/H&P 87, paraphrased by Sabine Baring-Gould, The Angel Gabriel from heaven came.  Reading The hymn leads us into our