Bradford North Circuit

Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome to worship this seventh day of November 2021 in Bradford North Circuit. We are meeting at the same time as the COP 26 conference in Glasgow that will decide whether this Earth has a future as a home for human beings. The Earth stands on a tipping point. There could not be a more significant time to pray, to inform ourselves, or to understand the plight of the poorest people on Earth and our dependence on them. Whoever you are, however you are feeling, whatever your sorrows at this time, you are welcome to come with us into the presence of God and listen to his word. Together, we can make this world a better place. Call to worship: In this climate crisis we have a Christian obligation to act. In this climate crisis we promise to use the brains that God has given us In this climate crisis we imitate Jesus to change our behaviour to protect the poor and weak. Song: Our first hymn is No 701 in Singing the Faith: Heaven shall not wait for the poor to lose ...

November 21 and COP 26 We’ve had a long build up to this climate change conference in Glasgow: multiple urgings for CO2 containment and reduction; political questions about who should make the most change and by when, and whether we’re ready for the implied lifestyle changes; and threats to agreement posed by the looming energy price crisis.  Even our own Circuit has been asking all preachers to address the topic on the first Sunday of each month.  For what then should we be praying? In the face of political wrangling, we might pray for harmony and mutual acceptance and respect. In the face of rising energy prices we might pray for compassion for the less well off. We might also ask that research may be blessed and fruitful, with results presented and discussed with transparent integrity. But in view of the (truly vast) world climate unknowns, we would do well to ask for guidance from God, who alone does know all – the future as well as the present. There is every reason to pr...

  Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it; the world and all who live in it; For he has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers.” (Psalm 24:1) It’s autumn – the season of falling leaves, of plants dying back to nourish the earth again; fruits and vegetables are being harvested, squirrels hiding their stores for the winter to come – it’s part of what has seemed an ongoing, unchanging pattern of the seasons. But the seasons are changing. And we are asking, what are we doing to the earth? How are we misusing God’s good gifts to us? What do we need to hear and do? Song First of all, all the earth is God’s, and all creation offers its praise. We hear this in the hymn of St Francis of Assisi, no.99 in Singing the Faith and sung by the Chet Valley Churches: Prayers of Adoration & Confession (written and led by Jackie Marshall) Lord God, Creator, Deliverer, Redeemer, Provider, Healer. All these wonderful, strong words, yet no words...

Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome Welcome to worship today. Currently, on the first Sunday of each month, we are being encouraged to consider our environment, the climate crisis, and the forthcoming United Nations Conference on climate change (COP26), due to be held in Glasgow in November. Material included in today’s service has been provided by the World Methodist Council  through its project ‘Climate Justice for All’ (CJ4A). The material for this week has been written by Methodists in Uruguay in South America. Song:  Read or sing, For the beauty of the earth (Singing the Faith 102, Hymns & Psalms 333) 1. 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. 2. 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, Lord of all, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise. 3. For the ...

Climate Justice for All The Methodist Response Service sheet (pdf) Welcome to on-line worship from the Bradford North Circuit. We are interrupting our series on Parables for Bradford by using the first Sunday in each month to prepare ourselves for the COP26 conference about the Climate Crisis. In these five services, we shall be using materials produced by Methodist young people from around the World. A collect for today: Lord of Life, on this day called Independence Day, we know that we are not independent, but dependent on all the other creatures of this beautiful Planet, and we ask that we may remember this in all our dealings. Amen. A story Let me take you forward 100 years in time to 20th January in the year 2121, in numbers that is twenty, one, twenty one, twenty one. My granddaughter is now a very old lady, not too old, however, to read a story to her great grand child, Greta, who is just five years old. They bask outside in the warm January sunshine, regretting that it w...