Sunday 5th April - Palm Sunday
Good Morning & welcome all to our virtual Sunday Gathering for Palm Sunday
Lee began the service with a live stream, on both church websites at at 10:30 am. Here is the video recording:
Following this short introduction from Lee our Worship will be led by Richard & Tracey Wheeler (via the Video link below).
if you would like to follow along with the liturgy please open the service booklet using the link below.
“Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!”
Prayer & Action
As an alternative to collecting our Palm Crosses from church, Christians are being encouraged to display a Cross in their window for Holy Week.
Inspired by the pictures of rainbows that have started appearing in windows up and down the country as a symbol of hope and positivity during lockdown.
It could start off as a plain cross and be decorated for Easter Sunday, just as we would decorate our churches for the Easter Sunday celebrations.
Create crosses made from whatever materials you have available, paper, card, wood or leaves - be as imaginative as you like.
Take a picture and upload it to social media using handles @diobrizzle and @churchofengland and #holyweekcross.
The rainbow is the sign of hope and of God's promises and covenant, displayed visually through his creation.
In the Bible, the presence of a rainbow was a message from God, God said: "I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" (Genesis 9:13).
#LiveLent
As we begin Holy Week and the start of the Easter Holidays, the weekend #LiveLent activity for families is to decorate some real eggs for Easter.
Eggs remind us of new life and they play a big part in many Easter celebrations.
Why not blow and decorate some eggs this week, to add to your Easter window display.
Here are some useful instructions for How to Blow Eggs
CLOSING PRAYER
Dear Lord,
Thank you that all our hope is in you.
We thank you for the beautiful visual reminder of rainbows to remember your promise to us, that you are always faithful and are always with us.
We pray for households across the nation, may they know your presence and may you protect those who are vulnerable and not in safe homes, may they be able to call for help.
May households currently in lockdown in all the different situations be protected and may faith rise up and good things, bigger things than we can even imagine come from this time.
May we remember that whatever situation we are in you are with every one of us.
For those who don't know you, may seeing crosses and rainbows in windows spark something in them to want to know more about you.
Thank you for the opportunities as Christians we have to shine a light through our words and actions in whatever situation we are in right now.
May we remember that you are faithful, strong, healer, comforter, friend and saviour and all we need to do is turn to you and trust in you and you will provide.
Let our hearts cry out and may you meet us where we are at, as we trust in only you, never changing and always loving Lord.
Thank you that you are always with us in the noise and in the silence.
In Jesus name, Amen
- a prayer from Premier Christian News.