Methodist Homes for the Aged Sunday
This short act of worship has been prepared for you to use this coming Sunday. I invite you to share in a few moments with God , knowing that other people within Paulton, Trinity and Chew Stoke Methodist Churches are sharing this act of worship with you.
Revd Martin Slocombe
On 3rd June, Newsnight on BBC2, reported on the effect of Coronavirus on the staff and residents in MHA Care Homes throughout the country. It is a moving story of care and commitment, and self-sacrifice under the most difficult of circumstances, which should inspire us all. It is worth watching on iPlayer if you missed it first time round. We thank God for the love and commitment of all care home staff, in MHA and other organisations, during the current pandemic.
MHA will be streaming a memorial service from 3pm on Sunday 14th June, led by Pam Rhodes. You can find it at http://www.mha.org.uk/mhasunday
Today is MHA Sunday and it is an opportunity to give thanks and reflect on the support given to over 18,500 older people through MHA’s care homes, retirement living schemes and community groups. Together with 7,000 staff and over 4,000 volunteers and countless supporters, MHA enables older people to live later life well. MHA’s vision is for people to find meaning and hope in later life, to tackle loneliness and isolation by facilitating community, and for people to continue to learn and grow in their faith, or indeed rediscover faith. MHA seek do to this through their chaplaincy service, providing spiritual care for residents, their families and for their staff. MHA also provides music therapy for people living with dementia, helping to alleviate the common symptoms of dementia like anxiety. And their work in the community, partnering with the church to reach out into our communities to ensure that loneliness and isolation does not have to be part of growing old.
Psalm 66: 1-4
Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel
1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
3 Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.’
Hymn – 76 Give me joy in my heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTHvAsvRknw
1 Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
give me joy in my heart, I pray;
give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
keep me praising till the break of day:
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King of kings!
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King!
2 Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
give me peace in my heart, I pray;
give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
keep me loving till the break of day:
3 Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
give me love in my heart, I pray;
give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
keep me serving till the break of day:
Anonymous
Prayer
God of all that is, we praise you for your goodness and your kindness that you bestow on your people. Throughout your word we read stories of the lowly being lifted up, the outsiders being included, your love is for all people and knows no bounds. You showed your ultimate love by coming amongst us as one of us, leaving behind all heavenly splendour to experience the joys and hurts, highs and lows, laughter and tears, hopes and disappointments. Yet you remained obedient and full of love, and lived, served and died for us. You were raised from the dead and offer us everlasting life. And so we declare your holiness, majesty and beauty that radiates from all that is around us. And we, along with all creation shout praise to you. Glory, power and praise be given to you O, God.
As we reflect on kindness, and remember you and your words, and our experience of the past days, forgive us for times when we have chosen not to be kind, and times when we missed an opportunity to offer kindness. We think of our relationships, those close to us who we let down; those who we might not even know their name but to whom we could have been kinder; the world we inhabit and the needs of this planet and ways in which we have been unkind in caring for it.
Silence
Lord forgive us, and renew us in the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you. Amen
Our gospel reading for today is The Beatitudes. Jesus talks to his disciples and sets a framework for Christian living.
Reading - Matthew 5: 1-12
The Beatitudes
5When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Hymn – 256 When I needed a neighbour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJ190HIk1w
1 When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?
2 I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
3 I was cold, I was naked, were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
4 When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter, were you there?
5 When I needed a healer, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
6 Wherever you travel I’ll be there, I’ll be there,
wherever you travel I’ll be there.
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
I’ll be there.
Sydney Carter (1915–2004)
Reflection
The theme for MHA Sunday this year is kindness.
For those of you who have watched the Newsnight programme, the over-riding theme which came across was the kindness of staff and volunteers who in many cases, have put the needs of their residents, before their own personal needs, and safety. And some have lost their lives because of that desire to serve others. This elevates “kindness” to a whole new level.
The Beatitudes in many ways form a model for Christian life, a blueprint of how we should all live if we were to follow the teachings of Jesus. But look at the attributes they elevate to blessedness. The poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers and the persecuted. Would we consider people like this to be blessed today?
Consider for a moment, what the world might look like if our leaders prioritised these traits, and placed kindness at the top of the political agenda.
For Christians, blessedness is not to be found in power and strength, but in kindness, revealed most strongly in how we treat each other, and most particularly, the vulnerable in our society. Last weekend we witnessed scenes of protest, both in America and in the UK, even on the streets of Bristol, following the death of George Floyd in America. People are rightly outraged at what happened to him, and countless others before him, and knelt peacefully in protest. Blessed are the peacemakers.
But peaceful protest turned into mob rule, as despair turned into anger, and protest turned into destruction, and sympathy turned into fear.
It is difficult for those of us who have never had to face racial prejudice to empathise with those who have, but as children of God, we should be able to recognise the hurt, anger and fear of our brothers and sisters of colour. This world is very far from being a place where kindness rules, and the poor and the meek are blessed.
As we look at our world, it is easy to see these terrible pictures of violence and destruction, and to despair. Dealing with coronavirus started with us all coming together to face this emergency united. But know we start to see coalitions faltering, and blame and political points-scoring coming to the fore again, but we should not despair.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”. Righteousness is a bit of a “churchy” word, but could easily be replaced by kindness, for kindness demands that we embrace Jesus’ message of love for our neighbour, especially for the vulnerable in our midst. The wonderful acts of human kindness that we have witnessed in the past weeks, have slowly dropped from the headlines, but have not been lost from our lives.
The dedication of the staff at MHA Homes around the country is repeated in every Care Home, and is ongoing, even if it is no longer on the front pages of our newspapers. The kindness shown by staff who have moved in with their residents shows selfless sacrifice that is humbling.
One thing we all welcome, and one thing we can all choose to give, is kindness. When you pass a stranger, give them a smile. Or help someone carry their shopping, or let someone out in front of you when you are driving, or buying a homeless person a hot drink. There are so many daily, small acts of kindness, and when we see it, it gives us hope against the backdrop of bad news stories that fill our screens. There are ordinary people, all of the time, going out of their way to show kindness to others.
Each of us is known, loved and held by a kind and gracious God, who seeks us out and calls us by our name. A God who shows us that being part of the kingdom of God is not decided by your birth, or your parents, or the colour of your skin, or the privileges you enjoy, but it is through joining in with God’s purpose and will. And in that joining in, we can know blessing and be a blessing.
Intercessions & Lords Prayer
Lord God, we bring before you our prayers for the world. For its leaders and for those people and places where hope is diminished, and peace can feel elusive. We pray for America, and for those who have been abused and their rights ignored, and we ask that your compassion might inspire their President.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for our nation and for our community. We pray for the work of MHA, both nationally, and for our local MHAs at Church Court in Midsomer Norton and Stratton House and Walcott Court in Bath. We also remember a member at Paulton, who now lives in MHA Trembath in Letchworth. We pray for our local care homes, especially Bloomfield, Catherine House and Kingswood Court, and for all who champion the cause of those in later life. We pray for decision makers involved in social care. We give thanks for carers, volunteers and supporters that enable MHA to do what it does and has been doing for the past 77 years.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for the young and old. For those who feel lonely and isolated. We pray for those who are going through great changes. Those starting work, moving home, and those moving in to care homes or retirement living, may they find a sense of belonging. We pray for those who can’t keep up with change and who feel lost or disillusioned.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are suffering. For those who are widowed, for families who have lost a loved one recently, especially under the difficult conditions that Coronavirus has forced upon us. For those who are frail and in need, and for those who struggle to get the care they need. We pray for those in our community and those known to us.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for the churches in our Circuit, this week for Chew Stoke, and Martin, their minister.
Lord God, hear our prayers, for those spoken and those on our hearts. May you show us how to be an answer to our prayers, may you use us as catalysts of your love, blessing and kindness to others.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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.
Hymn – Great is thy faithfulness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKIqmdfHSk
1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou for ever wilt be:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
2 Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love:
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960)
Blessing
And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you, now and forever more. Amen
Send us out equipped by your Spirit to live out your blessing and kindness. In the name of Christ. Amen
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