Service in the chapel of St Elidius

 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

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Almighty God, as we come together to celebrate the life and witness of St Lide, in this place of ancient prayer, may we, inspired by his example of faith, give ourselves fully to your service, both now in our pilgrimage and worship, and for always, bounded in your love.  We pray this through your own son Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

Tune: Monks Gate,  He who would valiant be

Come, faithful pilgrims all,

give God the glory.

Let all who here has called

tell out his story:

How he sent Israel free

from Egypt’s slavery, 

and called them out to be

a pilgrim people.

 

Out on the desert way,

in all its starkness, 

faith led them through the day,

and lit their darkness. 

No written guarantee,

no easy certainty, 

just God’s great call to be

a pilgrim people.

 

Let all the world rejoice

in exaltation; 

let every silent voice

sing of salvation. 

Loose all the chains that bind,

set free both heart and mind, 

and make all humankind

a pilgrim people.

 

Psalm 84

       Blessed are they who dwell in your house.

R:  Blessed are they who dwell in your house.

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How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!  My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. [R]

 

The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young:  at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in your house:  they will always be praising you. [R]

 

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,  in whose heart are the highways to Zion, Who going through the barren valley find there a spring,  and the early rains will clothe it with blessing. They will go from strength to strength  and appear before God in Zion. [R]

 

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;  listen, O God of Jacob. Behold our defender, O God,  and look upon the face of your anointed. For one day in your courts  is better than a thousand. [R]

 

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of ungodliness. For the Lord God is both sun and shield; he will give grace and glory;  no good thing shall the Lord withhold from those who walk with integrity.

O Lord God of hosts,  blessed are those who put their trust in you. [R]

 

Old Testament Reading

A reading from the prophet Micah

Many nations will come and say,

“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,

That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”                        

Micah 4:2

     This is the Word of the Lord

    Thanks be to God

 

Tune: Catherine’s Court​

In our day of thanksgiving one psalm let us offer

For the saints who before us have found their reward;

When the shadow of death fell upon them we sorrowed,

But now we rejoice that they rest in the Lord.

 

In the morning of life, and at noon, and at even,

He called them away from our worship below;

But not till his love, at the font and the altar,

Had girt them with grace for the way they should go.

 

These stones that have echoed their praises are holy,

And dear is the ground where their feet have once trod;

Yet here they confessed they were strangers and pilgrims,

And still they were seeking the city of God.

 

Sing praise then, for all who here sought and here found him,

Whose journey is ended, whose perils are past:

They believed in the Light; and its glory is round them,

Where the clouds of earth's sorrow are lifted at last.

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New Testament Reading

A reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.                              

Luke 12. 22-31

    This is the Word of the Lord

   Thanks be to God

 

Prayers 

After each response silence is held 

God is the beginning and end of life’s pilgrimage. Let us call upon him in confidence, saying:

Lord, be the companion on our journey.

 

Father all-holy,

of old you made yourself the guide and the way of your people as they wandered in the desert;

be our protection as we journey together. 

Lord, be the companion on our journey.

 

You have given us your only Son to be our way to you; make us follow him faithfully and unswervingly.

Lord, be the companion on our journey.

 

You gave us the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Agnes, St Helen, St Lide, St Martin and all the Saints

as the image and model for following Christ;

grant that through their example we may live a new life.

Lord, be the companion on our journey.

 

You guide your pilgrim Church on earth

through the Holy Spirit;

may we seek you in all things

and walk always in the way of your commandments. 

Amen.

 

Collect for St Lide

O God,

who by the teaching of your blessèd servant Lide,

did cause the light of the Gospel to shine in this land;

grant, we beseech you, that having his life and labours in remembrance,

we may show forth our thankfulness to you for the same,

by following the example of his zeal and patience,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

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.

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Tune: Blaenwern,   Love divine, all loves excelling

Praise to God for saints and martyrs, inspiration to us all; 

In the presence of our Saviour, their example we recall: 

Lives of holy contemplation, sacrifice or simple love, 

Witnesses to truth and justice, honoured here and crowned above.

 

How long to share the story, faithful in response to Grace,

Signs of God's eternal presence in the realm of time and space.

Now, the pilgrimage completed, cross of Christ their only boast, 

they unite their own rejoicing with the great angelic host.

 

Saints and  Martyrs, now in glory, robed before your saviour’s face,

Let us join your intercession for God's holy human race.

Let us join with you in singing Mary's liberation song,

Till a just and free creation sings, with the angelic throng: 

 

Praise and honour to the father, adoration to the Son,

With the all-embracing Spirit, wholly Three, and holy One.

All the universe, united in complete diversity,

Sings as one your endless praises, ever blessèd Trinity!

 

The Blessing

All-powerful God, you always show your mercy toward those who love you and you are never far away from those seek you.

Remain with your servants on this holy pilgrimage and guide their ways in accordance with your will.

As they journey throughout their lives shelter them with your protection by day,

give them the light of your grace at night,

and may they always remember that you are their companion throughout their journey.

Amen.

 

May the Lord guide you and direct your journey in safety.  Amen. 

May the Lord be your companion along the way.  Amen.

May the Lord grant that all your journeys begin and rely on him, and end happily through his protection.  Amen.

 

And the blessing of God almighty, 

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, 

be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

 

Go forth in peace;

Thanks be to God.