Rev'd Philip Heak
Prayers & Reflections at each of our Parish Union’s places of worship.
St David’s
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
By his great mercy he has given us a new birth
into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
St John’s
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He has given us new life and hope.
He has raised Jesus from the dead
God has claimed us as his own.
He has brought us out of darkness.
He has made us light to the world.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
St Columcille’s
Here are words you may trust.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead:
he is our salvation, our eternal glory.
If we die with him, we shall live with him;
if we endure, we shall reign with him.
If we deny him, he will deny us;
if we are faithless, he keeps faith.
For he has broken the power of death
and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel.
St David’s
Welcome this Easter Sunday. It’s difficult to conceive that this is the second Easter that our churches have been closed for public worship, but I know that you are with us in Spirit. The message of Easter is one of victory and hope. Surely we stand today in a position of hope, as we win this fight against the Coronavirus. As St. Paul says, “We being many are one body, for we all share in the one bread.”
Maudlins
Christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed for us.
Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil
and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart.
When our faith
stands at the grave,
grieving for a stone that’s rolled away,
forgive us.
When our faith is short of
understanding
though the truth is there to see,
forgive us.
When our faith, beset by doubt, sees
no further than an empty tomb today,
forgive us.
Bring to mind the cry of Mary,
‘I have seen the Lord!’
and grant us faith to believe!
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St David’s
COLLECT
Almighty God,
through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
you have overcome death
and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
Grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen Lord
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Maudlins
Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep
God, give us eyes to see
the beauty of the Spring,
And to behold Your majesty
in every living thing –
And may we see in lacy leaves
and every budding flower
The Hand that rules the universe
with gentleness and power –
And may this Easter grandeur
that Spring lavishly imparts
Awaken faded flowers of faith
lying dormant in our hearts,
And give us ears to hear, dear God,
the Springtime song of birds
With messages more meaningful
than man’s often empty words
Telling harried human beings
who are lost in dark despair –
‘Be like us and do not worry
for God has you in His care.
St John’s
“This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another” (John 13:35)
Dear Lord, Jesus brought healing during his ministry on earth.
He healed the sick and brought the dead to life.
By his own death and resurrection he brings the promise,
hope and means of healing to us all.
Now we need his healing more than ever.
We need not only the healing from physical illness
brought on by the COVID-19 virus but healing for
human hearts, communities and world society.
Open our hearts that we may not turn in
on ourselves and our own needs.
Let unity, compassion and care mark us all.
Inspire us to serve the poor and abandoned.
May we use our skills in service of others.
May more fortunate countries come to the aid
of those less prosperous.
May we be concerned less about public image
but more about doing the right thing.
St Columcille’s
“He is not here, he is risen.”
When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.
Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.
The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.
Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today.
We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others.
Amen.
St David’s
“The risen Christ came among his disciples and said, Peace be with you.”
As the world sings triumphant cries to heaven over death that you conquered, help us, Lord, tomorrow as well, when the dresses are put away and the candy is all eaten and on with life we go let us not forget.
The celebration of your resurrection over death is a celebration of life that should continue well beyond today; it is beyond the sign of spring, beyond the lily, beyond new lambs grazing in open fields.
Resurrection is a daily celebration over fear; Fear of tomorrow, fear of our yesterdays, fear of what shall become of our young our old our unborn. Resurrection is replacing fear with physical action.
This alone, the most touching and profound of your signs that fear is dead and belief in you brings, not just hope but life.
What better living parable could You have brought? All fear death. All. Even in the garden, You took on our fear if for only moments, it was as real as our fears can be real and You knew then that this single enemy must be destroyed.
And, You sacrificed your life, leaving those who had been comfort, and follower; You left them behind, to conquer fear.
I shall cling to this now, and the tomorrows given me.
Peace and thanksgiving lifted unto you.
Amen.
Christ by whose love Christ was raised from the dead,
open to you who believe the gates of everlasting life.
Amen.
God the Son,
who in bursting the grave has won a glorious victory,
give you joy as you share the Easter faith.
Amen.
God the Holy Spirit,
whom the risen Lord breathed into his disciples,
empower you and fill you with Christ’s peace.
Amen.