Download Sunday Worship 10th Jan

Sunday Worship 10th Jan 2010
Christchurch Cockermouth
Please note:
This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared
by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.
It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last
minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.
Opening announcement from Continuity BBC Radio 4. It’s ten past eight. Time now for Sunday Worship which comes from Christ
Church in Cockermouth, one of the towns severely affected by last November's floods in
Cumbria. Church members from some of the affected towns and surrounding areas gathered to
celebrate the strength of their communities and the place of faith in the most difficult
circumstances. The service, which is also being broadcast on BBC Radio Cumbria, is led by the
Team Rector the Revd Wendy Sanders, and begins with the hymn O God our help in ages past.
Opening Hymn
O God our help in ages past
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Introduction & Lord’s
Prayer
Welcome to Christ Church, Cockermouth - a place that became a Relief Centre after the recent
floods which occurred throughout Cumbria at the end of November last year. Cockermouth
had about 1000 homes flooded and some 90% of its shops - almost all small and locally owned as the water surged through the main street. Workington lost its two road bridges and a foot
bridge, - you’ll remember the tragic death of PC Bill Barker - and dividing the town in two. A
half mile journey to the shops became a 15 mile trip each way. Keswick and the surrounding
areas were also flooded and about 300 homes have been left severely damaged. Our farming
community too has been badly affected with fields alongside the river now covered in shale and
items of furniture which were washed down the river from the town. Other communities were
also affected, notably Appleby and Kendal.
Churches Together in Cockermouth and in Keswick and Workington have found themselves at
the fore-front of relief work in the community spending many hours walking the streets and
serving hot food and drinks to both relief agencies and those flooded. We’ve been able to draw
on the pioneering experience of the Churches in Carlisle in dealing with major floods 5 years
ago. The Churches Together yellow Hi Vis jackets were only one step behind the orange ones of
the Emergency Services. And young people from Carlisle Cathedral are with us helping lead our
music.
It’s been a privilege to work alongside the many people in our communities who have given up
their time and energy to help one another in these very difficult circumstances.
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Revd Wendy
Sanders
This service draws on all those churches and their congregations and all their experiences.
Some of those most directly caught up in the floods have been so overwhelmed by what has
happened to them that they have felt unable to take part - we think of them as we thank those
who are leading our worship.
At this time we also remember those right across the country, as well as in Cumbria, who have
been affected by the recent extreme cold and snowy weather, thanking God once more for our
emergency and other local services, all those who work in our hospitals, and all those kind
souls who have simply lent a hand to someone.
And so we pray,
Heavenly Father,
at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son:
may we recognise him as our Lord
and know ourselves to be your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Introit
Kyrie from Haydn’s Little Mass
Cathedral Youth
Choir
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intro to 1st reading
Tony Hazzard, our first reader, is an Anglican from Keswick and helped at a Reception Centre
Wendy
there.
1st Reading / Witness
testimony
When the waters of the rivers Greta and Derwent met and merged in the lower end of Keswick
little did we know that the overwhelming flooding would lead to an equally overwhelming
response from our communities locally and nationally.
I became a stirrer of the soup by accident – perhaps being in the right place at the right time.
In what became our Flood Centre at St Herbert’s in the High Hill area of town those of us
informally charged with its organisation worked out how best to provide for those whose
homes and businesses were effectively marooned, cut off from the rest of town by the waters
and bridge closures.
It became hugely encouraging that amidst the material loss and emotional distress a terrific
generosity of spirit grew. At the time I thought to myself that it seemed somewhat ironic that
as the Church globally was flooded with threats of schisms here and schisms there, our own
communities grew and consolidated as quickly as the skips along the roadsides were filled with
the hard earned possessions of 21st Century life.
When we turned on the stove and heated up the soup, there was a realisation that this was
indeed a practical Churches Together effort, that this was faith in action, and I believe firmly
that faith stands for little if it is not practical.
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Tony Hazzard
A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 43, beginning at the first verse:
Now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia* and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
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and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’
This is the Word of the Lord:
ALL: Thanks be to God.
Introduction to Worship
Song
As the floods rose on that Thursday in November, people had to be evacuated to reception
centres. One of those was the Sheep and Wool Centre here in Cockermouth. Three days later,
on the Sunday morning, most were still there so Alistair Smeaton (our preacher) took an
impromptu service. One of the songs they sang was our next one - “Brother, sister, let me serve
you…”
Worship song
Brother, sister, let me serve you
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Revd Wendy
Sanders
Edward and Jane Bebbington are from Cockermouth and worship at the Christian Centre here.
Their home was flooded and so they are temporary refugees – currently staying 25 miles away,
near Carlisle, and not knowing where they’ll be next. We shouldn’t underestimate the impact
that floods can have on peoples’ relationships, and their physical and mental health. Edward is
partially sighted, but floods wait for noone, and the work he does with other partially sighted
people around the Cockermouth area has since been badly affected.
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Wendy
2nd Reading / Witness
testimony (NB this must be
16 pt bold)
On November 19th at 7pm my wife Jane and I were evacuated from
our flooded home by the Maryport Lifeboat crew. On November
22nd my mother was taken into hospital, critically ill. Two major
life events at once is a handful!
The rain on the 19th had been torrential for many hours so we
had taken as much as we could upstairs in preparation for a
flood. However, nothing can prepare you for the sight of
contaminated water gushing into your home, forcing the floor
upwards, pulling off skirting and radiators, leaving us stranded
upstairs. Then came the knock on the door from the lifeboat
crew. What a relief as they calmly and kindly ferried us to safety
beneath the lights of a helicopter. Returning to the house days
later, the stench when we opened the door was shocking,
compounded by the sight of so many jumbled possessions, now
useless.
Despite visiting my mum to reassure her of our safety, the effect
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Edward
Bebbington
of the news of the floods on her was traumatic, accelerating a
deterioration in her health. Two days later, my mum was rushed
into hospital. Thankfully, we were able to spend her last few
hours with her until she went to be with the Lord.
We have been amazed at how God has provided for us in so many
ways. All the rescue and emergency services were wonderful in
those early days, as so many of us in Cockermouth experienced.
Their dedication, care and cheerfulness brought us much
comfort and reassurance.
Throughout this time, we have been sustained by the ongoing
committed love, care and support we have been shown by our
family, our church and other Christian friends. They have prayed
for us and with us. They have listened to us, advised us, offered
all manner of help, opened their homes without hesitation and
given generously. Where would we have been without them?
When we needed a car, it was there. When we needed
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somewhere to live, it was there.
As you can imagine, we have lost control of so many aspects of
our daily lives, which can be very disorienting. Being unable to
help others in need is for us one of the hardest losses. We are
having to learn more than ever to put our trust in God for
everything that happens each day and for the future, which is still
very uncertain, but no longer frightening as we know God has our
lives in His hands and is utterly trustworthy.
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Reader
A reading from the Gospel of St Luke, chapter 3, beginning at verse 15.
Jane Bebbington
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning
John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you
with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong
of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his
hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will
burn with unquenchable fire.’
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was
praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a
dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.’javascript:void(0);
This is the Word of the Lord:
ALL: Thanks be to God.
Anthem O most merciful : Bullock
Cathedral Youth Choir
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intro to Sermon The youth choir of Carlisle Cathedral, sang the anthem ‘O most merciful’, by Sir Ernest
Wendy
Buillock.
Our preacher this morning Alistair Smeaton is URC minister in Workington and Cockermouth.
Alistair’s stone fronted historic United Reformed Church in Cockermouth was flooded (as were
the Catholic churches in Cockermouth and Keswick, the Society of Friends in Keswick, and
three rural Anglican Churches - Camerton, Isel and St Bega’s Bassenthwaite). All are now
beginning the long and arduous process of digging out sludge from under the floors, replacing
ruined timbers and electrics, - or whatever is needed to make their buildings useable again.
Despite the difficulties his own church was experiencing, Alistair, as chair of Churches
Together in Cockermouth, co-ordinated volunteers for our joint response to the floods
Sermon
Water is an essential component of this story as Jesus undergoes John’s baptism. Those of
us who live along the length of the river Derwent in Cumbria have a difficult relationship with
water just now. Of course it remains essential to our lives, but we are processing our
memories of our encounter with water on the 19th and 20th of November and still dealing with
the aftermath.
In the Bible water is both a symbol for dangerous forces beyond our control and for life itself,
and each of these has resonances in Christian baptism. When Paul comments on the
meaning of baptism for Christians it is in continuity with these ideas that he can say “
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, (just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so) we too might walk in newness of life.”
For us water brought the death of PC Barker and so much other destruction, but it came from
the same watersheds as the tap water that sustains our lives.
The prophet isaiah says that when we go through the waters God will be with us. This phrase
‘though the waters’ has often been used as an expression for baptism itself. Of course, in a
mystical way God is present with baptism candidates, and that is fundamental to our
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Revd Alistair Smeaton
experience of Grace in the sacrament. But in a much more everyday way Jesus is with us,
indeed goes before us in his baptism in the river Jordan at the hand of John. In Matthew’s
gospel John struggles to grasp why Jesus must do this but today I want to give thanks for
that act of solidarity with humanity as a symbol of the presence of God that was alongside us
seven weeks ago, and alongside those in any kind of desperate straights today.
The psalmist ways ‘Mightier than the thunder of great water (is) the Lord on High’ and The
Lord sits enthroned over the flood’ in the psalms set for Sunday 22nd November last and for
today. The power of God’s love is greater still than the force of the water or anything else.
And that should encourage us as we read the next words of Isaiah that as we go through the
rivers, or they through us, they shall not overwhelm us. We are scarred by the experience,
struggling as individuals, churches and communities, but we are not overwhelmed. Life is
going on. At the height of the crises we found strength from somewhere and we choose to
name the source of that strength God.
Our gospel story is the central one in some Christian traditions for Epiphany. This it is an
account of the the Spirit descending on the Christ as a heavenly voice speaks. Epiphany
means manifestation and it is a relational God in trinity who is manifest. For Christians the
concept of God in Trinity is essential for how we understand another part of Isaiah’s words,
that God brings redemption. It is because of Jesus self emptying, Jesus’ walking among us,
including passing through the waters of the Jordan that his death and resurrection bring
redemption to our lives today. This is the start of Jesus public ministry - the beginning of the
journey to the cross.
And just as our communities need redemption so do our lives. In the past two months we
have felt the touch of God’s grace in countless acts of kindness, some in the public eye some
unrecognised. But we are frail human beings. We have not done everything right. We have
not always been as generous as we might. There have been frustrations as well as
exhortations. We need grace in the days ahead too. As we struggle to rebuild road
connections, homes and livelihoods, the God that gave us that strength in November has not
gone away but remains in relationship with us and we are called onwards into God’s future.
Alistair Smeaton
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Hymn
Be thou my vision
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Prayers: Introduction
Our prayers are led by five people whose experiences of the floods are deeply personal. Fr Peter
Sharrock, Catholic priest from Keswick, whose Church and home were flooded; Heather
Wendy
Sanders
Rushton, Methodist Church Steward from Cockermouth who co-ordinated keeping Churches
open to receive flood victims; Karl Todd, minister at the Christian Centre in Cockermouth,
which has acted as a central point for those dispersed with homes flooded as they have had to
find alternative accommodation; and Catherine Armstrong, a farmer from the Lorton valley,
whose fields have been covered in tonnes of gravel by the floodwaters.
It is a time for us to bring before God the needs of the various communities - to give thanks for
all those who worked so hard during and after the immediate flooding - to pray for our farming
community and the long process of re-claiming their land and for the churches continuing
work over the coming months.
Prayers: for the church
throughout world
The Church is the presence of Christ for all time wherever two or three are gathered.
We pray that, where people are suffering or afraid, those who call themselves disciples of Jesus
will be ready to speak words of consolation and do acts which heal and give life in the name of
Jesus their Lord.
Let us always be aware of reflecting the love of God the Father to others in our actions, of
pointing to the Kingdom of God which surrounds us and in giving Glory to the one who holds
us in the palm of his hands.
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Fr Peter
Sharrock
Lord in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer
Prayers: for those affected
Father, we bring before you our community suffering because of the recent floods - for those
who have suffered flooded homes and wrecked treasures, loss of business and especially for the
family of the late PC Barker; give them all strength and hope.
Father, as the wider community continues to be affected by damaged bridges, we pray for
patience.
Father, we pray that our towns would re-emerge stronger than before. We ask that the Church
would display the fruit of knowing Christ during the recovery process as we continue to help
those in need. We pray this so that the name of Jesus may be honoured.
Lord in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer
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Karl Todd
Prayers: for those whose
difficulties have had less
prominence
We pray for those affected in the villages and valleys, for those whose difficulties have not had
public attention.
Lord give us the strength to restore our fields and fences; We thank you that most of the
farmers have been able to carry on their work but we remember those who have lost animals or
crops and pray for them.
Father help us through the weeks and months to come to restore and rebuild our communities
so that people can enjoy our beautiful Lake District.
Lord in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer
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Catherine
Armstrong
Prayers: for those
who have helped
We pray for those who have helped us in our time of destruction and despair, our weeping and our
weariness.
Heather
Rushton
We remember those who came to rescue us from the flood and we pray that the scenes they saw may
gradually be erased from their minds
We remember the volunteers helping with shelter, clothing, bedding and food and we pray that you
will help these people to continue this caring and sharing and renew their strength.
We remember those who have given money and pray that it may be used wisely.
Lord in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer
Prayers: for the
wider world
We pray for all those suffering in our wider world: for the hungry and homeless, the lonely and
frightened, the sad and the angry, those unwell in mind or body; as we face natural disasters at home,
we remember those still coping with the Tsunami 5 years ago, and the one last autumn.
Lord in your mercy
All: Hear our prayer
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?
Lord’s Prayer We end by praying for the coming of God’s kingdom in the words our Saviour taught us, asking God for
his protection of all our communities, and especially of those who are vulnerable during this current
very cold and snowy weather.
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed by 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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Wendy
Intro final hymn
Thank you for joining our worship here in Cockermouth. Our final hymn, with words by Bishop Timothy Dudley
Smith, is a hymn of thanks and praise. It sends us out once more in service – of God and of our communities.
Revd
Wendy
Sanders
Lord for the Years.
Hymn
Lord for the years
Blessing
The Father, who created you, is with you;
Revd
Wendy
Sanders
the Son, who redeemed you, is with you;
the Spirit, who strengthens you, is with you;
the Holy Three enfold you;
and the blessing of God Almighty
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
Voluntary
?
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Opening announcement from
Continuity
[“Wir glauben all’ in einen Gott” – The “Giant” Fugue by Bach***.] Sunday Worship came from Christ
Church in Cockermouth. The leader was the Revd Wendy Sanders and the preacher the Revd Alistair
Smeaton. Carlisle Cathedral youth choir was directed by Edward Taylor and the organist was John
Morris. The producer was Philip Billson.
Next week’s Sunday Worship comes from Chelmsford with the International Staff Songsters of the
Salvation Army.
***Presentation info: Please do not announce the organ music (as in square brackets) unless more than
20 seconds is heard.
? 2898 words = 20 minutes ?
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