This week´s services
Wednesday 3 June 2020
Welcome to our simple order of Prayer & Praise for Wednesday, for use while we are unable to meet as a Church during this lockdown period. Despite the need to stay at home, we hope that you will feel united with all who make up our Chaplaincy at this time – both regulars and visitors alike.
Today’s service is a simple Office of Commendation, to coincide with Span’s period of National mourning, for the many thousands of victims of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Twitter this would last for "10 days, the longest period of mourning in our democracy, in which we will all express our sorrow and pay homage to those who have died".
Just as this period began last week, I was asked if prayers could be included in our Services that we send out. It was important to observe Pentecost as we did, so I offer this simple Order for today. With various changes, it can be a useful service to use on hearing the death of a loved one or friend, or if we are unable to attend a funeral at any time - please be in touch if you would like a separate version of this should you be unable to attend a funeral at this time. As Christians, we are always able to offer such prayers because of our faith and hope in the resurrection of our Lord.
You may care light a candle at the start of this service –
[but not to worry if you don’t have one to hand….]
Introduction:
We pause and pray in the name of Jesus Christ,
who died and was raised to the glory of God the Father.
We join with thousands of people across the world
in remembering before God all who have died
as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,
to give thanks for their lives,
to commend them to God our merciful redeemer and judge;
and to remember all who mourn.
Opening Prayer:
God of all consolation,
your Son Jesus Christ was moved to tears
at the grave of Lazarus his friend.
Look with compassion on your children in their loss;
give to troubled hearts the light of hope
and strengthen in us the gift of faith,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn:
O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.
O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.
O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain
that morn shall tearless be.
O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red
life that shall endless be.
Words: George Matheson (1842-1906)
Music: ‘St Margaret’ by Albert Peace (1844-1912)
Reading
A Reading from the Book Wisdom (Wisdom 3:1-5, 9)
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,
and he watches over his elect.
Canticle:
(Romans 5:1,3,5; 8:38,39)
Our hope is not in vain,
for God’s love has flooded our inmost hearts.
Now that we have been justified through faith,
we are at peace with god through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And so we exult in our hope of the splendour of God
and we even exult in the sufferings we endure.
For our hope is not in vain,
because God’s love has flooded our inmost hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given us.
When we were still powerless, Christ died for the unglodly;
he died for us, while we were still sinners,
and so God’s love for us is revealed.
We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us,
for nothing can separate us from the love of God
which is ours, through Jesus Christ.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
Our hope is not in vain,
for God’s love has flooded our inmost hearts.
Reading
A Reading from the Revelation of St John the Divine
(Revelation 21:1-7)
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’
You may care to listen to Edgar Bainton’s (1880-1956) setting of these words in his anthem ‘And I saw a new heaven’
Intercessions
We commend to you, O God, all who have died as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, both those known to us [name them here] and only those known to you:
Heavenly Father,
into whose hands Jesus Christ
commended his spirit at the last hour:
into those same hands we now commend all who have died,
that death may be for them
the gate to life and to eternal fellowship with you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord Jesus, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:
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.
Almighty God,
as you bring us face to face with our mortality,
we thank you for making each one of us in your own image
and giving us gifts in body, mind and spirit.
We thank you now as we honour the memory
of all those who have died during this pandemic,
whom you gave to us and have taken away.
We entrust them to your mercy,
and pray that you will show us the path of life,
and the fullness of joy in your presence
through all eternity. Amen.
You may care to listen to the following version of the hymn ‘Do not be afraid’ by
Gerard Markland (HON 111) as you pause during these intercessions:
The more familiar hymn version is also available here – words on screen
For those who mourn
Long the journey we must now make
for one of our kind has left us and we cannot be the same.
Slow the feet tread moment by moment,
a wonder that morning and evening keep coming round.
But weaving the old story into the new cannot be hurried
for there are no landmarks and no maps.
We must weep over their bones until we carry them within us.
And when the winter of our grief is past
and the rains are over and gone
we will arise and come away,
put our hand in the hand of life,
see the world afresh with newborn eyes
as the flowers appear on the earth again
and the time of singing is come.
(Tess Ward)
Almighty God,
Father of all mercies and giver of all comfort:
deal graciously, we pray, with those who mourn,
that casting all their care on you,
they may know the consolation of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn:
The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
in pastures green. He leadeth me
the quiet waters by.
He leadeth me, he leadeth me,
the quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of blessedness,
ee’n for his own name’s sake.
Within the paths of blessedness,
ee’n for his own name’s sake.
Yea, though I pass through shadowed vale,
yet will I fear no ill.
For thou art with me, and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.
Thy rod and staff they comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes.
My head with oil thou dost anoint,
and my cup overflows.
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my days
will surely follow me.
And in my father’s heart alway
my dwelling place shall be.
And in my heart forevermore,
thy dwelling place shall be.
Blessing
May the comfort and peace of God be ours.
May the light and joy of God be ours,
in this world and the next.
And the blessing of God, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life,
be with us all now and always. Amen.
(or, if at night)
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend your sick ones.
Rest your weary ones.
Bless your dying ones.
Soothe your suffering ones.
Pity your afflicted ones.
Shield your joyous ones.
Bless us all for your love’s sake, this night and always.
Amen.
(St Augustine)
To end:
why not listen to ~
PDF files of services to open, save or print out...
Today's notices
Re-opening our Church – An up-date
The Standing Committee held a Zoom meeting on Monday to talk about the practicalities of opening Los Boliches for a service for Council members during his week. We thought it would be prudent to have a sort of ‘trial run’ to see how things would work, as we followed the rules and regs for opening - but more importantly, it would give us the opportunity to meet and worship together and to pray for our Chaplaincy. I personally thought this would have been a very special moment for everyone, especially those of us who value the gift of the Eucharist, after so many weeks of being denied that opportunity.
While we believe we can meet the rules and regs about cleaning and social distancing, but between the five of us, who make up the Standing Committee, there was a general feeling of un-ease about it all, followed by a feeling of great relief, as we came to our decision.
Which is a rather long way of saying that as a Standing Committee we believe this is the wrong time to re-open any of our churches for worship.
Our return will be emotional enough for most of us as it is, but seeing Church set out with rows of chairs missing to allow for social distancing, as I did on Monday, and then thinking about wearing gloves and masks, not being able to sing, not being able to give anyone a hug or even warm hand-shake (remembering that we are C/E and mostly from the UK!!) - this will be a very different church to what we are used to.
So, there will be no Sunday Services on the 7 June and re-opening is postponed until further notice.
The is all very disappointing and sad news indeed - but just before I started writing this, I read an email from one of our members of the Benalmadena email group, who said: "I’ve been out for coffee most days. Some bars are less careful about hygiene, so have been careful where we go.” I do not want anyone coming into one of our churches in the next few months to have to think - ‘is this safe’ - we have a duty of care to all - including ourselves.
As a Standing Committee, we are aware that this decision will disappoint some, but our decision does seem to have support from the majority of those who replied to the request for thoughts about re-opening, a couple of week’s back - which was to delay any form of re-opening. We are not alone in this decision. From conversations with colleagues, the majority of Chaplaincies along the Costas are also delaying re-opening of their churches at this time.
We will look to new ways of staying in touch with our congregations and continue to send out the Orders of Service, which from the number of emails and calls that we have received, have clearly been much appreciated.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Fr Nigel
Exploring new ways to meet ~ for Bible Study ...
We are now running two different Bible Studies - using Zoom.
On Wednesday evenings we’ll be running a more traditional style of Bible Study, when we shall be looking at the theme of 'interceding for the nation' and we shall base the study on 2 Chronicles 6: 12-21. Any further information or logon details for Zoom to join the study can be requested from johnsutton2104@gmail.com or 634253848
While on Thursday afternoons we will use Lectio Divina - where one person reads a short bible passage then after a brief time of silent reflection we each share (if we want to) a word or phrase that has jumped out at us, nothing more just that word or phrase. We read the passage a second time, maybe from a different version of the bible, then after another time for reflection we say, in just a few words, (if we want to) what we feel about our word or phrase. The passage is then read a third time when after reflection we share (if we want to) what we feel this passage might be leading us to do. If you’re interested or have any questions please contact Caroline carriemachome@gmail.com
Pastoral Care in the Chaplaincy continues
Please be assured that while we may be unable to meet for worship or socially, pastoral care and concern for one another, is still very much part of our life together. Please make contact should you simply need a chat, prayerful support or just quiet reassurance at this difficult time.
If there is someone you know who would value a call at this time, then please do email us in confidence - and then this can happen.
Our Reader, Caroline, and Churchwardens, John and Jen are also available:
Fr Nigel - 608 403 024 – vicar.costadelsol@gmail.com
Caroline - 697 867 377 - carriemachome@gmail.com
Jen - 622 252 074 - jennetsutton@gmail.com
John – 655 342 874 - Jrbafc@aol.com
Don’t forget our Prayer Chain - a small dedicated team who will pray for you or those you may be concerned about. It is done in complete confidence, and you will never be approached by a member of the Prayer Chain about your requests. Only first names are used and details are kept to a minimum. For information about the Prayer Chain please contact Mike or Wendy Edwards at cdsolprayer@gmail.com or have a word with Caroline or Fr Nigel.
Supporting your Chaplaincy during this difficult time:
As the period of lock-down continues there is growing concern about our Chaplaincy finances. Jen & John, our Churchwardens, would encourage those who are able, to consider making a bank transfer for their stewardship giving.
We are so grateful to all who have made recent offerings by bank transfers – these help us enormously. They fully support Billy Dawson’s (our Stewardship Officer) suggestion that all who use the Stewardship envelopes can continue to put their stewardship in them and bring them along when we are next able to gather together. But as the period of lockdown is now far longer than anyone expected, whether we meet together or not, there are still bills to be paid. As time goes on, the chaplaincy’s finances will be more and more challenged, therefore, they suggest that perhaps now is time to consider supporting our ministry by using a bank transfer instead, either to our Spanish or UK accounts:
Spain: - Unicaja
Account Name: Iglesias Anglicana De La Costa Del Sol Este
Swift/BIC: UCJAES2MXXX
IBAN: ES39 2103 0194 6500 3001 0341
Please note these important changes to our UK account details:
Barclays Bank plc
Account name: Diocese in Europe Fund
Account number: 40317039
Sort code: 20-06-13
IBAN: GB16 BUKB 2006 1340 3170 39
Swiftbic: BUKBGB22
Please include the reference: CdSEast
It is very important that you include the reference CdSEast – otherwise any offering may get lost in this account, which serves every Chaplaincy in the Diocese!
Thank you for your continued practical support. Fr Nigel
Sharing
A new page on our website
Here we can share poems, reflections, meditations or stories to engage our spirituality.
The Church of England has produced a small handy-sized booklet with Prayers for use during the coronavirus outbreak, which can be downloaded from their website or the link below, along with other material.
and Joining Daily Prayer:
https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-daily-prayer
