New Patterns for Worship (paperback) (Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England)

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This service follows the same structure as the Morning Praise sample service, but makes different choices of texts and uses headings of a different style. This public ministry of prayer may be accompanied by laying on of hands, and may also be accompanied by anointing with oil. It may be helpful to make clear in advance the form of ministry that is intended. There are a number of possibilities, such as prayer for individuals who do not explain their particular need; prayer following a brief explanation to those who will pray with them of a person’s need or concern; or prayer following an explanation to the whole congregation of a person’s need or concern. (The Laying on of Hands may be received on behalf of a third person who is not present.) No responses have been printed after the readings. This would not necessarily mean that they could not be used. The Nicene Creed is traditional in celebrations of Holy Communion and, in contemporary versions, emphasizes the corporate: ‘We believe …’; This may vary from a simple comment by the leader, or some other suitable person, to a dramatic presentation of the saint’s life by a number of people.

Posture needs to be thought through beforehand. If the response at the beginning of the section is led by children it would be easier to see them if everyone sits. It is probably better if everyone remains seated for the giving of the flowers or other gifts, and the mothers (or all the women) stand for the Thank you … prayer at the end. Of course local custom and architecture may suggest another arrangement. At the end of the distribution of flowers we all say this prayer. Everyone sits except mothers, who are asked to remain standing.

This refrain may be used at the beginning and end of the canticle and, in addition, between verses or groups of verses. In the section ‘Praising and thanking God’ the acclamations may be led by different voices from different parts of the church building. If a large candle is lit at this point the first section is used. A child might be invited to light the candle. Alternatively, a candle might be lit at the absolution. The action may be the climax towards which the service moves, or an action that begins the worship and sets the theme for it. 7 Beginning and ending Is the structure and direction of the service clear enough for people to know where it is going? Does the service have an overall coherence, or is it just one item after another?

A Service of the Word provides the structure which holds everything together, including some dance to the psalm, interviews with a couple just moving to a new job and wanting to thank the congregation for their support, some praise songs and a time of extempore thanksgiving. The service moves to a climax of sung and spoken praise using one of the longer Thanksgivings, ending with the Sanctus. Other things they have used at the climax of the service have been traditional sung texts like the Te Deum and the Gloria, and the first section of one of the Eucharistic Prayers, ending with the Sanctus. Loving God, as we see the brokenness of our world we pray for healing among the nations; for food where there is hunger; for freedom where there is oppression; for joy where there is pain; that your love may bring peace to all your children. The Lord’s Prayer

Kyrie Confessions

A 12 We come from scattered lives … Introduction, Welcome and Explanations The Collect Word Reading 1 Psalm For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The St Dodo’s Praise Service has no apparent structure at all – and so, one or two people say, must be led by the Spirit. There is little content, with only one of the lectionary readings (irrelevant to the theme of praise) and the sermon is replaced by long introductions by four different people to four of the hymns. People in the congregation are encouraged to suggest items to give thanks for or to sing (sometimes without the congregation having the words because it is assumed everyone knows them), with the inevitable result that there is no development in the service and no one quite knows when it should come to an end. But a liturgical structure used without preparation can produce equally bad results. Last week the president got a bit lost in Eucharistic Prayer E, used a Short Preface rather than an extended one, with the result that no one knew when to come in with ‘Holy, holy …’ Notes to the resources Acclamations and praise responses look at the readings for the service and especially the psalm as a possible source for words and ideas; take care over words that people may not be sure how to pronounce in the congregation’s text (even something like ‘blessed’ can cause uncertainty). Songs

As part of the response to the readings, and possibly as part of the sermon, there might be an opportunity to interview one or two people with a particular story to tell about how God has brought them together, or deepened their love, or overwhelmed them with his love in Christ. In addition to the giving of gifts of flowers (or other gifts) to mothers in the congregation, it may be appropriate to place flowers near a statue of Mary, the mother of our Lord. The traditional Western structure, to which people grew accustomed in the prayers in The Alternative Service Book 1980, places the Sanctus at the climax of the preface or extended thanksgiving. It is followed by petition, which also encompasses the narrative of institution. This is the pattern of Prayers A, B, C and E. These can easily be used with children present and, after a series of biddings led by the president, further biddings could be encouraged from the congregation, and a suitable collect used at the end. These are dealt with in the paragraphs headed ‘Preparation’ and ‘Conclusion’ in the authorized Introduction to A Service of the Word ( here), together with Notes 1, 2 and 9 ( here).Begin to plan the sermon. If the preacher is not part of the planning group, it is important to know the main drift of the sermon so that other items in the service support rather than conflict with this part of the Word. Does it need one ‘slot’ or more? Note 7 to A Service of the Word ( here) gives a new interpretation to the word ‘sermon’ which ‘includes less formal exposition, the use of drama, interviews, discussion, audio-visuals and the insertion of hymns or other sections of the service between parts of the sermon’. 4 Prayer

See the Lectionary modules in Resource Section C for some specific acclamations which relate to the readings there.

Final acclamations

DO remember what was prayed for last week: should there be thanksgiving for prayer being answered? What other thanksgiving should there be? Again, as Note 15 says, ‘intercession frequently arises out of thanksgiving’. In planning the prayers section of A Service of the Word, remember that the outline requires that the service should include thanksgiving (and the Lord’s Prayer) as well as intercession. Suitable material is provided in Resource Section G here. Whenever the Lord’s Prayer is introduced it needs to be clear to the congregation which version is to be used. A full printed text is one way to make this clear. In Common Worship, the modified traditional and modern forms each have a distinctive introduction, to help the congregation to know which one to expect, as follows: If occasion demands, there need only be one reading, except that if the service is Holy Communion, there should be two readings, one of which should be from the Gospels.