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14th November 2021

Minister: Rev. John Tait
Organist: Iain Mackinnon

Opening Voluntary
 Nimrod from the Enigma Variations   Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Welcome and Intimations

Call to Worship

Come and see what the Lord has done
See what amazing things he has done on earth
He stops wars all over the world
He breaks bows, destroys spears and sets shields on fire
The Lord Almighty is with us
The God of Jacob is our refuge

Hymn 112 God whose almighty word

1 God, whose almighty word,
chaos and darkness heard,
and took their flight;
hear us, we humbly pray,
and where the gospel-day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light.

2 Saviour, who came to bring,
on your redeeming wing,
healing and sight,
health to the sick in mind,
sight to the inly blind,
now to all humankind
let there be light.

3 God, whose almighty word,
chaos and darkness heard,
and took their flight;
hear us, we humbly pray,
and where the gospel-day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light.

4 Blessed and holy Three,
glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, Love, Might,
boundless as ocean’s tide
rolling in fullest pride
through the world far and wide,
let there be light.

Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Reading     “God loves this world”

Act of Remembrance

Prayer

They shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them

THE SILENCE
Laying of Wreath

Spoken together
Lord make us instruments of your peace
Where there is hatred let us sow love
Where there is injury let us bring forgiveness
Where there is doubt let us offer faith
Where there is darkness let us bring light
Where there is despair let us offer hope.
And where there is sadness let us bring joy
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in forgiving that we are
forgiven and in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Hymn 161 O God our help in ages past

1 O God, our help in ages past, 
our hope for years to come, 
our shelter from the stormy blast, 
and our eternal home!

3 Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting thou art God,
to endless years the same.

5 Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
bears all its sons away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.

2 Under the shadow of thy throne
thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defence is sure.

4 A thousand ages in thy sight
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.

6 O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
be thou our guard while troubles last,
and our eternal home.

Scripture Readings: Reader Annie Addison

Psalm 34: 13-15

13 keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;

Ephesians 2: 13-22
13 
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

What Remembrance means to meJenny Martin and Stewart Lowe

“A Better World?”   Rev John Tait

Hymn 260 Eternal Father, strong to save

1 Eternal Father, strong to save,
whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bade the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
Oh, hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

2 O Christ, whose voice the waters heard
and hushed their raging at thy word,
who walked upon the foaming deep,
and calm amidst the storm didst sleep:
Oh, hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

3 O Holy Spirit, who didst brood
upon the waters dark and rude,
and bid their angry tumult cease,
and give, for wild confusion, peace:
Oh, hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

4 O Trinity of love and power,
shield all of them in danger’s hour;
from rock and tempest, fire and foe,
protect them whereso’er they go;
thus evermore shall rise to thee
glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Doxology –spoken together
To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit praise be done;
may Christ the Lord upon us pour
the Spirit’s gift for evermore.

Prayer of Dedication for the Offerings

Prayer of Thanksgiving & Intercession

Hymn 706 For the healing of the nations

1 For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.

3 All that kills abundant living,
let it from the earth be banned;
pride of status, race, or schooling,
dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
may we hallow life’s brief span.

Lead us forward into freedom,
from despair your world release,
that, redeemed from war and hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
fear will die and hope increase.

4 You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness
bring the life of Christ to mind; that by our response and service
earth its destiny may find.

Benediction
Threefold AmenNational Anthem

Closing Voluntary
Land of Hope and Glory    Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

INTIMATIONS

 Sunday Services – We are pleased to welcome Rev John Tait to lead our service this morning.
Next Sunday, 21 November, there will be the annual Seafarers’ service at South Leith; there will be no service at North Leith.

Seafarers’ Christmas Gift Bags – We are collecting during November donations of money or sweets (wrapped chocolates, shortbread, fudge/ tablet, mixed sweets, and mixed nuts) for the annual Seafarers’ Christmas bags. 

Fresh Start Festive Hampers – Fresh Start is collecting food for Festive Hampers. Donations are to be delivered to the warehouse by 2nd December. Please see Ellen Lowe if you are interested in donating.

Christmas Appeal: The Kirk Session has agreed that this year’s Christmas Appeal will be for the Fresh Start Cooker appeal. Donations will be collected from Sunday 28 November till the end of December.

Magazine: Items for a Christmas magazine should be sent to the church office by Tuesday morning, 30 November, at latest.

Bethany Christian Trust is looking for male volunteers to help with their Men’s Club which runs on a Thursday. They are also looking for volunteers for the Passing the Baton befriending service for men or women at risk of homelessness. If you might be interested please see Margot Hudson for more information.

Prayer for this Sunday evening – Visit the Church of Scotland website to hear the prayer
Scottish Christians join in prayer in response to the Covid-19 pandemic | The Church of Scotland

“In a time of Remembrance, we turn to the One who offers ‘refuge and strength’ in time of trouble and whose presence stills the storm and calms our fears. (Psalm 46: 1)
“Our faith is rooted in the remembrance of the Christ who laid ‘down His life for His friends’. (John 15: 13) In turn, it is rooted in our receiving the Good News of the Christ who ‘was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’. (1 Corinthian 15: 4)
“In turn again, we come by faith to understand the death of Christ in the light of the resurrection and so comprehend that it was for us and for our salvation that He gave His life.
“In a time of loss, we find no human words adequate to express the depth of that loss and we often find ourselves seemingly detached from the onward rush of time.
“In silence, and as memory casts its eye across the span of time, we hear the voice of the One who calls to us: ‘Be still, and know that I am God’.”

We pray:

Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of remembrance.
Hear our cry as memory, and stories told,
Carry us to places of loss and sorrow.
Meet us in this time,
To still the storm and calm our fears.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of loss.
Hear our cry, though it seems long lost,
In the cruel winds that blow.
May the measure of our loss
Be the measure of Your grace.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of sorrow.
Hear our cry, and the cry of all who mourn,
As it gives voice to hidden grief.
May it rise from the depths of the earth
And be embraced in the heights of heaven.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Our refuge and our strength,
Hear our cry in time of remembrance.
Hear our cry,
And still our hearts,
That we may we hear the voice that speaks:
Be still, and know that I am God.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.


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