Category: Online Worship

Minister: Katherine Taylor
Organist: Iain Mackinnon

Opening Voluntary – Alma Virgo. JN Hummel (1778-1837)

Welcome and Intimations

Call to Worship

Hymn 172: Sing for God’s glory that colours the dawn of creation

Prayer of Approach ending with the Lord’s Prayer

First Thought

Hymn 343: The reign of God, like farmer’s field

Scriptures: Reader, Beryl Curlett
2 Corinthians 5: 6-10 and 14-17
Mark 4: 26-34

Sermon – Watching and Growing

Hymn 501: Take this moment, sign, and space

Prayer of Dedication for the Offering

Prayers for the World – Stewart Lowe
Lord of Life,
Hear our prayer

Hymn 468: Son of God, eternal Saviour

Benediction

Closing Voluntary – Gloria from mass in e flat. JA André. (1775-1842)

INTIMATIONS

Sunday Services

Services continue at 11 am. You are very welcome. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.

We will celebrate communion on Sunday 26 June. The service will be led by our Interim Moderator, Rev Russell McLarty, and will be followed immediately by a short congregational annual meeting. Copies of the Annual Report & Accounts will be available next week.

Opening the Church
The church building is open on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. Please add your name to the rota in the church vestibule if you are available to help. 

Leith Churches Together  – Jungle Adventure Holiday Club – outdoor activities, songs and Bible stories 
Park Road Park  Edinburgh from 28 June to 2 July  for P1-P6 with morning and afternoon sessions. Please book at tinyurl.com/3cjmyh88 before 19 June.

One Church for Leith Bible Study Group
Christianity and Climate Change

Monday Evenings by Zoom 7.30 to 8.30 pm
We are starting a new study on Monday 14^th June from the charity Tearfund. It is a series of nine short films, each lasting less than ten minutes, followed by discussion. We hope to discover more about what we can do as congregations to contribute to protecting the environment.
New members are very welcome. The Zoom link is available from Katherine  KTaylor@churchofscotland.org.uk

Picture: Gogh, Vincent va, 1853-1890.  Sower
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

Prayer for this Sunday evening

“‘Seeing is believing!’ The saying is one that we are all familiar with and it finds expression in music, film and everyday speech. In essence it means: To see is to believe. “However, the reality of life is that we see so much that it becomes increasingly difficult to say we believe simply on the basis of what is before our eyes. The multiplicity of images and information that are presented to us threaten at times to overload the senses.

“The Apostle Paul offers us a way of seeing things differently. Instead of saying: ‘Seeing is believing!’, it is almost as if he reverses this and says: ‘Believing is seeing!’ Paul was very conscious of the challenges he faced and of the passing nature of what he saw around him. In facing the reality of this in his daily life, he is confident that he has found a way to live that is not dependent solely on what he sees. Rather, he affirms: ‘we walk by faith, not by sight’. (2 Corinthians 5: 7) Paul looks ‘not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen’, and by faith he ‘sees’, beyond the temporary, the way that God has marked out. (2 Corinthians 4: 18) In our daily lives, we seek to see the world through eyes of faith.”

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that we might walk by faith
And so live for you
That our lives reflect the glory of God.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us the assurance that, as we walk by faith,
We are not alone
And that we walk in the company of your Son.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us the knowledge
That we walk in the company of your people
And in the community of your Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that we might see
The complexity of this world
Through eyes enlightened by faith.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us to see, by faith,
The image of God
In each life shaped by your hand.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Whose way is known to those who live by faith,
Grant us that, at the last,
We will come into your presence
And share in the life everlasting.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Minister: Katherine Taylor
Organist: Iain Mackinnon

Welcome & Intimations

Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 138)

Hymn 184 Sing to the Lord a joyful song – Reader, Tim Bell

Prayer of Approach ending with the Lord’s Prayer
First Thought
Hymn 189 Be still, for the presence of the Lord

Sermon
Choosing Family

Hymn 685 For everyone born a place at the table

Hymn 511 Your hand, O God, has guided
Reader, Tim Bell

Closing Voluntary
Praise his awful name Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

INTIMATIONS

Sunday Services

Services continue at 11 am. You are very welcome. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.

Opening the Church
The church building is open on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. If you have an hour to spare on either morning (it doesn’t have to be regularly), and would be like to be involved, please add your name to the rota in the church vestibule. 

Leith Churches Together – Jungle Adventure Holiday Club – outdoor activities, songs and Bible stories 
Park Road Park Edinburgh from 28 June to 2 July for P1-P6 with morning and afternoon sessions. Please book at tinyurl.com/3cjmyh88 before 19 June.

One Church for Leith Bible Study Group
Christianity and Climate Change
Monday Evenings by Zoom 7.30 to 8.30 pm
We are starting a new study on Monday 14^th June from the charity Tearfund. It is a series of nine short films, each lasting less than ten minutes, followed by discussion. We hope to discover more about what we can do as congregations to contribute to protecting the environment.
New members are very welcome. The Zoom link is available from Katherine KTaylor@churchofscotland.org.uk

Picture: Hands, all together
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

Prayer for this Sunday evening

“Over the past months, we might perhaps have been tempted to succumb to the frustration of a journey’s end delayed and to rather lose heart.

“As one who had journeyed and who continued to journey, the Apostle Paul was not unfamiliar with the challenges of doing so. In response to those whom he sensed were ready to succumb to frustration, Paul affirms the basis on which we should continue to journey and concludes: ‘Therefore we do not lose heart.’
“What is that basis? It is the assurance that the One who ‘raised the Lord Jesus from the dead’ will also raise us with Him and bring us into God’s presence. We share in the life of the risen Lord Jesus and the challenges we face on the journey are to be set in the light of this. We might not be there yet but, as we share in the life of the risen Lord Jesus, we are those who ‘do not lose heart’. (2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1)”

We pray:

Living God,
Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
Be with us on the journey before us.
Be with us when the path is smooth
And the horizon is clear.
Lead us on to the place of Your presence.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
Be with us on the journey before us.
Be with us when the path is broken
And the way obscured.
Still lead us on to the place of Your presence.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
Be with us on the journey before us.
Be with us as we face the challenges seen
And those as yet unseen.
In all we face, may Your abiding presence remain.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
Be with us on the journey.
Be with those who grow frustrated
And who feel disheartened.
Renew us that we may discover Your presence once more.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
Be with us on the journey.
Be with us that we might share
In the life of the Risen Lord
And the life everlasting in Your presence.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Trinity Sunday

Welcome and Call to Worship

Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 29)
The Lord of glory thunders over the waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty,
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord is enthroned as king forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people,
May the Lord bless his people with peace.

Hymn 111 Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty!

Prayer, Reading and Reflection

Scripture: John 3: 1-17 – Reader Ian Jameson

Reflection – The Invitation to Dance – Katherine Taylor

Hymn 606 – Lord, you sometimes speak in wonders

Prayers for the World

When you hear “Lord of Life“,
You reply “Hear our prayer“

Hymn 519 – Love Divine, all loves excelling

Blessing

May the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us all, now and for evermore.

 Amen.

Intimations

Sunday Services
Services continue at 11 am. You are very welcome. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.
See our website (northleithparishchurch.co.uk) for online worship.

Opening the Church
The church building is open on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. If you have an hour to spare on either morning (it doesn’t have to be regularly) and would be like to be involved, please add your name to the volunteer rota in the church vestibule.

Online Worship
At present our pre-recorded online worship is sent out by email on Saturday night and then goes up on the Church website. From today we are going to try recording worship in the church building on Sunday morning and post it on the website later on that day. We are not live streaming and we are not going to film the congregation. The camera will only film those leading worship at the Communion Table and at the lectern who are happy to be filmed. Some pews will be in camera view behind the lectern and if you usually sit in one of these pews and would prefer not to be filmed, please let the duty elders know and they will show you where to sit. A big thank you to Michelle Doig who has volunteered to do the filming. Michelle would welcome assistance and if you would like to help, please let the church office know.

Christian Aid Week
Many thanks to everyone who delivered envelopes and donated to our Christian Aid Week collection.
The total is £853. A great effort. Jimmy Hudson

Prayer for this Sunday evening
“The vision of the Lord offered by the prophet Isaiah is one in which the presence of the living God fills the Temple and we hear resounding from every corner the cry:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
The whole earth is full of His glory.’
“The Temple itself is shaken as the fullness of God’s presence is revealed. The prophet Isaiah can do no more than acknowledge who he is before God. Yet, even as he senses his own weakness, he hears the voice of the Lord calling: ‘Whom shall I send?’ In response, Isaiah says: ‘Here am I. Send me!’
“Today, in the midst of all we face, the fullness of the living God is made known to us in Creation and revealed through Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and by the Holy Spirit as our Sustainer. In our weakness, we also may hear the voice of the Lord calling: ‘Whom shall I send?’ In response, we also may say: ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

We pray:

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty;
Living God, may Your presence be known to us
Even in our weakness.
May we know You as Your presence is revealed
And as Your calling is renewed.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty;
Living God, may Your presence be known to us
In all the gifts of Creation.
May we receive these gifts as a sacred trust
And treasure all that You have given to us.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty;
Living God, may Your presence be known to us
In the One whom You have sent to redeem us.
May we share in the life of Christ
And in the life of the body of Christ.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty;
Living God, may Your presence be known to us
In the One whom You have poured out upon us.
May we be renewed by the Spirit
And share in the life the Spirit gives to us.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty;
Living God, may Your presence be known to us
In our worship in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
May You receive us as we are
And accept us in our weakness.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Pentecost Sunday

Welcome and Call to Worship

Call to Worship
(From Psalm 104)
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice in his works –
The Lord looks on the earth and it trembles,
The Lord touches the mountains and they smoke.
We will sing to the Lord as long as we live;
We will sing praise to our God while we have being.
We rejoice in the Lord.
Bless the Lord O our souls. Praise the Lord!

Hymn 489 – Come Down, O love divine

Scripture Reading – Acts 2:1-21
Reflection – The Sound of the Spirit – Katherine Taylor

Hymn 600 – Spirit of God, unseen as the wind

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

When you hear “Lord of Life” you say “Hear our Prayer“

Hymn 617 – Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose

Blessing

May the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us all, now and for evermore.

 Amen.

Closing Voluntary

Intimations

Sunday Services
Services continue at 11 am. You are very welcome. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.
See our website (northleithparishchurch.co.uk) for online worship.

Opening the Church
The church building is open again on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. If you have an hour to spare on either morning (it doesn’t have to be regularly) and would be like to be involved, please do add your name to the volunteer rota on the wall in the church vestibule.

Online Worship
At present our pre-recorded online worship is sent out by email on Saturday night and then goes up on the Church website. From 30th May, we are going to try recording worship in the church building on Sunday morning and post it on the website later on that day. We are not live streaming and we are not going to film the congregation. The camera will only film those leading worship at the Communion Table and at the lectern who are happy to be filmed. Some pews will be in camera view behind the lectern and if you usually sit in one of these pews and would prefer not to be filmed, please let the duty elders know and they will show you where to sit. A big thank you to Michelle Doig who has volunteered to do the filming. Michelle would welcome assistance and if you would like to help, please let the church office know.

Pictures
Kossowski, Adam. Veni Sancti Spiritus, Pentecost from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, Holy Spirit at Pentecost Stained Glass Holy Spirit  and The Holy Bible

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Welcome and Call to Worship

(Based on Psalm 1)
The Lord gives us the way to live,
Happy are those who delight in the law of the Lord;
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
They yield their fruit in its season,
Their leaves do not wither,
In all that they do, they prosper;
The Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
Happy are those who delight in the law of the Lord;
Let us praise and worship the Lord.

Hymn 200 – Christ is made the sure foundation

Prayer of Approach, Reading and Reflection

Scripture – John 17: 6-19 – Reader, Mark Cooper
Reflection – The Protection of Prayer – Katherine Taylor

Hymn 782 Lord of Life, we come to you

Prayers for the World

When you hear “Lord of Life”
You respond with “Hear our prayer“

Hymn 252 – As a fire is meant for burning

Closing Voluntary

Intimations

Sunday Services
Services continue at 11 am. You are very welcome. Please remember that restrictions are still in place; please arrive by 10:55 at the latest.
See our website (northleithparishchurch.co.uk) for online worship.

Opening the Church
The church building is open again on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. If you have an hour to spare on either morning (it doesn’t have to be regularly) and would be like to be involved, please do add your name to the volunteer rota on the wall in the church vestibule.

Online Worship
At present our pre-recorded online worship is sent out by email on Saturday night and then goes up on the Church website. From 30th May, we are going to try recording worship in the church building on Sunday morning and post it on the website later on that day. We are not live streaming and we are not going to film the congregation. The camera will only film those leading worship at the Communion Table and at the lectern who are happy to be filmed. Some pews will be in camera view behind the lectern and if you usually sit in one of these pews and would prefer not to be filmed, please let the duty elders know and they will show you where to sit. A big thank you to Michelle Doig who has volunteered to do the filming. Michelle would welcome assistance and if you would like to help, please let the church office know.

Christian Aid Week, 10 – 16 May 2021
Many thanks to those who have helped deliver envelopes and those who have brought back filled envelopes today.

Picture: Jesus Praying
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

Prayer for this Sunday evening

“Jesus prays for those who follow Him. It can be put no more simply or profoundly: Jesus prays for those who follow Him. In the Gospel of John, we see that Jesus prays for those who have been His followers and disciples and He does so as He comes to the end of His earthly ministry.
“Jesus has given to His followers all that He has received from the Father and now He must leave them to live in the world as witnesses to the truth.
“In the light of this, Jesus prays for them and asks for their protection: ‘And now I am no longer in the world… Holy Father, protect them in Your name that You have given me, so that they may be one, as We are one.’ (John 17: 6-19)
“We pray, in the light of the Ascension of our Lord and in anticipation of the gift of the Holy Spirit, with the assurance that as we do so; Jesus prays for us. As we come nearer, we trust, to the end of the restrictions that have characterised these past months, we pray in the knowledge that Jesus continues to pray for those who follow Him in this world.”

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You for all that we have received from Your Hand.
We thank You for the life You have given to us
And Your presence with us in all we face.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You for all that we have received from Your Son.
We thank You that He has prayed for us
And that He continues to uphold us in all we face.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You that You watch over us and protect us.
Watch over us as we continue the journey we have taken in past months
And protect us in days to come.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You that You watch over and protect this world.
Watch over us as we give thanks for the gift of Creation
And enable us to better care for the world You have entrusted to us.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You that Your Son is Risen and Ascended.
We join with the community of all Your people
And anticipate the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank You that Your Risen and Ascended Son prays for us still.
We join with all Your people in every place
And ask that You might renew us by Your Holy Spirit.
Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer

Christian Aid Sunday

Call to Worship

Call to Worship

O sing to the Lord a new song
Sing to the Lord, all the Earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations
His marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.

Hymn 181 For the Beauty of the Earth

Prayer of Approach, Reading and Reflection

Scripture Reader – Tim Bell Reflection – Katherine Taylor

Prayer of Approach
Come and celebrate our common home
we gather with the family of humanity.
With the mountains, islands and deserts
we honour the glory of God in creation.
With the lakes, rivers and seas
we come to the source of living water.
With the land, its soil, seeds and sustenance
we give thanks for God’s generous provision.
With the forests of great trees, the lungs of the planet
we will sing with joy and clap our hands.
We join with the whole of creation, inspired by those who have gone before and the prophetic voices of today.

Hymn 798 The Peace of the Earth

The peace of the earth be with you,
the peace of the heavens too;
the peace of the rivers be with you,
the peace of the oceans too.
Deep peace falling over you;
God’s peace growing in you.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer

Hymn 188 Thou hidden Love of God

Blessing

Closing Voluntary

If ye love me Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)

Intimations

Sunday Services

One Church for Leith Bible Study

The Bible study continues on Monday evenings from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm by Zoom. You are very welcome. The link to join is the same as before, contact the church office if you need it.

Opening the Church

The church building will be open again on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 10am and 12 noon to welcome anyone who would like a quiet space to be in. If you have an hour to spare on either morning (it doesn’t have to be regularly) and would be like to be involved, please do add your name to the volunteer rota on the wall in the church vestibule.

Christian Aid Week, 10 – 16 May 2021

Last year the lockdown took us by surprise and we were unable to carry on fund raising as usual during Christian Aid Week.
This year Christian Aid has provided an option to make things easier. There will still be envelopes, but all we need to do is deliver them. If the person receiving an envelope wishes to make a donation they will be invited to return it to the church office or make a donation online, whichever they prefer.
To make things easier we will only deliver to homes that have an easily accessible letter box.
If you would be willing to deliver 100 or so to a street or two in the parish please let me know after church or email me at hudsonz@blueyonder.co.uk
Many thanks, Jimmy Hudson

Christian Aid Week Prayer

Great God,
Who makes the sun to rise, and opens the heavens,
Hear the cry of the people
Who sow in hope for rain, but reap only despair,
Hear the cry of the people
Seeking shelter from the storm, their hopes and homes submerged
Hear the cry of the people.
When creation is hitting back, with rage and resistance
Give us hope, grant us salvation,
Give us a new relationship with creation
With reverence to tend this gift from You
And say once again of the earth and all you created
It is GOOD.

(Rev. Bob Kikuyu, Christian Aid Global Theology Advisor, Nairobi, Kenya)

Photos

Kate Holt/Africa Practice, Water Ripples, Drinking Water