Appin and Lismore
4th march 2007
reflections
murdoch mackenzie
Bristol Friday 13th November 2009
Hope for the world – Iona Community
In quietness and darkness, in peace and confusion,
Jesus Christ wants to make his home and meet his friends.
He is the light of life: He is the hope for the world.
In him there is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant:All are one in Jesus Christ.
He is the Light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither black nor white,
neither north nor south: All are one in Jesus Christ.
He is the light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither male nor female,
neither master nor servant: All are one in Jesus Christ
He is the light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither rich nor poor,
neither middle class nor working class: All are one in Jesus Christ
He is the light of life: He is the hope for the world.
Reflection – Readings and Prayers
‘Not Strangers but Pilgrims’
(we pray together)
Lord God, we thank you
for calling us into the company
of those who trust in Christ
and seek to obey his will.
May your Spirit guide and strengthen us
in mission and service to your world;
for we are strangers no longer
But pilgrims together on the way to your Kingdom.
Amen
A Hymn of Unity
Tune: Song 1
O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray
that all thy Church might be for ever one,
grant us at every Eucharist to say
with longing heart and soul, "thy will be done."
O may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
For all thy Church, O Lord, we intercede;
make thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
draw us the nearer each to each, we plead,
by drawing all to thee, O Prince of Peace;
thus may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
We pray thee too for wanderers from thy fold;
O bring them back, good Shepherd of the sheep,
back to the faith which saints believed of old,
back to the Church which still that faith doth keep;
soon may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
may we be one with all thy Church above,
one with thy saints in one unbroken peace,
one with thy saints in one unbounded love;
more blessèd still, in peace and love to be
one with the Trinity in Unity.
William Henry Turton (1856-1938)
(slightly adapted)
Hope for the world – Iona Community
In quietness and darkness, in peace and confusion,
Jesus Christ wants to make his home and meet his friends.
He is the light of life: He is the hope for the world.
In him there is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant:All are one in Jesus Christ.
He is the Light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither black nor white,
neither north nor south: All are one in Jesus Christ.
He is the light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither male nor female,
neither master nor servant: All are one in Jesus Christ
He is the light of life: He is the hope of the world.
In him there is neither rich nor poor,
neither middle class nor working class: All are one in Jesus Christ
He is the light of life: He is the hope for the world.
Reflection – Readings and Prayers
‘Not Strangers but Pilgrims’
(we pray together)
Lord God, we thank you
for calling us into the company
of those who trust in Christ
and seek to obey his will.
May your Spirit guide and strengthen us
in mission and service to your world;
for we are strangers no longer
But pilgrims together on the way to your Kingdom.
Amen
A Hymn of Unity
Tune: Song 1
O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray
that all thy Church might be for ever one,
grant us at every Eucharist to say
with longing heart and soul, "thy will be done."
O may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
For all thy Church, O Lord, we intercede;
make thou our sad divisions soon to cease;
draw us the nearer each to each, we plead,
by drawing all to thee, O Prince of Peace;
thus may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
We pray thee too for wanderers from thy fold;
O bring them back, good Shepherd of the sheep,
back to the faith which saints believed of old,
back to the Church which still that faith doth keep;
soon may we all one Bread, one Body be,
through thy blest Sacrament of unity.
So, Lord, at length when sacraments shall cease,
may we be one with all thy Church above,
one with thy saints in one unbroken peace,
one with thy saints in one unbounded love;
more blessèd still, in peace and love to be
one with the Trinity in Unity.
William Henry Turton (1856-1938)
(slightly adapted)
A prayer from Ian Fraser
Lord God,
whose Son was content to die to bring new life,
have mercy on your church which will do anything you ask,
anything at all, except die and be reborn.
A Prayer from the Philippines
Lord, in these times,
when we fear we are losing hope,
or feel that our efforts are futile,
let us see in our hearts and minds the image of your resurrection,
and let that be our source of courage and strength.
With that, and in your company, help us to face challenges and struggles
against all that is born of injustice.
A Prayer from Eddie Askew
Lord Christ,
you are the still centre of every storm.
In you is calm, whatever the wind outside.
In you is reassurance, however high the waves.
In you is strength, however contrary the tide.
From the British Churches ‘Swanwick Declaration, 4th September , 1987
It is our conviction that, as a matter of policy at all levels and in all places, our churches must now move from cooperation to clear commitment to each other, in search of the unity for which Christ prayed and in common evangelism and service of the world.
From ‘Gathered and Scattered’ Meditations from the Iona Community
Brooks Atkinson once said: ‘I have no objection to churches so long as they do not interfere with God’s work.’ Or as Jesus once said: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.’
God’s work is not about Presbyterianism, Catholicisim, Methodism, Calvinism, Evangelicalism, Ecumenism, Anglicanism, Congregationalism or any of the other ‘isms’ to which so many of us seem to be attached. It is about unity and reconciliation and peace so that the world may believe.
The Ecumenical Movement did not begin in Edinburgh in 1910. It began in an Upper Room in Jerusalem when Jesus prayed for the church: ‘I do not pray for these only but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that that you have sent me.’
A Prayer from the Swedish Church
Lord we thank you, for all the light, grace and life
seen and known in the church which nurtured us.
Yet we pray that we may be set free from narrow mindedness and complacency.
Open our eyes that we may recognise the work of your Spirit
Among other people and under different forms.
And should we yet walk in some things on separate ways, then present before us the common goal towards which we travel.
From Hans Kung
There will be no peace among the peoples of this world without peace among the world religions.
There will be no peace among the world religions without peace among the Christian churches.
The community of the church is an integral part of the world community.
Lord God,
whose Son was content to die to bring new life,
have mercy on your church which will do anything you ask,
anything at all, except die and be reborn.
A Prayer from the Philippines
Lord, in these times,
when we fear we are losing hope,
or feel that our efforts are futile,
let us see in our hearts and minds the image of your resurrection,
and let that be our source of courage and strength.
With that, and in your company, help us to face challenges and struggles
against all that is born of injustice.
A Prayer from Eddie Askew
Lord Christ,
you are the still centre of every storm.
In you is calm, whatever the wind outside.
In you is reassurance, however high the waves.
In you is strength, however contrary the tide.
From the British Churches ‘Swanwick Declaration, 4th September , 1987
It is our conviction that, as a matter of policy at all levels and in all places, our churches must now move from cooperation to clear commitment to each other, in search of the unity for which Christ prayed and in common evangelism and service of the world.
From ‘Gathered and Scattered’ Meditations from the Iona Community
Brooks Atkinson once said: ‘I have no objection to churches so long as they do not interfere with God’s work.’ Or as Jesus once said: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.’
God’s work is not about Presbyterianism, Catholicisim, Methodism, Calvinism, Evangelicalism, Ecumenism, Anglicanism, Congregationalism or any of the other ‘isms’ to which so many of us seem to be attached. It is about unity and reconciliation and peace so that the world may believe.
The Ecumenical Movement did not begin in Edinburgh in 1910. It began in an Upper Room in Jerusalem when Jesus prayed for the church: ‘I do not pray for these only but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that that you have sent me.’
A Prayer from the Swedish Church
Lord we thank you, for all the light, grace and life
seen and known in the church which nurtured us.
Yet we pray that we may be set free from narrow mindedness and complacency.
Open our eyes that we may recognise the work of your Spirit
Among other people and under different forms.
And should we yet walk in some things on separate ways, then present before us the common goal towards which we travel.
From Hans Kung
There will be no peace among the peoples of this world without peace among the world religions.
There will be no peace among the world religions without peace among the Christian churches.
The community of the church is an integral part of the world community.
