Welland Fosse Group of Churches

SERVICE TO COMMEMORATE QUEEN ELIZABETH 11

SUNDAY 11^TH SEPTEMBER 2022

Introduction

We meet here to remember before God our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth 11, to renew our trust and confidence in Christ and to pray that together we may be one. We meet in the presence of God

Who knows our needs,

hears our cries,

feels our pain

 and heals our  wounds.

Hymn: 606 Thy hand, O God has guided  (omit v. 2)

1 Your hand, O God, has guided
your flock from age to age;
your faithfulness is written
on history’s open page.
Our fathers owned your goodness,
and we their deeds record;
and both to this bear witness:
one church, one faith, one Lord!

 

3 Your mercy will not fail us
nor leave your work undone;
with your right hand to help us
the vict’ry shall be won.
And then by earth and heaven
your name shall be adored;
and this shall be our anthem:
one church, one faith, one Lord!

Hear these words of comfort which the Lord our God offers to all in trouble and distress:

Isaiah 43. 2-3a

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.

Romans 8. 38-39

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.

Lighting of the candle

We light this candle to remind us that when God the Father raised Jesus from the dead he defeated the power of death and his light shines in the midst of the darkness of this world.

The Lord is my light and my salvation

The Lord is the strength of my life

The Lord is my light and my salvation

The Lord is the strength of my life

The light shines in the darkness

And the darkness has not overcome it

The Lord is the strength of my life

Glory to the Father and to the Son

And to the Holy Spirit

The Lord is my light and my salvation

The Lord is the strength of my life

Hymn: 517  Loving shepherd of thy sheep

Loving Shepherd of thy sheep,
keep us all, in safety keep;
nothing can thy power withstand,
none can pluck us from thy hand.

Loving Savior, thou didst give
thine own life that we might live,
bought with blood and bought for thee,
thine, and only thine, we’d be.

We would praise thee every day,
gladly all thy will obey,
like thy blessèd ones above
happy in thy precious love.

Loving Shepherd, ever near,
teach us all thy voice to hear,
suffer not our steps to stray
from the straight and narrow way.

Where thou leadest we would go,
walking in thy steps below,
till before our Father’s throne
we shall know as we are known.

Confession: God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.

As we acknowledge our human frailty we call to mind our sins of word, deed and omission and confess them before God our Father.

Silence

Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy.

Absolution: May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins and assure us of His eternal love, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

1^st Reading: Revelation ch 21 v 1-7

Then I 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. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ 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;
⁴ 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.’

⁵ 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.’ ⁶ 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. ⁷ Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Hymn: 453 Great is thy faithfulness

2^nd Reading: Luke ch 15 v 1-10

 Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

⁸ ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins,^[a] if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

Talk

Since the sad news on Thursday of the death of our Queen, the number of words used to describe her have been legion. Reading some of those words many appear constantly: devotion, love, faith, faithful, servant, service, dedication. There are many things which she did for others that we will never know about.

Perhaps those of you who listened to Saturday Live yesterday with Reverend Richard Coles heard the story from Terry Waite. When he returned from Beirut after five years as a hostage in solitary confinement it was very difficult for him and his family to begin to live a normal life again, especially with the media being a constant in their lives. He received an invitation from the Queen to stay at Balmoral. The family was given the loan of a cottage on the estate and the use of a Land Rover for  as long as they needed so that they could begin to rebuild family life, with the offer of any other practical help they required.

We have seen the Queen’s lovely sense of humour. Will we ever forget when Paddington Bear had tea with her and the Queen produced her marmalade sandwich! We always did want to know what she had in her handbag! There is a story told of a time she was in Balmoral and met some American tourists. She was accompanied by a bodyguard on a picnic near Balmoral Castle when they ran into the tourists, who were on holiday in the area. The bodyguard says:

“The Queen would always stop and say hello … it was clear from the moment we first stopped they hadn’t recognized [her],”

So the American tourists started making small talk with the queen before asking her if she lived in the area.

“She said, ‘Well, I live in London, but I’ve got a holiday home just the other side of the hills.’”

One tourist then asked the queen how long she had been visiting the area, and the queen replied, “‘Ever since I was a little girl, so over 80 years’” Griffin, the bodyguard, recalled.

That’s when curiosity apparently struck the Americans.

“‘Well, if you’ve been coming up for 80 years, you must have met the queen?’” one of them asked her.

Without missing a beat, the queen replied, “Well, I haven’t, but Dickie here meets her regularly,’” referring to Griffin by a nickname.

The bodyguard then said the tourist turned to him and asked him what she was like.

And it seems Dickie was feeling a bit mischievous as well and followed the queen’s lead.

“‘She can be very cantankerous at times, but she’s got a lovely sense of humour,’” Griffin said he told the tourist.

Still oblivious to the fact he was in the presence of royalty, the tourist threw his arm around the bodyguard and put his camera into the queen’s hand, asking if she’d mind taking a photo of the two of them. The queen obliged.

The tourists then took a snap with her as well and went on their way.

Griffin remembered that once the tourists were out of earshot, the queen turned to him and said:

“‘I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to friends in America. Hopefully, someone tells him who I am.’”

We have seen how she has continued doing her duty when she would probably rather have stayed at home with her feet up instead of having to face people. We remember the year she named ‘annus horribilis’ with her family in turmoil and the fire at Windsor but she still did all that was required of her.

But our queen had a deep relationship with Christ. There is a book for which she wrote the Forward called ‘The Servant Queen and the King She Served’. Quoting from it:

“I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God. I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian Gospel.”

In one of her Christmas broadcasts she said:  “For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.”

Our Gospel reading was the set one for today and I decided not to change it. It speaks about the lost sheep and how the shepherd went seeking it. We are all feeling a bit lost and perhaps apprehensive about the future but God is in overall charge and will find us and will lead us as he led our Queen throughout her life.

The reading from Revelation states ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth… when  God himself will be with them;
⁴ he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

The old order in our country has passed and a new one has begun. For the Queen her final home has been reached and she has met with the King she served so faithfully throughout her life. We remember the words of Jesus, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant’. As those words are said to Queen Elizabeth 11 may we live our lives serving the King she served so that we too may hear those words said to each one of us. Amen.

Liturgy of Thanksgiving

As we mourn the death of Elizabeth our Queen, let us give thanks to God in faith and hope.

For the gift of Jesus Christ and for all whose devotion to him has sustained the life of our Church and nation

Let us bless the Lord

Thanks be to God

For her late majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 and all the Royal family; for the ministers of the Crown and all who bear the privilege and burden of government

Let us bless the Lord

Thanks be to God

For all people touched by Queen Elizabeth’s devotion to public service.

Let us bless the Lord

Thanks be to God

For our own lives, giving thanks for all those who have gone before and asking that we might go forward with confidence and hope.

Let us bless the Lord

Thanks be to God

O God, in whom  we live and move and have our being, grant that your goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, that we may ever trust in your unfailing love, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

A Prayer for those who mourn

Father of all mercies and God of all consolation, you pursue us with untiring love and dispel the shadow of death with the bright dawn of life. Give courage to the Royal Family in their loss and sorrow. Be their refuge and strength, O Lord; reassure them of your continuing love and lift them from the depths of grief into the peace and light of your presence. Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ by dying has destroyed our death and by rising restored our life. Your Holy Spirit, our comforter, speaks for us in groans too deep for words. Come alongside your people, remind them of your eternal presence and give them your strength and comfort. Amen.

A Prayer for the new King

Lord God, you provide for your people by your power and rule over them in love. Grant to your servant our King Charles 111 the Spirit of wisdom and discernment, that being devoted to you with his whole heart, he may so wisely govern that in his time we may live in safety and in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord;
and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Let us say together the prayer Christ taught us

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.

 

Hymn: 478 In heavenly love abiding

1 In heavenly love abiding,
no change my heart shall fear;
and safe is such confiding,
for nothing changes here:
the storm may roar without me,
my heart may low be laid;
but God is round about me,
and can I be dismayed?

2 Wherever he may guide me,
no want shall turn me back;
my Shepherd is beside me,
and nothing can I lack:
his wisdom ever waketh,
his sight is never dim,
he knows the way he taketh,
and I will walk with him.

3 Green pastures are before me,
which yet I have not seen;
bright skies will soon be o’er me,
where darkest clouds have been;
my hope I cannot measure,
my path to life is free;
my Saviour has my treasure,
and he will walk with me.

Blessing

May God give to you and to all those you love

his comfort and his peace,

his light and his joy,

in this world and the next;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be upon you and remain with you always.

 

National Anthem

God save our gracious King,

Long live our noble King,

God save the King.

Send him victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us:

God save the King.

 

Thy choicest gifts in store

On him be pleased to pour,

Long may he reign.

May he defend our laws,

And give us ever cause,

To sing with heart and voice,

God save the King.

 

 

 

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord

In the name of Christ

Amen.