SOCIALLY ISOLATED SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED 12 July 2020 Sea Sunday St. Mary’s worship today includes a said service of Holy Communion at 10am in Church. It also includes a Liturgy of Empty Hands on-line, with specially recorded music to enrich your experience of worship. The readings, prayers and sermon for the day are all included below, as is the full order of service for the Liturgy of Empty Hands. Both the Liturgy and the sermon can be watched on YouTube. Collect Saving God, entering the flood and storm of chaos and confusion: speak peace to our fearful hearts that we might find our faith in him whose word brings rest to all creation; through Jesus Christ, lord of wind and wave. Psalm 107.23-32 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity. They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress; he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. Let them extol him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders. Mark 4: 35-41. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Sermon by the Rector Sea Sunday is the day in which many Christian churches around the world set aside to give thanks for those who live and work at sea. It is a day of remembrance, prayer and celebration. It is an opportunity to give thanks those who work tirelessly throughout the year bringing us goods, and to giving thanks for those who keep our seas safe. It is fitting on Sea Sunday to bring this celebration into this part of church. This area between the tower room and the chancel is called the nave, a word that comes from the Latin navis, meaning ship. It’s called the nave because the Church has so often been imagined to be like a ship, with Christ at the helm. That’s why the ceilings over the nave are often vaulted, with exposed wooden beams designed to resemble a ship’s keel. In some churches this imagery is pushed even further, and the pulpit inside the nave are made to look like a bow of the ship. These images, these architectural features, remind us that we are all kept afloat by the love of God. During this pandemic, when we’ve been asked to make sacrifices, we’ve been reminded that we can face that bravely because “We’re all in the same boat”. But that is patently untrue. We are all in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat. Some of us are spending lockdown in dinghies, some on private yachts. Some of you, I know, are in just treading water holding onto a splintered plank. That’s why it is so important that we care for our neighbours, acting with their needs in mind, and advocating for those who are most vulnerable. That’s why as Christians, we keep praying for and providing help to those who are treading water. The words of the Liturgy of Empty Hands, which we’ve been praying at home and on-line during lockdown, are of our time, but the Liturgy itself has a long history. In medieval devotions, it was known as the Missa sicca (Latin for “dry Mass”). It is a service of holy communion with no bread, wine or water. This form of devotion stretches back to the crusades, where it was used by seafaring knights on their travels to Jerusalem. Not willing to risk the chance of spilling the sacrament in rough weather or, worse, of anyone being sick after consuming it, priests would forgo the consecration when they were celebrating the Mass on the high seas. The Missa sicca, was in essence, a mass you could take part in when you were about to be sick! As we begin to open this nave, this ship of faith, we must remember that there are those who have not yet been gathered in from the storm, those who are still treading water clinging only to planks and debris within reach. We must therefore continue to throw out lifelines to those who need to shield, to those for whom it is not yet safe to receive communion on deck. By staying connected - to each other and to Christ - we will weather this storm together. Amen. Intercessions Gracious God, today, on Sea Sunday, we offer our prayers for those whose lives are affected by the sea. We pray for people whose work takes them to sea: for those in the different branches of the navy, and especially for those on HMS Chiddingfold; for those who transport goods by ship, and particularly for seafarers whose contract period has had to be extended because of COVID- 19 restrictions; for those in the coast guard, the lifeboat service and air-sea rescue. We give thanks for the beauty of the sea, and pray for those working tirelessly to protect our marine environment from rubbish, poison and rising temperatures. We pray for those who are hoping to go on holiday to the seaside, that you would keep them safe on beaches and in the sea and bring them back refreshed. As we recall how God has made the storm be still and hushed the waves of the sea, we pray for all who are navigating rough waters right now. We pray for those affected by the floods in Japan, especially those who have lost their lives; for refugees fleeing conflict in unseaworthy vessels; for those whose jobs are under threat; for those weighed down with anxiety or struggling with depression. We pray for all who are sick, and ask that they may experience God’s healing presence. And we pray for those who have died, that they may rest in peace and rise in glory. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus who called fishermen to be his friends and who preached from a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Amen. What’s Happening in the Week Ahead? St. Mary’s is open! Tuesday 14 July 14:00 – 17:00 Saturday 18 July 10:00 – 13:00 St. Mary’s is open as a sacred space in the very heart of the village, where you are able to come and sit, light a candle and pray. In the week ahead, evening prayer (Tuesday 5pm) and morning prayer (Saturday 9am) and will be offered in church as well as on-line. We encourage you to join us on-line or in person, knowing that you do so in solidarity with the clergy and with parishioners all across the village. This is intended to be the last Liturgy of Empty Hands, as we are refreshing our on-line worship offerings. Next Sunday on 19 July, we hope to live stream the 10am service of holy communion in church for those who cannot be there in person. Livestreaming presents quite a few technical challenges so do pray for all involved in these efforts! Details will be available in the newsletter. On Wednesdays at 1 pm, we invite you to pause and pray for the created world, with special resources and suggestions available on our Facebook page and over email; if you would like to help raise consciousness about our environment and contribute to the Eco Church “Pause and Pray” offerings, please contact [email protected]. More resources are being uploaded to St. Mary’s FB, YouTube channel and website every day, so you to have all that you need to stay spiritually connected even while physically isolated. .