大象传媒

PLEASE NOTE: This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.听

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events

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O/A from R4 Con

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大象传媒 Radio 4.听 Faith and Transformation鈥� is the theme for Sunday Worship which comes live from the parish church of St. Arvans, near Chepstow in Monmouthshire.听听 The leader is Fr. Mark Zorab.听 The service is introduced by the preacher Fr. Michael Gollop, and begins with the hymn 鈥淐hrist is the King, O friends rejoice鈥�

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ITEM 1听 HYMN听听 CHOIR/CONG/ORGAN听听 DUR:

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ITEM 2听 INTRODUCTION听听听FR. MICHAEL GOLLOP 听听

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Welcome to the parish of St Arvans. We are a small community at the lower end of the Wye Valley. There鈥檚 been a Christian community and a Church on this site since well before the ninth century; tradition says our patron saint was a Celtic hermit who lived and gave witness to Christ here on the banks of the River Wye.

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As we gather for worship this morning our hearts go out to the people of South Africa, keeping vigil for Nelson Mandela.

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Today we celebrate the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, apostles of Christ, sent to proclaim the Good News, without whose witness we wouldn鈥檛 be here today; Peter, chosen by the Lord to be the leader of the flock, the rock, on whose confession of faith the Church is established; Paul chosen to take the Gospel to the ends of the known world; both of whom, by giving their lives for their master, made the supreme act of love and faith to the person of the Risen Christ.

We pray that, aided by their prayers and their example of holiness, we too, with courage and faith, may follow the Lord in all that we say and do and are.

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ITEM 3听 COLLECT听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK ZORAB

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Let us pray.

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul

glorified you in their death as in their life:

grant that your Church, inspired by their teaching and example,

and made one by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation,

Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN

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ITEM 4 听听 LINK INTO ANTHEM听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK

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The Anthem by Mendelssohn takes up the theme:

鈥淗ow lovely are the messengers that preach us the gospel of peace! To all the nations is gone forth the sound of their words.鈥�

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ITEM 5 ANTHEM:听听听听听听听听听听听 CHOIR / ORGAN 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 DUR:

How lovely are the Messengers.听听

Mendelssohn听

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ITEM 6听 READING 1

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A reading attributed to St. Paul in the second letter to Timothy, chapter 4 beginning at Verse 6.听 [4; 6 - 8; 17 - 18]

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As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion鈥檚 mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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Reader/听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This is the Word of the Lord听听

Response / 听听听听听听听 Thanks be to God

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ITEM 7听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 LINK听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK

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Based on an ancient monastic text from Ireland, the hymn, Be Thou my Vision, speaks of a wholehearted commitment to God.

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ITEM 8听 HYMN听听 CHOIR/CONG/ORGAN听听 DUR:

听Be Thou My Vision

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ITEM 9. GOSPEL READING听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK听

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 16 beginning at verse 13.听听听听

[16. 13 - 19]

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R/ Glory to you, O Lord

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When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 鈥榃ho do people say that the Son of Man is?鈥� And they said, 鈥楽ome say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.鈥� He said to them, 鈥楤ut who do you say that I am?鈥� Simon Peter answered, 鈥榊ou are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.鈥� And Jesus answered him, 鈥楤lessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.鈥�

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This is the Gospel of the Lord:听听

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R/听 Praise be to thee, O Christ.

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ITEM 10听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ADDRESS PART 1听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MICHAEL

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A question lies at the very heart of today鈥檚 celebration 鈥� a question directed to all of us.听 Questions can be difficult to cope with, they听听 challenge us, they stretch us and sometimes force us to deal with things we would rather not contemplate.

The answers, too, can be surprising.

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I remember a few years ago while taking part in a parish mission having to introduce a group of Franciscans to a local school assembly. I made the mistake of asking the crowd of children 鈥� who do you think these people are?

鈥楳onks鈥� came back the answer and then I made the fatal error 鈥� 鈥榳ell鈥�. maybe, but what sort of monks. 鈥楥hipmunks鈥� came an anonymous voice from the back of the hall. It broke the ice certainly, but I鈥檓 not sure we quite recovered our equilibrium, or the head teacher from his embarrassment.听听听 It wasn鈥檛 the answer we had been expecting 鈥� and not in a good way.

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Quite unlike the response Peter gives to Jesus when in the Gospel reading the apostles are asked the most challenging question of all. Jesus begins by making a general enquiry about what people are saying about him and after receiving an answer puts them on the spot by asking them 鈥榶es, but who do you say that I am? One can imagine each of them looking around at one another 鈥� What do I say? What do I think?

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And it鈥檚 Peter, in some ways the most unlikely candidate, who comes out with the profound answer 鈥� it comes from the heart 鈥榊ou are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.Peter, the impulsive fisherman, rash to the point of recklessness, slow to catch on, someone who learns the lessons of faith, like most of us do, the hard way, produces the confession of faith which Jesus was looking for but hardly expects.

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So too, Paul, called to be an apostle by a dramatic vision of the Risen Christ is also perhaps an unlikely candidate. An intellectual, a scholar, someone driven by his understanding of the religious tradition to be a persecutor of the infant Christian Church. Yet, his experience is in many ways similar; while travelling on the road to Damascus, he is thrown to the ground by a vision of the Risen Christ, who demands of him, 鈥淪aul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?鈥澨� His response is to dedicate his whole life to the service of the one who calls him. The Lord鈥檚 voice is asking the same question as he asked Peter; 鈥淪o, who do you say that I am鈥�

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And it鈥檚 clear that in response to the answer of both men, the Lord tells them who they are. Simon becomes Peter, the Rock, the leader of the apostles; Saul becomes Paul, the bringer of the Gospel message to the nations of the world.

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Who do you say that I am?听听 It鈥檚 the one vital question addressed to us all.听听 We celebrate these two Saints today 鈥� together - despite their differences in gifts and temperament.听 鈥� because in their varying ways the Church is founded on their response. They witnessed to their Lord tirelessly, unceasingly, until they were both called to give their lives as martyrs in the same city, the imperial city of Rome,

probably within a year of one another.

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But there鈥檚 much more to this apostolic double-act even than听 a matter of geography. The Church needs both Peter and Paul.听听 Like Peter we need to hold on to what Christ taught, and how the apostles themselves, our human link to the Risen Lord, understood what he did, that he was God incarnate and that his coming among us is of supreme importance for our understanding of God himself and of ourselves as human beings.

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And like Paul, we have to emphasise that the Church exists for the proclamation of the faith; that the Church鈥檚 task is always to go out to the various cultures and societies of the world and proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection fearlessly and boldly. We need Peter and we need Paul as reminders to us all of the Church鈥檚 two-fold task - to hand on authentically what was received from the Lord and the need to preach and teach and convert and not to be afraid.听 We need their example and their prayers in all the challenges Christians have to face in today鈥檚 world.

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We need Peter & Paul to set before us the breath-taking reality that Jesus of Nazareth, is truly the Son of the Living God; and that he has established a community of friends who are, by their communion with him, adopted sons and daughters of God.听听 We are all called into this living personal friendship with Christ.

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ITEM 11听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ANTHEM: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 CHOIR / ORGAN听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

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Ralph Vaughan Williams:听 鈥楾he Call鈥�

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ITEM 12听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ADDRESS Part 2 FR. MICHAEL

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A setting of George Herbert鈥檚 The Call from Five Mystical Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams.听

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The lives of both Peter and Paul were utterly transformed by their encounter with Jesus. They were both called, both 鈥渃onverted鈥� and this conversion, as it does for all of us, continues throughout their lives as part of their growth in knowledge of God and their service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both were transformed by a personal encounter with the living Lord.

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I suppose we could say that St Paul鈥檚 experience falls more neatly into what we might call these days the category of a 鈥榗onversion experience鈥� 鈥� sudden dramatic, life-changing.

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I know of a friend who, while working abroad in South America, went into the office very early one morning and in the stillness before the beginning of the working day had an encounter with the living God so profound that it changed his life for ever.听听 My own experience is that, having rejected the faith as a teenager, through a series of chance meetings and loaned books, I came to a similar realisation of the reality of God while clearing snow on a cold and brilliantly starlit night. Everything fell into place.

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But people come to Christ in different ways 鈥� for some of us it can be dramatic, earth-shattering, instantly transforming, but the call can also come through a life lived in the company of the Risen Lord, gradually, hesitatingly, stumblingly, - as the grace of God, and the need for his mercy and forgiveness become part of who we are.

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The two Apostles we celebrate today handed on the faith that has been lived down the centuries and across the nations. This is the same faith that we try to live each day.听听 Yet however we come to hear that essential question 鈥� who do you say that I am? - we are called to a constant and ongoing conversion of mind and heart.

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It would be easy to say that we know the answer, or even that the question isn鈥檛 directed at us at all, because of the clear witness of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. But Christ never really asks us for a ready-made answer, for a formula, however tried and tested, which is not also part of who we are; he asks us what we ourselves believe about him.

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The Italian saint, Philip Neri said that he was converted to Christ, not just once but every morning of every day and that has to be true for all of us who live in friendship with Christ.

Who do you say that I am鈥︹��?

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ITEM 13听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ANTHEM: 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 CHOIR / ORGAN听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 DUR:

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Stanford: Justorum Animae

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ITEM 14听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 BACKLINK听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MICHAEL

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Stanford鈥檚 Justorum Animae:

鈥楾he souls of the just are in the hand of God,

and the torment of death shall not touch them.鈥�

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ITEM 15听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 INTERCESSIONS 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MICHAEL

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The Lord Jesus built his Church on the faith of the Apostles. United with them, in fidelity to the Gospel's teaching and way of life, we now present our needs to God our heavenly Father.

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READER听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK

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For all bishops and those who share with them in the apostolic ministry, for all Christian leaders, that they may share the faith and zeal of Ss Peter and Paul and lead us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to increased understanding and unity

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

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For all who, like the apostles, are persecuted for their belief in today鈥檚 world, and for each of us, that we may be faithful when we are ridiculed or insulted for practicing our faith, we pray to

the Lord

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

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For the poor and the oppressed, and those who live in war-torn parts of the world, especially for the people of Syria & Egypt.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

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"For the people of South Africa as they pray for (their critically ill) former President Mandela, and for his family,听that his legacy听may continue to be honoured; and for us all, that we may follow his example in seeking both truth and reconciliation in our own hearts and in our lives......听"

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

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For all the sick, the dying, and all the departed, that through the intercession of the apostles, they may experience the light of the Gospel

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

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Joining our prayers with Mary the Mother of God, the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and all God鈥檚 holy ones, we bring our own concerns to the Father... And as we do so we listen to a meditation on the need to respond to the love of God by Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels鈥︹�� entitled in Hebrew, Adonai S鈥檉atai.

鈥楨ternal God open my lips. That my mouth may declare Your glory."

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ITEM 16听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 MUSIC :听 听听听听听听听听听听听听听 CELLO / ORGAN听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ADONAI听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 DUR:

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ITEM 17听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 LINK/LORD鈥橲 PRAYER听听听听 FR. MARK / ALL

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Following our Lord's teaching, let us say with faith and trust

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by 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.听 Amen.

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ITEM 19听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 LINK:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MARK听

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Our final hymn tells of the communion of saints; in Christ, a fellowship not bound by space or time.听 Ye Holy Angels Bright.听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

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ITEM 20听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 HYMN听听 CHOIR/CONG/ORGAN听听 DUR:听听听听听

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Ye Holy Angels bright,

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ITEM 21听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 LONG (SOLEMN) BLESSING听听听听听听听听 FR. MICHAEL

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The Lord has set you firm within his Church,

which he built upon the rock of Peter's faith.

May he bless you with a faith that never wavers. Amen.

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The Lord has given you knowledge of the faith

through the labours and preaching of Saint Paul.

May his example inspire you to lead others to Christ

by the manner of your life. Amen.

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May the keys of Peter, and the words of Paul,

their undying witness and their prayers,

lead you to the joy of that eternal home

which Peter gained by his cross, and Paul by the sword. Amen.

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And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always.听 AMEN听听

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SHORT BLESSING听听听听听听听听听听听听听 FR. MICHAEL

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God give you grace to share the inheritance of his Saints in glory;

and the blessing + of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be upon you and remain with you always.听 Amen.

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ITEM 22听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 ORGAN PLAYOUT听听听听听听听听听听听 PETER KING听听听听听听 DUR:

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CLOSING ANNO

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Sunday Worship came from the parish church of St. Arvans, Chepstow in Monmouthshire.听 The service was led by Fr. Mark Zorab and the preacher was Fr. Michael Gollop.听 The Cellist was Kathryn Price. The Cantemus Chamber Choir, Wales was directed by Huw Williams and the Organist was Peter King.听 The producer was Karen Walker.听听 Next week鈥檚 Sunday Worship comes live from the Chapel of Eton College and explores the themes of faith, celebration, loss and suffering in the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins....

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And just a reminder that 大象传媒 Radio 2鈥檚 Young Chorister of the Year competition is currently welcoming entries 鈥� full details can be found on the Radio 2 website.听