大象传媒

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.

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.

Radio 4 Opening Announcement:听听 大象传媒 Radio 4. It鈥檚 ten past eight 鈥� time to go live to Trinity Church in Nottingham for this week鈥檚 Sunday Worship. The preacher is the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, Paul Williams, and the service is led by Frances Finn.

FRAN:
Good morning! Welcome to the centre of Nottingham. We gather just a stone鈥檚 throw from a giant fibreglass goose. Mounted on a roundabout, she鈥檚 six feet six inches tall, and looms over traffic for a few days every October. Today is the last day of Nottingham鈥檚 famous Goose Fair.听 It鈥檚 one of the world鈥檚 oldest and biggest travelling fairs, beginning way back in the 13th century. It鈥檚 been a calendar event for generations of families, and the writer DH Lawrence came back to Nottingham to visit Goosey every year while London was his home. He was drawn by the warmth of its traditions and its familiarity. Well, since it began more than 700 years ago Goose Fair has changed beyond all recognition. Gone are the weight lifting strong men, and the infamous bearded ladies. Today there are 500 high tech rides and attractions, bright lights and pulsating music. And yet it鈥檚 still Goose Fair. It may have taken steps forwards, but it has not thrown off its past - its values as a traditional family fair.

This morning we gather in the city鈥檚 newest church - this building was once an auction house. It鈥檚 a church that is founded on two thousand years of Christian history, and yet it鈥檚 also a church that is very much facing forwards, looking to the future with all the promise and challenges that brings.

Our service today celebrates the God who calls us forward - A God who not only shepherds us beside quiet waters, but leads us into new pasture. Our first song was written by Matt Redman, and tells of a 鈥渘ew day dawning鈥�. Ten Thousand Reasons.

鈥�
BAND/ALL: Bless The Lord O My Soul

WILL:
鈥淲hatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes.鈥�

Gracious God, thank you for the generations that have gone before us - who have opened their hearts, listened to your voice, and have responded to your call. Let us faithfully build on their obedience, and respond to the invitation of your Holy Spirit to journey forwards. We ask that through us, your will be done and your Kingdom come.
ALL: Amen.

FRAN:
It鈥檚 interesting that this church, Trinity in Nottingham, has opened on the site where shoppers gathered for generations to spend their money. And it takes its name, Trinity, from its city centre predecessor, now demolished. That church was replaced by a multi storey car park to serve the thousands that religiously visit retail centres on Saturdays and now Sundays.

The latest figures for church attendance provide good newspaper fodder. Headlines suggesting the imminent demise of churchgoing come round quicker than Christmas. And in some parishes those figures make for grim reading. Some ask whether the cultural incongruity of religion asks too much of the modern man, woman and child?

But it鈥檚 also true that in some areas, churches ARE thriving. And some, like this one, are joined to a hopeful vision for expansion and growth.

When there are challenges the temptation is to panic. To go into an overdrive of self-saving activity. But the Bible is full of stories of patience. Of pausing to wait on God. Stories where God calls His people to rest with Him and to catch HIS vision before moving forward. We hear now from the book of Isaiah, chapter 30, beginning at verse 15.

鈥�
LYDIA: Isaiah 30:15-18
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
听听 in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
But you refused 16and said,
鈥楴o! We will flee upon horses鈥欌��
听听 therefore you shall flee!
and, 鈥榃e will ride upon swift steeds鈥欌��
听听 therefore your pursuers shall be swift!
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
听听 at the threat of five you shall flee,
until you are left
听听 like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
听听 like a signal on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
听听 therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
听听 blessed are all those who wait for him.

SEGUE

BAND/ALL: O Praise the name
FRAN:
O Praise the Name, written by Dean Usher, Marty Sampson and Benjamin Hastings.

Lord God, we thank you for the hope that we have in your Son Jesus Christ. That His message is one of joy, of peace and of rest. And that in times of challenge we are confident in our direction of travel with you.
ALL: Amen.

FRAN:
Nottingham is a vibrant city. And we鈥檙e confident in our bid to become a European Capital of Culture! We are home to 60,000 students, we have award winning theatres, art galleries, restaurants and pubs. And there鈥檚 a creative drive here that reaches to all corners of the county. Nottinghamshire is truly diverse and multi-cultural - not just ethnically, but in so many other ways - urban and rural, socialist and socialite, fast and slow. There is no such thing as 鈥渙ne-size fits all鈥�.

鈥�
And the same is true of those who are looking for a meaningful expression of the Christian message. One size doesn鈥檛 fit all when it comes to creating a culture of worship, teaching and mission. So in this diocese, and in many others, Anglican churches are finding new ways to connect. Our passage from Isaiah was read by Lydia who leads a new church in Stapleford. It meets in a former hairdressing salon. The local press enjoyed the headline 鈥淗airway to Heaven!鈥� And a few weeks ago a few dozen of us sat in a field, on a hay bale inside a tent, as a new rural church called The Potting Shed was launched. One of the team, Emilie, will read from Matthew鈥檚 Gospel.

EMILIE: Matthew 11:28-30
28 鈥楥ome to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.鈥�

FRAN:
Our next song is written by All Sons and Daughters [Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard] : Great are you Lord.

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BAND/ALL: Great are you Lord

FRAN:
If I were to show you the insides of this Anglican building this morning, you may not identify it, straightaway, as a church.听 It isn鈥檛 topped by a lofty spire, and it isn鈥檛 lined with stained glass windows and filled with wooden pews. It has, let鈥檚 say, a more rustic appeal! For nearly 170 years this was one of the Midlands鈥� biggest auction houses. In this very room antiques were valued and then sold to hopeful treasure hunters. It was a business where age and antiquity brought value. Customers looked to the past for pleasure.

Who of us doesn鈥檛 enjoy the notion of the good old days - remembering the happy times of a bygone era. And we gladly put on rose tinted spectacles when we fondly dwell in the memories of yesterday. I love what the American columnist Doug Larson said -

鈥淣ostalgia is the file that takes the rough edges off the good old days.鈥�

This building, which was once a 鈥渃entre" for looking back, is now part of a vision that turns to face the other way. A vision that hungers for the churches here to move forwards. To cherish the past, but to embrace the future. For churches that are fit not just to survive, but to thrive, enriching the communities around them.

But the idea of moving forward, and buying in to a vision for the future isn鈥檛 exciting to everyone. It can be unsettling. Maybe there are fears of having to compromise. Of changing. Of losing the very things that define what you have loved.
听
Perhaps God鈥檚 call to us to follow Him - to move forwards - is unsettling. But it鈥檚 possible that our fears come from a mis-placed emphasis on what He is actually asking us to do. I鈥檓 not sure God is asking us to move TOWARDS a future version of His will. Towards the complete unknown with all the anxieties that might bring. I wonder whether instead, He is calling us to move FROM all that He has given us, and from what we have already experienced. When Jesus invites us to journey with Him, it鈥檚 not a journey TOWARDS His love, and His peace, and His acceptance. It鈥檚 a journey FROM His love, His peace and His acceptance. When He calls His disciples to build His church and to reach out to those around them in ways they can understand, He doesn鈥檛 call them to work FOR Him, but to work FROM Him.

In a moment the Right Reverend Paul Williams will share some his thoughts as Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. First a song written by the hymn writer Charles Hutchinson Gabriel. It celebrates the love of God - there for us, as our base - as a place to move forward from.

BAND/ALL: I Stand Amazed (How Marvellous)

BISHOP PAUL:
We live in the age of speed. Everything around us is getting faster 鈥� from internet speeds, to speed-dating, to the speed of travel or delivery to your front door. And of course there are many benefits. [For businesses, speed and efficiency has become the goose that lays the golden egg, driving productivity in ferociously competitive global markets.] Every new advance in technology promises to help you fit more into your life, and the sad thing is we buy it. Yet the truth is we still hear ourselves say, 鈥業 never seem to have enough time to get everything done anymore鈥� or 鈥榳here has the time gone to鈥�.

Our world has become the world of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, who said: 鈥楴ow here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!鈥�

The real tragedy is that the things we truly value suffer the most when we become slaves to fast-paced, suffocating schedules. It鈥檚 difficult to love people in a hurry. It鈥檚 even harder to risk being truly loved by another. And the fear of being judged and rejected can make you run even faster. On a deeper level it is weary to the soul.

Even when you finally get to sit down or slow down there can still be a gnawing sense of restlessness. Our innermost world is constantly spinning, as we attempt to wrestle our fears and shake off our anxieties and ignore our nagging regrets.

And this doesn鈥檛 just have an effect at a personal level. It is infecting the fabric of our culture. A fast society doesn鈥檛 find it easy to notice the poor or pause long enough to take in the appalling injustices and inequalities that are in our faces every day, whether in the news or on the street corner.

As I meet people from various walks of life across this city and around the county, I hear the same longing expressed in a thousand ways 鈥� young and old 鈥� 鈥業 want a deeper life not a faster life鈥�.

The church has been given the task of spreading the rumour of rest far and wide.

Jesus said, 鈥楥ome to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.鈥�

Jesus not only understands the human predicament, he also knows how helpless we are to acquire a rested soul without divine intervention. The conditions around us and the temptations within are far too complex and unforgiving. And of course, we are living in an unpredictable world, as the tragic events last week in Las Vegas have yet again reminded us.

Jesus makes a promise. He didn鈥檛 come to add to our 鈥榯o do鈥� list or lay upon us a new burden of religious expectation. Jesus came to love us into a place where our souls can truly find rest. 鈥楥ome to me鈥�, he said, 鈥榓nd take my yoke upon you鈥�. He uses a familiar image from the world of farming in his day.

A yoke was a wooden beam that had been carefully shaped to rest on the shoulders of two oxen ploughing a field side by side. Jesus is profoundly realistic. He doesn鈥檛 offer to take people out of the real world, but to get yoked up with him as our closest companion in the field. And then to find that his presence changes everything as we learn to move in step with him: forgiving others like him, loving like him, caring for the poor with compassion, and confronting injustice with courage like Jesus.

Spreading the rumour of rest in a world with epidemic weariness is a truly noble mission.听

A young man in his twenties who was recently welcomed into the church through his confirmation as a new Christian told me simply, 鈥業 have never felt so alive. I wouldn鈥檛 claim my life is better or easier than anyone else, but I now look at things differently. I feel I have more love to give and I want my life to count for something bigger than me.鈥� It鈥檚 because of millions of other people like that young man that churches in this diocese are seeking fresh ways to communicate ancient truths. Many in our culture struggle to see the relevance of church, but hardly anyone wants to spend their energy and time in triviality, splashing in the shallow end of their souls.

[And in terms of economic productivity, all the evidence indicates that people with rested souls are more engaged in their work and bring fresh creativity to solving problems and embracing innovation.]

The priorities shaping the vision of the Church of England for Renewal and Reform are not driven by the need to ensure the survival of an institution 鈥� although that鈥檚 how it may look to some 鈥� they are shaped by a growing confidence in the profound relevance of Jesus for modern people living in a fast and furious world.

For over a hundred years this building was the premier auction house in the east midlands, as we鈥檝e heard. On Easter Sunday this year it became the home of Nottingham鈥檚 newest church here in this vibrant city.

The one thing you learn in an auction house is that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Jesus鈥檚 life, death and resurrection declare the true value that God places on every single person.

For nearly four centuries, just a few hundred yards from here, the top of the Mansfield Road was known as Gallows Hill. On that spot outside the perimeter of the old city the worst criminals were punished for their offences, though at times the history books reveal a fairly rough justice. Three thousand miles away outside another city wall Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world to reconcile us to God, and offer the priceless gift of eternal rest for weary souls.

This is what inspires us as a diocese to keep reaching out wider, connecting in fresh ways with younger generations and growing disciples with deep roots of faith. Churches of every shape and size have a part to play, meeting in buildings ancient and modern, inviting others to join us in discovering what St Augustine prayed so simply: 鈥楪od you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you鈥�.

BAND/ALL: My hope is built on nothing less
WILL:
Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are the God of rest. We thank you that out of your own peace you reached down in your Son Jesus to rescue us and bring us true rest. In this fast paced world, we ask that by your Spirit you will still our hearts and rest our minds. May you teach us that deep truth, so hard to come by, that we are more than the sum of our output, and that we are all known and loved by you.

Lord, in your mercy
ALL: Hear our prayer.

WILL:
We pray for those who even today know no rest. For families across Europe fleeing from war or persecution. For those attempting to rebuild following recent hurricanes. For the victims, and for those who lost loved ones in last weekend鈥檚 shooting in Las Vegas. Father, come quickly and bring your peace.

鈥�
Lord, in your mercy
ALL: Hear our prayer.

WILL:
Especially today, on this Prisons Sunday, we think of all those who are currently serving sentences, as well as their families and loved ones. Jesus, you called us to visit those in prison. We pray for all prisoners, including those whose lives have been broken by addiction and abuse. For those struggling with problems of mental health. Give wisdom and compassion to prison authorities, to chaplains and to those who hold political authority.

Lord, in your mercy
ALL: Hear our prayer.

WILL:
Father you call us to love the places where we are. And so we pray today for the city of Nottingham. We thank you for its history, for the role it has played in the life and imagination of our country. We pray for your blessing upon it; upon all those who live and who work here. May it be known as a place of welcome and peace.

Lord, in your mercy
ALL: Hear our prayer.

WILL:
We gather up these and all our prayers in the words that Jesus taught us:

ALL:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
FRAN:
We draw our service to a close by singing Chris Tomlin鈥檚 How Great Is Our God.

BAND/ALL: How Great is our God

BISHOP PAUL:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you evermore.
ALL: Amen.

BAND: How Great is our God (instrumental reprise)