大象传媒

Sunday Worship 鈥� Young People In Lockdown聽
Jamie Cutteridge - Good morning. The effects of lockdown and the events of the last year are still being unpacked and understood, especially when it comes to the impact on our young people. The struggles faced by Generation Z, have arguably all been heightened during the pandemic, as they navigate the constant changes and uncertainties that come with multiple lockdowns, schools being closed and reopened, exam cancellations, social activities and clubs cancelled or moved online. The result has sadly for many been worry, fear, grief, and sadness.I鈥檓 one of the leaders of the UK鈥檚 new and first bespoke ecumenical community serving young people. We鈥檙e called 鈥榃ith鈥� 鈥� a name which reminds us that we live this life with God, with one another, with ourselves and with the planet.聽We鈥檝e been handed over the lease to a large convent in Ditchingham, Norfolk called All Hallows which for 150 years has been home to Christian community, prayer and service through the sisters of the Community of All Hallows. Over Lent, our first few members have moved onto the site, and work is underway to transform it into a retreat centre for youth groups to come away to for rest, fun, and exploring and growing in the Christian faith and building resilience. The community living on site all year round will be committed in prayer and mission to supporting the UK鈥檚 young people, which now more than ever we see as hugely important. In essence, we鈥檙e just trying to carry on the incredible legacy left by the sisters in this place.Our music today is a diverse mix of different genres and traditions 鈥� something that鈥檚 important to us as an ecumenical community. Some of the songs are led by young people, including our first hymn Morning Has Broken, sung by the boys choir Libera聽 MUSIC - Morning Has Broken 鈥� Libera聽
Jamie - Our prayers and readings come from youth workers from across the UK. To begin, Jemimah Woodbridge from the charity Youthscape leads us in prayer.
Prayer - Jemimah Woodbridge - Director, Youthscape Luton
Lord we thank you that you鈥檙e with us this morning and that you promise to remain with us always. Today we thank you for the young people that you鈥檝e placed around us and we remember them before you. Would you come close to them today.聽Lord we pray that you鈥檇 move us through compassion to love, support and serve them after all they are your children just as we are your children.Lord help us your church to prioritise young people in all that we do, not because they鈥檙e the next generation of church but because they are you church 鈥� equal members in the body of Christ. Where that brings us challenge, where that means we need to change, takes us from a place of ease and contentment, would you help us, lead us, guide us and reposition us. So that we can be with them as you are with us in all things.聽Amen.
Jamie - During Lent Sunday Worship on 大象传媒 Radio 4, is taking inspiration from Ignatian spirituality and following a resource provided by the Society of Jesus which can be found on the Sunday Worship web page. The assigned reading for today is a passage from John where Mary washes the feet of Jesus 鈥� an example of extravagant, costly worship that for us as a community is both inspiring and challenging.聽 It鈥檚 read for us by Sola Ayodeji from The Message Trust.
Bible reading 鈥� John 12: 1-8. Read by Sola Ayodeji聽
Jamie - Our next three worship songs come from Soul Survivor Watford, the church behind the Soul Survivor youth festivals which ran from 1993 to 2019, gathering thousands of young people to worship Jesus each summer, and the church continues to serve and work with young people today. This next song is called 鈥楤uild My Life鈥�.
MUSIC - Build My Life 鈥� Soul Survivor Watford
Jamie - A recent survey found more than half of young people were always or often feeling anxious - the highest level ever recorded, and the NSPCC says the amount of counselling for loneliness provided by its Childline service has risen by 10% since the pandemic started.We鈥檙e now going to hear from two young people sharing an insight into their experiences during lockdown and how their faith has been a support. Kshitij - My name is Kshitij, I鈥檓 17 and I live in Manchester. When the first lockdown happened last year I was preparing to do my GCSE exams. I felt a lot of uncertainty during that time because I really care about achieving good grades so that I can go on to study engineering at university. I moved to my new college in September which was quite difficult and challenging. Trying to make friends via online classes hasn鈥檛 been easy and I miss all the social activities I used to do.
Both my parents are NHS nurses, my dad was working on a Covid ward during the first lockdown. There were times where I felt a bit nervous about him going to work, but in 1 Peter it says to cast all your anxiety on the Lord because he cares for you鈥� and I think that鈥檚 helped me a lot during the pandemic.I鈥檝e also found playing the piano has helped me feel close to God during this time. Especially as I like playing praise and worship music. I used to play often at my church when people were coming into the building, helping them to relax and prepare themselves for worship. Church is very important to me and helps me grow in my faith. Thankfully, we鈥檝e been having virtual services online even during lockdown, which I鈥檓 grateful for.聽Although there have been many changes over the last year, I thank God that he鈥檚 kept my family safe. He鈥檚 really helped me to stay calm and find peace through it all.MUSIC - The Lord鈥檚 My Shepherd 鈥� Soul Survivor Watford
Ruth - My name is Ruth, I鈥檓 19 and over the last year I鈥檝e been working as an intern for a church in York.聽 It鈥檚 been a strange time 鈥� I鈥檝e been away from my family for most of the last year. I鈥檝e had to move house 4 times and have had 15 different housemates in the space of 12 months because of the pandemic. I鈥檝e been furloughed from my job and have had to pray a lot about my finances and trust that God will provide.聽One thing I am grateful for in this strange season is having a little more time to focus on my passion for the environment. I鈥檓 part of YCCN 鈥� the Young Christian Climate Network. We officially launched around 6 months ago but for me it was something I became interested in in my early teens. I believe God wants us to care about his creation 鈥� his original plan for us was to look after what he had made. And then later on in the Biblical narrative Jesus said that loving your neighbour is one of the key parts of our faith. I believe that also means to love our global neighbours who are suffering disproportionately due to climate injustice.聽It鈥檚 been amazing seeing how in an emergency like Coronavirus the church can respond and help, but it鈥檚 also made me feel confused and upset as to why the church isn鈥檛 really responding to the emergency of the climate crisis. I know I鈥檓 not the only young person who feels this way - a recent UK survey found 9 out of 10 teenage Christians are concerned about climate change and only 1 in 10 think their church is doing enough.聽Having faith inspires me not just to get angry though 鈥� it gives me an energy to do something about it and it gives me hope. My prayer is that God will use me and other young people to care for his creation boldly and to make a difference.
MUSIC - For The Sake Of The World 鈥� Soul Survivor Watford
Jamie - That was For The Sake Of The World led by Soul Survivor Watford.聽
Our sermon today will be brought to us by the Rev. Canon Jutta Brueck, our community鈥檚 newly appointed dean. She鈥檚 recently moved onto the site in Norfolk to start living as part of the community.
But first let鈥檚 hear from the gospel of Luke, read by Hamish MacQueen, Youth Service Director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia. Bible reading 鈥� Luke 2:41-47. Read by Hamish MacQueen
Sermon by Rev. Canon Jutta Brueck 鈥�
I am so grateful to Luke for including this story in his gospel as it gives us a fantastic glimpse of Jesus as a young person, aged 12. As every year, he has come to Jerusalem with his family and friends to celebrate the Passover 鈥� but this year, there is something different happening in Jesus鈥� heart. We imagine him growing up in a community of faith in Nazareth, but we don鈥檛鈥� know how exactly his own awareness of who he is, what his vocation is, is developing inside him.聽 We learn in this story that he is so keen to be in the temple with the teachers, to listen, to ask questions, to dialogue, that he completely forgets about his family, about time or anything else. He is totally immersed in that which matters most to him at this moment 鈥� a great gift 鈥� though, I empathize with his parents鈥� anxiety when they didn鈥檛 know where he was.In this time of pandemic and lockdown there are sadly not many opportunities for young people to sit among their teachers, listening to them and asking questions.Earlier in this service we heard Kshitij and Ruth talking about their experience and faith, what helps them to cope, to stay well and to grow at this time. Both of them are living with very real challenges: Kshitij, having started 6th form in a new school and worried about his parents鈥� health and safety as NHS nurses; Ruth in an unfamiliar city, away from family and friends, with worries about money. It鈥檚 inspiring to hear how they are still nurturing their relationships with God and others during this challenging time. For Kshitij school is really important, wanting to learn and do his best to pursue his career dream of becoming an engineer. Ruth is passionate about the environment, a member of the Young Christian Climate Network. She is following her heart that feels compassion for the suffering she sees in our global neighbours as a result of climate injustice. She is asking the question why the church isn鈥檛 really responding to the emergency of climate change.Kshitij and Ruth, two young people, amazing us this morning with their insights and example. They are unique, yet not unusual.Tomorrow, many children and young people are returning to school. There is a great deal of debate, how to bridge the gap in their learning; how to support young people whose mental health has suffered severely in this last year; how to move forward, addressing the huge inequalities in opportunity, access to resources, wealth, that have been uncovered.Could this be a time when God鈥檚 spirit is speaking through the voices of young people and through the dreams of the old, as we read about in the book of Joel?Recent reports, such as 鈥楤urning Down the house鈥� by Youth Scape and Tearfund or 鈥楥orona Collections鈥� by the University of Suffolk, draw attention to the voices of young people, and the importance of enabling their participation in the dialogue that shapes our policies and actions.Pope Francis, in his recent book, 鈥楲et us dream. The path to a better future鈥� declares 鈥榯his is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities -what we value, what we want, what we seek 鈥� and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of鈥�we need a politics that can integrate and dialogue with the poor, the excluded, the vulnerable, that gives people a say in the decisions that impact their lives.鈥� (p.6)I believe this is a time when the spirit is speaking through young people in our churches, in our society 鈥� when their questions and understanding must be part of the way moving forward.In the gospel story from Luke, we meet Jesus in Jerusalem as a young person.聽In the story from John鈥檚 gospel, which we heard earlier in the service, we have Jesus aged 33, on the verge of going to Jerusalem again, for the Passover. This time, for the last time: to face those who reject him and by doing so, to show the magnitude of God鈥檚 love for the world. Mary鈥檚 response to Jesus in that story, anointing his feet, came from a deeply loving heart that doesn鈥檛 count the cost.Listening to the voices of young people this morning, do we see in them what the adults in the temple saw in the young Jesus? Are we amazed at their answers, their understanding?Like Mary, let our hearts be deeply touched. Let us be willing to respond with generosity and courage.聽Amen.
MUSIC - Lenten Psalm Tone 鈥� Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir
Intercessory Prayers -Annabel 鈥� 鈥� I feel with God mostly in stillness鈥櫬犅燫ev. Canon Jutta 鈥� Loving God, we thank you for your presence with us at all times, how you draw close to us when we turn to you and become still. Draw close today to all who are anxious about returning to school tomorrow, both students and teachers. Give them courage and hope; help them to know your presence.Liam 鈥� 鈥業 see God with us when people are compassionate with others鈥櫬燫ev. Canon Jutta 鈥� Compassionate God, pour your love and compassion into our hearts. Help us to see the suffering of our neighbours - those among whom we live, those who are our global neighbours. Guide us not to be overwhelmed, but give us the wisdom and courage to pray, act and be generous.Amy 鈥� 鈥業 am with God in Creation, whenever I see amazing things in nature鈥澛燫ev. Canon Jutta 鈥� God, our creator, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. Thank you for the beauty of your creation lifting our spirits in this pandemic. Enlighten those who possess power and money to listen to the voices of the young urging us to change our ways, to protect all life and place the care of creation at the forefront of all our endeavours.Lord we lift up to you the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip and the royal family. We ask for your continued protection and blessing over him. The As I say the Lord鈥檚 Prayer we bring before God all those suffering from the ongoing Covid crisis, those working on the frontline, those who are grieving, the disadvantaged and the oppressed.聽聽
The Lord鈥檚 Prayer -聽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 sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and for ever.Amen.
MUSIC - Be Thou My Vision 鈥� Celtic Worship聽
Jamie - Thank you for joining us today at an exciting time where our ecumenical community is just beginning with our first few members on site. This morning, we pray that Jesus might lead you into dreaming how you can serve young people in your household, your local area, your church and beyond. During this lent period, may you know Jesus with you.Our final blessing is written and read by Dr Sam Richards, Head of Children鈥檚 and Youth Work for the United Reformed Church.
Blessing 鈥� written and read by Dr Sam Richards -聽
May God bless us and be with us.May we welcome the presence of Jesus,聽friend and honoured guest,with the thankfulness for new life of Lazarus,the practical service of Martha,and the extravagant love and worship of Mary.May Christ fill us with a true concern for those in need,a Christ-like ability to receive and value the gifts of all.May God bless us beyond measure聽with disruptive peace and radical love聽and call us afresh to fill the world聽with the fragrance of Christ.
Amen.