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All Saints Kings Heath Your Parish Church in the Diocese of Birmingham

Trinity Sunday 2021 Holy Communion

We gather At home, have ready in an honoured place a portion of food and something to drink. It may be bread and wine or something else. Perhaps light a candle to mark the beginning of our shared act of worship. We imagine everyone in their homes around the parish, and those in Church, united in preparing for prayer.

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.

At home you can sing as loudly as you like, as if no one but God is listening. In church we remain seated to listen, or hum, to the hymn:

HYMN Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty

1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,

casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, which wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see, only thou art holy, there is none beside thee, perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

(words: Reginald Heber; music: John Bacchus Dykes)

We pray: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known

and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We seek forgiveness CONFESSION

God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. With humble confidence, then, let us confess our sins to God. (cf John 3:17)

SILENCE When we think too much of ourselves, All: God the Father, have mercy upon us. When we think to little of ourselves, God the Son, have mercy upon us.

When we do not know how to pray, forgive or be forgiven, God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us. FORGIVENESS is declared:

[May] The Father forgive us by the death of his Son and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days. Amen.

THE GLORIA Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. We pray THE COLLECT

Holy God, faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

READING Isaiah 6:1-8 (click here for text; readings from Lindsey Hammond) READING Romans 8:12-17 (click here for text) HYMN Father of heaven, whose love profound 1. Father of heav’n, whose love profound

a ransom for our souls hath found, before thy throne we sinners bend, to us thy pard’ning love extend.

2. Almighty Son, incarnate Word, our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord, before thy throne we sinners bend, to us thy saving grace extend.

3. Eternal Spirit, by whose breath the soul is raised from sin and death, before thy throne we sinners bend, to us thy quick’ning pow’r extend.

4. Thrice Holy! Father, Spirit, Son; mysterious Godhead, Three in One, before thy throne we sinners bend, grace, pardon, life, to us extend.

(words: Edward Cooper; music: John Bacchus Dykes)

GOSPEL READING John 3:1-17 (click here for text) SERMON from the Revd Lynn Busfield

Trinity Sunday - the first Sunday after Pentecost - continuing the theme of intimacy in relationships, so beautifully articulated by David in his sermon last week. I wonder what your experience is of famous threes? Several years ago I was lucky enough to go the ‘Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz festival’ held on an island in the middle of the River Seine just south of Paris. It was the music from a jazz trio that I remember the most - not least because of the improvised music they created

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together - sometimes in harmony, sometimes in discordant harmony but skilfully using their three individual instruments to create a musical wholeness that was simply sublime. (Memories, memories! Lying on the grass in the summer sun, listening to the music, drinking the local wine, eating the local garlic-stuffed olives with the smell of Gitanes wafting through the audience.) And then there’s the holistic threesome within healthcare at its best, that seeks to address patients’ physical, psychological and spiritual needs. When I worked as a hospice chaplain, we had the resources and the time to address those three aspects of care in our multi-disciplinary team working. The clinicians, the psychologists or counsellors and the chaplain working together to alleviate suffering. We didn’t always manage it - but we worked together with the patient in helping them to have the best possible quality of dying that could be achieved. And then we come to the famous threesome contained within the The Holy Trinity - the bedrock of our faith. Maybe at times, like me you have found it easier to relate to one part of the Trinity than another. I know it took me a very long time to be able to relate to God as a loving, heavenly Father having had no earthly role model of a loving Father. I had no problems in being able to relate to Jesus - my brother, mentor & hero. And likewise - The Holy Spirit - animating me, enabling me dance and worship and draw closer to God. Prior to Covid I used to love going to Gas Street church once a month for their evening service. Charismatic worship at its best - modern choruses repeated like a mantra articulating a loving intimacy with the Trinity; hands lifted in un-embarrassed praise and worship, and extemporary prayers and words spoken from the heart giving testimony to a God and a kingdom that is alive and living in the here and now. By faith we are called into the body of faith – we can’t live into God’s will all by ourselves – we need others to help us in love. And that is why the Christian tradition teaches the sacred mystery that God is not alone either; rather the Lord our God is a Holy Trinity of love in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is with us and God is in us. God as Holy Trinity, is not just our best way of describing the Lord’s nature, it is also the best model we have for how to live together in Christ. According to Paul, God's Spirit beckons us – it is calling to us – because there are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life we received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, receiving God with a childlike, "what's next, Daddy?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are so that we know who God is and who we are: Our heavenly Father and his earthly children.

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But we have to pay attention. In today’s gospel Jesus says: “Take it from me: unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to — to God's kingdom.” God is calling to us and has things for us to do that will not only lighten one another’s burden, but also give us meaning and integrity in ways we never imagined possible. And that is why we speak of God as Trinity. Paul regularly teaches that: ‘now we see as through a glass darkly but later’ … later we shall see fact to face – later God’s presence and truth will be revealed fully – later we shall get it – but not now. No, now all we can grasp are parts of the sacred reality… And maybe one part of the Lord we have sensed over time is that God’s protection and power is OVER us – God’s inspiration and authority is OVER creation - and God’s clear call for justice and compassion is OVER human relationships. In Christ, Christians have known God as the one who literally walked the dusty roads of first century Israel WITH them, who suffered human pain and shared divine forgiveness WITH them and, as John’s gospel puts it, who came at the right moment in history to move into our neighbourhoods WITH us so that we might see the glory of God WITH our own eyes. God not only creates and preserves life OVER us and simultaneously shares and redeems love WITH us, but God also empowers, transforms and renews us from the inside out: God’s Spirit is IN us as well as OVER us and WITH us. What the word ‘Trinity’ is trying to explain in poetic form, is the relationship between the three faces God. There is a spiritual nuance evoked between Father and Son because this is relational language. There is a mutual intimacy in this poetry as well an awareness that the Son gives shape and form to the Father. After all, Jesus spoke of God as “Abba” – in order to help us grasp that the source of all creation and power is also cherished and near. One of the purposes of Jesus’ ministry was to show us as much of God’s face as we could comprehend in our ordinary, everyday lives. He came to offer us intimacy with the Lord.

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The wisdom of the Trinity also models for us a way to live in the world as God’s authentic children - in community. Just as God is bound together as Father and Son by the love of the Spirit, so too each of one of us in this place - what unites and strengthens and encourages us is not our own effort but the presence of the Lord who comes to us as Spirit to nourish us from the inside out. Jesus teaches Nicodemus that God’s spirit could come upon him from above – not really born again as some suggest – but more accurately born from above: God’s spirit can come to you and be over and with and in you, too so that you will have the strength, willingness, grace and desire to live beyond yourself. But Nicodemus was completely baffled. All he could do was sputter and protest: what does this mean and how is this even possible? To which Jesus said: the time has come for you to trust God more deeply, my man. There is a love bigger than us all – a love that binds me to the Father by the Spirit – this love will cause me to lay down my life for the world. And if you trust in this love, if you let the Spirit guide and nourish you in this love, you can be in on the blessing, too. There is so much more that could be said about the blessings of the Holy Trinity but enough for now: God comes to us, God loves and heals us and invites us into community to share that love with the world. Let those who have ears to hear, hear.

We affirm our faith THE APOSTLES’ CREED

We stand and at home, if able, we turn to look in the direction of Church, to affirm our faith in God, revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit:

All: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;

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he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

INTERCESSIONS

THE PEACE We pause to remember each other: those worshipping at home, and those worshipping in Church, and those we care for who are far away.

Peace from God our heavenly Father;

Peace from his Son Jesus Christ who is our peace;

Peace from the Holy Spirit, the life give;

The peace of the triune God be always with us.

We say together:

The Peace of the Lord be always with you. MUSIC (in church) Song of the Isles (Christopher Norton)

HYMN (recording) Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us 1. Lead us, heav’nly Father, lead us

o’er the world’s tempestuous sea; guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us, for we have no help but thee; yet possessing ev’ry blessing if our God our Father be.

2. Saviour, breathe forgiveness o’er us, all our weakness thou dost know, thou didst tread this earth before us,

thou didst feel its keenest woe; lone and dreary, faint and weary, through the desert thou didst go.

3. Spirit of our God, descending, fill our hearts with heav’nly joy, love with ev’ry passion blending, pleasure that can never cloy; thus provided, pardoned, guided, nothing can our peace destroy.

(words: James Edmeston; music: Friedrich Filitz)

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The Table is prepared in Church. At home, now is the time to say the Lord’s Prayer (below) and consume the food and drink you have prepared, first praying:

God, we long for Communion. With this symbolic meal stir my hope for the fellowship meal we cannot yet see, and help me wait for it with patience. Amen. (cf Romans 8:2)

We give thanks for the Holy Spirit’s movement since the beginning of time

Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And also with you.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, Lord God, our light and our salvation;

to you be glory and praise for ever. From the beginning you have created all things and all your works echo the silent music of your praise. In the fullness of time you made us in your image,

the crown of all creation. You give us breath and speech that with angels and archangels and all the powers of heaven we may find a voice to sing your praise:

All: Holy, holy, holy Lord. God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

How wonderful the works of your hands, O Lord. As a mother tenderly gathers her children, you embraced a people as your own. When they turned away and rebelled your love remained steadfast. From them you raised up Jesus, our Saviour, born of Mary, to be the living bread,

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in whom all our hungers are satisfied. He offered his life for sinners, and with a love stronger than death he opened wide his arms on the cross. On the night before he died, he came to supper with his friends and, taking bread, he gave you thanks. He broke it and gave it to them, saying: take, eat: this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

A bell is rung At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks and said: Drink this, all of you: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

A bell is rung Great the mystery of faith:

All: Christ has died, Christ is risen Christ will come again.

Mother, we plead with confidence his sacrifice made once for all upon the cross; we remember his dying and rising in glory, and we rejoice that he intercedes for us at your right hand. Pour out your Spirit as we bring before you these gifts of your creation; may they be for us the body and blood of your dear Son. As we eat and drink these holy things in your presence form us in the likeness of Christ, and build us into a living temple to your glory. Remember, Lord, your church in every land. Reveal her unity, guard her faith and preserve her in peace. Bring us at last with […and] all the saints to the vision of that eternal splendour for which you have created us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom, with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, we worship you, God almighty, in songs of everlasting praise.

All: Blessing and honour and glory and power be yours for ever and ever. Amen.

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THE LORD’S PRAYER

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray: 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.

Priest: We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. All: Though we are many, we are one body.

For we all share in one bread.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Blessed are those who are called to his supper. Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, But only say the word and I shall be healed.

We pause to remember all who pray at home, then share the bread and wine, now for us the body and blood of Christ. ANTHEM during Communion Unless a grain of wheat

Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the ground and die, it remains but a single grain, a grain with no life. 1. If we have died with him, then we shall live with him;

if we hold firm, we shall reign with him.

2. If anyone serves me then they must follow me; wherever I am my servants will be.

3. Make your home in me as I make mine in you; those who remain in me bear much fruit.

4. If you remain in me and word lives in you; then you will be my disciples.

5. Those who love me are loved by my Father; we shall be with them and dwell in them.

6. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; peace which the worlds cannot give is my gift.

(words & music: Bernadette Farrell)

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Inside or outside, we are called to serve

Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with your Word [and with the body of Christ]. Strengthen us in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.

We imagine our scattered fellowship, family, colleagues and neighbours, praying for blessing on all:

[May] God the holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love, defend us

on every side and guide us in truth and peace. And the blessing of God

almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among us and

remain with us always. Amen.

HYMN How great is our God How great is our God, how great is his name! How great is our God, for ever the same.

1. He rolled back the waters of the mighty Red Sea, and he said: “I’ll never leave you. Put your trust in me.”

2. He sent his Son, Jesus, to set us all free, and he said: “I’ll never leave you. Put your trust in me.”

3. He gave us his Sprit, and now we can see. And he said: “I’ll never leave you. Put your trust in me.”

(words & music: Unknown)

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ, Amen.

VOLUNTARY Sonata in F: Allegro (Johann Ernst Galliard; played by Philip & Martha Ann Brookes)

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This order of service is printed on sustainably sourced paper.

Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England

is copyright © the Archbishop’s Council (2000)

Eucharistic Prayer from Joining the Angels’ Song, Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher,

Canterbury Press 2016

Hymns and Songs printed under CCL Licence No. 116429