Monday 12th April 2021

Meeting details

Morning prayer is hosted by Graham on weekday mornings at 07:30 when it is not a public holiday. If you want to recall a particular day's liturgy you can add the date to the end of the web address (YYYY-MM-DD). Here is a real-world example https://morningprayer.torrix.uk/2020-11-16.

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 886 6182 8034
Passcode: morning

You can join by telephone if you wish:

+44 203 901 7895 (United Kingdom)
Passcode: 5521199

Meeting expectations

This is a short service that you are welcome to invite anyone to. It will last no more than 20 minutes.

There will be opportunities for you to contribute by saying some of the prayers or reading scripture. There is no obligation to participate.

You are welcome to join with your camera off and to keep your microphone muted.

Opening

One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.

Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.

Declaration of faith

We believe in God who celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.

We will allow ourselves to be challenged and will not discriminate against people on grounds of

disability or economic power,
ethnicity or gender,
gender identity or mental health,
neurodiversity or sexuality.

We believe in a Church that:

welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ;
Listens to the scriptures and learns from them;
seeks to share the stories of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit;
And allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.

Scripture reading

Jonah 1:1-17

Jonah

Jonah Tries to Run Away from God

1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ²Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me. ³But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. ⁶The captain came and said to him, What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.

7 The sailors^* said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸Then they said to him, Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you? ⁹I am a Hebrew, he replied. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. ¹⁰Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, What is this that you have done! For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

11 Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may quieten down for us? For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. ¹²He said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you. ¹³Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. ¹⁴Then they cried out to the Lord, Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this mans life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you. ¹⁵So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 ^*But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

NRSV

Prayers for others

Canticle

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks to me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.

Acknowledgements

Structure, Opening, Canticle and Blessing:: Taken from Morning Prayer from Northumbria Community’s Celtic Daily Prayer published by Collins.
Declaration of Faith: Adapted from http://inclusive-church.org/.
Scriptures: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.