Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
 
Reflection

There is a time for everything – but why is it so hard to recognise when it is time to do what? Why does it so often feel like the wrong time – at least for me, anyway. There are so many times when I feel stuck, or like I should be doing something else. So often – when a moment has passed – I recognise that maybe I should have done that thing, then!  But why isn’t it obvious BEFOREHAND???  Sigh!
 
But the scripture says, “there is a time for everything”. What it doesn’t specify is when that time is. So I’ve had to remind myself that just because there may have been another time – or even ‘a better time’ – to have done that thing (whatever it is), it doesn’t mean now is ‘the wrong time’. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another chance to do it. I must keep reminding myself of that – especially when sometimes it feels as though I’ve missed my moment, and there won’t be another opportunity. What I don’t always know or factor in, is whether now is a good time or ‘the right time’ for someone, or something else. Could it be that I am so caught up in focussing on my own timings, that I can’t see when I’m being lined up to fit in with someone else’s timing?
 
Just recently, there have been several occasions when I have had an idea, a thought about something in particular – but decided inside myself that I don’t have time to act on it – to see it through.  In effect, I have decided it’s not the right time.  Then, while having what I think are completely unrelated conversations elsewhere, topics and themes spring up which tie back in with the thoughts and ideas I had previously put aside. I’m coming to realise that while there is a time for everything, sometimes that time might just catch us by surprise!    
 
Prayer

Lord, why can’t you make it obvious when it is time for us to act? 
Why does it often feel so uncertain – 
or even like the wrong time? 
We can’t always see clearly when ‘the right time’ is.  
But while it is hard to wait, difficult when things don’t go to plan, 
and the unknown is scary, 
please help us to remember that there is a time for everything – 
and you will be with us in every time.  Amen.
 

Matthew 15:21-28 

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

 Reflection

Not so long ago I attended a harvest celebration that was completely different from what I was accustomed to.  It lasted three hours and was conducted in a language I did not understand.  I felt invisible, overlooked, and questioned whether I belonged there at all!

But, as my mind wandered, I remembered that Jesus was misunderstood and rejected – and that my identity isn’t rooted in acceptance by others, but in being chosen by God.  Slowly, I began to see the service for what it was.  I found strength during the prayers and a sense of community in this most unexpected setting.

I remembered the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. This woman needed help for her daughter, but she was made to feel like an outsider, which can be lonely, painful, and confusing.  But she persisted – and Jesus granted her request.

Many of us have experienced the sting of exclusion, whether because of our background, beliefs, personality, or circumstances. But Scripture reminds us that Jesus Himself was an outsider. He was rejected by His own people. He was crucified outside the city gates — a place reserved for the condemned and outcasts. Yet in that place of rejection, Jesus accomplished the greatest act of love and redemption.

God often works through those on the margins. Being an outsider doesn’t disqualify us — it positions us to encounter God in great ways.

If you feel like an outsider today, take heart. You are not alone, and you are not forgotten. Jesus understands your pain intimately.

Yours and my story matters. Your presence and my presence matters. And yours and my difference may be the very thing God uses to bring light into dark places.

This week, reach out to someone who may feel like an outsider. A kind word, a listening ear, or a simple invitation can be a powerful act of grace.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, 
thank You for showing us 
that being an outsider is not a curse. 
Help me to see Your purpose 
in my pain and Your presence in my isolation. 
Use me to reach others who feel left out, 
and remind me 
that I am always included in Your love. Amen.

John 4:1-15 

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, ‘Jesus is making and baptising more disciples than John’— although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized — he left Judea and started back to Galilee.  But he had to go through Samaria.

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 
The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’  The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.

The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

Reflection

A man once travelled by train through the Great Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India.  While other passengers pulled down their window shades to escape the harsh sun, he kept his open, gazing at the barren land with a smile. Curious, another passenger asked, “What do you see in that wasteland that makes you smile?” He replied, “I’m in the irrigation business. If we could only bring water here, this desert would become a garden.” He alone saw the desert’s potential.

Friends, Jesus alone saw the potential in the Samaritan woman.  Jesus saw a heart that could be transformed once irrigated by the living water of the Holy Spirit. He crossed barriers of race, gender, and culture to reach her.

This conversation with the Samaritan woman might be viewed as unexpected.  A Jew debating theology with a Samaritan results in her becoming an evangelist.  Weary and thirsty, sitting by a well, Jesus revealed both His humanity and His grace – asking something from her so that he could offer what she needed.

Jesus never used His power for Himself. He did not perform miracles to satisfy His own hunger or thirst. Instead, He honoured human effort and embraced human weakness, fully committing Himself to our salvation.

The Samaritan woman was offered the water of life—not because she deserved it, but because Jesus is gracious. And that same water is offered to us today.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, 
we confess we are unworthy, 
like the Samaritan woman. 
Quench our thirsty souls with Your living water. 
Wash us clean, and make us new creations for Your glory. 
We come to You, Lord—empty, needy, and trusting. 
Fill us with Your Spirit and lead us into new life.
Amen.

Welcome & Call To Worship
 
Welcome to worship on this Bank Holiday Sunday in August.  Let us come to worship God.
 
Lord God, we are here to worship you, 
the Lord and Creator of all things.  
We come… but wait, why do we come?  
Is it because that’s just what we do on a Sunday? 
Is it because there’s nothing else to do as the shops don’t open yet?  
Is it that we want to, but hope it won’t go on too long 
as dinner will be waiting? 
Lord God, we are here to worship you.  
Open our hearts and minds 
that we might forget our distractions and focus on you.  
We offer you our hearts and minds 
as we come together in praise and thanksgiving.  Amen
 
Hymn       Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908) Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise
 

2 ‘Don’t get too set 
in your ways,’ the Lord said,
‘Each step is only a phase,’ 
the Lord said,
‘I’ll go before you 
and I shall be a sign
to guide my travelling, 
wandering race,
You’re the people of God.’
 
3 ‘No matter what you may do,’ 
the Lord said,
‘I shall be faithful and true,’ 
the Lord said,
‘My love will strengthen you 
as you go along,
For you’re my travelling, 
wandering race,
You’re the people of God.’
 
4 ‘Look at the birds in the air,’ 
the Lord said,
‘They fly unhampered by care,’ 
the Lord said,
‘You will move easier
if you’re travelling light,
for you’re a wandering, 
vagabond race,
You’re the people of God.’
 
5 ‘Foxes have places to go’ 
the Lord said,
‘But I’ve no home here below,’ 
the Lord said,
‘So if you want to be with me 
all your days,
keep up the moving 
and travelling on,
You’re the people of God.’

Reading   St Matthew 16: 21-28
 
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’  But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.  Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
 
Sermon
 
When preparing for this service, on reading the passage from Exodus, where Moses encounters God, two songs came to mind.  “I am what I am”, made famous by Gloria Gaynor; and Pentatonix “Mary do you know”, particularly the last line which says “the sleeping child you’re holding is the great I Am”
 
The first song is a defiant anthem of self-acceptance, independence, and pride.  “I am what I am, and what I am needs no excuses”. The lyrics declare that one should embrace an authentic self without fear, apology, or the need for validation from others, celebrating individuality and the right to live openly.  (Check out the film La Cage aux Folles to find out why it matters)
 
The second song, sung mainly at Christmas, questions Mary as to whether she realises the importance of the child she holds in her arms and the man he would become.
 
In a passage that is often familiar, Moses encounters God in the desert in the form of a bush that is burning but not being used up.  God tells him to remove his sandals, as he is on holy ground.  When God then commissions Moses and is asked who Moses should say is speaking, God replies with “I am who I am”.  Hence the link to the songs.
 
In the New Testament passage, again, often familiar, Jesus is explaining that he must suffer and die.  Peter takes exception to this and tells Jesus No.  Jesus rebukes Peter and tells him that to be a true disciple involves taking up your cross to follow him.
 
How often do we like to think we are the Great I AM – Peter telling Jesus what he ought to do; Moses wanting to know who God was so he could tell others that it wasn’t him, but God who was speaking.  At the time of Moses, to give someone your name was to give them a part of yourself, so for Moses to ask God was virtually unheard of.
 
We like our rules and etiquette and traditions – what hymns we like, what time our services are, how we should live our lives – but how much is that limiting our worship, our discipleship, our service??  How much of our lives do we live for ourselves, and allow a little bit of space for God, and how much more would we live if we gave our whole lives to God?
 
I’m all for having confidence in yourself and being free to be your true self, being the person that God created you to be, but not if that (as we often see in world leaders and politicians) makes you think you are God, and can make decisions that affect millions of people and not always for the better.  Or making decisions that suit you and no-one else in the church, but no-one dare argue?
 
Moses spoke through fear – he knew to see God was dangerous enough, but to have the nerve to ask God to say who was speaking so he could tell the people, must have been terrifying for Moses.
 
Peter speaks through fear – he wants Jesus to change the world, but not through suffering.  He sees Jesus’ popularity as being the way forward, not the way to the cross and so speaks out.  Jesus sees this as Peter not seeing the bigger picture, of not realising the true cost of discipleship.
 
Do we stick to our traditions out of fear of rejection if we were to speak out in faith?  If we were to be true to our own discipleship journey, would we accept the cross as the way forward, or still seek to be popular and live by the rules that we have made?
 
Moses saw the miraculous and followed a dangerous path to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  The disciples witnessed the miraculous and followed Jesus to the cross and ultimately gave their lives for what they believed.
 
Have we seen the miraculous in our lives?  How far along the journey are we – and does our discipleship involve sacrifice and suffering alongside the joy of the good news?
 
Next time we are on Holy Ground (wherever that may be), let us take off our shoes, ground ourselves and let God speak.  Forgetting self, forgetting everything we have learnt before, and allowing God to guide us on that journey, leaving self behind and focusing on God, the true I AM.  Amen
 
Hymn       Before The Throne of God Above
Charitie Lees de Chenez (formerly Charitie Lees Bancroft, née Smith) (1841-1923) Tune © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). Text: © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). Performed by Megan & Matthew Blight, of Padstow Anglican Church, Sydney, Australia
 

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
a great High Priest 
whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
my name is written on his heart;
I know that while in 
heaven he stands
no tongue can bid me 
thence depart,
no tongue can bid me 
thence depart.
 
2 When Satan tempts 
me to despair,
and tells me of 
the guilt within,
upward I look 
and see him there
who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
my sinful soul 
is counted free;
for God the just is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me,
to look on him and pardon me.
 
3 Behold him there! the risen Lamb, my perfect, sinless righteousness;
the great unchangeable I AM, the King of glory and of grace!
One with himself I cannot die, my soul is purchased with his blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ my Saviour and my God,
with Christ my Saviour and my God.
 
Prayers of Intercession for the world
 
We offer our prayers for our World:  World; Our Nation; Regional; Local; Direct.
 
World
 
Lord, our world is broken.  So often we think we know best for your creation; for how to treat others in our world.  And yet around our world, nature is damaged and there are many who are starving, or oppressed, or at war, or in fear of war.  Use us to see the bigger picture that it is not about “me”, but about all.
 
Our Nation
 
Lord we offer our prayers for our country.  Trying to do the best for the people living here and those coming in to live here.  We pray that we may be a welcoming nation, not the “you can only come in if… and not near me” mentality.  You welcomed friend and stranger – may we do the same.
 
Regional
 
Lord, we all live in different areas, rural, urban, city centre.  We ask that you use us to be a light to those around us, bringing your love to those in need and bringing hope to those in despair.  May we speak up for those with no voice, and support those in power to make decisions for the benefit of all.
 
Local
 
Our streets used to be filled with the chatter of neighbours over garden fences and in streets.  Now they are silent, or visions of mobile phone conversations and closed doors.  We pray for those who are isolated as the world has moved on to technology, not talking.  May we speak to those around us, so they feel valued and part of the community in which we live.
 
Direct
 
Lord, you know our hearts and the issues that lie there.  We offer to you in a moment of quiet, those names and situations that are closest to us………
 
Speak to us Lord to show how we can support those we love, and offer comfort to those in need.  Help us to listen to others, not just to “fix” things.  Lord we offer our prayers for ourselves too.  We need your love and compassion and strength to face our daily lives.  Fill us with your Spirit that we may be that love and compassion and strength to others.
 
We offer these, and all our prayers in the precious name of Jesus.  Amen 
 
Offertory
 
May the offerings that we bring, 
our money, our talents, our skills, ourselves, 
in whatever form they are offered, 
be given in love, 
be given in hope, 
be given in prayer.  
May we offer ourselves too in your service.  Amen.
 
Hymn       All Creatures Of Our God And King
William Henry Draper (1855-1933) based on Laudato sii, O me signore St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun Public Domain Acapeldridge Music
 

All creatures of our God and King
lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thou burning sun 
with golden beam,
thou silver moon 
with softer gleam,
 
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
 
2 Thou rushing wind 
that art so strong,
ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise him, alleluia.
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
ye lights of evening, find a voice;
 
3 Thou flowing water, 
pure and clear,
make music for thy Lord to hear,
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
that givest us both 
warmth and light:
 
4 Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship Him in humbleness;
O praise him, alleluia.
Praise, praise the Father, 
praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One;

 
Blessing
 
As we go out into the world, 
to serve, to share and to be disciples, 
we know that we go out together, 
with a common purpose.  
Let us go out and be light and hope and support 
in all that we do.  Amen

Saturday 29th August 2026 
Let My People Go 

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”  Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:  “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.  But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

Mark 5: 25 -34 

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’  And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?”’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’
 
Reflection  
 
Isn’t it funny how two (or more) people can read the same text – and receive it totally differently!?!  I am sure my anonymous sister (yesterday) won’t mind me speaking back to her chosen passage.
 
I have long disliked this story!  I understand what people tell me it means, but I see it differently – maybe because I have struggled with ‘embarrassing’ health issues myself!  When I look at this passage, I see a woman who has suffered…struggled…and now, in desperation, inconspicuously touches Jesus’ garment, hoping for her long-awaited healing. And, praise God, she is healed.  She knows it straight away.  She has what she needs, and I think that was enough for her. She could go and live her life, sharing her news – or not – as she wished.  Either way, she was freed!  But Jesus demands to know who touched him. In the middle of this crowd, Jesus forces her to ‘out’ herself. People say Jesus was restoring her to her full part in society – but I assume the crowd (and wider society?) was unaware of her affliction – until she felt forced to share her story.  And how is her place actually restored?  Who can/will verify that she is healed?  And how?  Potentially, this is more humiliation for the woman who has suffered enough. Why could she not have agency to handle her news her way? Why was it OK for this man (albeit Jesus), existing in a man’s world, to decide what the woman should or shouldn’t do? 

[Editor’s note: look at Leviticus 15: 25-28 for the laws around ritual uncleanliness in this case; to be ritually unclean meant one was not allowed to take part in Temple worship but one could still worship at the Synagogue and say one’s own prayers.  Impurity was a ritual not moral issue.]
 
I wonder about our reading of scripture – how often we take our understanding as being ‘the’ understanding, without considering the lens through which we (or others) see.  What looks like liberation for one may feel like torture for another – coloured by geography, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, (dis)abilities, age, and more.  Maybe we need to actively consider different perspectives – and we may all be enabled to see more fully, even if not always more clearly.  
 
Prayer
 
God of gentleness,
Help me to walk gently,
Mindful that what I see
Is only one tiny part
Of what there is to be seen;
That what I understand
Is understood in a myriad ways
By those who see
From countless different vantage points.
 
Give us humility to recognise
That all of us,
All together,
Could never fully know you –
Our infinite,
Intimate,
Unknowable God –
Yet each of us
Has something of value to share.  Amen

Mark 5: 25 -34 

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’  Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’  And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?”’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’
 
Reflection

This story appears in all three Synoptic Gospels. I am drawn to the version in Mark – with its conversation between Jesus and his disciples, and the woman who initially approached Jesus in fear and trembling going on to identify herself as the one who had touched his garment.
 
Immediately before this encounter, a senior member of the synagogue had come to Jesus explaining that his daughter was gravely ill and requesting that Jesus come and restore her. Jesus was on his way to do just that, when suddenly, it happened.  To everyone’s surprise, Jesus stopped and allowed the unnamed woman to share her story. He listens. He calls her ‘Daughter’. He highlights that her faith has made her well.
 
I love that the woman’s healing took place at her own initiative. Her actions were full of risk, breaking all the social rules and norms – but worth it! She knew she had been healed from the moment she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. In many of his healing miracles, Jesus asked people not to say anything to anyone over concerns of being overwhelmed. This time, he did not give that instruction – so I wonder about the people with whom the woman shared her story. It was such a personal story, so perhaps she only shared it with other women…in those days you didn’t talk about such things! But the woman had been healed by Jesus. No judgement…just a welcome to the family and back into society.  What a testimony! I wonder, how many lives have been changed by hearing the woman’s account?
 
But you know, we all have a story to share. It may not be as dramatic as the healing of this woman, but we have faith – and Jesus affirms that faith is strong enough to make us whole. So, share the story of Jesus’ touch on your life – and it might just encourage others to reach out to Jesus too.  
 
Prayer

Jesus, the great Healer, 
we remember your ministry of healing 
and how you changed the lives of so many people 
as you brought healing and wholeness.
In your mercy, we seek your renewing touch 
on body, mind and spirit to those who need healing.
Restore us.  Touch our lives afresh, 
and bring us closer to your kingdom.
Amen

A Prayer for Greenbelt

Dear Friends,

The Christian Greenbelt festival takes place this weekend and members of the URC will be very busy there staffing a tent alongside the Trussell Trust.  Our volunteers will be staffing a cafe for festival goers.  Roo Stuart, Head of Public Issues for the Offices of General Assembly will be leading our team there and offers this prayer for public and personal use:

God who journeys with us,
thank you for Greenbelt Festival 2026 in all its variety, and its invitation to “Let it all go”.
We ask you to hold the URC’s presence there in your care.
May we and our tent partners, Trussell, share your love for all who attend with generosity and joy.
 
Protect and strengthen our volunteer team who will offer their time and talents in familiar or new ways.
Guide those who will plan, prepare and serve food in the café, and bless their work of hospitality.
Inspire with creativity those who lead the programme: speakers, musicians, artists and facilitators.
May their work open hearts, stir imagination, and create space for honest faith and hopeful conversation.
 
We pray for all who will gather to eat with us or engage with the programme:
may they find welcome, curiosity and moments of deep encounter with you.
For those who come on their own, help them find kindred spirits.
For those who come carrying heavy burdens, may this festival be a place of release and restoration.
Be especially close to the children and families who attend:
may their experience be safe and filled with friendship and delight.
 
In every conversation, performance and act of service, may your Spirit move freely.
Teach us all what it means to let things go,
and to trust more deeply in you at each stage of our journey.
 
We ask these things in the name of Jesus,
who calls us into freedom and new life.
Amen

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

Isaiah 43:1-3a

But now thus says the Lord,
    he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
 
Isaiah 43:18-21

Do not remember the former things,
    or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
    the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
 
Reflection  
 
I love this passage.
I love the reassurance of the opening verses.  
I hear my name – God has got you, Karen.
God created you, formed you, saves you.
 
God is with me – calling me by my name –
So, there can be no mistake…
It’s definitely me that is being called!
 
The fire may rage – God has got me!
The waters may swell and threaten to overwhelm – God is still there!
‘You will not be consumed.  You will not be destroyed.’
That still, small voice, saying, ‘Karen – you’re going to be ok!’
Beautiful!
 
But you know, in truth, things sometimes feel unrelentingly hard!
Where are you, Lord?  
What good are your promises when, in the thick of things,
You seem to be silent… you seem to be absent…?
 
Then I am reminded that God also says, ‘I am doing a new thing!
That fire…?  It won’t rage forever!
Those waters…?  They will be quieted!
Look…!  Look…!  I’m already doing something new…
 
‘Don’t you see it?
I need you to see it –
Because you are part of it!
 
‘The way I work is through my people –
Who I formed,
Who I call,
Who I accompany on the journey…’
 
And I know it’s true –
Because I have never believed in magic,
But I see your miracles at work
Where ordinary people will listen and hear and respond to you.
 
So, I hear God speaking through this passage…
‘I am still calling you – by your name!
I have work for you to do…
 
‘And yes –
You may pass through the fires,
Through the waters,
Through the parched and desolate lands –
But I have got you held.
 
‘Do not fear, because I will never leave you alone,
I created you,
I formed you
I call you – by name.
 
‘Listen… and know that you are mine!’
 
Prayer

What a wonderful thing
To be known, and called, and loved
For who I am.
 
Whatever I have been,
Or may be in the future,
Right now, I’m just me –
 
And I rejoice that you choose me –
You claim me as your own,
You have plans for me
And refuse to let me go.
 
Loving God,
How wonderful!
 
May all your people
Know the same reassurance –
Of your voice
Calling them by name.  Amen