Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

24th July 2022

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year C

6th Sunday after Trinity

Proper 12

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ORDER OF SERVICE

You can click to expand or minimize the order of service below.

All are requested to join in wherever text is GREEN or when instructed by Fr. David.

Where the is shown, all are encouraged to make the sign of the cross.

Where the is shown all are encouraged to strike their breast with a closed hand following the actions of Fr. David.

Where the is shown all are encouraged to tap their breast with an open hand following the actions of Fr. David.

Greetings to you all to our Eucharist Service on the (proper)

A particular welcome to you if you are joining us on the internet either now on the Livestream or later on the replay.

You are very welcome; we are very delighted to have you.

Please bring your own petitions, cares and concerns to God and offer them alongside ours.

As usual, you will find all the spoken and sung material for today’s service on our Facebook page and also on our website.

Remember please, the link to donate or the donate button.  We are very much in need of money to assist with our Ministry.

Now, if you are able, please will you stand as we sing

Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness,
Wake your noblest, sweetest strain,
With the praises of your Saviour
Let his house resound again;
Him let all your music honour,
And your songs exult his reign.

Now on high, yet ever with us,
From his Father’s throne the Son
Rules and guides the world he ransomed,
Till the appointed work be done,
Till he see, renewed and perfect,
All things gathered into one.

Alleluia to the Father,
Alleluia to the Son,
Alleluia to the Spirit,
Ever three and ever one,
One in love and one in glory,
While unending ages run. Amen

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen

 

From Easter to Pentecost:

Allelulia. Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

 

In Lent and other penitential occasions:

Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins;

His mercy endures for ever.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts be 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.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

This prayer is omitted during Lent and Advent:

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s 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 sin 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.

 Holy God, holy and mighty , holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

A reading from the book of

Genesis

20Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” 22So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.

23Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”26And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Psalm 138

1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
before the gods, I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name, *
because of your love and faithfulness;
3 For you have glorified your Name *
and your word above all things.
4 When I called, you answered me; *
you increased my strength within me.
5 All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, *
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
6 They will sing of the ways of the Lord, *
that great is the glory of the Lord.
7 Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *
he perceives the haughty from afar.
8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.
9 The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *
O Lord, your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.

A reading from the book of

Colossians

6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

13And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

16Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

All stand for the Acclamation and Gospel reading.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us;

to all who did accept him, he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to:

Luke

1He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3Give us each day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” 5And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

After the Gospel reading

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The Lord’s Prayer. The Our Father. Many of us know this prayer by heart. I remember reciting it as a child, in the King James version, of course, and the words are still burned into my memory, all these years later. “Our Father, who art in heaven…” I first said this prayer in the innocence of childhood, and now I read it from the altar, as a priest, before communion. It is funny how these words follow us through the decades, like an old friend, echoing through the years and the changing seasons of life… We grow and change but this prayer always remains the same. It has a constancy that is hard to find in this world. And perhaps this is why some of us like to say it in bed, just before sleep. We feel safer in its presence. It is easier to fall asleep because we know, intuitively, that the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, guards us and remains with us through the night. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” And as we lay there and say these words, the world around us dissolves, darkness falls in the mind, and yet all is well, and soon enough we awake, refreshed. Yes, the Lord’s Prayer eases the passage between day and night.
It is a fascinating thing; the way prayer thins the boundary between sleep and waking life.
As we pray, we enter God’s presence, and the world begins to feel magical, full of possibilities, as in a dream, and yet there is also a feeling of safety as if it is still day, the time when light is everywhere, and we can see.
There are monks who say that night is the best time for prayer. This is hardly surprising; why else would they rise at ungodly hours and hold vigil through the night? Maybe prayer and the night go together because sleep is a vivid and clear image of surrender; falling asleep, we surrender ourselves fully, our ordinary awareness dissolves, and likewise, in prayer, we give our whole selves to God, dissolving into Him, as into deep sleep. Indeed, prayer is—at its most fundamental level—about surrender, consent, and giving ourselves over to God.
“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” As we say these words, we lay down our wills, and we consent to God’s presence and action in our hearts. Several decades ago, a group of Trappist monks from Massachusetts—William Menninger, Thomas Keating, and Basil Pennington—saw that young people were increasingly drawn to meditation, and they decided to look over the writings of the Christian mystics and distil their wisdom into a single practice. And ultimately, they came up with centering prayer. This practice is based mostly on The Cloud of Unknowing, a medieval text written by an anonymous English monk, and on the writings of St. John of the Cross.
In centering prayer, we do not speak; we merely consent to God, we move into His mystery, wade into the darkness with trust and faith, knowing all the while that—even in that silence, where nothing seems to be happening—God is moving in us, communing with our spirit.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…” This is an attitude that Meister Eckhart calls “detachment,” and that Marguerite Porete calls the “annihilation of the will.” Centering prayer is another way of saying “Thy will be done.” It is a way of embodying the Lord’s Prayer. And as we replace willing with non-willing, as we let go, the ego thins and we begin to see God, and we begin to realize that God was always near, ever-present in the depths of our hearts.
Later in our gospel, as Christ continues to teach his disciples about prayer, He tells them a parable. Prayer, he says, is like going to a friend’s home in the middle of the night to ask for bread. This midnight is the darkness of God’s mystery, and we seek the friend, Christ, in that darkness. We persist, we knock on the door, by abandoning our will to God, again and again, immersed in the darkness yet resolute, pounding the door without tiring, expressing our desire for God not through many words but through a simple, humble consent. To pray in this way is to come to Christ at midnight: In the darkness of unknowing and surrender. This humility is a state of prayer.
Midnight is dark, but we know—intuitively—that the friend is there, and we must continue groping through the darkness, toward the warmth of God’s presence, a presence we can feel but cannot yet see.
The house of the friend is the heart. And to enter the heart, where Christ dwells, we must go to Him at midnight, in the darkness of humble surrender, and not in the harsh daylight of egoism and false certainty. Yes, midnight is the hour of surrender. And in prayer we drift away into God, into the unknown, into the mystery, and yet here we find the friend, Christ, in the darkness, ready to meet us, ready to give us bread, to break bread with us, in the fellowship of spiritual union.
Amen.

Please stand for the Nicene Creed.

Let us together affirm the faith of the Church. 

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,

and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

 and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

As children of our heavenly father, let us pray for the church and for the world.

Going to your church, rooted and grounded in Christ, in the way of the Gospel…. As you have told us to pray, keep us in constant prayer … Increase our faith, that we may bring our needs before you with perfect confidence.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for the welfare of your church here on earth; guide and govern it by your Spirit, so that all Christians may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in the unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and righteousness of life.

We ask your blessing on +Vsevolod our Bishop, on this, our parish of St. George – for its work, its worship and its witness. We pray particularly for Fr. David, the ministry team, and for all members of our congregation, be they near or far.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

Release all people from the selfishness of the closed door and the closed heart… Help them to care for the needs of others, knowing they are children of the same father.

Give Grace to us, our families, friends and neighbours, to be generous in giving… Teach us how to share our spiritual blessings and the good news of the Kingdom.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations of the world, most particularly for the King and Government of Thailand at this time of unrest, and also in the countries from which we come. We remember also all the people in countries that have had problems of any kind during this past week.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for all those who feel excluded from the company of others… For those whose pleas for help in distress have been ignored…give strength and perseverance to agencies of relief.

We pray for all who are prevented from or persecuted for practising their faith, wherever they may be. We pray for our fellow Christians, both here in Thailand, and also in our own home countries.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

We pray for all those who suffer in body, mind and spirit; the sick; the poor; the depressed; the lonely; the afraid, the unloved; the persecuted; the unemployed and those who care for them. Those who grieve; and those who have nobody to pray for them.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

We remember all those who have been touched by the COVID 19 pandemic; particularly here in PattaYa. We give you thanks that Thailand is increasingly reopening to visitors from abroad, and we pray that the new emerging variants do not pose any further risk of suffering or disruption.

Amongst the sick we remember;

Fr. Tom, Brian, Colin, Mavis, Patricia, Eric, Kent, Elizabeth, Conrad, Griselda, Jun, Martyn, Dave, Carole, Emilia, John, Roy, Leonard and any others, known personally to each and every one of us…

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

Received the faithful departed who prayed on Earth that their sins might be forgiven… As they were buried with Christ in baptism, made a Roy’s with him to eternal life.

For all who have died recently…. Richard (1) and Martin (1)

and we pray for…(and) all those whose anniversaries occur at this time and known to us, either collectively or individually.

Lord, hear us.  Lord, graciously hear us.

[FR. ZACH] – g). We make our pray in the Name of Christ, who has taught us how we should pray.

Almighty God, who has promised to hear our prayers,

Grant that what we have asked in faith we may by your grace receive, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.  

THE CONFESSION:

God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy, welcoming sinners and inviting them to the Lord’s table.

Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God’s forgiveness.

Merciful God, our maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, and in what we have failed to do: we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves; we repent and are sorry for all our sins , Father forgive us, strengthen us to love and obey you in newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

**(Note: all are encouraged to strike their breast 3 times following the lead of Fr. David as he utters the words: ‘sorry for all our sins’)**

THE PEACE:

The congregation stands.

We are the Body of Christ.

His Spirit is with us.

 

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Please greet each other with a sign of peace.

Thy kingdom come, O God,
Thy rule, O Christ, begin;
Break with thine iron rod
The tyrannies of sin.

Where is thy reign of peace
And purity and love?
When shall all hatred cease,
As in the realms above?

When comes the promised time
That war shall be no more,
And lust, oppression, crime,
Shall flee thy face before?

We pray thee, Lord, arise,
And come in thy great might;
Revive our longing eyes,
Which languish for thy sight.
O’er lands both near and far
Thick darkness broodeth yet:
Arise, O morning Star,
Arise, and never set.

THE OFFERTORY

Blessed are you, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have these gifts to share. Accept and use our offerings for your glory and the service of your kingdom.

Blessed be God forever.

 Let us pray

We do not presume to come to your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.  We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.  Amen.

The Lord be with you.

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.

Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word, through whom you have created all things; who was sent by you in your great goodness to be our Saviour.

By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh; as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us; he opened wide his arms for us on the cross; he put an end to death by dying for us; and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life; so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.

Proper Preface

Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you and saying:

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.

Lord, you are holy indeed, the source of all holiness; grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit, and according to your holy will, these gifts of bread and wine may be to us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body  which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks; he gave it to them, saying: 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.

Great is the mystery of faith:

Christ has died:

Christ is risen:

Christ will come again.

And so, Father, calling to mind his death on the cross, his perfect sacrifice, made once for the sins of the whole world; rejoicing in his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming in glory, we celebrate this memorial of our redemption.

As we offer you this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, we bring before you this bread and this cup and we thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. Send the Holy Spirit on your people and gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of [N and] all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, and in whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us pray with confidence to the Father, as our Saviour has taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.  

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

**(Note:  All are encouraged to tap their breast three times following the example of Fr. David as he utters the words ‘…have mercy, …have mercy and …grant us peace’)**

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

This is the Lamb of God , who takes away the sins of the world;

Happy 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.

**(Note:  All are encouraged to strike breast following the example of Fr. David as all utter the words ‘not worthy’)** 

After Communion the celebrant and the congregation say

 

Let us pray.

Father of all we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. 

Keep us in this hope that we have grasped; so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name.

Father, we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice through Jesus Christ our Lord. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord: and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit , be amongst you and remain with you always.

Amen.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord:

In the name of Christ.  Amen.

Thank you all for being with us today, either here in the chapel or scattered around the world.  We are delighted to have you, to share our worship with you.

We hope that you will join us again in future weeks.

You remember please that as a Mission Church we are in need of your support to enable our ministry and you will find details of how to donate on our website StGeorgesPattaya.com

Now, if you are able please, will you stand as we sing;

(First line of last hymn)

Lord Jesus Christ,
You have come to us,
You are one with us,
Mary’s Son;
Cleansing our souls from all their sin,
Pouring your love and goodness in;
Jesus, our love to you we sing,
Living Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ,
Now and every day
Teach us how to pray,
Son of God.
You have commanded us to do
This in remembrance, Lord, of you:
Into our lives your power breaks through,
Living Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ,
I would come to you,
Live my life for you,
Son of God.
All your commands I know are true,
Your many gifts will make me new,
Into my life your power breaks through,
Living Lord.

CONTRIBUTE TO OUR WORK

Music

Here is the music for this week’s hymns, if you would like to practice beforehand.

Performed by Fr. David Price

NOTE: The introductory music is ‘Allegro’, from Concerto in C – Felton