Christian Aid Week
10–16 May 2009
Order of service
Welcome
Opening responses
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
Lord God, we praise you,
We praise you, God of love.
As you bring light into darkness,
And hope to our world.
As you bring comfort to those suffering
And a full life for all.
As you bring conviction to our hearts
And every-day miracles of change to our world.
Song or hymn of gathering
Introduction
Leader:
Today is Christian Aid Sunday. And so our worship focuses on the God of love, who
calls us to live lives of compassion. We will hear about Christian Aid’s part in keeping
hope alive for some of the poorest communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
– a country emerging out of the darkness of conflict and establishing itself in fragile
hope. And through the stories of young people in Kinshasa, and the words of scripture
we meditate on, we will be inspired again, ready to put love into action for poor
communities this Christian Aid Week and beyond.
Prayer of confession
All:
Most merciful God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We confess that we have sinned.
We have turned our faces away from the poverty and injustice
We did not want to see.
And have chosen indifference, despair and complacency
In place of a steadfast belief
That you hold every human life infinitely dear.
We have forgotten your greatest commandments;
Replacing love of you with love of ourselves,
And elevating material comfort above loving our neighbour.
In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and
direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly
with you, our God. Amen
Leader:
May our gracious and loving God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon
us; pardon and deliver us from our indifference; confirm and strengthen us in
wholehearted living; use us as agents of hope and change; and keep us in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All-age talk
Song or hymn of praise
Audio slideshow: Christian Aid in the DRC or reading: ‘Hope on the Streets of
Kinshasa’
Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
Song or hymn of concern
Optional readings:
Psalm 22 (22-31)
John 15:1-8
Sermon or video: The Word on Love
‘Meditative prayer song’ or video: If I Have Not Love
Interactive prayer stations or formal prayers of intercession
Song or hymn of commissioning
Offering our actions and gifts
Leader:
Thank you loving God for hearing our prayers for transformation. Move in our hearts now
and inspire us to be part of your miracle of change.
Nadia has given sacrificially to her family, her church and the young girls she is now
training. She is using her circles of influence to bring positive change – through her time,
her songs and her compassion for others less fortunate even than her.
We now have an opportunity to use our circles of influence. We can choose to love by
giving sacrificially to some of the poorest communities in the world, who are supported by
Christian Aid’s work. And we can bring about change for those worst affected by climate
change, by raising our voices to demand that the needs and rights of the poorest
communities are heard.
We will now take a few minutes of quiet for our collection, and to fill out our action cards.
While you are doing this, please think and pray about climate change, the communities
affected even now by unpredictable weather patterns, and our responsibility to hold the
powerful to account for the needs of the most vulnerable.
Leader:
When you have finished, please come to the front and put your envelope and card inside
the circle at the front, to represent us as a community, using our circles of influence to
support people such as Nadia and Jimmy all over the world.
As each person comes forward they say:
Lord, take my influence, which comes from you, and use it for those who
have so little.
Leader:
Loving God, thank you for the generosity of your people. We pray that you will bless all
that we have given from our circle of influence, and use it to give influence to the poorest
communities. Keep challenging us to be outwardly focused – quick to feel compassion,
ready to pray, eager to give, and determined to act.
Leader:
We say together the prayer on the cards.
Prayer for Christian Aid Week
All:
God of love, who is love,
Melt my indifferent heart of stone.
Open my eyes to your children’s suffering
And lift my head to see your perfect love again.
Work a miracle in my life
That through your Spirit
And my softened heart’s obedience
I might give my very self to keep hope alive,
And to be the change you require.
Amen.
Com missioning of collectors and all those active in Christian Aid Week
Leader:
Today we have heard again God’s call to worship him through loving others. We have
been inspired by Nadia and Humanité Nouvelle to lift our eyes and see another way,
when we are confronted by suffering, and tempted to despair. We long to play our part
too in keeping hope alive for the poor, the broken and the weak. We pray for all of us
here that what we have heard today will remain unshakeable in our hearts, and that
God will give us opportunities every day to respond to his hurting world.
And now we come to pray especially for all those involved in Christian Aid Week
activities.
Leader:
Loving God,
We pray for these people of your word,
Obedient to your call of compassion
And ready to act justly.
All:
Father, we ask that you will give them your eyes, so that they might see their
tasks, to-do lists and planned activities as the rich acts of love they are. Take
the envelopes they see filled, action cards completed, and events full of people,
and use them to bring fullness of life to those in need.
Commissionees: Father as we your children give out this week, fill our hearts with your perfect love.
Keep us overflowing with your compassion for those we serve. For the sake of your
Son Jesus Christ, whose example we seek to follow. Amen.
Closing song: ‘Lord, I Lift Your Name on High’
(Nadia’s favourite worship song)
Lord I lift your name on high
Lord I love to sing your praises
I’m so glad you’re in my life
I’m so glad you came to save us
You came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord I lift your name on high
Words and music by Rick Founds. © 1989 Maranatha Praise Inc. Administered by CopyCare, PO Box 77, Hailsham BN27 3EF, UK.
Closing responses
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
When the darkness of poverty fills our view
We will lift our heads to see your light.
When our joy is silenced
We will fill the earth with a song of praise to you.
When we see change as an unachievable miracle, rather than our daily
responsibility
We will look to you to keep our hope alive, and to fill us again with your
perfect love for our brothers and sisters.
And so may the blessing of God,
Who is love, and stirs up love within us,
Be with us now and always.
Amen.
A Eucharistic prayer for Christian Aid Week
Leader:
All:
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Leader:
All:
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Leader:
All:
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give you thanks and praise.
Leader:
Loving God, it is right to give you thanks and praise. You are the inventor, sustainer and
source of all hope. You made the heavens and the earth to reflect and proclaim your love.
And you made people enter into a relationship with you. Therefore, we praise you, joining
with the angels, creation and your children as we say:
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.
Leader:
All glory to you, loving God. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, you offered us the ultimate
gift of love. In his life he modelled for us how to worship you – by walking with the poor. In
his life, he showed us how to love one another, and in his death on the cross he made the
way open for us to freely receive your life-giving love. This Christian Aid Sunday, we pray
that we would once again be inspired by the example of Christ, filled with the power of the
spirit, and reinvigorated to be agents of hope, fully obedient to our Father’s plan.
Come God of love, who is love.
All:
Leader:
All:
Leader:
All:
On the night before he died, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he
broke it and gave it to his disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is my body which is given for
you. Do this in remembrance of me’.
Come God of love, who is love.
As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he had given thanks, he
gave it to them and said, ‘Drink this all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for all the human family for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in
remembrance of me.’
Come God of love, who is love.
Leader:
All:
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again.
Leader:
Loving God, bless these gifts, so that as we come to your table to receive your body and
blood, we are set free from our indifference, and released to freely share your banquet
with our sisters and brothers around the world. All this we ask in the precious name of
your Son.
Amen.
All:
Acknowledgements
These resources were written for Christian Aid by Liz Baddaley, Laura Bardwell, Helen Barratt, Pippa
Durn, David Hardman and Chris Mead.
Nadia’s, Josué’s and Jimmy’s stories were researched and collected for Christian Aid by Sarah Filbey.
‘Lord I Lift Your Name on High’ was written by Rick Founds and is used with kind permission. © 1989
Maranatha Praise Inc. Administered by CopyCare, PO Box 77, Hailsham BN27 3EF, UK.
© Christian Aid 2009
UK charity number 1105851 Company number 5171525
Scotland charity number SC039150
Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154
Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928