Prayer and Worship
Private Prayer in church
All five of our churches are still open again for private prayer. We must remain cautious and hygiene and safety measures are in place to enable this to take place with reasonably low risk to visitors. Provided all visitors are healthy, wash hands with sanitser and follow the procedures for social distancing, the church which was close for three months will reamin virus free.
Prayer stations and resources to take home have been set out. Or you might just like to have a quiet place to sit and pray. At present we advise that no more than ten people enter any church at any one time.
More details of how we might develop this will follow.
Public Worship - Is BACK but we're keeping some services available online
We have found many exciting new ways to be 'Church' and worship together on line and even over the phone. And some of that will continue.
These pages provide a launch pad for creative ideas through which we can worship and pray to God from our homes .
I have provided three main sets of resources:
Ways to worship from home
We have so much going on. This is a collection of links to our broadcasts, service booklets and a selection ideas to both recreate and preserve something of the way we have worshipped together in our church buildings in the past and discover new ways to be church in the future. Join us here.
Worship online...
We have some services on Zoom. For security reasons the links are only shared directly with members on our email list.
Join our regular email list to get the links to interactive services via zoom
We share the links to YouTube on this website and you can also find Red James Sawyer's Channel here on YouTube.
You can also email your prayer request here
Praying anywhere
These resources are some of the many ways you might develop a connection with God, wherever you are. There are some conventional liturgies and some ideas to make a prayer space in your home. I've also uploaded sound recordings of different services to provide a voice to pray with you if you are alone.
There are some prayers for praying with Children and all sorts of other resources to help families during the COVID-19 outbreak in our Children's Resources section.
There is also a help section on ways to pray
Bible Study
These resources are intended to help and encourage greater understanding of the bible.
We also hope to provide links and information to our own prayer and stydy groups.
If you have ideas, needs, comments... please get in touch
A blessing for the UK
You might like this video (lyrics here if you want to sing along):
A prayer for all those affected by coronavirus
Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy.
Sustain and support the anxious,
be with those who care for the sick,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may find comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
More resources from the Church of England and other Christian websites
Discover links to regular broadcasts from our Archbishops and Bishops and a selection of outher materials to help us as we stay at home.
Church of England dedicated pages during the pandemic.
Other sites that may be of interest:
Resources recommended by the Church Times.
Including their weekly free PDF 'Lift up your hearts'
The Dioces of St Albans has a number of useful resources on offer and messages for our bishops.
St Albans Cathedral have been live streaming a number of services which you may enjoy.
The Lord’s Prayer
It is a source of great comfort to those of us who sometime struggle with prayer to know that the Disciples struggled too! They asked Jesus how to pray - they saw that deep relationship between Christ and his Father, and they saw how their own relationship with God was lacking so they asked for help. Jesus’ response is what we call the Lord’s Prayer:
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.
Jesus broke all the rules of his time and told us we can call God Father or even Dad. This intimacy was revolutionary - and still is. We are to pray also for ‘Thy Kingdom to come’ - we want Earth to become as Heaven (and we are to work for this too). We know we get it wrong and we need forgiveness, and indeed to believe that we ourselves are forgiven; and we need help to forgive others. And we need to praise God and know that his Kingdom is the one we pray for and the one we need - always. Forever. Amen.
Contact
The Vicarage
Great Hormead
Buntingford
Hertfordshire
SG9 0NT
01763 289258