Friday 15th April, 2022
Prepared by Rev. Joan Pell & David Welbourn
Good Friday

To go along with this Lent series, we have a Circuit Lent Study Rising to the Call. You can find more details about the study and download it here:

Call to Worship

The cry of injustice calls us to follow Jesus to the pain of the cross,
as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s rising from death.
Jesus chose the way of risk; strengthen us to resist the easy option.
Jesus listened to the voices of the powerless; help us to hear your word.
Jesus showed us grace and mercy; we come seeking your forgiveness and renewal.
Jesus embodied humility and righteousness; fill us with the courage to examine our ways.
Jesus respected all, without favour; enable us to seek the good in all things.
Jesus sought out the rejected; teach us to stand alongside the marginalised.
Together, we seek to follow your path to justice, rising to the call and demands of discipleship.

Hymn: StF 287 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts, 1674-1748)

When I survey the wondrous cross,
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down;
did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
spreads o’er his body on the tree;
then am I dead to all the globe,
and all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

Prayer

O God of love, we hear the cry of injustice calling us to follow Jesus to the pain of the cross. A little of the light which has come into the world is snuffed out:

when we give in to temptation,
when we do not listen,
when we fail to seek or offer forgiveness.,
when we lack the courage to examine our ways,
when we take no action because we are afraid of doing the wrong thing,
when we fail to stand up for justice.

Guide us towards the darkness of the cross, emboldening us to rise to the call of each new challenge placed before us, as we trust in your promises, revealing the power of transformation, and the hope of resurrection.

In silent prayer now, lift up your concerns for creation and the world …  Our Father …

Hymn (Tune: StF 418 – Fulda) As God surveyed the world He wrought (© David Welbourn)

As God surveyed the world He wrought, 
He saw with joy, that it was good.
In human hands he left the task:
To tend with love, his only ask.

It didn’t take we humans long
To raid and plunder where we could;
To conquer more with each new day
Destroying all along the way.

Instead of love and care for all
The world was shaped around the rich.
The poor ignored without a voice,
Cast to one side with little choice,

The earth’s resources stripped and mined,
To feed demand which knew no bounds,
To honour wealth became our greed
New things to own to meet our need.

Creation creaks under the strain,
Species extinct, abundance gone,
All beauty marred by heaps of waste,
Air fresh no more, with poisons laced.

In this divided, broken world,
Your Spirit calls for us to change.
With justice first, and no more sin,
Then mercy, love and peace can win.

Scripture            Luke 22:14-38 – The Last Supper

Story                     A Story of Love (Roddy Hamilton, posted on “Listening to the Stones”)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son….” John 3:16

gather round
I have a story to tell
of one who reached inside himself
and took a handful of love
like a pile of stardust
and said: this is for you
it is all you need
it is all you will ever need
there is enough here
to change the whole world
take it

many laughed at him
mocked him
and ignored the invitation

but some dared to take it
and those who did
noticed something about this love
they found they could do what the gift-giver could do
they could stand with the lost
welcome the traveler
eat with the hungry
they found themselves doing what the man first did to them
give something of themselves to others
they became like the man
offering themselves
and as they offered themselves
others took the invitation
and many still do
and many still trust
it is enough to change the whole world

Scripture            Luke 22:39-23:56 – The Passion Story

Response           Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Prayer

Jesus said: Father forgive them: they do not know what they are doing. 
Father, we too need your forgiveness when we fail to recognise the true implications of our actions and words. Amen.

Hymn: STF 278 O Love Divine (Charles Wesley, 1707-1788)

O Love divine, what have you done!
The immortal God has died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
bore all my sins upon the tree;
the immortal God for me has died!
My Lord, my Love is crucified.

Then let us stand beneath the cross,
and feel his love a healing stream,
all things for him account but loss,
and give up all our hearts to him;
of nothing think or speak beside:
my Lord, my Love is crucified.

Dismissal

Go on your way to watch and wait, trusting in God’s promises and the hope of resurrection.