Welcome Service for Reverend Lisa Quarmby

Co-Superintendent for Sheffield Circuit,

Minister for Victoria Stafford Rd, and the Church of Christ at Darnall

Leader: Reverend Sally Coleman

President and Preacher: Reverend Gill Newton

As we are scattered so we meet,

We meet with one mind, in soul and in spirit,

And in the Spirit of truth and life

we come to worship God,

The God of love with us, the eternal creator,

The God of love with us, the revealing son,

The God of love with us, the empowering Spirit.

Hymn:

The church of Christ, in every age,
beset by change but Spirit-led,
must claim and test its heritage
and keep on rising from the dead.

Across the world, across the street,
the victims of injustice cry
for shelter and for bread to eat,
and never live until they die.

Then let the servant church arise,
a caring church that longs to be
a partner in Christ’s sacrifice,
and clothed in Christ’s humanity.

For he alone, whose blood was shed,
can cure the fever in our blood,
and teach us how to share our bread
and feed the starving multitude.

We have no mission but to serve
in full obedience to our Lord,
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread his liberating Word.

Loving God, you call your people again and again to new beginnings, and, again we turn to you,

We remember that when the earth was new, you made and gave life, in all its beauty and diversity.

Again, we turn to you

When we least expected it you came, in the form of a new-born child, turning expectations upside down!

Again, we turn to you

Then, surrounded by unexpected ones, outcasts, thieves, anxious rulers, and silent friends, you took upon yourself the burden of the whole worlds pain, suffering death upon the cross.

Again, we turn to you

The early in the morning, attended to by women bearing burial spices, you made your resurrection known, coming back to those and for those who had run from, despised, and denied you.

Again, we turn to you

So again today, in the multicoloured, always diverse expression of your church so we come.

Bring to us renewed life, renewed hope, renewed love.

Forgive us when we have wounded, heal us when we feel hurt.

Soften us when we are hard-hearted.

Free us when we have become prisoners, even of ourselves.

Set us free in the life, love, and joy of your Spirit we pray.

(silence)

To all God comes, setting us free to love and serve to live afresh again.

Thanks be to God

Amen

Scripture Readings:

Joshua 3: 1-17

Hebrews 12: 1-3

Sermon: The Reverend Gill Newton – District Chair

Hymn:

Sent by the Lord am I;
My hands are ready now
To make the earth a place
In which the kingdom comes.
  (Repeat)

The angels cannot change
A world of hurt and pain
Into a world of love,
Of justice and of peace.

The task is mine to do,
To set it really free.
O help me to obey;
Help me to do your will.

Gill: Sisters and brothers, I present to you Lisa who has been appointed by the Conference to serve in this Circuit.

Lisa, will you hold before us the story of God’s love and mercy, above all the Gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and will you be among us as one who preaches the word of God, administers Baptism, presides at the Lord’s Supper, teaches the faith and cares for the flock?

Lisa: I will, I ask God to help me, and I invite you all to join with me in proclaiming the Gospel of life and hope.

Through Christ we have Good News to share

Gill: Will you hold before us God’s call to holy living, and be among us as one who awakens the careless and strengthens the faithful?

Lisa:  I will, I ask God to help me, and I invite you all to join with me in commitment to the way of Christ.

May we reveal Christ’s way through our words and example

Gill: Will you hold before us God’s commitment to human community, to our neighbourhoods, and to all who live within them and to the world that God has made?

Lisa: I will, I ask God to help me, and I invite you all to join with me in sharing God’s all-embracing love.

May we respond to Christ in all we meet

Gill: Lisa, in Co-Superintendent partnership with James and with Sally to you is committed the responsibility for the life and work of this Circuit. Will you with them, and all your colleagues lay and ordained, care for its people, inspire it to witness and watch over its life in the name of Christ?

Lisa: I will, I ask God to help me. And all to join with me in the building and equipping of the people of God in this place.

We will join with you, in the work of God, in the seeking of grace, in the ministry and mission of all Christ’s people.

John: Lisa, we welcome you to the work and ministry of the Sheffield Circuit, and I ask all both gathered and scattered to offer you friendship, support and prayers as we join together in this work.

Welcomes are made.

Lisa is invited to respond with some words of testimony.

Hymn:

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live.
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true.
Where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat;
A banquet hall on holy ground, where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space,
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone,
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face,
Let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
And loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace.
Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

James: Prayers of intercession

To Jesus – the first and the last

We give praise for all that is past

We confess has been said and done

And trust him for all that is to come

So, let us pray –

Not for some future and rapture-filled day

When somehow God will wipe

All the tears

And the fears

Away

Because, that day, that day is surely coming.

But maybe it’ll be through how we join in

With what God’s already

And will be

Doing.

We pray to be the hands and feet and voice of Christ

Entering darkness in order to share the light

By walking humbly

And living justly

And, yes, showing mercy

Let’s take the next step together

Doesn’t matter if we’re stumbling

For we are the body of Christ

In this time and in this place

For this time and for this place

In the heart of the city

With a heart for the city

In the urban

And suburban

In the villages and in the towns

And everywhere else around

In silent solidarity

In acts of justice shouting loudly

And maybe sometimes our prayer just simply needs to be

‘God help us be

The answer to prayer for somebody

Else.

We’re all part of this kin-dom community

United by God in our diversity

We each bring something to the feast of the Lord’s table

In this sacrament for all, no matter how able

We think we that are

This love reaches far

Enough for

All races

And ages

All abilities

Sexualities

To Jesus – the first and the last

We give praise for all that is past

We confess has been said and done

And trust him for all that is to come

We give thanks for those who helped us to get here – for Phill and Tim

As we look ahead and the next step of the journey begins

We pray for the churches in Great Ayton

For Lisa, Andy, Niamh and Sam

For Darnall and Stafford Road as they continue what others began

And as the Spirit continually calls us to the other

We might find different ways and places to be sisters and brothers

So

To Jesus – the first and the last

We give praise for all that is past

We confess has been said and done

And trust him for all that is to come

In whatever version or language is right for us

Let us say together the prayer given by Jesus

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kin-dom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.
For the kin-dom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Sung blessing:

God to enfold us, Christ to uphold us,

Spirit to keep us in heavens sight,

So may God grace us, heal and embrace us,

Lead us through darkness into the light

Final Blessing:

From where we are to where you need us

God of Holy Love, lead on

From the familiarity of what we once knew, to the wonder of what you will reveal

Christ of Holy Love, lead on

To be transforming agents in the world, and to be willing to be transformed

Spirit of Holy Love, lead on

We look with hope, for good things, and for signs of the coming kingdom.

AMEN

Liturgy by: Reverend Sally Coleman

Welcome: Adapted from the Methodist Worship Book

Intercessions: Reverend James Morley