Holy Communion Service – Sunday 22nd June, 10:30am

Today’s service is the First Sunday after Trinity

Today’s Collect Prayer

O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in the keeping of your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Themes and thoughts

The nicene creed

The Nicene Creed is a summary of core Christian beliefs, stated during worship. Its history dates back to Emperor Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Today, we reflected on the Creed – what it means to us and how important it is to affirm our faith publicly.

The words express beliefs held by Christians together; the first words being ‘We believe’ – This contrasts to the Apostle’s Creed, used for individuals (often during baptism) which begins with the words ‘I believe’.

These are the words of the Nicene Creed.

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 from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 
and was made man. 
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. 

The readings reflected the theme of belief – The first from the Acts of the Apostles, tells of St Paul’s time in Athens, where he came upon many altars to different gods and also one to the ‘Unknown God’ – Paul spoke to the people about this Unknown God and explained who He is.

Reading from Acts 17: Paul in Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the market place every day with those who chanced to be there. ¹⁸ Some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers met him. And some said, “What would this babbler say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took hold of him and brought him to the Are-op′agus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you present? ²⁰ For you bring some strange things to our ears; we wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

²² So Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-op′agus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for

‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your poets have said,

‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

²⁹ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Coffee and social afterwards

We followed the service with a good cup of coffee or tea and caught up with news from everyone – This is the time of year when people come and go on holidays and trips, so it’s great to see photos and hear about adventures.

Thanks to our service team for a warm and thought provoking service.

Donations

Donations can be made to St Peter’s at any time from the secure payment site here. Donations go towards maintenance of the building, day to day service bills and supports our work in our small community. Donations can be made as one-offs or regular payments.

We thank you for your kind and continued support.