Music and Liturgy for Meditation

Monday 30th January at 6pm Andrew Earis, Andy Salmon and the HeartEdge Choral Scholars share ideas for times of meditation and Reflection in Church. We are live in Sacred Trinity Church, Salford and online on the HeartEdge facebook page and we will share to YouTube.

Here is our text.

Meditative prayer using the music of Margaret Rizza

 

Candles are lit as the Blessing of the Light is said.

Light of God to give us hope

Power of God to protect us

Light of God to give us joy

Peace of God to calm us

Light of God to give us faith

Grace of God to save us

This night and for ever more.

David Adam taken from Human Rites

 

 

God of hope and Lord of healing, we come to you in prayer;
in our living, in our dying, you promise to be there.
For the weak we ask your courage, and your patience for the strong;
stay with those whose pain is sharpest and those enduring long:

O God of hope and Lord of healing, we come to you in prayer;
in our living, in our dying, you promise to be there.

O provide for all the weary your precious gift of sleep;
with the glad let us be joyful, and weep with those who weep.

O God of hope and Lord of healing, we come to you in prayer;
in our living, in our dying, you promise to be there.

By the grace of your forgiveness, by virtue of your word,
by the sacrament which brings us the comfort of our Lord;

O God of hope and Lord of healing, we come to you in prayer;
in our living, in our dying, you promise to be there.

By the life He freely gave us, and the cross to which He came,
by the glory of His kingdom, the power of His name:
come to meet your praying people, be with us as we kneel;
come to help us, God our Saviour, for you alone can heal.

O God of hope and Lord of healing, we come to you in prayer;
in our living, in our dying, you promise to be there.

You promise to be there.

Words by Christopher Idle, music by Margaret Rizza.

 

Scripture

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory." (NRSV)

Colossians 3:2-4

 

Silent, surrendered, calm and still,

open to the word of God.

Heart humbled to his will,

offered is the servant of God.

Text: Pamela Hayes

 

Let Your God Love You

Be silent.

Be still.

Alone,

Empty

Before your God.

Say nothing.

Ask nothing.

Be silent.

Be still. Let your God

Look upon you.

That is all.

God knows.

And understands.

God loves you with

An enormous love,

Wanting only to

Look upon you

With love

Quiet.

Still.

Be.

Let your God

Love you.

In Edwina Gateley, There Was No Path So I Trod One

(Wheathampstead: Anthony Clarke, 1996).

 

A time of Silence.

 

You are the centre, You are my life
You are the centre, Lord of my life
Come, Lord, and guide me, Lord of my life
Send me Your Spirit, Lord of my life
You are the centre, Lord of my life
You are the centre, You are my life
You are the centre, Lord of my life
Come, Lord, and heal me, Lord of my life
Come, Lord, and teach me, Lord of my life
You are the centre, Lord of my life
Give me Your Spirit and teach me Your ways
Give me Your peace, Lord, set me free
You are the centre, Lord of my life
Give me Your Spirit and teach me Your ways
Give me Your peace, Lord and set me free
You are the centre, Lord of my life
You are the centre, Lord of my life

 

O Lord, listen to my prayer,

my prayer as I call to you.

Text: from Psalm 101 (102)

 

A prayer of Blessing.

May the Sending One sing in you,

May the Seeking One walk with you,

May the Greeting One stand by you,

in your gladness and in your grieving.

 

May the Gifted One relieve you,

May the Given One retrieve you,

May the Giving One receive you,

in your falling and your restoring.

 

May the Binding One unite you,

May the One Belov'd invite you,

May the Loving One delight you,

Three-in-One, joy in life unending.

Brian Wren taken from Human Rites

 

 

Meditative Prayer using words and music from the Iona Community

 

On God alone I wait silently;

God my deliverer, God my strong tower

(Words from Psalm 62, paraphrased by John Bell)

 

The Lord be with you.
AND ALSO WITH YOU.
May this time be good for us
in body, mind and spirit,
for we gather in the presence of God,
who made us and loves us
and will never leave us.
AMEN.

Lord, teach us the silence of humility,
THE SILENCE OF WISDOM,
the silence of love,
THE SILENCE THAT SPEAKS WITHOUT WORDS,

the silence of faith.
Lord, teach us to silence our own hearts and minds
that we may listen
for the movement of your Spirit within us,

and treasure your presence
in the depths of our being.
AMEN.

 

Scripture

"But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (NRSV)

Isaiah 40:31

 

Take, O take me as I am;
summon out what I shall be;
set your seal upon my heart and live in me.

 

Speak, God, to our listening;

speak God, to our thinking;

speak to our soul’s deep understanding.

 

A time of Silence.

 

Prayer

 

There is a time for every purpose under heaven
and a prayer for every person on earth:
. . . a time for those in physical pain or mental anguish;
. . . a time for the emotionally bruised and broken;
. . . a time for those who fear tomorrow;
. . . a time for those who have been blessed by today

. . . a time for letting go or for picking up;
. . . a time for what we only share with God

 

Lord, hear our cry;

Listen to our prayer

 

Collect
Come to us, Holy God,
as you came to Mary,
purposefully.
We cannot offer a womb
to host your child,
but we can make our lives open
to receive your Spirit.
PLANT IN US WHAT YOU WILL,
CHANGE IN US WHAT YOU MUST,
UNTIL WE BEAR FRUIT TO YOUR GLORY,
THE KIND THAT LASTS FOR EVER.
AMEN.

Silence

 

Through our lives and by our prayers,

Your Kingdom come.

 

 

Meditative Prayer using words and music from the Taizé Community

 

Christe, lux mundi,
qui sequitur te,
habebit lumen vitae,
lumen vitae

 

Psalm

I trusted, even when I said:
“I am sorely afflicted,”
and when I said in my alarm:
“There is no one I can trust.”

How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of the faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name
I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfill
before all the people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

from Psalm 116

Reading

Jeremiah said: The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 1,4-8

 

My Peace I Leave You
My Peace I Give You
Trouble Not Your Heart
My Peace I Leave You
My Peace I Give You
Be Not Afraid

 

Silence

 

Intercessions using the following sung response:

Lord, you are living water,

You are light and fire,

You are love,

Come, O Holy Spirit,

Come, O Holy Spirit.

 

That Christians may never cease to go towards all people, and become ferments of reconciliation in the human family, we pray to the Lord…

 

For all who believe, for those who have a ministry in the Church, that they may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel, we pray to the Lord…

 

That the goods of the earth may be shared among all, we pray to the Lord…

 

For all the nations of the earth, that wars and violence may cease, we pray to the Lord…

 

For the poor and the afflicted, we pray to the Lord…

 

For those who are persecuted on account of Christ’s name, for all who are seeking justice, we pray to the Lord…

 

Our Father

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name, your kingdom 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.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours now and for ever.

Amen.

 

Prayer

Jesus, Love of all loving, you were always in me and I was forgetting you. You were in my heart of hearts and I was looking for you elsewhere. When I kept myself far from you, you were waiting for me. And now I dare to tell you: Risen Christ, you are my life.

 

In manus tuas Pater,

commendo spiritum meum,

in manus tuas Pater,

commendo spiritum meum

 

 

Resources

 

Centering Prayer app available for iPhone and Android and further guidance at https://www.contemplative.org/contemplative-practice/centering-prayer/

 

https://www.seedsofsilence.org.uk/ For some good resources for silent prayer

 

https://www.taize.fr/en

 

 

A Wee Worship Book

Wild Goose Resource Group published by Wild Goose Publications

 

Human Rites. Worship Resources for an Age of Change

Compiled by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild published by Mowbray

 

Most of the songs can be found in:

Sing Praise (Canterbury Press)

 

Ancient and Modern: Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship (Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd)

 

God of Hope and Lord of Healing is available from RSCM. https://www.rscm.org.uk/