Welcome to our worship on this 27th June 2021. When we face difficult situation in our daily lives, do we ask ourselves “What would Jesus do in these circumstances?” If we did, would our attitude to serving others be more full of kindness and grace?

Call to Worship

We are here to worship God,
To know the warmth of love,
To have the assurance that someone cares,
To be confident of our worth,
To be bold to love in return,
To be washed over with grace,
To be accepted as we are:
This is to know God.
Then let us worship God.

HymnCH4 130; Ye Servants of God, your Master proclaim.

Prayer of Approach

Almighty God, this is a day of blessedness,
when we take the opportunity to come to you,
to give thanks for Your goodness and grace.
This is a time when we pause, to take note,
to see and know all that is around us,
and to give thanks for Your many blessings.
We are blessed with life, the living, breathing life which is Your gift to us.
We are blessed with creation, the beauty and wonder which is beyond our comprehension.
We are blessed with love, the ability to give love, and the joy of receiving it.
We are blessed by Your Love – a challenging love; a rebuking love; a healing love; an accepting love,
As the light of Your blessings shines upon us today, may we focus on You,
acknowledging that you are the centre and foundation of our lives.
May we be drawn closer to You in the warmth of Your Spirit.
Tender God, the God who keeps loving us despite our failures,
we bow our hearts and minds in humility,
trusting in your forgiveness,
leaning on your promise of welcome.
Remind us to appreciation and give thanks for each other,
remove judgemental thoughts from our minds,
that we will follow the example that was shown to us by Jesus.
And hear us as together we speak the words that Jesus taught us,

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 debts, 
as we forgive our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
For thine is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever. Amen.

Scriptures

Mark 5:21-43
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet ²³and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ ²⁴So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ ²⁹Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ³¹And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?”’ ³²He looked all round to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.’

35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes,
   O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants
   look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
   to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
   until he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
   for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
   of the scorn of those who are at ease,
   of the contempt of the proud.

Hymn 510; Jesus calls us here to meet him.

Reflection

Anyone who knows me, will know that I am a Street Pastor. I am passionate about listening to, helping, and caring for the people that we meet on the city centre streets at night. I would like to tell you of two encounters on the same night. As we walked down the Bridges after midnight, we saw a well-dressed young man asleep in a bus shelter. When we woke him, it was apparent that he was very drunk. His phone was ringing so we answered it, to the dismay of his very distressed wife. He was clearly well-to-do in his cashmere coat but was vulnerable and in need of our help. We waited with him until his wife came with the car to collect him.

On George Street, we regularly meet the same homeless people. One of them, I will call him Jim, told us when we last met that it would be his birthday on our next patrol night. We baked him a cake and brought candles. He was in his usual spot, we lit the candles and started to sing happy birthday. Many of the young revellers on George Street joined in. Jim was all smiles, enjoyed the attention and was delighted that we had remembered. A small gesture but a big impact.

These were two people obviously from different walks of life, but both vulnerable. As Street Pastors we feel called to serve God, and in difficult situations, we ask ourselves “what would Jesus do in these circumstances?”
In our reading today from Mark’s Gospel, we have a story within a story—the story of the woman with the haemorrhage set within the story of Jairus and his daughter. Jesus is dealing with people of vastly different standing. Jairus is well-to-do and influential, while the unnamed woman is financially impoverished and a social outcast. Jesus does not favour one over the other. He neither rebukes Jairus for his money and social standing nor ignores the woman because of her poverty and marginality.

The woman is considered to be unclean but in faith she believes that she can be cured by touching Jesus’ garment. She does this quietly and secretly thinking that Jesus will not notice but, of course he does, so she tells him the truth. Jesus openly and in front of the crowds tells the woman that because of her faith she has been healed. By doing this Jesus lets the gathered people know that she is no longer unclean thus improving her status in the community.

All the while Jairus is waiting to take Jesus to his dying daughter. How must he be feeling? Perhaps a bit resentful towards the woman. Then the news comes that his daughter is dead and Jairus probably feels desolate and hopeless, but Jesus offers hope “Do not fear, only believe”.

With his select few, James, John, Peter, Jairus and his wife in attendance, Jesus tells the little girl to get up. We read in the Mark’s Gospel “At this they were overcome with amazement”. Something of an understatement for Jairus and his wife, I am sure you will agree.

They are told not to share the news that the daughter has been brought back from death. Why does Jesus do this? Jairus is a leader in the synagogue, where many of the leaders oppose Jesus but Jairus is a believer. Is Jesus trying to protect him? Or is it a matter of timing?  While Jesus would disclose more fully to his disciples the meaning of his messianic mission, he would reveal to the crowds only what they were prepared to understand.

Psalm 123 is about service and servanthood, and it begins by telling us who we serve. It tells us to serve God, but not by giving us a list of possible jobs and tasks that we could do in the church or the community. There is much less interest in our actions and more so in our attitude while we serve.
There are so many ways to serve. Think of a father helping his son with his homework and the husband who cooks supper for his family. Think of all the people who do the various tasks that make it possible for this church to run; tasks big and small, obvious, and upfront, behind-the-scenes and invisible, menial and not glamorous. We see the results, but we do not see the effort. The point is that service is not a narrow slice of life; rather, service is at the heart of much of our everyday life. There are lots of ways to serve, and most of us spend a lot of our time serving in one way or another.

We are not always thanked for the jobs we do. Either the job has gone unnoticed, or people just do not feel the need to make a big deal out of it. And this can really discourage us. Maybe we wonder whether we are doing a good enough job. Maybe we would just be grateful for even one kind word. Maybe we just want to know that our efforts are appreciated. Sometimes it goes further, and people respond in a negative manner. They tell you how the job could have been done in a better way.

This is why it is crucial that our first response to being criticised or not being thanked for our service is prayer. When we face criticism or when we feel frustrated that no one has noticed our work we can turn to the first verse of the psalm: “To you I lift my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens.”
When we see someone giving themselves to service, let us be encouraging. We are called to encourage one another and build one another up—and being built up is not the same thing as giving someone a big head!

We are called to serve one another so that through such mutual service and encouragement we can all follow Christ more closely and faithfully. Jesus is our example. Jesus came to serve. He came to do the will of our God who wants us to serve for the right reasons and with the right attitude. This is why the Psalm is not about what we do to serve but rather about who and how we serve. We are each called to serve one another out of the love for the Lord, not for the praise of people. We serve others, that is true, but God is the ultimate recipient of our service because our service is a part of our worship of Him.
Amen

Prayer of Intercession

Lord, our Rock and Redeemer, thank you that you know us, and you love us. Your Word says that your people are to love one another, serve one another, honour, and teach one another, and build one another up. Bless us so that we can fulfil these commands and help each other grow in faith.

We pray for those who are anxious, isolated, lonely, or grieving because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We pray for all for whom social distance, self-isolation or shielding has caused separation from the ones they love. We pray for those who are suffering because of the impact of the pandemic on their lives, their jobs, and their financial position.

We pray for the places around the world where COVID-19 seems to be out of control and for their politicians who are trying to control the epidemic. We pray that countries who have good supplies of vaccines, and the medical equipment needed may be generous in offering help to those most in need.

We lament the stigma and prejudice that infects our attitudes. We pray for all who have not been made welcome in our churches, our communities, our homes, or our hearts. We remember especially the homeless, prisoners, the poor, members of minority ethnic groups, the marginalised, and all those who suffer because of exclusion, prejudice, discrimination, rejection, bullying, or cruel words. We pray for those who struggle with addiction due for alcohol, drugs, and gambling.

We pray for all who care for the sick and the dying, for members of therapeutic communities, for charities and support projects. We pray for those who undertake research and for those who seek to plan, build, and deliver better, more effective, and more compassionate health services.

We pray for relatives, friends, carers, and all who struggle with the impact of ill health on relationships, homes, and families. We pray for those who suffer ill health in old age, for those whose memories and faculties are taken from them by dementia, and for those who care for them.

Help us to listen well that we may be bringers of wisdom, kindness, faith, hope and love. We pray that our churches may be places within which we welcome, nurture, encourage and include one another, and in which we do not tolerate stigma and prejudice.
We give thanks for the members of society who willing and voluntarily give their time, talents and donations to help those less fortunate than themselves.
May we know your presence with us.

We offer these prayers through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
Amen

Hymn 527 – “Lord make us servants of your peace”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66L78JfkqxA

Closing Prayer

We need you, loving God, in every moment of every day; lover of all, we are conscious of our need of you and one another; with a wish to play our part in your mission and yet recognizing our own frailties. We ask that by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit we may love you and magnify your holy name as we go about our daily lives, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Welcome to this online service of worship for Craigmillar Park and Reid Memorial churches. Today, 20 June 2021, has been designated as Sanctuary Sunday; it is also United Nations World Refugee Day. Our readings focus on those in peril on the sea in the Bible and we take the opportunity to remind ourselves of the need to welcome and support the storm-tossed and the frightened, recognising our common humanity, all created in the image of God.

We start with a call to worship which reminds us that people have been exiled and refugees for many thousands of years. Crying because so many loved ones died. Crying because houses and possessions are destroyed. Crying because the future does not look the way it was hoped to look . Crying out of exhaustion. Crying out of homesickness.

Call to WorshipBy the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land? (from Psalm 137)

Hymn 251: I, the Lord of sea and sky

Prayer

Gracious and merciful God,
we gather on World Refugee Day in one heart and mind
to pray for all families and individuals
who have left or fled their country, their land, their homes, seeking safer and better lives.

We lift up to You their hopes and dreams, their fears and anxieties,
and all their needs and necessities,
that they may be protected on their storm-tossed journeys
and that they may reach safe haven.

We pray that their dignity and rights may be fostered, honoured and upheld,
and they may be welcomed with open arms
into generous and compassionate communities.

We ask Your blessing also on those whom they have left behind –
family, friends, loved ones, whom they may never see again.
For every refugee who safely reaches this country,
there are countless others who cannot leave and who must remain in harm’s way.
Protect them, Lord.

As refugees find a new life here in Scotland,
we pray that they and their families will settle here;
we pray for the children, starting a new school and making new friends;
we pray for the adults, learning a new language and a new culture;
we pray for those helping them to find their feet in their new lives.
Lord, bless refugees and displaced persons everywhere,
and bring an end to the strife in our world
which sees so many people driven from the homes and the friends and family they love.

Rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, we pray as our Saviour taught us:

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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

Scriptures

from Psalm 107

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story –
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

Mark 4: 35-41

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’

They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
Amen

HYMN 253: Inspired by love and anger

Reflection

Grant, O Lord, that in these words, we may behold the living Word, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Both of our readings today talk of storms at sea (or in the case of the Gospel reading, the inland Sea of Galilee). Both storms seem particularly violent: the Psalmist talks of a tempest and Mark talks of a furious squall, wild enough to cause the disciples – who were, remember, experienced fishermen – to wake their passenger and plead for help. In both cases, that help was forthcoming. God responded to prayers, the storms were stilled and the travellers reached home safely.

Have you heard the last 18 months or so described as a ‘perfect storm’? We have had Covid-19 and Brexit, with consequent upheavals, uncertainty, change, loss and fear. Life as we knew it has become precarious, we have missed seeing and hugging friends and family, we have been confined to our homes and local areas and have even missed the comfort and solace of regular in-person worship. Some people have lost loved ones, jobs and livelihoods have been placed at risk and our young people’s hopes and dreams have, in some cases, been compromised. We are entitled, I think, to feel a little sorry for ourselves.

But maybe just a little sorry. Today is Sanctuary Sunday and World Refugee Day. Across the world, so many people are on the move, fleeing from persecution, war, famine and economic fragility. They too have had to cope with Covid, without some of the advantages we have living in the prosperous developed West. Not for them the comfort and relief of a blue envelope promising easy and safe vaccination. They too have lost or left behind loved ones, perhaps never to see them again, they have abandoned their jobs and professions and placed not just their futures but their very lives at risk. Some of them have experienced all too literal storms. We have become familiar from news reports of people crossing water to reach a safe haven. But did you know that the Mediterranean contains the bodies of upwards of 35,000 people – babies, children, women and men – who have drowned in trying to reach a place of safety and hope? That is a shocking and shaming statistic, perhaps one to keep in mind as we pine for sunshine holidays around a sea which, for us, inspires only happy thoughts.

The bright orange of life jackets is often the only brightness in the bleak and heartbreaking stories we watch on the nightly news. Refugees deserve our sympathy and support and it is heartening to read of and see the efforts that some countries and many people of faith make to save lives and to provide homes and a warm welcome to these strangers. Remember though that the experience of the Church throughout the world is that migration enriches our common life, both secular and sacred. Refugees must never be defined by victimhood, but should be recognised as human beings, created in God’s image and with as much chance to flourish and thrive as anybody. God grant that our governments may recognise their responsibility in this regard and may act to change the public discourse around immigration and asylum seekers to one more befitting a country with Christian roots.

There are many people, this Refugee Sunday, who can tell us of being cast out because of their faith, their race, their sexuality, their political views, because of the circumstances of war or another disaster or simply because they are in the wrong place. Our readings tell us that, in the storms of life, God is with them just as God is with us in the storms of our lives. The psalm tells us that the voyagers “were glad when it grew calm, and God guided them to their desired haven”. Mark tells us that faith in God leads to peace, peace in the time of sorrow, peace in the time of loss, peace in the time of anxiety. Jesus, our anchor, holds us in the storms of life, even in our own ‘perfect storm’. If we are grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love, our reward will be safety, security and peace.

We need not, therefore, fear the storm. We can turn to Jesus. We can cry for help – and it will come. We too can be guided to our desired haven. In the certainty of Jesus’ love, we must act as he would expect. We must not forget those refugees and migrants who experience literal storms and who do not reach that safe haven on earth; we pray that they find peace as they rest in the Lord’s hands. And we pray also for those who do reach shore safely, our sisters and brothers, that we might welcome them as Jesus would, with generosity, kindness and love.

We often sing the hymn ‘Let us build a house where love can dwell’. Remember these words from that hymn:

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.


May God sail with refugees as Jesus sailed with the disciples.

May Christ, himself a childhood refugee, protect those who are forced out of their
homeland into peril on the sea.

May the Holy Spirit inspire and lead us as we work to extend Christian hospitality to all God’s children in need.

Amen

Prayer

God of family,
we bring before You the parents who are weeping and lamenting,
who are waiting for their children,
whose trace is lost in the sea, in the desert, on railway tracks,
in shipping containers and uncertainty:
men, women and children who had escaped from the war zones,
the famine and poverty of this world ,
with the hope for a better, safer life.

God of life,
we bring before You our lament for the dead, stranded at the borders of safety,
who died fleeing through deserts, over mountains and seas.
We call to You and join in the cry of all those who sought justice
and a better life for themselves and their children and perished in the process.

God of justice,
we bring before You political leaders, advisers and decision-makers
who hold the fate of others in their hands.
Make them aware of the causes of migration and flight.
Keep their consciences alive so that refugees are offered protection and dignity.
Let them agree rules of residence that are based on human rights
and guided by solidarity and compassion.

God of compassion,
give us the strength to be witnesses of the suffering of the world
and fill us with the fire of Your spirit to renew our efforts to serve those in need. Give us the grace to welcome, learn about and share our lives
with those of your children who come to live in our communities.

We ask these things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ

Amen

HYMN 198: Let us build a house where love can dwell

Sending

The compassing of God be upon us,
the compassing of God, of the God of life.

The compassing of Christ be upon us,
the compassing of the Christ of love.

The compassing of the Spirit be upon us,
the compassing of the Spirit of grace.

The compassing of the Sacred Three be upon us,
the compassing of the Sacred Three protect us,
the compassing of the Sacred Three preserve us and all God’s children.

Amen

This service was prepared by Pauline Weibye, Session Clerk at Craigmillar Park

Acknowledgements:
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Worship material drawn from God With Us: Worship resources on the theme of refugees, migration and sanctuary, published by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
Prayers drawn from the Church of Scotland’s Weekly Worship resources.
Sending prayer from Celtic Daily Prayer, Northumbria Community 2005

You can find more information on the Scottish faith groups’ response to the refugee crisis at the website of Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees, www.sfar.org.uk/. This charity is hosted by the Church of Scotland.