We met in the bandstand on a wet morning and adapted our worship accordingly. On such days we have some alternative liturgy up our sleeves, “Refreshed by the rain” and we used this as a basis for our worship.

Refreshed by the rain

Leader

Lord God the source of all good things we pause in your presence and hold our day before you.  Still us, calm us, guide us as we enter this day

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

Pause and use your senses to listen, smell, see how the park feels on a wet morning.

Leader – May Jesus the Son inspire you with new energies each day.

May you find his peace to give you rest each night.

May the rain symbolise the cleansing forgiveness of the Father

And the refreshment of the Holy Spirit pouring new strength into your being

So that today we may walk as Jesus through the world and carry the beauty of his

Kingdom.

Walk outside and catch four raindrops and hold the water in the palm of your hand

Pray  (people or situations can be named silently or aloud)

For those in the Community of Third Space

For those in our families

For those who are troubled

For those who live in fear or conflict.

At this point the rain had stopped and so as individuals we followed a Payer Labyrinth as we walked around the park:

Prayer Labyrinth

Our prayer labyrinth is a path which leads us to focus on God.

Hurting world.

We live in a beautiful part of our hurting world. Do we sometimes regret the ways in which we have used our world and treated others?

Where have we brought hurt? When have we failed to do the right thing?

What are the things and the actions you find hard to leave behind as you approach God? Will you hold on to them or can you let them go?

Letting go.

Imagine that all your concerns and worries can be washed away by the rain.

Now imagine that God is washing them away with the rain.

Does it feel good to release them?

Do you not know?

Isaiah 40:

²¹ Do you not know?     Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?     Have you not understood since the earth was founded? ²² The Lord sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,     and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,     and spreads them out like a tent to live in. ²³ He brings princes to naught     and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted,     no sooner are they sown,     no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither,     and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?     Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:     Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one     and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength,     not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Why do you complain?     Why do you say, “My way is hidden from the Lord;     my cause is disregarded by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know?     Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,     and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary     and increases the power of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,     and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the Lord     will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;     they will run and not grow weary,     they will walk and not be faint.

Look up and see the rain. Close your eyes, what have you learned about God?

You are Loved!

Look at your hands. Look at the pattern on them. Each is unique. You are unique.

There is no one like you.
 You are made in God’s image.
 You are loved by the Creator.

Ask God to show you the you that he sees.

Isaiah 43:1

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”

We concluded our worship by sharing bread and wine:

Sharing bread and wine on a rainy day!

We take this bread made from the grain that grows up out of the good earth

And this wine made from grapes that flourish in the sun and the rain that you provide

We thank you for the gift of rain that waters the earth

And we celebrate the gift of life that you provide for us.

Here, we offer ourselves that we may become signs of your grace in our world.

Send your Spirit upon us

and upon this bread and this wine

that these gifts of creation

may show us your presence

in our world, in our neighbours, and in our lives. Amen.

Wednesday, 11th March found Third Space meeting at Designate@thegate in Matlock. Andy Botham came along to talk about his work as a Derbyshire County Councillor, and Cabinet member for Council Services. He explained how policies are debated at various stages and how decisions are then taken. With central government cutting funding to Derbyshire by £157 million, Andy stressed how difficult it is to implement cuts to services which impact so heavily on people’s lives. He told us that he found making cuts  very difficult because he had entered politics because he felt so strongly about fairness.

Andy is the Labour candidate for Derbyshire Dales in the May 2015 General Election. He spoke about how difficult it is to get into politics if one doesn’t have the “right” appearance, or doesn’t stick rigidly to the party line.

Several people in the group were very critical of politicians for not being willing to give straight answers to questions. He believes that politicians should be honest, real and straight talking. But stressed that it leads to hostile headlines in the media.

Third Space members were critical of “professional politicians” , who come straight from “Oxbridge” to work in parliament,  becoming  researchers, and then advisers to M.P’s, they are then selected as candidates for safe parliamentary seats so they have a smooth transition to becoming  M.P’s.

In contrast Andy along with several Third Space members said how much they admired Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, when she interrogates the rich and powerful about tax avoidance. All credit to her, she most definitely speaks for me!

Andy would like more people both to register to vote, and to vote  – particularly young people. He said it was really important to “constantly encourage more and more people to be involved in the political process”.

Asked by one Third Space member how we could pray for him, Andy asked us to pray for “fairness”.

A most interesting, informative and insightful evening closed as our speaker thanked the group for inviting him, and commented that ” it was a pleasure to spend an evening having informed and intelligent discussion”.

We met in the Bandstand as usual at 9.30am, the day was cool and overcast, but dry.  It was the last day of Fairtrade Fortnight and so we considered how making ethical choices, like choosing Fairtrade products, was one way to be obedient to God’s command to “seek justice” in Isaiah Chapter 1.

Our worship began with a time of  reflection using the Lord’s Prayer.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:13-17

This is a very sobering passage in which God through the prophet Isaiah berates the Israelites for thinking that they can honour Him while mistreating other people. Sometimes even as  Christians we seem to be able to divorce our relationship with God from how we treat other people. That’s why I’m always very suspicious of people who make a big fuss about worship without showing concern for social justice.

The injustice which offends God in this passage is not only active exploitation and wrong doing, but also neglect and indifference. The people are told to “seek justice”. that means – Encourage. Defend. Plead the case. Take up the cause. We are all called to speak out and take action!  Seeking justice is not be an optional extra for us but should be part of our daily lives. Biblical justice is never impartial; it is partial towards the poor, the powerless and the vulnerable, it is also partial in demanding the common good and the welfare of every individual.

When society and our world is structured in such a way that people are impoverished and disempowered, sin is taking place even if no single individual can be blamed, it is what some people describe as structural sin, or corporate sin.   Examples: Slavery. Poverty. Neoliberal free-market economics – a system which makes the rich,  richer and the poor,  poorer. How women have been treated and still are treated in most societies as second class citizens. How international trade is conducted – the rich and powerful get the lion’s share and poor producers get the crumbs.

Although imperfect, the Fairtrade movement stands for justice and equity, it offers a very definite alternative model of international trade. It puts fair prices and fair wages, sustainable development, environmental protection and social justice at the heart of trading relationships with poor producers.

Through making an ethical choice to buy Fairtrade products we can ensure that Third World farmers are paid a fair price and workers a decent wage, and in our shopping at least, we can be obedient to God’s command to “seek justice”.

Amos 5:23-24 : “I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-centric worship. When was the last time your life reflected your worship? Do you know what I want? I want justice – oceans and oceans of it. I want fairness – huge rivers of it. That’s what I want.”

Next we used a reworking of the Beatitudes (with thanks to Brian McLaren and Rob Bell) as a creed:

The poor and those in solidarity with them – God is on your side.

Those who mourn and feel grief about the state of the world – God is on your side.

The non-violent, gentle and humble – God is on your side.

Those who hunger and thirst for the common good – God is on your side.

The merciful and compassionate – God is on your side.

Those characterised by sincerity, kindness and generosity – God is on your side.

Those who work for peace and reconciliation – God is on your side.

Those who keep seeking justice – God is on your side.

Those who stand for justice and truth as the prophets did, who refuse to be quiet even when

slandered,  misrepresented, threatened, imprisoned or harmed – God is on your side!

For our activity around the park we combined the fun of a treasure hunt (seeking Fairtrade chocolate bars hidden in the park) with considering how we could commit to “seek justice” more and more.

Now where can those chocolate bars be?

Have you found any here?

Ah there they are!

On returning to the Bandstand we shared bread and wine with the following liturgy inspired by Jonny Baker:

On the night before Jesus died, he gathered with his friends to share a meal. Over food and drink they shared stories of lament and longing.

They told stories of Lament for a world of injustice and powerlessness that before they met Jesus they hadn’t even noticed.

Lament over the people who were silenced, oppressed, exploited.

Lament over the people who were blind to the possibility that the world could be anything other than what it was.

They told stories of Longing that the new world they’d glimpsed might become reality;

Longing that the voiceless would be given a voice.

Longing that the powerful would be freed from their addiction.

Longing for the imagination to see that this world does not have to be as it is.

Then Jesus called for bread and wine.

The bread held in his hands … the words of blessing …the breaking of the bread, and then the shocking words, “this is my body… broken… for you…”

The cup of wine, an ancient memorial re-imagined… the blessing … and then the heart-breaking words, “this is my blood… poured out… for you and for many…”

May this bread be food for our journey as we “seek justice”.

May this wine be a sign that we are no longer in thrall to the old order whose power Christ has broken. 

May this place be where hopes and dreams are forged.

May this community be a reminder that we are not alone.

May we be able to throw off the old order and live the new life of Christ as we “seek justice”. Amen.

We then departed to Cool River for Fairtrade coffee and refreshments!

Steve led us today, continuing the Lenten theme with musings on evil, looking at the temptations of Christ in the wilderness. He spoke of the passages of Scripture which personify Satan and the alternative Augustinian approach in which evil is merely the absence of good. Both have potential weaknesses – of either off-loading responsibility for our actions onto the devil (and the C of E has recognised issues too of how few people truly believe in this depiction of Satan, with it editing out ‘the devil’ from the vows taken in the baptismal service) or demeaning the horrors of true evil.

He also defined fallen-ness as choosing what others choose for us as opposed to  what God intends us to be – the very temptation Jesus faced at the start of his ministry.

So at the start of Lent, we made a bid to reject “the Devil and all rebellion against God.”

We wrote on paper, words that the “world” presents to us of ultimate worth. The idols of our age. Here are some that we came up with

The we wrote that which God would have us be. The values, goals, things of ultimate worth. Here are some

We all had a bit of fun stamping on all that is evil, though held up as good before surrounding the values of the kingdom. Gathered there, we prayed by name for all those who need those values now, before turning to bread and wine, using these words:

Source of all Goodness and Light – our Father-Mother:

We confess our predilection and fascination with the less than good. Our chasing after our comforts and what would please us, our turning away from the true light, our obeisance to others and not to you, our idolising of the created order and our  neglect-ful-ness of our Creator.

We reject the darkness and turn to the LIGHT.

In our awakening to your gift of life to us, the breath you have YHWH-ed through us, the redemption price delivered in Jesus, we give you our thanks and our worship.

Help us we pray to orientate ourselves to you. Help us support each other in that repented direction. Help us to keep on keeping on in our journey to the LIGHT.

This bread represents your solidarity with us, your self-giving in Jesus, your incarnated commitment to our complete Shalom. We consume it for our corporate, bodily and total sustenance and with thanks!

RESPONSE: God’s mercy freely given!

This wine represents your inauguration of new relationship, the opening of new possibilities, the promise of a future resurrected life. We consume it for our corporate, bodily and total sustenance until Jesus returns!

RESPONSE: God’s mercy freely given!

Send us out, missioned together, to be children of the Kingdom, seeking Justice, loving Mercy and walking humbly with our Creator God.

RESPONSE: AMEN!