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Take time to pray

September 2020's Breathe

The Bread of Life

(please see the link towards the bottom of the page for a pdf document of all these prayers)
 

Looking up – bread

BREAD wesual-click-rsWZ-P9FbQ4Exodus 16:4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day”.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made your own bread. When Lockdown first began, my daughters and I started to experiment. First, we made simple flatbreads, such as naan and chapatis. Then, emboldened by our success, we moved onto proper bread, and that, too, has been very successful. It’s a lot of effort and takes time, but it’s worth it.

Bread is a staple of life for most of the people on this planet. A simple yet sustaining food. In the reading from Exodus, we hear how God gives the Israelites bread from Heaven to sustain them.

So, let’s start by saying ‘thank you’.

Thank you, Lord God, for all your gifts and blessings to us……..

Open prayer...
Amen
 

Looking in – yeast

YEAST geoffroy-delobel--QyXCuVMatthew 13:33
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Without yeast, a loaf is hard and heavy. Without yeast, bread can be solid and daunting. No one wants to eat it. Yet the addition of a tiny amount of yeast, a living organism, makes the bread come alive. It rises and becomes light and fluffy. God can be the yeast in our lives, changing us and our actions.

So, let’s look inwards now. To the times when we have allowed God to be the yeast in our lives. To the times when we have refused that. We will do this in silence.

Thank you, Lord God, for all being the yeast in our lives. Forgive us the times when we have turned away from you and followed our own paths.
Amen
 

Looking back – salt

SALT jason-tuinstra-4OfaTz6SdYMatt 5: 13
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

We are called to be the salt of the earth; to give life its flavouring by bringing the Gospel message to others or seeing Christ in those we encounter.

Let’s look back over the summer months. When have we been salt? When have our churches been salt? When has the wider church acted as salt? When have we lost our flavour?

Thank you, Lord God, for asking us to be the salt of the earth. In particular, we offer to you ……….

Open prayer...
Amen
 

Looking out – water

WATER lennart-schneider-RjiHJrJohn 4: 13-14
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 

The other major ingredient of bread is water. Just water and flour can make a flat bread, I have discovered. And water, of course, is essential for all life. During the dry periods this summer the gardeners among us will have been busy watering their essential plants. Farmers will have despaired during the long dry spells. Yet, when the rain comes, dry brown grass turns green and parched wilted plants perk up again. As we look out into our world, where is it that the water of life is desperately needed?

Lord God, we offer to you our concerns and fears for ourselves and your world……..

Open prayer…
Amen

 

Looking forward – oil

OIL juan-gomez-sE6ihVGSd1Q-unsLeviticus 24:2
Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.

Luke 10:33
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. 

Many bread recipes include oil. I have used olive oil, to oil the bowl the bread proves in, and butter to fry the chapatis we have made. And for millennia, oil has been used to anoint and to bless. As we move forward into the autumn, we need to ask God to bless our plans and be with us as we navigate an unknown landscape.

Lord God, we ask your blessings on the coming month and season. Be with us in our planning and help us to dream your dreams……..

Open prayer……………
Amen

John 6: 32-34
Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Give us this day our daily bread:
To end, the Lord’s Prayer:
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.


Saturday 5 September - Breathe (pdf format)



Prayers

These resources are here for you to use at any time and may be especially helpful now:
The Prayer of Stillness
Prayers for the Journey
Intercessions



spring-arno-smit-sKJ7zSylUao-uFor the prayers used in May's Breathe, please click here:

May's Breathe

by Rev. Wendy Sellers

 


On the first Saturday of the month
Take time to pray with Breathe, our monthly prayer gathering on the first Saturday of the month
Dates for 2020: 4 Jan, 1 Feb, 7 March, 4 April, 2 May, 6 June, 4 July, 5 Sept, 3 Oct, 7 Nov, 5 Dec

Glenys
Hello and welcome to St Andrew's. If you are new, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

No one belongs here more than you.

We look forward to meeting you! Here's some information so that if you're planning a visit you know beforehand what to expect on a Sunday morning.  We have other pages telling you more About Us, our approach to Faith and our Online services.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details below) for our main Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you find a parking space and can settle in before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Plan your journey:
While, unfortunately, St Andrew's does not have its own carpark, there is a council-run pay and display carpark a short distance along St Andrew Street, to the east of the church; there is a £1.50 flat-rate charge for parking in this carpark on Sundays (though half an hour or less is free).

This is a useful East Herts Council website page for full details of parking in Hertford.

There are single yellow lines outside the church with parking restrictions, but some 30-minute parking bays are situated on the opposite side of the road for short stays (longer on Sundays).

Open Google Maps

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is a disabled toilet towards the back of the church, behind the kitchen.

Our Service

The service will usually begin promptly at 10.30am and will last between 60 and 75 minutes. We enjoy the presence of an excellent choir who help us sing hymns (modern and traditional) as well as provide anthems and special songs through the period of communion. We have a traditional organ but also benefit from music played on the piano and by our band (eg on the Second Sunday of each month when we have an All-Age Service in which our children and young people are fully involved).

Each 10.30am service includes a sermon, prayers and eucharist.

After the service, everyone is invited for coffee and conversation - some like to stay for a quick chat while others remain in the church for a longer time.

Communion

Children and Young People

Children are never too young to come to church. You and your children are very welcome at St Andrew’s. 

We really value worshipping God together as a family, so children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service before being invited to leave for the young people's activities after the first hymn. Junior Church meets in the St Andrew's Centre (our adjoining hall), accessed through the church on Sunday mornings. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The children and young people then return to the main service in time to join the eucharist and, if confirmed, take Holy Communion or, if not, receive a blessing. We offer a grape or a little box of raisins to children being blessed at the altar.

There is a Children's Corner in church where you can go at any time. You will find books, toys and drawing materials there.

Toilet and baby-change facilities are located at the back of church, behind the kitchen.

There's lots more information here: Children and Young People at St Andrew's

Junior Church celebration

Getting Connected


Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week. Check out Home Groups on our website and see if there’s one that you could join. Alternatively, speak to a member of the Welcome Team who will give you the information that you need.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. Please contact Phil in the Church Office.

Get in touch with us
If you have any questions, please do get in touch. You'll find our contact details here.

We hope that you will feel at home at our church.