Stalbridge Congregational Church – Prayer / Reflection 29.11.

2020

All being well we shall meet face to face in the sanctuary next Sunday – During Advent I hope
to follow a series called Now and Then produced by Roots on the
Web. When we meet I shall be giving out some nativity scenes which
we will incorporate into the services – for today however, I am asking
you to improvise.
Find something to represent either the stable or empty crib. Add a
face mask to represent the pandemic and a pen and paper to
represent the census…..

Let us meet together as we say the Lord’s Prayer -

Let us pray with the Churches of our nation: Loving Father God, be with us in our
distress: with our families, friends and neighbours , our country and our world.
Give health to the sick, hope to the fearful, and comfort to the mourners.
Give wisdom to our frontline and key workers, insight to our government and patience to us
all; Overcome disease with the power of your new life, through
your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen:
Let us sing together - Long ago, Prophets knew….

Long ago, Prophets knew Ring Bells ring, ring, ring, God in time, God in man.
Christ would come, born a Jew. Sing Choirs, sing sing, sing; This is God’s timeless plan.
Come to make all things new; When He comes, when he comes He will come as a man,
Bear His people’s burden; Who will make Him welcome? Born himself of woman.
Freely love and pardon. God divinely human.

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Scene 1 Rules and Regulations
Luke 2.1-5
In those days, a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their
own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He
went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

Now and Then….. In lockdown – out of lockdown – tier 1, 2 or 3 – regulation fatigue – not
knowing from one week to the next what we can and cannot do – visit family or not, will there be
Christmas or not! What is your response to the shifting sands of these times? How might our
response to living with these frequent directives and legislation from central authorities through a
pandemic reflect the reaction of those living in the Middle East at the time of the nativity? How
much grumbling really was there, or were people happy to acquiesce to Roman rule? Is there more
resonance between ourselves and Mary and Joseph than we imagine – Can we draw closer to Mary
and Joseph’s experience because of our current circumstances?
Let us imagine through the Monologues below our response to the Voices of
Authority:
NOW: It’s not easy facilitating a situation like this, you know. It’s unprecedented, a pandemic with
 global travel, people going wherever they want, mixing with anyone they feel like. It’s hard to keep
a handle on this. And movement equals more cases. It might seem like we don’t know what we are
doing, and perhaps acting too late, but honestly, it’s like herding cats! You try telling students in
freshers’ week they can’t party!?
We’re trying to keep public freedom and the economy going – we’re between a rock and a hard
place here. Yes, public opinion is important, and no, we don’t want unnecessary deaths or suffering,
so please, just do as we ask. We do have your best interest at heart, you know, this is all for the
greater good.

THEN: This is for your own good, you know. By taking a country-wide census we can get a better
handle on where things are up to – who lives where, which tradesmen have moved, how families are
growing. There’s more movement than ever now – people moving about all over the country
whereas before, you stayed where you were born. It’s like herding goats! We need to make sure it
doesn’t get out of hand.
You might well ask why people can’t just register where they live and collate the answers. Hmm.
Perhaps that would make more sense, make things more straightforward, but in all honesty, it
makes things harder for us. We’ve got the economy to think of. Just do as we ask, or there will be
consequences. We have your best interests at heart, and this is all for the greater good.
Conversation and reflection
How might you relate to Joseph or Mary’s position on hearing about the requirements
of the census?
How have your response and feelings to the guidelines and restrictions evolved over
the course of the pandemic?
What might a Christian response to the current restrictions look like?

Let us sing together – the Blessing We Pray for Peace

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
We Pray for healing, for prosperity.
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things.
Chorus 1 What if Your blessings come through raindrops
what if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes
to know You are near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise.
Loving God, it’s not easy facing this pandemic
and all of its wide-reaching consequences. Nor is
it easy being the ones making decisions which
affect so many in vital ways. We pray for those in
power, for your wisdom and discernment to guide
the conversations and choices ahead. Grant us
peace and grace in trying times, and draw us
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near
All the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe.
Bridge When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
we know that pain reminds this heart
that this is not, this is not our home.
Chorus 2 What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
is the revealing of a greater thirst
this world can’t satisfy
What if the trials of this life, the rain, the
storms the hardest nights
are Your mercies in disguise
Sing: Abba Father – from last weeks
service or a song of your choosing – the
say the grace to everyone.

closer to you. Amen. Don’t forget if you want to choose a hymn

or song let me know.