Hymn: All heaven declares the glory of the Risen Lord

Opening our hearts to God Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Acknowledging our need of Forgiveness Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart. (We keep a moment of quiet for silent reflection) Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen. Affirming God’s Forgiveness May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen. Collect Prayer O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Bible Readings Acts 16. 16-34 16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you* a way of salvation.’ 18She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. 20When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ 29The jailer* called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ 31They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ 32They spoke the word of the Lord* to him and to all who were in his house. 33At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. Revelation 22. 12-14, 16, 17, 20 - end 12 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,* so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 16 ‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. 20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.*

Reflections By Reverend Jonathan Hall Some words from the collect prayer for today: ...Leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ has gone before.' Living in this country during the 21st Century, there is a general expectation that we will be able to live relatively comfortably. Our houses are centrally heated and comfortably furnished. In winter we travel to work in the comfort of a warm car, bus or train, and many of our public buildings are warm and air conditioned. We are comfortable in ways our grandparents could only have dreamed of and that we would not necessarily have expected in our own childhoods. In 21st Century society, comfort is seen as almost a right and as a sign of our success. And yet we all know that what I have just said reflects only part of the truth. The reality is that the majority in our world are not comfortable. Christian Aid Week gives us an annual reminder that much of our world lives in poverty, with many communities in the developing countries of the world lacking access to fresh water, sanitation, proper housing, medical care and food. Sadlly, each year, many people are forced to leave their homes through war and conflict, seeking refuge in other countries. The war in Ukraine, means that during recent months, millions of families have left the safety and comfort of their former homes and have sought safety in this and other countries. In our own country, rising fuel prices and the spirally rise in cost of living, means that many families are now having to make choices between heating their homes, or preparing a meal. Many in our world are not comfortable at all. The members of the early Christian communities were often very uncomfortable. In Acts we read of Paul and Silas being thrown into prison for destroying the livelihood of the owners of a fortune telling, slave-girl. First, they were flogged and publicly humiliated. Abandoned in the dark, with open wounds, in an ancient prison was certainly not comfortable. Luke's account of the Ascension in Acts reflects the bewilderment of the bereaved disciples. Their Lord seemed to have gone, despite his mysterious appearances; they simply did not know what was going on. Most of the time they were to be found huddled together, or returning to normality in a desperate search for comfort. Jesus in the long discourses recorded by St. John, given before the crucifixion prepared the disciples for this. He told them how he would go away, but also promised that his Father would send another advocate, the comforter the Holy Spirit. This leads us back to the collect prayer: 'leave us not comfortless'. What then does comfort mean for the Christian and what does it mean to receive the Holy Spirit the comforter. Here are three thoughts. Firstly it is about Encouragement. Paul and Silas, as we heard in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles this morning, were released from their uncomfortable cell so that they could continue their ministry. The Comforter strengthens us for tasks, sometimes difficult tasks, that Christ, following his Ascension, entrusts to us. The Spirit equips and enables us to continue the work that Christ began. There is great strength and encouragement gained from each other within the life of the church. Paul and Silas had each other. Their faith and preaching touched the heart of the prison guard, who in turn came to faith, and brought the other members of his family to baptism. The Spirit binds each one of us together in this shared task, of continuing Christ’s work. This unity, through the bond of the Spirit, is a great source of encouragement and strength. It is wonderful that within the Bay area, there is a growing desire amongst the Churches of different denominations to work together. There is an ongoing exploration of ways in which we can build on the already strong partnership between the Church in Shanklin, to include the whole Bay area. This is an expression of the call to unity that Christ makes in his prayer, and an acknowledgement that by working together in his mission, we are far more likely to be effective in our desire to be channels of his love and peace within the life of our community. The second thing that the Holy Spirit does is point us to the things above. In the collect prayer for today, we also pray 'and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ has gone before.' God’s Holy Spirit, the divine comforter, lifts us up. God's promise to us is that he will exalts us; so that, even in death we will be with him. In the Book of Revelation we are given the vision of the heavenly city with its promise of the water of eternal life. In the Gospel John records Christ’s promise, that we will share in his eternal glory, and have a place in his eternal kingdom of light and peace. For those Christians who have faced persecution and very real physical danger – whether in the early centuries of the Church, or in our own age – this promise has been a source of great comfort and strength. Thirdly, there is a prophetic dimension to the work of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we will often be confronted by things we would rather not think about. One of the key roles of the Holy Spirit, is to challenge us, and to help us see the things in our lives and in the life of the world that are not in accordance with God’s will, and to give us the courage to be part of doing something about them. The work of Christian Aid, Tradecraft, Teafund and many other charities, is a powerful reminder of this prophetic working of the Spirit. As we are confronted by the images of poverty and suffering in so many parts of the world, it is the Spirit which stirs our hearts to respond. It is the Spirit which makes us feel uncomfortable about the injustices that we see. It is only by responding, through giving, or praying, or acting in some other way to help, that we can feel at peace within ourselves, and affirmed by the comfort of knowing that we have acted in response to God’s call through his Holy Spirit. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Let us use this week, to each pray and reflect so that we may truly open our hearts and minds to receive and share in the work of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, whose feast we celebrate next week. Let us pray. Lord God, heavenly Father, may the Comforter who proceeds from you enlighten our minds, lead us into all truth, and make us active in your service, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

God’s Blessing May God the Father, who has given to his Son the name above every name, strengthen us to proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord. May God the Son, who is our great high priest passed into the heavens, plead for us at the right hand of the Father. May God the Holy Spirit, who pours out his abundant gifts upon the Church, make us faithful servants of Christ our King. And may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us and remain with us always. Amen.

Prayers

Hymn: Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour

We gather together all our prayers in the words that Jesus taught us… 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.

John 17. 2-end 20 ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,* so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Song of Praise: Glory to God

Hymn: What a friend we have in Jesus

The Lord Bless you and keep you (John Rutter) Sung by students from years 8,9,10 and 11 at Manor C of E Academy in York

Hymn: All heaven declares the glory of the Risen Lord

Opening our hearts to God Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Acknowledging our need of Forgiveness Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart. (We keep a moment of quiet for silent reflection) Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen. Affirming God’s Forgiveness May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen. Collect Prayer O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Bible Readings Acts 16. 16-34 16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune- telling. 17While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you* a way of salvation.’ 18She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. 20When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ 29The jailer* called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ 31They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ 32They spoke the word of the Lord* to him and to all who were in his house. 33At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. Revelation 22. 12-14, 16, 17, 20 - end 12 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,* so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 16 ‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. 20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.*

Reflections By Reverend Jonathan Hall Some words from the collect prayer for today: ...Leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ has gone before.' Living in this country during the 21st Century, there is a general expectation that we will be able to live relatively comfortably. Our houses are centrally heated and comfortably furnished. In winter we travel to work in the comfort of a warm car, bus or train, and many of our public buildings are warm and air conditioned. We are comfortable in ways our grandparents could only have dreamed of and that we would not necessarily have expected in our own childhoods. In 21st Century society, comfort is seen as almost a right and as a sign of our success. And yet we all know that what I have just said reflects only part of the truth. The reality is that the majority in our world are not comfortable. Christian Aid Week gives us an annual reminder that much of our world lives in poverty, with many communities in the developing countries of the world lacking access to fresh water, sanitation, proper housing, medical care and food. Sadlly, each year, many people are forced to leave their homes through war and conflict, seeking refuge in other countries. The war in Ukraine, means that during recent months, millions of families have left the safety and comfort of their former homes and have sought safety in this and other countries. In our own country, rising fuel prices and the spirally rise in cost of living, means that many families are now having to make choices between heating their homes, or preparing a meal. Many in our world are not comfortable at all. The members of the early Christian communities were often very uncomfortable. In Acts we read of Paul and Silas being thrown into prison for destroying the livelihood of the owners of a fortune telling, slave- girl. First, they were flogged and publicly humiliated. Abandoned in the dark, with open wounds, in an ancient prison was certainly not comfortable. Luke's account of the Ascension in Acts reflects the bewilderment of the bereaved disciples. Their Lord seemed to have gone, despite his mysterious appearances; they simply did not know what was going on. Most of the time they were to be found huddled together, or returning to normality in a desperate search for comfort. Jesus in the long discourses recorded by St. John, given before the crucifixion prepared the disciples for this. He told them how he would go away, but also promised that his Father would send another advocate, the comforter the Holy Spirit. This leads us back to the collect prayer: 'leave us not comfortless'. What then does comfort mean for the Christian and what does it mean to receive the Holy Spirit the comforter. Here are three thoughts. Firstly it is about Encouragement. Paul and Silas, as we heard in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles this morning, were released from their uncomfortable cell so that they could continue their ministry. The Comforter strengthens us for tasks, sometimes difficult tasks, that Christ, following his Ascension, entrusts to us. The Spirit equips and enables us to continue the work that Christ began. There is great strength and encouragement gained from each other within the life of the church. Paul and Silas had each other. Their faith and preaching touched the heart of the prison guard, who in turn came to faith, and brought the other members of his family to baptism. The Spirit binds each one of us together in this shared task, of continuing Christ’s work. This unity, through the bond of the Spirit, is a great source of encouragement and strength. It is wonderful that within the Bay area, there is a growing desire amongst the Churches of different denominations to work together. There is an ongoing exploration of ways in which we can build on the already strong partnership between the Church in Shanklin, to include the whole Bay area. This is an expression of the call to unity that Christ makes in his prayer, and an acknowledgement that by working together in his mission, we are far more likely to be effective in our desire to be channels of his love and peace within the life of our community. The second thing that the Holy Spirit does is point us to the things above. In the collect prayer for today, we also pray 'and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ has gone before.' God’s Holy Spirit, the divine comforter, lifts us up. God's promise to us is that he will exalts us; so that, even in death we will be with him. In the Book of Revelation we are given the vision of the heavenly city with its promise of the water of eternal life. In the Gospel John records Christ’s promise, that we will share in his eternal glory, and have a place in his eternal kingdom of light and peace. For those Christians who have faced persecution and very real physical danger – whether in the early centuries of the Church, or in our own age – this promise has been a source of great comfort and strength. Thirdly, there is a prophetic dimension to the work of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we will often be confronted by things we would rather not think about. One of the key roles of the Holy Spirit, is to challenge us, and to help us see the things in our lives and in the life of the world that are not in accordance with God’s will, and to give us the courage to be part of doing something about them. The work of Christian Aid, Tradecraft, Teafund and many other charities, is a powerful reminder of this prophetic working of the Spirit. As we are confronted by the images of poverty and suffering in so many parts of the world, it is the Spirit which stirs our hearts to respond. It is the Spirit which makes us feel uncomfortable about the injustices that we see. It is only by responding, through giving, or praying, or acting in some other way to help, that we can feel at peace within ourselves, and affirmed by the comfort of knowing that we have acted in response to God’s call through his Holy Spirit. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Let us use this week, to each pray and reflect so that we may truly open our hearts and minds to receive and share in the work of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, whose feast we celebrate next week. Let us pray. Lord God, heavenly Father, may the Comforter who proceeds from you enlighten our minds, lead us into all truth, and make us active in your service, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

God’s Blessing May God the Father, who has given to his Son the name above every name, strengthen us to proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord. May God the Son, who is our great high priest passed into the heavens, plead for us at the right hand of the Father. May God the Holy Spirit, who pours out his abundant gifts upon the Church, make us faithful servants of Christ our King. And may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us and remain with us always. Amen.

Prayers

Hymn: Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour

We gather together all our prayers in the words that Jesus taught us… 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.

Song of Praise: Glory to God

John 17. 2-end 20 ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,* so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Hymn: What a friend we have in Jesus

The Lord Bless you and keep you (John Rutter) Sung by students from years 8,9,10 and 11 at Manor C of E Academy in York