This is the service which took place via zoom thanks to Julie Letts and Owen Roberts
Focussing on the Love Feast we explore the importance of story –
God’s story and our own stories, intertwined with His.
Welcome and Love Feast Introduction
A Love Feast is, in a nutshell, about sharing, belonging and fellowship, all carried out in an act of worship. We share faith stories, cake and drink all of which give us an awareness of belonging to and fellowship within the great God story of God. Owen is going to talk in more detail shortly but, for the moment, now is the time to make sure you’ve got a drink of some sort with you, fruit cake if you’ve got it or a biscuit will do just as well.
Prayer and Call To Worship (said together)
Father, Mother God, as I bring myself to worship you
I recognise that I am connected to people everywhere
who are bringing themselves to worship you.
We are joined together, by the Spirit of Jesus Christ
who has been writing your story through the ages.
As we come to worship you this day,
we do so with Jesus at our centre,
and delight that you delight in us.
We delight as you invite us to be your people
who continue, with your enabling, to write your story.
May all that we are bring only glory and honour to your holy name.
We praise and worship you.
Amen.
Hymn
Jesu, Lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high;
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, till the storm of life be past;
Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah, leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenceless head with the shadow of Thy wing.
Thou O Christ, art all I want; more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art; freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.
Charles Wesley 1707-1788
The Jesus Story
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30, and then for 3 years he was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never went into a big city – not the kind you and I would recognise. He never travelled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between 2 thieves. While he was dying his executors gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth – his coat. When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
20 centuries have come and gone, and today he is the centrepiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of humanity on this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
What a story. What a legacy.
St Paul’s Story
Paul has an amazing story. Previously known as Saul, a Pharisee of the highest standing, his knowledge of Scripture was outstanding and, as a Pharisee, he fiercely upheld the ordinances of God Almighty and the religious regulations of the Pharisees; he fully expected others to do likewise. Hence, he was so incensed with the dialogue and actions of Christians. What they were saying and doing did not, to him and his fellow Pharisees, fit in with the story of God Almighty. He was commissioned to put a stop to this story and, for him, this meant gathering up Christians, having them thrown in jail or even put to death. The very mention of his name, Saul, put fear into Christians of that day. However, his personal story was to take a dramatic turn. I think we all know the story. On the way to Damascus, intent on gathering up Christians, Saul had an encounter with Jesus Christ. So profound was this encounter that, from that moment, Saul’s life was turned around and he moved from gathering Christians together to incarcerate and kill, to gathering Christians to promote and build up the Kingdom of God. He realised that the Jesus story is God’s story. The trait in his character that drove him to be dedicated to his previous cause, moved him to be dedicated to the Jesus cause. His story takes on a very different focus and it can be found in the many writings we find in the New Testament where we find Saul, now known as Paul, encouraging, exhorting, blessing, guiding and even reprimanding at times, but always loving people with the all-embracing love of God. In his writing to the church in Ephesus, we read his prayer for people to have a deeper fulness of God’s almighty love for them:
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The Love Feast Story
The Love Feast is an old Methodist tradition, although Methodists did not invent it! The first Methodists adopted it from the Moravian Church, and it has its origins in the Agape meal of the Early Christian Church, a ceremonial sharing of food and drink in a gathering of believers to express the love and fellowship shared between them. It is not the same as Holy Communion, although there appears to have been some overlap in the earliest days of the Church, but the two were understood as distinct from around the fourth century.
The Methodist Love Feast features the sharing of prayer and hymns before the sharing of fruit cake and water, served in large double-handed mugs, called loving cups, or lovefeast cups. Love Feasts were held regularly among the different branches of Methodism well into the 19th century.
After the cake was shared at a Love Feast, people would share testimonies. This was an extremely important part of the Love Feast, which was all about sharing experiences, and supporting one another in the collective journey of faith.
The practice of holding Love Feasts has been largely forgotten, but interest in them has been revived in the Methodist Church over the past few years, and indeed in some rural areas, the tradition has never ended. Here in the Hope Valley, at Alport Castles Farm, just off the Snake Pass, a Love Feast has been held in a barn on the farm for at least 250 years. It is held on the first Sunday of July in the afternoon; were it not for the virus, it would be being held today.
Hannah Mitchell, who grew up on the farm in the 1870s and 80s, wrote about the Love Feast in the 1930s. She describes the barn as ‘consecrated by the sacred memories of many generations of humble worshippers, this old Barn is as truly the House of God as the noblest cathedral in the land’. She talks about the rigorous sweeping, cleaning and whitewashing beforehand to prepare for the event, with even the stone water trough being ‘emptied and scrubbed, until when refilled it sparkled as if set with diamonds’. Of the service itself, she writes:
‘At one o’clock the Lovefeast began with the singing of a hymn, ‘Jesu lover of my soul’ being the favourite, and prayer followed by the breaking of bread. Baskets filled with substantial slices of cake were handed round by the stewards. Each person took a portion and a draught of water from the vessels offered, then the meeting was open for all to bear testimony to the faith they professed’.
Testimony has many different meanings and it might mean different things to each of you. You might think of law courts, or in a religious sense, testimony as something which belongs only to another era or a different form of Christianity to your own. It doesn’t just mean a dramatic story about becoming a Christian – although you might have a testimony like that – but that’s not the only type. The word comes from the Latin for ‘witness’. It’s about what you can say about what you’ve seen or experienced of God in your life. And it’s everyday life, not just one-offs. The small things as well as the big stuff.
You might feel you’ve got nothing to say, and your experience might be one of doubts and questions and dissatisfaction, rather than – or as well as – joy and conviction; but we all have a story to tell, and our stories are all connected. And we bring those stories together as we celebrate the Love Feast.
Hymn: Part 1
Come and let us sweetly join Christ to praise in hymns divine;
Give we all with one accord, Glory to our common Lord. Glory to our common Lord.
Hands and hearts and voices raise, sing as in the ancient of days;
Antedate the joys above, celebrate the feast of love. Celebrate the feast of love.
Strive we, in affection strive; let the purer flame revive,
Such as in the martyrs glowed, dying champions for their God. Dying champions for their God.
We, like them, may live and love; called we are their joys to prove,
Saved with them from future wrath, partners of like precious faith. Partners of like precious faith.
Our Story
If I said to you “Once upon a time” you would immediately know that I was about to embark on telling you a story.
If I said, “and he huffed and he puffed and…..,” or “Oh Grandma what big eyes you have…..” you would know the story I was re-counting wouldn’t you!
God has many facets about Him, and we know all of this – whilst still maintaining the mystery about Him – through His story and His work in our lives. God has what we would call a meta-narrative, the story of all stories. It begins with Genesis and ends with Revelation. You and I, have a story that fits into God’s story, sometime before Revelation! And our story began from the moment we came into the world – maybe before if you consider Psalm 139 which talks about God knitting us together in our mother’s womb – our stories have a beginning and will continue until we plant both feet into heaven – or if Revelation comes first. Whichever comes first, we start a new chapter then that will go on for ever and ever and ever …… into eternity!
But what is your story with God? Can you say something and immediately people will know where you are leading? Would you be recognised as a person of God, someone who lives their life trying their best to be the Jesus person? Or do you sometimes wear a disguise?
We have perhaps slipped out of the habit of seeing God active in our lives on a daily basis. We have perhaps lost confidence in sharing our story with those who do not hold with our belief.
Perhaps, especially in this enforced time where so much has stopped, it would be good for us to stop as well and reflect on our particular story, recognise God at work within and around us, giving God thanks for his active presence in our lives. Seeking his Spirit of Truth to encourage us in our faith lives, in the continuing writing of our stories.
My hope and prayer is that people will be able to say of us, “what a story,” “what a legacy” not because we want glory but because we want to see others come and be part of the meta-narrative.
Let’s give God the glory, as we delight in his story. Amen.
Rev’d Julie Letts
Quiet time of reflection as we then share story and eat and drink.
Hymn: Part 2
Sing we then in Jesu’s name, now as yesterday the same:
One in every time and place, full for all of truth and grace. Full for all of truth and grace.
We for Christ, our Master, stand, lights in a benighted land:
We our dying Lord confess; we are Jesu’s witnesses. We are Jesu’s witnesses.
Witnesses that Christ hath died, we with him are crucified;
Christ hath burst the bands of death, we His quickening Spirit breath. We His quickening Spirit breath.
Christ is now gone up on high, thither all our wishes fly;
Sits at God’s right hand above, there with Him we reign in love. There with Him we reign in love.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Prayers
Hymn
God be with you till we meet again,
By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you:
God be with you till we meet again.
Till we meet! Till we meet! Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet! Till we meet! God be with you till we meet again!
God be with you till we meet again,
‘Neath His wings protecting hide you,
Daily manna still provide you:
God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again,
When life’s perils thick confound you,
Put His arms unfailing round you:
God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again,
Keep love’s banner floating o’er you,
Smite death’s threatening wave before you:
God be with you till we meet again.
Jeremiah Eames Rankin 1828-1904
Blessing
Until we meet again, we remember that this time we are living through
will be written down in history.
May His-story be a golden thread woven through it,
offering peace and protection, food and freedom of body, mind and soul.
And may our story be a part of the gold weave.
Amen.
May the blessing of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
enfold you this day and always.
Amen.
50 countries Affected by COVID sing Amazing Grace
Woodlands Methodist Church 