Sunday Worship 24 October 2021

Sunday 24 October 2021

Welcome

Welcome and let us worship God

A particular welcome to all members of the 1st and 2nd Dumbarton Boy’s Brigade Company, their families and friends. It will be very different from usual Boys Brigade Enrolment services because of the current restrictions, but we will include key elements – though the boys will make their promises at a different time.

Hymn Underneath the banner

Opening Prayer

Lord

It is good to be able to take a few moments

  to think about you

  to talk with you

  for even though you are a great God

  you are also a caring God

You know each one of us

  the things that make us feel good

  and the things that make us feel angry, worried or sad

You want everyone in your world to live in peace and justice

  to have a whole and full life

  in your Spirit you are always working to try and achieve that

  to put right the wrongs caused by people or nature

Help us to grow to be more and more like Jesus

 to show his qualities in the way we live and treat others

Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen

All age time (for ages 0-100)

Video of BB work

Hymn JP69 Hallelu Hallelu

Bible reading

Matthew 6: 24-34

Reflection    

Some people like to have life worked out in fine detail months and years ahead. I remember my mother was great at asking questions like, ‘what would you like for Christmas?’ about July or August, and there were others that could have waited months before they needed to be asked.

Other people have no concept of how to plan ahead or make notes of when something will happen, Again I can think of folk who phone year on year to ask when someone’s birthday is (and it’s not because they have dementia) or when a ‘save the date’ card arrives for a party or some special occasion they lose it and then arrange something else for the relevant day.

Maybe the rest of us fall somewhere in between.

Planning ahead is a worthwhile skill that we need for school, for work, for family life, for any organisation to which we belong. But we also need to allow for life not working out as we had planned. The last 18 months have completely underscored that. How many plans for holidays, days out, special occasions, were completely scuppered by Covid restrictions, which none of us really saw coming, and which lasted far longer than we expected?

We may not want to start using Granny’s line ‘..if I’m spared’ every time we talk about some future event, but many now feel an element of doubt when they talk about some plan made for the future.

On the other hand the fact that we have Cop26 happening in Glasgow next week bears witnesses to generations who only thought about their ‘today’ and nothing about the future or generations yet unborn. Short-term thinking, focussing on ‘me’ and what suits ‘me’ at this point in time has led to the climate emergency that we now face.

There are lots of things that we could lie awake and worry about – from vaccine-resistant viruses, to widespread drought and hunger, poverty, the loss of species and habitat, rising sea levels, erosion of human rights, war and violence and so on. They are all real issues, and we do need to think about them, and take steps to address them, both in the present and the future.

But as followers of Jesus we also need to remember God, his power, his concern for his world and his readiness to act. We aren’t to sit back and leave everything to God, but we can share our worries and concerns with him, and if we each try to work at what we can do to address the problems the world faces, God will take and use it all to bring about change. Single-handedly we cannot sort the world’s problems for the next several millennia, but working together, each day, we can make a big difference.

Hymn 448 Lord the light of your love is shining

Prayers for others

Gracious God

We thank you for the world in which we live

 for all the variety from forest to desert to ocean

 for the wonderful variety of scenery and wildlife around us here

 help us to care for it

 be with all who are attending the Cop26 Conference

  and inspire them to make bold decisions

there are many things about which we could worry –

  personal or affecting the whole community or world –

 help us to trust in you and your care for us

 be with everyone who is suffering anxiety

  or facing very difficult dilemmas

 show us how we can support and help them

we pray for all who are ill,

those who look after them

 and those who worry about them

those waiting for or receiving treatment

 and those for whom there is no treatment

those who are lonely, feeling down, or grieving a friend or loved one

those who are worried about home, work or money

 a friend or a relative

those who are living with the after-effects of natural disasters

those who do not have enough to eat, or somewhere to call home

those who long to live in peace and safety

those who have fled from their homes seeking safety

We pray for the Queen, the Government

 all in positions of leadership in this and every land

We pray for you church

 the worldwide church

 the wider church in Dumbarton

 our own congregation

help us always to be faithful to Jesus our Lord

We bring to you our prayers for people and situations of special concern to us

And we sum up our prayers in the words of the prayer Jesus gave us

The Promises of the Officers of 1^st/2nd Dumbarton Boys Brigade

1. Captain

Captain Elaine King, do you promise to be faithful to the task given you by the parents, congregation and Kirk Session of this Church, and to do all you can by word and example to help the boys fulfil the object of the Boys’ Brigade movement ?

Captain — I do

On behalf of the Kirk Sessions and congregations, I entrust the 1^{st/ 2nd} Dumbarton in all its parts to your care and keeping throughout the coming year, and we commend you, and your officers, to the guidance and help of Almighty God in the fulfilment of your responsibilities.

ii)           Officers and Helpers

Officers and Helpers of the 1^{st / 2nd}  Dumbarton Boys’ Brigade, by your commitment you have chosen to help lead and teach the boys of this company in the Christian ways of the Boys’ Brigade both by leadership and example.  Do you promise faithfully and caringly to teach and train the boys in the habits of obedience, reverence, discipline, self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness and in doing so to promote Christ’s Kingdom among boys ?

Officers and helpers — We do

Prayer

God our Father

We are here because we want to be part of the Boys Brigade

 we enjoy being part of the Boys Brigade

 we are proud to be part of the Boys Brigade

 and we are proud to make our promises

We are also here because the Boys Brigade isn’t just about fun

 it’s also about following you and serving others

so we have made our promises

 in your presence

Thank you for all the good things that we have

 for all the good times that we have

Be with our officers and leaders as they work week by week

Be with our families and friends

Be with all who are not able to be here today

Be with us as we try to keep our promises

Presentation of the Queen’s Badge to Cameron Russell

Hymn 737 Will your anchor hold

Blessing (3-fold Amen)

God the Father sends you out

 steadfast and sure

 to be his witnesses wherever you go

 to work to bring healing and wholeness in all you do

and the blessing of God Almighty

 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

 rest and remain with you,

 today, and every day, and for ever. Amen

Hymn 702 God save the Queen