Dear All Saints and St Mary's
“Bless O Lord us your servants that minister in your temple, grant that what we sing with our lips may we believe in our hearts and what we believe in our hearts may we show forth in our lives. Amen”
This is what is known as a chorister prayer – one that has been used by the Royal School of Church Music since 1934. Its origins are thought to date back further to the 13th Century. It is still prayed with choirs, including our own, before services begin. For me there is something about this prayer that speaks of wholeness. A desire that what we say and sing is deeply connected to who we are and what we believe. That our intentions, actions and words are bound together in harmony rather than clash or jar. It is also something that resonates with the passage from Romans that we hear this Sunday morning.
“ because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved”
There are times when that harmony of life is not quite in sync, similarly with music sometimes it can sound flat or sharp or I just sing the completely wrong notes. However if the intention of the heart is in the right place, then what we say and do should follow naturally. Sometimes we can believe something deeply in our hearts but struggle to say it or speak it. At these times our actions can speak as loud as words. And sometimes our bodies are not able to complete actions that we want it to but our mouths can speak words of God’s love for others, ourselves and the world. Intentionally, mindfully, working towards making intentions, words and actions chime well, so that we can sing the beautiful song of the gospel is a Christians’ life work. May we all know and pray the chorister prayer.
Services this Sunday – 13th August
8.00am – Holy Communion - All Saints
10.00am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys
10.30am – Muddy Messy Church – All Saints
At the end you will find the weekly sheets and the creative roots materials.
The coming week there is
Tuesday 15th August 3.00pm - All Saints Family Café - All Saints Wednesday 16rd August 9.00am - Celtic Morning Prayer - All Saints Thursday 17th August 10.00am - Holy Communion – St Marys 3.00pm - All Saints Family Cafe - All Saints Saturday 19th August 12.00noon- 2.00pm - Saturday Lunches - St Marys Sunday 20th August 10.00am - Holy Communion - St Marys 10.30am - Holy Communion - All Saints
Blessings
Revd Lizzie
Revd Lizzie Kesteven
Vicar of All Saints Church and St Marys Church, Fishponds
Interim Co Area Dean of Bristol City Deanery
Advisor for Spirituality for Bristol Diocese