St Andrew’s Dawson Street Local Ecumenical Partnership, St Catherine’s
Anglican Church and the Salvation Army Corps, Crook
“Dare to Dream”
Sunday 29th July 2012: 6pm
A joint service to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Starting Blocks: Therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with
perseverance the race that is set before us,looking
to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, Hebrews 12 v1-2a
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of
life.’ John 8 v12
Lighting of the Olympic Torch
8,000 inspirational
people have carried the Olympic Flame as it journeyed across the UK to its home
in the Olympic Stadium on Friday night. Nominated by someone they know, it was
their moment to shine, a hero to celebrate, inspiring millions of people
watching in their community, in the UK and worldwide. Churches too have been encouraged to take the theme
of the Olympic Games, as inspiration for worship, and other activities. Let us now light our Christian torch.
Raising our torches we say: Jesus Christ is the light of
the world
Shine as a light in the world
Presentation of Olympic Rings and
Prayers of Thanksgiving
A Prayer for Africa. Gracious God we thank you for the Olympic athletes
from Africa. Bless
all the African lands and their children. Dry their tears, bring hope into
their hearts, bring peace to their countries and still the guns of war.
A Prayer for the Americas:
Gracious God we thank you for the
Olympic athletes from the Americas. May North America be a source of wisdom
and strength, order and integrity throughout the world..
A
Prayer for Asia:
Gracious God we thank for the Olympic athletes from Asia. Bless the teeming
millions of that continent, may they know peace and freedom.
A
prayer for Europe:
Gracious God we thank you for the Olympic athletes from Europe. In your
compassion and mercy, break down the walls of hatred, distrust and bitterness
and open a way to seek a new future .
A
prayer for the peoples of Oceania. Gracious God we thank you for the Olympic
athletes from Oceania. May these islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean know
your love and grace.
God our Creator, we
pray for the Olympic now started and Paralympic Games. We give thanks for the
privilege of hosting them and the thrill of watching them; and we pray for all
who are taking part. Give them courage and strength, wisdom and generosity.
Make us warm in our welcome and generous in our hospitality. We ask this in the
name of Jesus Christ, our teacher and our friend.
Lap 1: Dreaming the dream
Verses from Psalm 8
Hymn: Lift high the banner: (Singing the Faith no
231: Tune Kingswold)
Lap 2: The Dream declines
A
reader: Reading: Genesis 3 v17-22
Hymn: The witnesses are
watching: (Singing the Faith No 690: Tune Aurelia)
Offertory
Lap 3: A new dream
A reader:
Revelation 7 v9-17
The Sermon: A
Salvation Army Officer
Musical Reflection:
Chariots of Fire music by Vangelis
Prayers of Intercession: Revd
Vince Fenton
Lap 4: The Finishing Line
A dream restored
Distribution of Gold medals
Hymn MP 51: Be Thou my vision o
Lord of my heart
A short
service of anointing led by the Revd Vince Fenton will take place at the front
of the church for those who wish to take part
Benediction
Though many, we form one body in
Christ.
We belong to one
another.
By God's grace we have different gifts.
We will use them in
faith.
Rejoice in hope, stand firm in
trouble, be constant in prayer.
Filled with his
Spirit we will serve the Lord.
The blessing
of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you all. Amen.
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you all. Amen.
Lap
1. Dreaming the dream
Allez Wiggo, they cried, and Bradley
Wiggins allezed his way to the finish line of the Tour de France. As the
champagne corks popped along the Champs Elysees, it was one of the marvelleux
things ever done by a British Athlete. On the winner’s podium he said of his
historic victory “Live your dream - Dreams can come true.” Over the last two
years another British sporting legend Matthew Pinsent has presented on BBC1
stories of aspiring athletes from around the world who are hoping their dreams
will come true at the London Olympics in 2012. With their dreams they bring
their stories.
Usain Bolt breaks world records but he is still
humbled by his PE teacher. A Trinidadian hurdler is set to take on the planet's
best, but has to pass his maths exam first. A Ukrainian fencer may appear on
the front of glossy magazines, but at home she loafs around in her slippers
like the rest of us. The psalmist portrays the story of God’s creation, where
man is seen as the chief glory of his creation, perhaps the total athlete, a
little lower than a god. Let’s listen to God’s word in Psalm 8.
Lap 2. The
Dream declines
This coming
Saturday my wife and I are going to see the musical Miss Saigon performed by
the Gala Stage School, Durham. The musical is based on Puccini’s opera Madame
Butterfly, and tells the
tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her
American lover. One of my favourite songs from the show is the engineer’s song
the “American dream,” he dreams of the new life that that country affords “what's that I smell in the air, the
American dream, sweet as a new millionaire, the American dream, pre-packed,
ready-to-wear, the American dream, luck by the tail, how can you fail?, and
best of all, it's for sale, the American dream. Name what you want and it's
there, the American dream, spend and have money to spare, the American dream,
live like you haven't a care, the American dream, what other place can compare,
the American dream, come and get more than your share the American dream. There
I will crown, Miss Chinatown, all yours for ten percent down, the American
dream.”
But the song is just that a dream. Our
reading from Genesis tells of God’s paradise world been disfigured and
corrupted by human selfishness. Our OT reading comes from the book of Genesis. The
stories in this book come from the imaginations of Jewish writers, before the
bible narrows down to God’s dealings with his chosen people. It tells us of the
beginnings from which every nation and the world itself have arisen. This is
our beginning, whether we are British or American or Chinese or Nigerian or Brazilian.
Many nations have their own story of course, but this is the story God revealed
to us. It is not the elements of the story that matters but the significance.
Let us hear then the word of God from Genesis.
Lap 3 A new Dream
From
securing the land to build the Olympic Park after the bid was won in 2005, to
completing the majority of construction in 2011, a remarkable transformation
has taken place in east London, the heart of the London 2012 Games. This area
of untapped potential, once waste, derelict, contaminated industrial land has
been developed into a spectacular urban park with world-class venues and new
infrastructure links – and the potential for further regeneration for decades
to come. The Olympic park contains the main permanent venues and the Olympic
village as well as 45 hectares
of wildlife habitat; local waterways and riverbanks have been cleaned and
enhanced as part of the process.
Elsewhere
in the country, sporting venues have been enhanced or built from scratch,
providing world-class facilities for the Games and for the long-term benefit of
local communities and elite athletes.
From land that was derelict, poor and abandoned a
new urban Olympic park has been created.
The remaking and regeneration of the earth, land, the
Olympic park and other venues is
bound up in the Easter proclamation; Easter is about the beginning of God's new
world. Urban practitioners, planners and architects,
not only share in Gods creative world, in the redevelopment and renewal of
inner cities and Olympic parks, they also live and work in the power of the
resurrection, in that new world which the Easter story talks about. Because of
the resurrection, the work or urban practitioners, architects, transport
engineers and planners is not in vain but is potentially of eternal value. Last Friday I attend a requiem mass for a
dear friend. The priest read from Psalm 104 and we responded with the words “You send forth your
Spirit, and you renew the face of the earth.” Let us then here about that other new world,
from the book of Revelation.
Lap
4. A dream restored
We are hoping for so many dreams to
come true in the next couple of weeks, for many British Athletes to win Gold
medals. We will know soon who will enjoy the acclamation of victory and who has
nobly accepted defeat. 90% of all athletes will leave the games and return home
empty handed, as Mark Cavendish, tipped for gold yesterday sadly, will do. We come
from a culture geared to crave success for ourselves and others. Indeed for
some it’s a drug. And because we celebritise those who have been successful,
what we fear most for ourselves and those we love is failure.
But here is the good news! At the core
of all true religion is the belief that being faithful and loving is more
important than succeeding. Failure is not something which should mark us
forever as defective, inadequate or bad. Rather, it can be the fertile soil in
which the flower of hope takes root much more easily than in the sometimes arid
desert of overblown success. Whether we have succeeded or not, in God’s eyes we
are all valued and loved, in God’s eyes we are all unconditionally loved and
forgiven. We are all stars, we all in our lives are being transformed into that
golden image of Jesus Christ, who lives in our hearts by faith, as the old
prayer book we are all gold medallists. Let us then receive our gold medals.
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