Today is Trinity Sunday - a day when we dwell on the fullness of God.
​All is complete.

Scripture Sentence
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

Prayer for the Day (Collect)
God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
and curl the baby's ear;
Spirit, brooding over chaos
before the naming of day;
Savior, sending us to earth's ends
with water and words:
startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.

Genesis 2:1-4a Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

• God almighty has prepared us through the ages, through prophecy and its fulfilment
• Christ's work is finished through the advent, humanity, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord
• The Holy Spirit has come with Pentecostal blessing

We the whole creation rejoice with Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Winter Solstice is near; the shortening of the days is near done.

The shortest day and longest night are upon us!

We rest a while and take stock; as we have been doing in our bubbles.

Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890. Starry Night, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

A Christian Liturgy for Reflecting on the Winter Solstice

• How do we approach the season of Winter?
• Do we mourn the passing of Summer's warmth and Autumn's golden glow?
• Do we live in fear of shortened days, long nights and the cold of the coming days?

Or, does the Winter remind us of the wonderful rhythm of God's creation? Seeds sown in Spring have grown, fruited and provided for our needs. Trees that provided shelter for wildlife have now shed their leaves which in due course will rot down and provide nutrients for the coming year. Plants in our gardens which have seemingly died lie dormant within the ground, ready to emerge and bring us joy in the Spring to come.

The countryside sleeps in Winter, and within it lies all the potential of Spring, Summer and Autumn!

Together we say
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created and have their being

This is the God we serve,
A God of love, of healing and power.
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who loves us with a Father's love.
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who laughs as we laugh,
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who suffers as we suffer.
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who brings light into dark places.
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who brings warmth into hearts that are chilled.
All: Alleluia

This is the God we serve,
A God who sees within us the potential of Spring.
All: Alleluia

Where we see but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing.
(Albert Laighton)

There is a winter in all of our lives,
a chill and darkness that makes us yearn
for days that have gone
or put our hope in days yet to be.

God, you created seasons for a purpose.
Spring is full of expectation
buds breaking
frosts abating and an awakening
of creation before the first days of Summer.

Now the sun gives warmth
and comfort to our lives
reviving aching joints
bringing colour, new life
and crops to fruiting.

Autumn gives nature space
to lean back, relax and enjoy the fruits of its labour
mellow colours in sky and landscape
as the earth prepares to rest.

Then Winter, cold and bare as nature takes stock
rests, unwinds, sleeps until the time is right.

An endless cycle
and yet a perfect model.
We need a winter in our lives.
A time of rest, a time to stand still.
A time to reacquaint ourselves
with the faith in which we live and breathe.
It is only then that we can draw strength
from the one in whom we are rooted,
take time to grow and rise through the darkness
into the warm glow of your springtime,
to blossom and flourish,
bring colour and vitality into this world,
your garden.

Thank you God
for the seasons of our lives.

Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.
( Barbara Winkler)

​A Candle is Lit

We are called to be a a light, a candle to bring the illumination of God's Truth and Word into lives that have yet to know the One who created all things. God's light brings not only light but the warmth of His love wherever it touches.

Let us spend a moment or two looking at these symbols.

The leaves which once were green now withered, fallen to the ground. They are still a part of God's plan, containing within them food for new growth.

​The bulb, seemingly without life and yet within it holding the potential for great beauty or fruitfulness. The flickering light which illuminates even within the darkest day.

(Silence)
​
With all of our strengths and weaknesses
Hopes and fears
We come to you now
Our Creator God.
Fill us
All: Renew us

Take us
All: Use us

As your lights in a world of darkness,
empowered through your Spirit
All: Your Spirit of love

Your Spirit of peace
All: Your Spirit of hope

In a world that lives but has yet to experience life in all its fullness.
In a world that loves, but has yet to meet with the source of all love.
In a world that forever seeks, but stumbles in its searching.

​And as we think on these leaves and bulbs, and the passing of Winter through to the hope of a Springtime when life will emerge from the cold earth, we remember that we also are a part of that cycle of death and rebirth, that the seeds we sow in this life will fall to the ground with the potential to grow and be fruitful.

NEARER MY GOD TO THEE - Sarah Flower Adams
Even when we cannot see or feel Him, the Lord never leaves our side. As we walk through each day, let us remember to call upon His name and give thanks. The beautiful lyrics of 'Nearer My God to Thee' are the perfect call to the Lord. And when you hear the story behind this amazing hymn, inspired by Jacob's dream about a ladder, you will be reminded exactly why we need him every hour and second.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Refrain:
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee.

There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv’n;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Caught up to meet my King, swiftly I’ll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

The angels climb Jacob’s Ladder on the west front of Bath Abbey.

The description of Jacob's ladder appears in Genesis 28:10–19
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said: "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not." And he was afraid, and said: "How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

— Genesis 28:10–17

Afterwards, Jacob names the place "Bethel" (literally, "House of God").

​​​As a part of nature's wondrous cycle
Of new birth, growth, fruitfulness and death
We rejoice in the creation of new life,
For parenthood, the passing on of knowledge,
For understanding and the wisdom of years.
We are grateful for those who have gone before
Passing on to us our spiritual heritage.
May our lives blossom as the apple tree in Spring
May we become fruitful in thought and deed
And may the seed of love that falls to the ground
Linger beyond our time on this earth.
God of Winter, Springtime
Summer and Autumn,
God of Light
God of Warmth
God of Love
God of Potential
God of Hope
Who in the darkest days
Enters our lives
As you entered this world
Bringing Love
Healing and Wholeness
All: We praise your glorious name!

Final Prayer
God of delight,
your Wisdom sings your Word
at the crossroads where humanity and divinity meet.
Invite us into your joyful being
where you know and are known
in each beginning,
in all sustenance,
in every redemption,
that we may manifest your unity
in the diverse ministries you entrust to us,
truly reflecting your triune majesty
in the faith that acts,
in the hope that does not disappoint,
and in the love that endures. Amen.
​
​Trinity Gospel Reading
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Silence

Together we Pray
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Be with us this day and evermore
Amen.

Latimore, Kelly. Trinity, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.