Maundy Thursday is one of the most moving days in the Christian calendar.
We therefore warmly invite everyone to share in prayer and reflection. Here are some resources to assist.
They can be used all in one go, bit by bit, or selectively, as suits your needs (privately, or with others).
As we remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper before facing trials and crucifixion,
may God bless us all on this special day in our own demanding times.
We therefore warmly invite everyone to share in prayer and reflection. Here are some resources to assist.
They can be used all in one go, bit by bit, or selectively, as suits your needs (privately, or with others).
As we remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper before facing trials and crucifixion,
may God bless us all on this special day in our own demanding times.
Acknowledgement of Country
Firstly, as we gather in God's presence, we acknowledge the land which is covered by the Milton parish, its traditional custodians, elders past present and emerging, and all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in our communities. May we honour and share more deeply the wisdom of all, and walk in paths of just reconciliation and renewal of all Creation
Firstly, as we gather in God's presence, we acknowledge the land which is covered by the Milton parish, its traditional custodians, elders past present and emerging, and all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in our communities. May we honour and share more deeply the wisdom of all, and walk in paths of just reconciliation and renewal of all Creation
Opening Reflections
Take a moment to breathe in God's peace as we come to share in the different elements of Maundy Thursday.
Rest in the love which gave Jesus strength to share life and hope in the midst of the huge challenges of Jesus' own day.
That love can give us peace and courage too to live and praise God in all that we face and feel.
You may like to join in with the following well-known song of God's Love...
Take a moment to breathe in God's peace as we come to share in the different elements of Maundy Thursday.
Rest in the love which gave Jesus strength to share life and hope in the midst of the huge challenges of Jesus' own day.
That love can give us peace and courage too to live and praise God in all that we face and feel.
You may like to join in with the following well-known song of God's Love...
The Washing - a reading from the Gospels of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 17-30
Today we focus on two great actions of Jesus - his washing of the disciples feet and the sharing of bread wine as his body and blood.
Please read this first passage in your Bible, or online here, and hold some silence to let it speak to you...
Washing ourselves in God's Love
Traditionally we often wash each other's feet in our worship on this day.
At this time, we are not encouraged to have close personal physical contact with others outside our family.
So, if you are not able to wash another person's feet, you might like to say this prayer as a blessing on others.
You might also like to wash your own feet, hands, and/or face, as you read it and ask for God's blessing...
Christ our Servant,
the Water of Life,
we remember how
you washed the feet of your disciples.
Wash and bless us as we receive your love.
May the sound and feel of water
remind us that you always have the power to cleanse and heal.
Wash and renew us as we bring our hearts and lives to you.
May the touch of your peace give us sacred connection
and your love renew us in joyful communion.
Wash and bless us as we journey on. Amen.
(Jo Inkpin)
Traditionally we often wash each other's feet in our worship on this day.
At this time, we are not encouraged to have close personal physical contact with others outside our family.
So, if you are not able to wash another person's feet, you might like to say this prayer as a blessing on others.
You might also like to wash your own feet, hands, and/or face, as you read it and ask for God's blessing...
Christ our Servant,
the Water of Life,
we remember how
you washed the feet of your disciples.
Wash and bless us as we receive your love.
May the sound and feel of water
remind us that you always have the power to cleanse and heal.
Wash and renew us as we bring our hearts and lives to you.
May the touch of your peace give us sacred connection
and your love renew us in joyful communion.
Wash and bless us as we journey on. Amen.
(Jo Inkpin)
Footwashing continues to be a powerful expression of God's Love in so many contexts.
You may like to watch this short video from another part of the Anglican Communion - where homeless people's feet are washed - to see one moving example of love in action touching and transforming lives...
You may like to watch this short video from another part of the Anglican Communion - where homeless people's feet are washed - to see one moving example of love in action touching and transforming lives...
A Reflection (by Penny Jones)
Washing - Love's Gift
Washing cleanses, comforts and creates new life - in washing the disciples feet Jesus offers us a gift for these times.
click here to read more
and/or click on the YouTube link below...
Prayers of Intercession
God of new beginnings,
we thank you for saving us
just as you saved your children Israel
and brought them into new life with You.
This Maundy Thursday
we remember that first Passover
with hope and expectancy,
even in the midst of our trauma
as an isolated and dispersed tribe.
God of the strange lands we now inhabit,
we thank you that already we are seeing
how living slower is beginning to heal our planet.
Remind us that creation is ours to belong to,
and give us hope that we too may be renewed in this time.
God of the Cathedrals and the bush chapels,
help us to find new ways of being Your Church in Your world.
Thank you for the gifts of the internet and the world wide web
so we can still gather together.
Bless our YouTube services, our livestreams, and our email prayer groups.
Help us to be excited about finding new ways to be your Church.
Thank you for our phones, when for many
this has become the only means of connecting with loved ones.
Christ of the foot-washing, in the midst of our own confusion
give us courage to reach out and serve others in whatever way we can.
Gentle Shepherd,
in this time of fear, illness, separation and confinement,
bring comfort to all your children
as we face an unimagined uncertainty in our lives.
Remind us all that You never leave us alone,
and that nothing we endure
can ever separate us from Your love.
(Jeni Nix)
The Last Supper - a reading from the Gospels of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 17-30
The story of the Last Supper is one of the most spiritually significant in the Gospels.
It includes the great act of Jesus in sharing bread and wine as his body and blood
and commending this to us to 'do in remembrance of me'.
Please read this vital passage in your Bible, or online here, and hold some silence to let it speak to you...
The story of the Last Supper is one of the most spiritually significant in the Gospels.
It includes the great act of Jesus in sharing bread and wine as his body and blood
and commending this to us to 'do in remembrance of me'.
Please read this vital passage in your Bible, or online here, and hold some silence to let it speak to you...
Different ways into understanding the Last Supper
Remembering the Last Supper has been central to Christian life an faith down the centuries. Sadly, sometimes different ways of understanding and marking this have caused conflict. Yet we can be enriched when we open our hearts and minds to the Last Supper afresh. For the New Testament itself contains several different narratives and approaches to the Last Supper which it is also good to recall at this time.
If you would like to reflect further on this, here is one helpful survey, written from a former Reformed Church Minister now in the Orthodox Christian community. Please do pray for our fellow Christians in different denominations today and for an enriching of Christianity through a deeper sharing of our gifts and journeys...
Remembering the Last Supper has been central to Christian life an faith down the centuries. Sadly, sometimes different ways of understanding and marking this have caused conflict. Yet we can be enriched when we open our hearts and minds to the Last Supper afresh. For the New Testament itself contains several different narratives and approaches to the Last Supper which it is also good to recall at this time.
If you would like to reflect further on this, here is one helpful survey, written from a former Reformed Church Minister now in the Orthodox Christian community. Please do pray for our fellow Christians in different denominations today and for an enriching of Christianity through a deeper sharing of our gifts and journeys...
Giving Thanks (Eucharist)
The word eucharist means thanksgiving, and when we share bread and wine together as the body and blood of Christ, we use one of the Great Thanksgiving prayers in our authorised prayer book .
(see photo here from our worship in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at St Francis College in Milton).
When we have no opportunity to gather in this way with an ordained priest to lead us, we may still take time to give thanks for God's blessing to us, and especially the gift of love in Jesus Christ.
If you have an Anglican or other Prayer Book, perhaps you may like to read one of authorised prayers at this point
As you share food today, you may also like to remember God present with us whenever we take bread and wine, or anything else to eat.
The word eucharist means thanksgiving, and when we share bread and wine together as the body and blood of Christ, we use one of the Great Thanksgiving prayers in our authorised prayer book .
(see photo here from our worship in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at St Francis College in Milton).
When we have no opportunity to gather in this way with an ordained priest to lead us, we may still take time to give thanks for God's blessing to us, and especially the gift of love in Jesus Christ.
If you have an Anglican or other Prayer Book, perhaps you may like to read one of authorised prayers at this point
As you share food today, you may also like to remember God present with us whenever we take bread and wine, or anything else to eat.
Prayer of Commendation
Let us ask God to give us grace to continue to live our lives in faith, hope, and love:
God of the onward journey
Amid uncertainty, give us courage
Amid darkness, give us light
Amid fear, give us hope
Amid instability, give us balance
amid conflict, give us peace
and in all things accompany us
along the Way.
(Penny Jones)
Let us ask God to give us grace to continue to live our lives in faith, hope, and love:
God of the onward journey
Amid uncertainty, give us courage
Amid darkness, give us light
Amid fear, give us hope
Amid instability, give us balance
amid conflict, give us peace
and in all things accompany us
along the Way.
(Penny Jones)
A Blessing for the next stage of our journeys
Creator of communion,
of bread and wine, and all that gives life.
Bless us and keep us
Redeemer of the wearied ones,
of tired feet, and all that we endure.
Bless us and keep us
Sanctifier of the ordinary,
of our human potential, and all that can be
Bless us and keep us
This Maundy Thursday and always, Amen.
(Jo Inkpin & Penny Jones)
Creator of communion,
of bread and wine, and all that gives life.
Bless us and keep us
Redeemer of the wearied ones,
of tired feet, and all that we endure.
Bless us and keep us
Sanctifier of the ordinary,
of our human potential, and all that can be
Bless us and keep us
This Maundy Thursday and always, Amen.
(Jo Inkpin & Penny Jones)
Keeping Vigil
Christians often mark the end of their Maundy Thursday evening by keeping time in vigil as we recall Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
You may therefore now like to watch/listen and/or join with this beautiful Taize chant
and/or keep some time in silence and reflection...
Christians often mark the end of their Maundy Thursday evening by keeping time in vigil as we recall Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
You may therefore now like to watch/listen and/or join with this beautiful Taize chant
and/or keep some time in silence and reflection...
Offertory
In our usual worship, we include an opportunity to offer monetary and/or other gifts to God.
If you would like to contribute to the work of Milton Anglicans during the COVID-19 crisis, please feel to do so via electronic means -
via BPoint
or by contacting the parish office
In our usual worship, we include an opportunity to offer monetary and/or other gifts to God.
If you would like to contribute to the work of Milton Anglicans during the COVID-19 crisis, please feel to do so via electronic means -
via BPoint
or by contacting the parish office