Orders of Worship – velvethummingbee

Our two most recent videos involve both celebrating and nourishing the natural environment. Our first video contains a ‘Prayer for the Glory of the Outward World’, which is based on one found in Orders of Worship, and includes ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ played on the piano by Allen Yarr, church organist. It features some of the lovely plants growing around First Dunmurry (NS) Presbyterian Church and it can be seen here:

Many of our churches celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and at Ballee and Clough Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Churches special services were followed by the planting of trees to mark the occasion, a Mountain Ash at Ballee and a Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ at Clough. This is part of the Queen’s ‘Green Canopy’ which aims to plant trees to enhance the natural environment. We are grateful to everyone who took part, to Sue Steers FRSA who led the service and to John Strain and Jack Steers who provided the music. The video can be seen here:

Ballee tree planting, Sunday, 5th June 2022

Clough tree planting, Sunday, 5th June 2022

Orders of Worship was published in 1932 and was rooted in a deeper, historic liturgical tradition which is outlined in the preface to the book. But it also undoubtedly reflects the times in which it was published, it could hardly not, and when you read a prayer like the one below you can sense the international tensions that would be uppermost in people’s minds when it was written. It is the second of two prayers entitled ‘For the Peace of the World’ published in Orders of Worship. But when I read it the other day it seemed curiously apposite when we consider our contemporary concerns (Presidential elections, Brexit etc) beyond the Coronavirus. I think that is testimony to the skills of the compilers of Orders of Worship, it is a true test of any liturgy that it has a power and relevance beyond the time of its immediate creation. I used it together with a prayer for schools, colleges and universities and a short reflection in a video which was uploaded the other day, it can be seen at the bottom of this page.

From Orders of Worship

Remembrance

November is a month of Remembrance and next Sunday we will have an online Remembrance Service but this weekend’s worship also explores that theme with a service that commemorates the life of Flight Lieutenant John Alexander Bright. Complete with many illustrations from the service that was held at Templepatrick in November 2019 to dedicate his medals the video also includes images that depict his service in the Second World War and the various memorials where he and countless others like him are commemorated: