As the Church of Scotland in Bellshill we extend a warm welcome to any of our activities. People have been coming to this building to worship God for over a hundred years. While our town has journeyed through many changes over those years, the constancy of the witness of the “Church at 346 Main Street” has remained uninterrupted. The mission of any Church is to reflect through its presence, its music, its fellowship and its beauty the greatness of God, and we seek to do that here in all that we share.
We hope that everyone who enters these doors will find an encouraging, friendly group of people. While we are far from perfect, we are regularly discovering truths that are changing us individually and enriching our lives as a church community. As we worship together, learn from the Bible, and pray for one another, we are strengthened in our commitment to Jesus Christ as well as to each other. If this is your first time here, we welcome you, and invite you to share the joy that we have found.
for our governments and political leaders – for wise counsel and sound initiative to defuse tension
for diplomats – that they may have space to negotiate
for the people of Ukraine – that their close ties with the people of Russia and other neighbours will remain strong even in the face of military threat.
We pray that all governments commit time to dialogue and understanding, respect the will and freedom of all peoples, invest in welfare and alleviation of poverty and reject militarism and the threat of violence.
May Christ’s teaching and example be our inspiration, may hearts and minds be changed, and may your holy spirit be at work transforming each of us day by day,
Come before the God of love. Come as you are, no pretence, no judgment, come with your thoughts and your feeling, in the highs and lows of life, come with your successes and failures, come knowing that you are loved unconditionally. Come before the Lord your God, in the quiet spaces and the busy places, in worship, praise and thanksgiving, for all we have and all we are is a gift from God.
Approach to God
Eternal and everlasting God, You came to our world in Christ. You shared in our humanity, You walked with us. You still come to us through the presence of Your spirit, sharing in our experiences each and every day, sharing in our worship whatever our number, for where two or three are gathered, You are there. Be with us now as we come to You to share in worship, online in our homes, for we know nothing can separate us from Your love, and whether we are together or apart, we are still part of the body of Christ. So, as we come before You in worship, to read Your word and listen for Your voice, open our eyes to Your presence in our lives and open our lives to Your grace and power. Amen
Intercession
Loving God, You have called us to be a living community. A people bound together as the body of Christ, and a family united in love. Yet Lord, in our broken world so many are suffering, so many are hurting. Hear our prayers Lord For those whose lives are ruled by hate and vengeance, rather than love and justice. For those whose homes are not places of love or safety, but places of fear and violence. For those who have no home to speak of and have become invisible on our streets. For those who are stigmatised because of status, ill-health, ethnicity, religion. Lord, You asked us to love our neighbours, all of them, not just the ones we choose. Enable us and equip us to carry out Your command and to make a positive difference in the lives of those who are our neighbours and are struggling. Hear our prayers Lord For all those in our congregations and communities who are ill at home or in hospital – bring Your healing hands and soothing balm upon them. For all who are anxiously awaiting treatment, results, or appointments due to the impact of COVID-19 and our overwhelmed health service. For anxious relatives and carers who are exhausted and there is no rest, and no end in sight while the much-needed care packages are few and far between. Lord equip us, Your servants and disciples, to assist them in their time of need. Enable us to be beacons of light in another dark day. Hear our prayers Lord For all our medical, public health, nursing and ancillary staff and the difficulties they face and over-stretched work environments. For the vaccinations to sustain us through Covid and for the variants in the virus to subside. May we also play our part, Lord, in protecting others. Lord, You tasked us to do good to those who hate You, which can seem difficult and to some unfair. It’s hard to love those who belittle, who shun, who exclude and who racially abuse. When we feel we should get our own back, You ask us to turn the other cheek. Inspire us to be willing advocates for truth, justice and reconciliation. Hate does not lay a healthy soil that enables love to grow and flourish, but walking in faith in the footsteps of Jesus, You call us all to make a positive difference and to heal Your broken world of its hurt and its divisions.
We pray this evening to You, Lord God, for the continuing tension and situation in the Ukraine. Military might and political jostling and posturing does nothing before Your throne of grace and mercy. We pray that You will send your peace and concord to both countries, their peoples, leaders and faith leaders.
As we learn today that our Queen, HM Elizabeth II, has tested positive for Covid19 we include her in these prayers. We pray for Strength, Health, Love and Healing. We give thanks for her unstinting commitment to the Realms of the Commonwealth, her People and her determination to serve.
For we can all make a positive difference in Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen
Blessing
Go now and share God’s love with all you meet. Go now and share the joy of Jesus. Go now and share the inspiring breeze of the Spirit. Go in peace assured of God’s love. Amen
We wish everyone God’s richest blessings as we send you an invitation to worship in person and online with Bellshill Central Parish Church
Rev Kevin leads us in worship and our theme today is God is Holy. Our Bible reader today is Lynne Swan and our organist Alan Mathew has provided tracks on the organ as Zandra undertakes some training on using the organs play back facility.
Our service starts at 11am, and our live stream is available via the Facebook live link below. Just click the image, or go to our Watch live page from the menu above
If you worship with us in person please note to keep you safe during this Covid period we have the following precautions in place
You must remain physically distanced (at least 1m) at all times.
Facemasks must be worn at all times, unless you are exempt
If you join in to sing you MUST wear a facemask.
Sanitize your hands entering and exiting the building.
However you choose to worship with us you’re welcome into our worship. If you’re on the live stream say hello in the chat so we can say hello at the time. A recording of the service with words on the screen will be available later via YouTube and the Watch Live page.
BELLSHILL: CENTRAL PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND 