Know that God in his love and mercy forgives you and calls you to his side.
AMEN.
The Guild and the Kitchen Table
REV. ALISON MEHIGAN
This meditation was used for an informal Communion at a Church of Scotland Guild dedication service, but it can be used and adapted to any informal Communion worship. A simple, old, bare kitchen table was used, and, after the meditation, the members of the Guild helped to set the table for Communion.
READING: Exodus 25:23–30 – The Table
As I stand at this table, we all realise it is not made of fancy acacia wood. The mouldings and trims are not of pure gold. In fact, the table itself is nothing special. Just wood, solid though, and with the odd scratch and dent that comes with the passage of time.
So often I have sat at my table at home, with a mug of coffee in one hand and a chocolate biscuit sitting sadly within too easy reach of the other. Nothing strange in that, you might think – an everyday occurrence in many homes.
In our homes, it is so often the kitchen table that is at the centre of all activity. When we have visitors, it doesn’t seem to matter how clean and tidy we make the rest of the house; people will always congregate in the kitchen, no-one wants to miss out on what’s going on there.
The table is more than a surface from which we eat meals, though it is that as well. It is a place where much conversation takes place, both during and following meals.
In younger days, it was a place where I sat when my knees were scraped from a fall, and my mum would clean me up and tend to me before I dashed out the door to do more damage.
It was a place of fun and play, anything from a ship to a tent, and certainly a fall-back hiding place if all other places failed and I was being sought!
In fact, in my schooldays, it was the place I studied for my exams, the other prime spots having been booked by my elder brothers and sister. In truth, I preferred the kitchen table, though I didn’t let on to the others, for then I was always at hand when my mum was dishing out special treats.
The table was the place where my mum baked all the bread and, no doubt, unknown to us children, thumped out all her frustrations with routine daily life.
The table was a place where emotions could run high, and tea and sympathy were dished out in gallons. It was the place of comfort and compassion. It was where you discussed the latest fall-out with your best friend at school and where you discussed, in confidence, your first crush!
The table was all these things and more, for it was also the place that we as a family held hands, and said grace, and gave thanks for what God had provided.
And so, as we gather here this evening, I am ever mindful of how this humble table is symbolic of our Church, and of the Guild. Each, places where people gather, where there is a sense of community, a sense of belonging and sharing. Places where meals are served. Places where the Word is read and prayers are said and hands are held. Places where the heart can be opened and there will be no condemnation. Places where the community can be themselves and experience the sense of love and fellowship – and, in the stillness, sense God’s presence.
Well, what then is our role? What are we expected to do when tending this symbolic table? Chief cook or bottle-washer? Yes, sometimes, but perhaps more importantly we are each called to serve.
Serve the table, clear the mess, listen to the conversations and offer whatever assistance is required. Of course, we can join in with the moments of laughter and tears too, but we are also there to enable and to encourage the growth of this family. And we must also make sure the family offers a sincere welcome to all who come.
This table may not be made of acacia wood. The cup and plate are not solid gold. But this humble table is central to this community – this community of people who have a sense of God’s presence.
It is a place of fellowship, a place where people not only have a relationship with one another but also have a living and personal relationship with God.
The gathering therefore becomes a place where people are united and nurtured – and, more than that, a place where they are fed and rested and strengthened by God’s presence.
And, as we sit round this table this evening, always keep in mind that everyone gathered here is basically just the same. Each of us on a journey with God, each of us led by the Spirit, and each of us inspired by the teaching and actions of Jesus.
A family of people on a journey of faith.
Welcome, welcome to this table.
After the table was set, a simple Communion liturgy was used, and the minister served each person personally.
A Baptismal Hymn
REV. LEZLEY KENNEDY
This hymn, set to a familiar tune, celebrates, in ordinary language, the significance of baptism and also the blessing of children. This is one woman minister’s attempt to create a hymn that is meaningful and understandable for all!
‘As the Church, the family of God’ (sung to the tune – Sussex Carol)
As the Church, the family of God,
We gather round the font today.
To welcome, pray for, and baptise,
this child into the Christian Way.
We come with joy to celebrate,
the love that brings this little one.
We come remembering Christ our Lord,
Baptised himself God’s chosen Son.
And here responding to his life,
by water’s sign this child’s made one,
With God, through Father, Spirit, Son;
In God, new life is begun.
Together as the Church, we pray,
for this child’s future from today;
For health and happiness and joy,
for new life as a child of God.
Help us to share peace, truth and love,
Gifts of God, given from above.
The Baptism Liturgy
REV. GAYLE TAYLOR
This baptism liturgy was put together using parts from Common Order (Saint Andrew Press, 1994 edn, pp. 83, 84) but other original words too. Theologically, the act has demonstrated that this sacrament is about what God does for us regardless of what we do for God. It is a declaration of his unconditional love.
We hear these words from the Gospel according to Matthew 28:18–30 (NIV):
Jesus said:
‘Full authority on heaven and earth has been committed to me. Go therefore to all nations and make them my disciples; baptise them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of time.’
And, in the Gospel according to Luke 18:16–17 (NIV), we hear of a time when some people brought their children for Jesus to bless and the disciples scolded them, but Jesus called for the children and said:
‘Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you: whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.’
Jesus Christ is with us in this baptism today; it is he himself who baptises us, and by the Holy Spirit we are brought into his Church.
In