The Ecumenical Service of Worship to Mark COP 26 was held at Glasgow Cathedral on Sunday 7 November at 4PM. The event was fully subscribed and no seats remaining.

(The Order of Service is given below the video)
(You may also download Order-of-Service-for-4pm-Sunday-7th-November-Glasgow-Cathedral)

 

 

The Conference of the Parties (COP 26) Glasgow Cathedral
(St Mungo’s on High) Sunday, 7th November 2021 at 4pm
Glasgow Churches Together
The Cathedral is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.

We are committed to keeping people safe from COVID-19. In order to do so we would ask:

  • Wear a mask during the service unless you are under 12 or are exempt from doing so;
  • Seek to maintain one metre social distancing whilst in the Cathedral.
  • The congregation are kindly requested to ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are switched off.

The service will be conducted by the Reverend Mark E. Johnstone, Minister of Glasgow Cathedral.

The Cathedral Choir is conducted by Mr Andrew Forbes, Director of Music, Glasgow Cathedral; and the St Mungo Singers are conducted by Mgr. Gerry Fitzpatrick, musical director, Archdiocese of Glasgow. The organ is played by the Cathedral Organist, Prof. Malcolm Sim. RCS Brass are conducted by Nigel Boddice MBE.

Music before the service will include:

La Mourisque (Danserye) – T Susato (c.1510 – 1570)
Farewell to Stromness – P Maxwell Davies (1934 – 2016)
Andante (Piano Concerto No.2) – D Shostakovich (1906 – 2019) arr. Sim

Program:

3.15pm The Doors of the Cathedral will be opened.
3.15 – 3.40pm The Congregation will be seated.
3.40pm Civil dignitaries will be led to their place in the Quire.
3.45pm The Ecclesiastical Procession will leave
the St Mungo Museum. (Led by Piper Willie Park)
4pm The Ecclesiastical Procession will enter the Cathedral through the Great West Door.

Before the service the Cathedral bell is rung.

To ring a bell is to abandon detachment. The clanky bells of the Celtic Saints expressed their confrontation of injustice and evil, in their vulnerable dependence on the strength of God. A bell disturbs the easy peace of injustice, sounds an alarm. Calls for action. Gathers friends for urgent help. A bell makes the connections. When we ring bells, we know the sleeping dogs will lie no more and we call on God to sustain us in our commitments, come what may.

(Within our worship today we will ring an Adamnan’s Bell. St Adamnan was Abbot of Iona in the 7th Century. At the Synod of Birr in 697 Adamnan’s Law of the Innocents was signed making the killing of women and children in times of conflict a criminal offence, giving them protection and dignity, a lawstill used by the UN today.)

 

WHY WE ARE HERE

In private devotion before worship.

We gather to worship God as friends of Jesus and fellow
creatures on the earth which God made and loves.

We gather to listen for God’s Word in Scripture and to
own our responsibility as guardians of Creation,

We rely on God’s grace to enable us to witness, in Jesus’
name, for global justice as we worship with gratitude,
hope and joy.

Amen

ORDER OF SERVICE

IN THE NAVE

The Ecclesiastical Procession, having left St Mungo’s Museum and arrived
at the Great West Door, travels east through the nave.

AT THE CROSSING

The Procession will pause.

A VOICE

Paul Whittle (Moderator, United Reformed Church National Synod Scotland)

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near. – Isaiah 55:6

THE CONGREGATION REMAIN SEATED AS THE PROCESSION
ENTERS THE QUIRE

St Mungo Singers may stand to sing.

A solo voice sings:

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way, the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways
-it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as far above the earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.

The choir continues:

Yes, as rain and snow come down from the heavens
and do not return without watering the earth,
giving it yield and growth, seed for sowing, bread for eating,
so the word that goes from my mouth
does not return to me empty,
without carrying out my will,
and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
– Words: Isaiah 55

SYMBOLIC ACTION

Led by General Brian Peddle, International Leader of The Salvation Army
Bell rung by Rev’d David Coleman, Environmental Chaplain, URC

One: God speaks to us through Scripture
(Bell rings and Bible placed on lectern)
One: The Word of God

ALL: For the people of God.
One: God cares for us through the produce of the earth

(Bell rings, and Water, Wheat and Wine are placed)

One: The gifts of God
ALL: For the people of God.

Please stand as you are able

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING RESPONSES

Rev’d David Miller, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland

One: Believing that God made and loves the world,

ALL: We gather, we pray, we listen, we worship.

HYMN: ‘All people that on earth do dwell’

Please note there will be a fanfare before verses 1 and 5

1. All people that on Earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice:
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell,
Come ye before him and rejoice.

2. Know that the Lord is God indeed,
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his flock, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take

3. O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto:
Praise, Laud, and bless his Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

4. For why the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

 

5. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The God whom earth & heaven adore;
Be glory, as it was of old
Is now and shall be evermore. Amen

Words: William Kethe
Setting: Old 100th (Genevan Psalter)
arr. Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958)

The congregation will be seated

PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

Rev’d Chris Foxon, Chair of Glasgow Churches Together

For the times we cause the world harm;
for the times our way of life
affects our neighbours.

(all sing) Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Inspire us:
to care for the environment;
to help rebuild lives and communities;

(all sing) Christe eleison, Christe eleison, Christe eleison.

To share in the griefs and anxieties,
joys and hopes of all your people,
so that all your creation may flourish.

(all sing) Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Setting: Ukranian traditional chant

GOD’S WORD TO US

Lord Wallace of Tankerness,
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

A reading from the Old Testament:
Job 12: 7 – 10

But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
“Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
“Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?

Response:
One: The word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God.

HYMN: ‘The Lord’s my shepherd’

(The final two lines of each verse are repeated)

1. The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

2. My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness
Ev’n for His own name’s sake

3. Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale
Yet will I fear no ill
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

4. A table Thou has furnished me
In presence of my foesMy head Thou dost with oil anoint
And my cup overflows.

5. Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.

Words: Psalm 23
Setting: Brother James’s Air – J Bain (1860 – 1925)

The Congregation remain standing at the close of the hymn

Glasgow Churches Together

GOSPEL READING

Bishop Bill Nolan, Roman Catholic Church in Scotland

A reading from the Gospel of Our Lord:
Matthew 25: 31 – 46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Response:

One: The Gospel of our Lord.
All: Thanks be to God

Please be seated

SERMON

Rev Dr Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of the General Board of
Church and Society of The United Methodist Church

OFFERTORY

RCS Brass

In the Beginning – John Wallace CBE (b.1949)
Written to mark the Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 2021

OFFERTORY PRAYER

Rt Honourable Lord Provost Philip Braat

POEM

Leo Tettah, St Denis’ Primary School

A man’s a man for aw that – R Burns (1759 – 1796)

CALL TO PRAYER

Rev James Shri Bhagwan, General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches

INTERCESSIONS

Jen Morris, Young Christian Climate Network
You gave us, dear Lord, your Son Jesus as an example of how our lives should be lived. In him we should find the perfect way, the perfect truth and the perfect life. We pray that the truth about climate change may emerge clearly in consensus at this conference.

Patricia Mumbua Kombo, All Africa Conference of Churches
We pray that the resolutions of this conference may lead to a future for all the peoples of this world, and for the whole of God’s creation.

Maness Nkhata, All Africa Conference of Churches
Grant us the humility to recognise our past mistakes and to seek a way forward that is free from the hubris of the past.

Nicholas Pande, Anglican Communion
Inspire the conference with a spirit of generosity. May each country have the courage to commit to sacrifices that ma be costly but are necessary for the long-term survival of human civilisation.

Archbishop Antje Jackelén, Church of Sweden
We thank you, Lord, for the enthusiasm and vision within the merging generation of young people. Rightly they see the threat to their future and the future of their children. Grant, that the commitments of COP26 may set a new corrected course for all humanity that will lead to a more fulfilled life for them and the generations that follow.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

You are invited to say the Lord’s Prayer in your chosen language.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
Now and forever. Amen

CLOSING HYMN: ‘Inspired by Love and Anger’

1. Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by need and pain,
Informed of God’s own bias we ask him once again:
‘How long must some folk suffer? How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self interest turn prayer and pity blind?’

2. To God, who through the prophets proclaimed a different age,
We offer earth’s indifference, its agony and rage:
‘When will the wronged be righted? When will the kingdom
come? When will the world be generous to all instead of some?’

3. God asks, ‘Who will go for me? Who will extend my reach?
And who, when few will listen, will prophesy and preach?
And who, when few bid welcome, will offer all they know?
And who, when few dare follow, will walk the road I show?’

 

4. Amused in someone’s kitchen, asleep in someone’s boat,
Attuned to what the ancients exposed, proclaimed and wrote,
A Saviour without safety, a tradesman without tools
Has come to tip the balance with fishermen and fools.

Words: John Bell and Graham Maule
Setting: Sally Gardens

The Congregation remains standing at the close of the hymn

BLESSING

The Most Rev’d Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church

BENEDICTION

Glasgow Cathedral Choir

A Gaelic Blessing – John Rutter (b.1945)

SYMBOLIC GIFT

As you leave you are invited to take with you the card in the pew.

ORGAN VOLUNTARY

Fanfare for the Common Man -Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Crown Imperial – W Walton (1902 – 1983)

PROCESSION TO SAINT MUNGO’S TOMB

Orthodox Church Representative

The Ecclesiastical Procession will make its way to the Lower Church visiting St Mungo’s Tomb. They will be met by young people attending.

Stewards will invite members of the congregation to leave the Quire of the Cathedral.

You are invited to engage with the various art installations within the Cathedral.

Source
Image Source

 

Tags: Glasgow Cathedral: Ecumenical Service of Worship to Mark COP 26