Location
Juniper Green Parish Church is holding a special service in the park. Everyone is welcome.
Church in the Park
Sunday 27th May 2012
Readings: Psalm 121; Mark 1:35f; Mt 11:28-30
There is nothing in the Bible about parks, but there is a great deal about two things that this place represents in the community.
First it is a Green place – the park in the village. The Psalmist rejoices in the world that God has made; He is the maker of heaven and earth and on a morning such as this we can rejoice in all that God has made.
Secondly, it is a Space in the midst of the community. Space a valuable thing in our lives and our world; physical space is in short supply, and is so easy lost with building work; space in our time and in the diary not easy because of so many other demands on our time. The Park is a place to come to relax, to play football, to play on the swings, to walk the dog; it provides us with space to relax in the midst of the busy-ness of life. It is a place to appreciate the world that God has made, with views over the hills and a place to see the stars! Jesus loved that kind of space first thing in morning: when He wanted time and space to pray, He was found in a lonely place! Is the Park a space to pray?
Leisure by WH Davies is not a Christian poem, but it does pull together some of these thoughts quite well. Let me read it:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Prayers:
We give thanks for the park, for all that it has been to this community for 100 years; as a place to play together, a place to meet, a place to exercise, a place to relax, a place to enjoy the world that you have made, a place for peace, a place to find space in a busy world.
We pray, O Lord that you will help us to appreciate the world that You have made, to enjoy the beauty and glory of the world and the majesty of the One who made it. Help us to appreciate the space when life is busy; to take time here to talk, relax, and enjoy it with others.
Let the community care for the space, look after it well, and not take it for granted, nor misuse it; may it continue to be a place that people will enjoy for years to come.
We give you thanks that you are God with us here in worship and with us in all the other ways in which we use the space; may we remember that you are God with us wherever we go! AMEN.