A National Service Celebrating Industry

This Sample Service is part of "Work in Worship," a collection of material for work-themed services compiled by David Welbourn. For more services, prayers, songs, readings and sermons, click on the table of contents to the right.

A NATIONAL SERVICE CELEBRATING BRITISH INDUSTRY

HYMN
(O Worship the King)

INTRODUCTION

Human enterprise is not simply an end in itself; it is the means and the medium through which people fulfil their ultimate destiny.

We are here today to give thanks to God for all that Commerce and Industry mean to our country, our economy and our lives.

We thank God for the value that our businesses create, which can secure the public services we and our families need.

We thank God for the network of international contacts that mean that never again will Europe be devastated by war. The new Europe is being built by people in different countries working together towards common goals.

We thank God for the opportunity to contribute to the transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, to the ultimate benefit of all the citizens of Europe as a whole.

We thank God for the difference that industry can make to the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, our nation's transport and communications infrastructure.

We thank God for the ability to develop and apply the most advanced technology in the cause of peace, and to improve the quality of life for all.

We thank God for our colleagues: their competence, capacity, commitment and comradeship. Business is about ordinary people working together, often in very difficult circumstances, to achieve extraordinary things.

And we pray to God that we will be able to meet adequately the responsibilities and obligations of management.

This we do in the name of him who taught us that to lead is to serve, and whose service is perfect freedom, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Raw Materials

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was a vast waste, darkness covered the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

PSALM 8

FIRST LESSON

(Isaiah 55: 1 - 13)

HYMN

(Praise and thanksgiving)

During this hymn some pieces of coal and some limestone will be presented at the altar and placed upon it.

The Production

In this final age he has spoken to us in his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things; and through him he created the universe. He is the radiance of God's glory, the stamp of God's very being, and he sustains the universe by his word of power.

THE ANTHEM

(Brother James's Air)

SECOND LESSON

(St Matthew 25: 1,14 - 30)

HYMN

(Lord of all power, I give you my will)

During this hymn a piece of porcelain, a box of chocolates, a fan blade and a model train will be presented at the altar and placed upon it.

The Stewardship

We are to be regarded as Christ's subordinates and stewards of the secrets of God. Now stewards are required to show themselves trustworthy.

Let us confess our sins, in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God's commandments and to live in love and peace with all people.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought and word and deed, and in what we have left undone. For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN

(Lord, to you we bring our treasure)

During this hymn a copy of the Report of the CBI's Advisory Group upon the State of Manufacturing Industry will be presented at the altar and placed upon it.

THE INTERCESSIONS

O Saviour of the world, who by your Cross and precious Blood have redeemed us.
Save and help us, we humbly beseech you, O Lord.

O Lord our governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations upon earth.

To our Queen and Government and all in authority, grant wisdom and foresight in the exercise of their duties, that they may provide for the needs of all our people, and fulfil our obligations to the community of nations.

Teach us as citizens of this country to rely on your strength and to accept our responsibilities to one another, that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honour your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Look mercifully, O Lord our God, upon the world of our day, and heal the sorrows and sufferings of humankind. Save the nations from the lust of power, from racial hatred and jealousy, from the worship of material things; and grant that in every land the rule of tyranny may be broken, the cause of righteousness may triumph, and all peoples may learn to serve you in the peace and freedom of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O merciful and loving Father of all, look down on the many millions who are hungry in the world today and are at the mercy of disease and famine. Grant that we who have lived so comfortably and gently all our lives many have true sympathy with them and do all in our power, as individuals and as a nation, to help them to that abundant life which is your will for them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God you have bound us together in this bundle of life; give us grace to understand how our lives depend upon the courage, the industry, the honesty and integrity of our fellow men and women; that we may be mindful of their needs, grateful for their faithfulness, and faithful in our responsibilities to them; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us commend to Almighty God the Single European Market, that it may serve rather than dominate, persuade rather than insist, and come to realise its place in the Order of Things set forth in Christ. In the knowledge of ourselves, our abilities and limitations, we pray in words first used by Sir Francis Drake:
O Lord God, when Thou givest to Thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory. Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

ANTHEM

THE SHARING

If the Spirit is the source of our life, let the Spirit also direct its course.

HYMN

(Teach me my God and King)

SERMON

(Suggested sermon: Archbishop of Canterbury's Derby Address)

HYMN

(Crown him with many crowns)

During this hymn a loaf of bread and a bunch of grapes will be presented.

THE THANKSGIVING

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ give thanks every day for everything to God our Father.
Let us therefore render thanks to Almighty God in the words of the General Thanksgiving:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all people. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And give us, we pray, such a sense of all your mercies that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth your praise, not only with our lips but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

HYMN

(All people that on earth do dwell)

THE BLESSING

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

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