Liturgy of the word for the 15th Sunday after Trinity – 15th September 2023

Welcome to St Paul’s Athens,   especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.

Please join us after the service for refreshments in the garden. St. Paul’s has internet – ask for the password.

The worship is led by Deacon Christine Saccali, who is also preaching.

Entrance  Hymn Introit: 263 (Lasst uns Erfreuen) All creatures of our God and King (omit verses 5 and 6 which are marked with an asterisk)

Minister:  Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

           All:            and also with you.

Minister:  O Lord, open our lips

          All:            and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help

          All:            and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.

Prayers of Penitence

Minister:   Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;

       we have done evil in your sight.

       We are sorry and repent.

       Have mercy on us according to your love.

       Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

       Renew a right spirit within us  and restore us to the joy of your salvation;

       through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Minister:  May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us

in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All:            Amen

Psalm Congregational Psalm: 397 (Monkland) Let us, with a gladsome mind

 
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“Faith” by Oliver Knight 3rd September 2023

St Paul’s Athens

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Service for the 13th Sunday after Trinity – 3rd September 2023

Welcome to St Paul’s Athens,   especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. The worship is led by Reader Nelly Paraskevopoulou. Oliver Knight will give a short talk about his faith experience.

Please join us after the service for refreshments in the garden. St. Paul’s has internet – ask for the password.

Opening Hymn:   Introit: 186 (Woodlands) Tell out, my soul

God is spirit.

Let us worship him in spirit and truth.

Minister:  Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All:  and also with you.

Minister:  O Lord, open our lips

            All:            and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help

            All:            and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.

Prayers of Penitence

Minister:   Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;

       we have done evil in your sight.

       We are sorry and repent.

       Have mercy on us according to your love.

       Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

       Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation;

       through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Minister:  May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us

in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

All:            Amen

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Sermon for the 27th August 2023: Matthew 16 13 – 20

Reader Nelly Paraskevopoulou

A challenging lesson today.  How to interpret the words of Jesus? Who are we to even attempt this? It is with great humility that I approach this text. Keeping in mind the fact that as in many other instances the words of Jesus contain more than one meaning and we are called to try and understand them on more than one level.  Apparently Jesus is asking the disciples who people say he is. Referring to himself as the Son of Man. With this name Jesus aligns Himself with the prophetic figure from Daniel’s vision and emphasizes His dual nature as both human and divine.

Apparently. Why would Jesus ask this question? Maybe the time has come to say certain things and this question is a kind of introduction which leads further on to him naming Peter as the rock on which he will build his church. The text concludes with Jesus sternly ordering the disciples not to tell anybody that he is the Messiah. Why? Because he didn’t want people to see him as a temporal king, who would free Israel from the Romans? Or could there be other reasons? People were not ready yet to receive this message.

Jesus’ question to the disciples can also mean ‘why are you following me? Who do you say that I am? They are asked to examine their own beliefs about Jesus and what they see in him.

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Sermon for the 11th Sunday after Trinity – 20th August 2023: ISAIAH 56 1-8 MATTHEW 15: 10-28

Deacon Chris Saccali – St Paul’s Athens

by Jan Richardson.

SUMMER MUSINGS

May I speak in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This is part two of summertime sermons except that somehow the first version of this sermon vanished in some mysterious way into ether and could not be retrieved so this is version two.

Another summer activity I enjoy is outdoor cinema if I can find a film on nearby which I enjoy. I have seen two this summer one mediocre and the other was unexpectedly good – I am talking about Barbie not a movie I thought I would ever watch as I grew up with Sindy doll back in the UK in the sixties but a friend tipped me off about it, saying it was a modern satire on gender, sexism and diversity and it certainly makes you think.

So taking off my rose tinted specs and donning pink, I went along. Barbie pink is more granddaughter’s thing and there were many kids who had been taken along expecting a Disney like production but the film went way over their heads. There were several layers built into it directed by the talented director Greta Gerwig.

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Liturgy of the Word for the 11th Sunday after Trinity – 20th August 2023

Welcome to St Paul’s Athens,   especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. The worship is led by Deacon Christine Saccali who is also preaching.

Please join us after the service for refreshments in the garden. St. Paul’s has internet – ask for the password.

Opening Hymn: 

Introit: 475 (Darwall’s 148th) Ye holy angels bright

Minister:  Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All:  and also with you.

Minister:  O Lord, open our lips

            All:            and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help

            All:            and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.

Prayers of Penitence

Minister:   Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;

       we have done evil in your sight.

       We are sorry and repent.

       Have mercy on us according to your love.

       Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

       Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation;

       through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Minister:  May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us

in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

All:            Amen

Psalm     Psalm: 441 (York) Pray that Jerusalem may have (Psalm 122)

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Sermon for the 10th Sunday after Trinity – 13th August 2023: Matthew. 14: 22-33

ordinand Clary Read  – St Paul’s Athens

“May all our hearts be filled with the Holy Spirit, today and always.  Amen

(Sung) Be Still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here

Come, bow before him now, with reverence and fear.
In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.

I love this hymn because of the atmosphere it creates encouraging stillness and silence to hear God and feel his presence.

In today’s readings, in addition to the wonderful storytelling of Matthew  involving Jesus, waters, storms, disciples and faith, we hear of taking times of silence and aloneness with God.

In our first reading, we hear of Elijah who, being very distressed has retreated to a cave feeling deflated and simply wanting to die at this point.  As I heard one person say recently, he feels like a punctured balloon, deflated and lifeless.  I am sure we can all relate to feeling like that at one time or another.  Elijah is one of the prophets whose ministry is closest to Jesus in respect of amazing miracles of nature happening but at this stage, even though there are some mighty natural events that shout at him on the mountainside, it is not in these that Elijah receives any clear message.  It is not until he hears the sound of sheer silence that the voice of God comes to him and guides him back on his path of faith.

This shows us that prayer is not just talking to God, though, it is about being with God.  Mother Teresa said “If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”

In our Gospel reading, Jesus has just performed the miracle of feeding the 5000 and has sent everyone away.  He has even directed the disciples to set out in the boat ahead of him.  He realises that he needs some silence and aloneness to be with his Father.  He had already tried to find space to have time with God earlier in this Gospel but the crowds expected otherwise.  This time, however he succeeds and he finds that time.  I wonder where we can go to get away from the busyness of our everyday lives.  Somewhere without the technology perhaps – not many of those places left anymore. So Jesus makes his way up the mountain where no one will follow.

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Service for the 10th Sunday after Trinity – 13th August 2023

Welcome to St Paul’s Athens,   especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. The worship is led by Clary Read who is also preaching.

Please join us after the service for refreshments in the garden. St. Paul’s has internet – ask for the password.

Opening Hymn:  : 430 (Old 120th) O Thou not made with hands

Minister:  Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you

All:  and also with you.

Minister:  O Lord, open our lips

            All:            and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Minister: Give us the joy of your saving help

            All:            and sustain us with your life-giving Spirit.

Prayers of Penitence

Minister:   Jesus says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. So let us turn away from our sin and turn to Christ, confessing our sins in penitence and faith.

All: Lord God, we have sinned against you;

       we have done evil in your sight.

       We are sorry and repent.

       Have mercy on us according to your love.

       Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.

       Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation;

       through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Minister:  May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us

in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

All:            Amen

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Sermon preached on the feast of Transfiguration – 6th August 2023: DANIEL 7: 9-10,13-14, LUKE 9:28-36, ( 2 PETER 1: 36-39)

Deacon Chris Saccali, St Paul’s Athens

May the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts always be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our strength and Redeemer AMEN

Samothraki was our holiday destination this year, oneiro zois, a dream of a lifetime for me as a classicist and biblical scholar. We went with koumbari, friends from UK, the wife also studied at Bristol university in the Classics department. I took with us Diane Farr Loius’ guidebook Travels in Northern Greece. She is well known to many of us as a travel and cookery writer and for her columns in the dear old Athens News.

She writes : Samothraki is almost all mountain, the pre Greek Samos means high, and the area Thraki Thrace; it is full of jagged volcanic black rock. Saos is the highest peak in the mountain range imaginatively called Fengari, moon. It is the highest peak in the Aegean.

Under this shadow is the sanctuary of the lesser Gods which we three visited on our first full day early in the morning before too much heat and visitors struck. There was an Orthodox church dedicated to the Virgin Mary at the entrance by the car park. We went inside. No reference to St Paul there although he was reputed to have landed from Troas near the Ancient site. There is a landing stage nearby but as my koumbaros, a modern Paul remarked, it was more concrete than ancient stones. My husband stays in the car or coffee shop on these expeditions to churches, ruins and monasteries. Despite the wildness of the terrain, Samothraki is a green island with lush vegetation and full of hydrangeas reminding me of childhood holidays with grandparents in the Isle of Wight.

It took several days and searching online with the aid of Google maps to find where a modern tribute to St Paul was built thanks to a Greek American donor from an Evangelical church. It is a well kept secret and people will put you off seeing it, telling you that you cannot visit. We were a pretty determined trio and the gate was open so we walked up to find a glittering mosaic in panels telling of Paul’s story in Acts and his vision to go across to Macedonia to spread the gospel there. There were many director chairs littered around and a lectern made of stone that reveals events are held there. I will post the photos with an article in the next Newsletter.

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