Wellspring@Home         

JANUARY 3rd 2021
​Worship online for a New Year

Our service today has been created by Jenny Few.

​Arise, shine, for your light has come
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you 
Isaiah 60:1
 
So here we are, into 2021 – Happy New Year everyone!
We say this every year, but for 2021 there is a real
longing that it will be a good year, memorable for all
the right reasons. Today is the Feast of the Epiphany,
which is about the revelation of God’s shining presence
in the world.

God of new beginnings, even as we pack away the things of Christmas, Light up our path ahead into this New Year with moments of glory, we pray. Amen 

Picture
 










The Magi
I hope you recognise these jolly little figures! They’re the Magi from the Nativity display at Wellspring. What sweet looking little old men!  The reality was very different, but that doesn’t stop us enjoying the picture and hoping that we’ll see them again next Christmas in our revamped worship area. Today we read their story.
 

Bible Reading  - Matthew 2 vv 1- 12

 
Meditation      
What have we got in common with these (so-called) wise men? Who were they?
Philosophers, astrologers, scientists, magicians?
Legend has given them names and woven around them fanciful stories,
All part of the tradition we have been brought up with.
Perhaps what we share is that we too are searching,
Asking and living the big questions life presents to us,
Touching the edge of mystery,
Falling to our knees in wonder.
 
Lord, may we never stop wondering and questioning
and marvelling at the mystery which is your love for
us and for the whole world, revealed in Jesus.
Amen  
​

​Epiphany hymn    MP 39
As with gladness 

​Poem - The Magi

I cannot say if it was the leaving
Or the arriving
Which was more unsettling.
Leaving:
With all its uncertainty
Abandoning the familiar,
The known, the almost predictable
for a search with no assurance
of arrival.
 
Arriving:
Now there is the real mystery.
In the mundane - a majesty:
In the poverty - real riches:
And knowing
From this one moment
Of real encounter
That I can never be the same again.

© Rev Jeannie Kendall 2020 used with permission 

 
Going a different way 

Jenny Few reflects on the Magi's journey

​Epiphany hymn   MP 697
Thou didst leave thy throne   ​

Meditation
Think about the year that has just begun and ask yourself, what do I long for to be different?
Obviously we all want an end to the threat of Covid 19, for successful vaccines and good treatment, for life to get back to some sort of normality.
 
But what do we mean by ‘normal’? Did the lockdowns and the changed patterns of life reveal good, positive things as well as the negative? In what ways can life become better and different in 2021? Might the world be alive with hope, instead of despair?
 
Spend some time thinking about the things you want to do and be this New Year, and your hopes for the world.
 
Lord, grant us a wise person’s hope—light in darkness, use for our gifts, God at the end.  Amen

​Prayers for others

The light shines in darkness and the darkness
will NEVER overcome it                 (John 1 vs 5)
 
We pray for the light to shine
in the darkest places of our world,
bringing the hope of the Kingdom of Christ
where fear reigns and lives are most broken.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 
 
We pray for the light to shine in the hearts and minds
Of all who hold power in our world,
Bringing hope of a new direction, of kind, just
government, of major commitments to reduce
the effects of climate change.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 
 
We pray for the light to shine in the lives of people who are despairing
Lonely, unemployed, ill and in pain
Bringing hope, comfort and new purpose
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 
 
We pray for the light to shine in our church, as the new building takes shape
Bringing renewed vision for the future
Where God will be made visible to many people
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. 
 
We pray for the light to shine for ourselves and those we love
Bringing new commitment and resolution
to leave the past behind and live with hope
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.  
​
Epiphany Song
'Riding across the desert' 

Benediction 

As the New Year unfolds:
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make his face to shine upon you
And be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you
And give you peace. Amen

Numbers 6 vs 24-26




​'We shall meet'-  a 'song for Covid'.
​
We shall have this every week for the next while -
​a song of hope and trustfulness
Original words and music Hans Olav Mørk (Norway)
© Words: 2020 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland
© Music: John Bell, WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland
CCLI Song Number: 7153725  Wellspring CCLI licence no. 571370



Maybe on this Epiphany Sunday it would be appropriate at some point to listen to the short reflection :

'The Fourth Wise Man'
​
(it's at the bottom of the story lists below...) 
​
​
                     
S O N G S​  &  S T O R I E S 

There are no lyrics available on this website. It may be that a song booklet will be produced sometime...

​There are no SONGS for December, because we are all familiar with the carols of the season.

But there are a few more STORIES relevant to the Christmas and December...

​
Songs for August

​Additional songs for September


​Additional songs for October


​Additional songs for November

                     
S T O R I E S
​
You can find a brief description of what our stories are about by clicking here.
​
Stories for August

​Additional stories for September

Additional stories and readings for October

​Additional stories and readings for November

Additional stories for December
Christmas Card Star (14 mins.)
A story from Hoy about a Christmas stranger
A story by Harry Berry
The box of fishMiss Tait... (5 mins)
The power of Christmas transformation in Rousay
​A story by George Mackay Brown
The box of fish (6 mins)
Orkney December priorities for four old men and a boy...
A story by George Mackay Brown
The Christmas horse (9 mins)
One Peedie boy's Christmas - long ago
A story by George Mackay Brown
The Fourth Wise Man (3 mins)
An imaginary reminiscence from a Welsh writer
Christmas Children
Christmas priorities of Children and adults - a true story from near Glasgow.