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REV DR MARTIN RITCHIE 听 听 听Introduction

Good morning and welcome to this Festival city.听 As you head south out of the town centre through Morningside you鈥檒l find our church amongst stone villas and leafy parks, at a busy junction near the Braid Hills Hotel, famous literary haunt of Muriel Spark鈥檚 Miss Jean Brodie, and in the foothills of the spectacular Pentland Hills. Beyond us to the north, the city of Edinburgh is buzzing with activity for the world鈥檚 largest arts festival, and the expansive Fringe festival.听 All of life seems to be in Edinburgh during August, and for this great celebration of creativity, we are truly grateful.

Members of our congregation and church choir have gathered, and will play their part in our worship today. We are very happy to be joined by members of the Scottish Chamber Choir with their director, Iain McLarty, and Edinburgh City Organist, Dr John Kitchen.

So, as we gather to worship God, the source of all creativity, we join in the hymn, 鈥楽ing for God鈥檚 glory, that colours the dawn of creation.鈥櫶�

CHOIR / CONGREGATION / ORGAN / TRUMPET

MUSIC:听听 Hymn - Sing for God鈥檚 glory, that colours the dawn of creation

(Tune: Lobe den Herren)

JOAN RITCHIE听听听听 Opening prayer of approach and confession

Let us pray

God our maker, in the busyness of festival we come before you for a moment of calm in your presence, drinking your living water, refreshing our parched souls.

We may have complicated lives; a mixture of regret and fulfilment; and in this we are only human. So at your invitation, we lay down our burdens with relief, and offer up our joys with thanksgiving.

As we make our private confessions to you, in the intimacy of this moment, we trust that you will hear us and forgive us, no matter who we are, or where we have been, or what we have done.

Lord, have mercy

CHOIR / CONGREGATION / ORGAN

MUSIC:听听 Kyrie from Galloway Mass (Macmillan)

JOAN:听听 And we join together in saying the prayer that Jesus taught us:

The Lord鈥檚 Prayer

ALL:听 Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we

forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but

Deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power

And the glory for ever.

AMEN

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STEVE CHAFFEE听 (Youth Associate) Reading: Colossians 3: 16-17 (NRSV)

A reading from Paul鈥檚 letter to the Colossians, in chapter 3

12听As God鈥檚 chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.听13听Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lordhas forgiven you, so you also must forgive.听14听Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.听15听And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.听16听Let the word of Christ听dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.听17听And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

CHOIR / CONGREGATION / ORGAN

MUSIC:听听 Hymn 鈥� Come to us, creative spirit 听(Tune: Castlewood)

MARTIN听听听听听听 Reflection 1: James Melville and the surprising heart of Reformed spirituality 鈥� poetry and music.

Creativity and the arts are warmly embraced by most churches these days, but back in late sixteenth century Scotland things were a little more complicated. The Reformed Kirk didn鈥檛 exactly ban artistic expression in worship, but many felt that the emotive power of art such as music had the potential to be used in unhealthy ways. James Melville was one of those who as a young man was stirred up by music, and initially mistrusted these emotions, but in time, placed singing and poetry at the heart of his work as a pastor in the East Neuk of Fife. As the nephew of Andrew Melville, the uncompromising presbyterian ideologue, James was perhaps an unlikely candidate for creativity in his ministry, but after working with his uncle in the divinity schools of Glasgow and St Andrews, James finally responded to his true vocation 鈥� and he became minister of Kilrenny, Anstruther, and Pittenweem in 1586. We know quite a lot about this warm-hearted pastor from his autobiography and diary, which survived in manuscript and was first printed in the 19th century. Even more significant is the work he created to help teach the faith to ordinary Christians. 鈥楢 Spirituall Propyne (or gift) of a Pastor to his people鈥� was printed in Edinburgh in 1589 and is a catechism in verse - a spiritual manual designed to be sung to the many popular metrical psalm tunes of the day. After three years in parish ministry, Melville had learned what worked for congregations. In the preface, he explained that:

鈥渢he measures of poetry and harmony of music (as I find by daily experience in my own family) delights the mind, and so helps the memory to embrace and keep fast the matter, and stirs up and sets the force of the soul鈥檚 affections towards God, in pleasant meditation thereof.鈥�

Melville knew that in a largely oral culture, singing was a way to win hearts and minds. People sang in the taverns, they sang as they went about their work, at home in their daily family worship, in their schools, and their churches.

This wasn鈥檛 simply a matter of persuading people to assent to church doctrine though. Being a pastor was about the care of souls. Properly schooled in the catechism, his people would be in a right relationship with God, ready to be examined on judgement day. So Melville could say that 鈥渢he daily wish of my heart is for the effectual working of the quickening spirit of Christ in all of your 丑别补谤迟蝉鈥�..鈥�

Melville was a popular pastor. We can imagine a large congregation gathered around him in one of the kirks in his charge on a Sunday morning, singing the psalms from the bottom of their hearts, and finding the Word of God in the poetry there, as much as in the prose of the Bible and the preaching.

There would have been no accompaniment, of course, as organs and instruments had been done away with. But there was harmony, and in due course a type of metrical psalm-singing called 鈥減salms in reports,鈥� a kind of simple polyphony, where the melody was carried by the tenors and the congregation, and echoed by the trebles, altos and basses of the sang schule. So let鈥檚 hear a setting of Psalm 113 in reports sung in the Scots tongue of Melville鈥檚 day. Its music is from the Scottish Psalter of 1635, but is an older German tune harmonised by a Frenchman, Claude Goudimel 鈥� so a truly European setting!

You children who serve the Lord,

Praise his name with one accord,

Yes, blessed be his name always,

Who from the rising of the sun,

Until its setting is to be praised.

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He humbles himself to see things

In heaven and on earth.

The needy he picks up from the dust

And in his mercy helps the poor,

Setting them up with the Princes of the World.

He makes the barren woman a joyful mother of children

Therefore praise his holy name!

CHOIR (A cappella)

MUSIC:听听 Anthem - Psalm 113 in reports [in Scots, v1, 2 and 听doxology

MARTIN听听听听听

A prayer of James Melville.

We bow our knees to you, O God of glory and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, beseeching you according to the riches of your glory, to lighten the eyes of our minds with the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, that we may understand what is the hope of your calling, and the riches of the glory of your inheritance amongst the Saints. Grant, Lord, that we may be strengthened by your Spirit, that your Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints; what is the breadth and length, the depth and height of that inestimable grace, redemption, and glory that you have prepared for them, and to embrace that love of Christ which passes all understanding, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Therefore to you, O Father, who is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all which we can ask or think, according to the power of your Spirit which works in us, be praise in the Kirk by Jesus Christ, throughout all generations for ever. AMEN

VALERIE MACNIVEN (Session Clerk)听 Reading: Romans 12: 9-21, NRSV

9听Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;听10听love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.听11听Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.听12听Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.听13听Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14听Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.听15听Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.听16听Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;听do not claim to be wiser than you are.听17听Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.听18听If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.听19听Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;听for it is written, 鈥榁engeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.鈥櫶�20听No, 鈥榠f your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.鈥櫶�21听Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

CHOIR / CONGREGATION / ORGAN

MUSIC:听听 Hymn 鈥� Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me听

(CH4 619 + 620, v1, v2, v1 again听

MARTIN听听听 Reflection 2: 听James Melville and the Spaniards

James Melville lived in turbulent times, and in 1588 the whole of the British Isles was alive with the fear that the forces of the King of Spain would invade both Scotland and England, crushing the Reformed Churches and returning both countries to absolute Roman Catholic monarchy. The story of the Spanish Armada, in the end blown off course by a huge storm, is proof of how close this came to happening. For Melville and his fellow ministers, many of whom had reforming friends and colleagues who had been persecuted and murdered across Europe, the threat was real.

In Melville鈥檚 autobiography and diary entry for 1588, he recorded a remarkable scene. He was awakened around dawn one morning in his manse at Anstruther by a member of the burgh council, breathless with the news that a battered ship of the Armada, full of starving and desperate Spaniards had limped into the harbour. They had been shipwrecked on Orkney for six or seven weeks, and were attempting to sail home. What should they do? Weren鈥檛 these the troops of their greatest enemy, and disciples of the Pope?

Melville recounts that in deciding what to do, despite the temptation for revenge, they resolved that the Spaniards 鈥渟hould find nothing amongst us but Christian pity and works of mercy and alms, leaving to God to work in their hearts concerning Religion as it pleased him.鈥�

So those 鈥測oung, beardless men鈥� were given food and drink and eventually sent on their way without harm.

These were some of the fruits of Melville鈥檚 spirituality 鈥� mercy rather than vengeance, and a willingness to recognise common humanity despite the heat of religion, politics, and war. 430 years ago, but a lesson that in our own troubled times is as relevant today as it ever was. If a ship of refugees were to enter our port today, how would we react? Would we show the hospitality of Melville? Would we find in the Gospel a mandate to show full respect and compassion, or would we show suspicion and fear? This is the challenge that we may face today. It鈥檚 one that is not new, and is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian. I pray that we too would be like James Melville and hold out the hand of friendship, however hard and risky that option might seem.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

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听MUSIC:听 LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER (Composer:听 I-to-Lo)

听STEVE:听 Prayer 1

God of creativity, at this time of Festival in Edinburgh, we give thanks for the beauty, fun, excitement, and depth of all the art that we see around us. We thank you for performers and promoters, and the chance to share so much in these weeks with artists from around the world.

JANET ALLAN:听 Prayer 2:

God of compassion, in the vision of James Melville we see your hope for our wounded world. May the diversity that we see around us in the city be a reminder of how our world can be. Bring healing to the parts of the world where peace is far away, showing us how we may play our part in living out your desire for the harmony of humanity.听

MARTIN RITCHIE: Prayer 3:

God of wisdom, inspire us to bring your wisdom to the heart of our living, and to the work of our leaders and governments. We thank you for the great work and dedication of so many politicians in local government and in our parliaments and assemblies. Bring to them courage and energy for their work, and to us a sense of understanding, support and partnership as we seek to support them as they represent us.

SUNG RESPONSE AS BEFORE:听听 LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER

AMY BARNES:听 Prayer 4

God of all people, we pray that we will not be blind to the suffering below the beautiful surface of our city. We especially think of those who are struggling with mental health; those mourning a loss; the homeless and the addicted; those who worry about how to pay the next bill. For all these and any in need, we pray to you; remembering especially this morning those affected by the Genoa bridge disaster and the monsoon flooding in India.

BECA GOURLAY:听听 Prayer 5

God of all nations, creeds and colours, speaking across the centuries and uniting us in your message of love, we thank you for those who have inspired us. For the great leaders who have shown us the way. The relative or friend who has been special to us and has shown us what it means to care. For all these, past, present and still to come, we are truly grateful.

MARTIN RITCHIE: Prayer 6

God of our beginnings and our endings, we remember today in the quiet of our hearts those we have loved and lost, recently or long ago. In particular we think of Aretha Franklin and Kofi Anan, as we give thanks for all that they gave to our world in the service of dignity, fairness, justice, and peace. For those who mourn, may your healing touch be with them to restore wholeness where there is pain, and to bring light where there is darkness. Help us to trust that in Christ we have seen the beginning of new life, a beacon to guide us on our journey home to you. 听

SUNG RESPONSE AS BEFORE:听听 LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER

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CHOIR / CONGREGATION / ORGAN / TRUMPET

MUSIC:听 HYMN 182 鈥� Now thank we all our God (Tune: Nun Danket) 听听

MARTIN听听 Benediction [spoken Amen]听

May God, who is the ground of hope,

Fill you with all joy and peace

as you go into the world.

And the blessing of God almighty,

Our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer

be with us all, now and always. AMEN

听听

ORGAN: 听听Leighton, Toccata on Hanover