Camborne Parish Church

Feast Sunday, 15th November 2009, was a memorable day in the life of Camborne Parish Church. Following the return to worship in the Church on 1 November, All Saints Day, for Sunday services, after the conclusion of the re-ordering work ongoing since 21st June, a special service of celebration was held to give thanks for and bless the new Church railings, lamp and archway, the newly restored churchyard lamp, churchyard paths and newly laid out Garden of Remembrance, which was followed by a lunch in the Church Hall, to which all those who had contributed towards the project with their skills and craftsmanship were welcomed as invited guests, joining members of the congregation.

During the course of the service, the congregation processed out of the Church, to a Taize chant led by the Church Choir and the St. Martin’s Singers, via the west door and gathered on the south side of the building, near the restored lamp opposite the south porch. Prayers of thanksgiving were offered by the Rev Mike Firbank, Priest in Charge, and the congregation then moved to the Church Street frontage to bless the new railings, restored gates, lamp and archway, all superbly executed by John Woodward. The congregation then re-entered the Church by the west door and returned to their places and at this point intercessions were offered by David Thomas, P C C Chairman, who asked that all the clergy come and join him, kneeling before the altar and sanctuary at the chancel step, as an act of both humility and thankfulness for all God’s goodness to us. The Editor has asked that these Intercessions be printed in the parish magazine so they are included here verbatim as a matter of record of what was said on this particularly poignant occasion.

On this our Camborne Feast Sunday, when we remember St Martin of Tours, and we give thanks for all the life and worship of this Church we come before you again O Lord, in this your house of worship, with humility and gratefulness, totally reliant upon your goodness and your grace to us a Church and people. We have so much to be thankful for and our intercessions this morning reflect upon this theme.

When I make the bidding: ‘Lord, you are good’ please respond with ‘We worship you for you are’.

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

We give thanks for the many centuries of Christian witness in this place and for St Meriadoc, Bishop of Vannes, known in the Cornish tongue as St Meriasek, who brought the Gospel to this place in the seventh century and founded the first Church here

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For St Martin, Bishop of Tours in the fourth century and patron of this Church, who met the beggar in the city gate of Amiens in dire need and responded to this situation, cutting his cloak in half; founder of hospitals and promoter of charitable works

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the Basset family of Tehidy who founded and endowed this present Church for your glory in the twelfth century, part of which can now be seen in stones revealed in recent works

Lord you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the many prayers uttered by your faithful people both within and without these walls, in secret and publicly, for your faithfulness in answers to prayer and for leading us on by your grace and goodness

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For your Holy Word and Sacraments which feed and sustain us on our Christian pilgrimage and give us the guidance and the grace to live and be your people

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the joy of worship in your House. For its beauty and constancy and especially today for its restoration and renovation. For the unselfish generosity and sacrificial giving of all those who, over many years, have made this work possible by their time, their talents and their treasure and by giving of themselves and all that they are, back to you

Lord, you are good; we worship you for who you are.

For all those represented here today, engineers and electricians, skilled craftsmen and workers, builders, masons and gardeners, workers in metal, wood and stone, whose skills have enhanced and beautified this house of prayer; for their meticulous care and attention to detail and their creative inspiration in your service

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the provision of so many buildings that are in constant use by your Church and Community for so many purposes. For the outreach opportunities that this has provided for the spreading of the Good News and for practical work to those around us

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the people of Camborne and its community life. For its sense of belonging, its engineering, sporting and musical heritage. For its culture and traditions and its sense of humour

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For the peace of this world we intercede O Lord. For the soldiers in Afghanistan who face danger on a daily basis and for their families and friends who wait anxiously by the phone. Protect and shield them all O Lord in this time of trial

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

For all those who need your healing touch O Lord, all those from this Church and parish, and all those known to you alone who need your presence and sustaining power and grace. In a moment of silence we offer them up before you O Lord.

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

The Church is one, whether living or departed, militant or triumphant, and on this Feast Day let us recall with thankfulness and affection all those who down the centuries have worshipped you here, all those who have influenced us in our own spiritual pilgrimage, who told us of the love of God and brought us into the fellowship of Jesus Christ and the joy of his worship and service, those individual Christians, rich jewels and polished stones, who have made up your spiritual temple in this place. Let us in silence remember them and give thanks for their lives.

In our day of thanksgiving one psalm let us offer
For the saints who before us have found their reward
When the shadow of death fell upon them we sorrow’d
But now we rejoice that they rest in the Lord

In the morning of life, and at noon, and at even
He call’d them away from our worship below
But not till His love at the font and the altar
Had girt them with grace for the way they should go

These stones that have echoed their praises are holy
And dear is the ground where their feet have once trod
Yet here they confess’d they were strangers and pilgrims
And still they were seeking the city of GOD

Sing praise, then, for all who here sought and here found Him
Whose journey is ended, whose perils are past
They believed in the Light; and its glory is round them
Where the clouds of earth’s sorrow are lifted at last (W H Draper)

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

But above all O Lord on this day of celebration and thanksgiving we want to express our gratitude to you as a Church and Congregation for all your blessings and provision for us as your people in this place. For the financial support and provision you have showered down upon us, truly opening the windows of Heaven and enabling visions and dreams to be fulfilled and for all those grant aid bodies who have joined with your faithful servants in practical support to bring this about. We are truly thankful and in deep humility express our grateful thanks for all your goodness O Lord

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

From every nation and every tongue.
All creation worships you O Lord.
From generation to generation you were, you are and you will be
While time shall last.

Lord, you are good: we worship you for who you are.

AMEN