good morning and welcome on this morning of june the 5th a friday morning as a weekend begins it's a a blowy sunny cloudy morning it's a sort of pilgrim's day and lots of fresh air and our reading from luke with the sending out of the 70 from our lord will be a wonderful thing to do on this day we've so many themes today this is world environment day and that we shall be thinking of really across the weekend time for nature the theme of the conference which was to have taken place in colombia is called and we certainly at this time of lockdown have time for nature but at the same time we remember that this was the day in canterbury in 1625 when the great musician orlando gibbons died in the middle of the music and ceremonies for the marriage of king charles the first and queen henrietta maria all these things we can spread across our weekend but today is sin boniface day the apostle of germany who was born in crediton in devon in 672 and we remember him and we'll concentrate our thoughts on on him for today oh lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise visit us with your salvation and sustain us with your gracious spirit oh come let us sing to the lord let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms for the lord is a great god and a great king above all gods come let us worship and bow down and kneel before the lord our maker for he is our god we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind and as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence o god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen the psalm i'm using from the morning psalms for the fifth morning of the month is psalm 24 the earth is the lord's and all that fills it the compass of the world and all who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep who shall ascend the hill of the lord or who can rise up in his holy place those who have clean hands and a pure heart who have not lifted up their soul to an idol nor sworn an oath to a lie they shall receive a blessing from the lord a just reward from the god of their salvation such is the company of those who seek him of those who seek your face so god of jacob lift up your heads though gates be lifted up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is the king of glory the lord strong and mighty the lord who is mighty in battle lift up your heads o gates be lifted up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory so we turn to the gospel of saint luke and we're beginning at chapter 10 verse 1 the 12 and jesus with many more followers are on their way towards jerusalem we read yesterday jesus face was set towards jerusalem but on the way they have to proclaim the good news while there is time and jesus doesn't just do it alone he wants others to help him at this time after this the lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go and he said to them the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few therefore pray earnestly to the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest go your way behold i am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves carry no money bag no knapsack no sandals greet no one on the road in whatever house you enter first say peace be to this house and if someone of peace is there your peace will rest upon them but if not it will return to you remain in the same house eating and drinking what they provide for the labourer deserves their wages do not go from house to house whenever you enter a town and they receive you eat what is set before you heal the sick in it and say to them the kingdom of god has come near to you but whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you go into its streets and say even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you nevertheless know this that the kingdom of god has come near i tell you it will be more bearable on that day for sodom than for that town woe to you woe to you bethsider for if the mighty works done in you had been done in tyre and sidon they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes but it will be more bearable in the judgment for tyre and sidon than for you and you capernaum will you be exalted to heaven you should be brought down to hades the one who hears you hears me the one who rejects you rejects me and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me it's a wonderful story of the picture of those following jesus suddenly being entrusted with responsibility but all the time as we've seen in the last few days jesus's face set towards jerusalem there is no time to waste the good news is simple the kingdom of god has come upon them and the qualities of that kingdom and the gifts of that kingdom are there amongst them and it doesn't need jesus to proclaim it he's able to give that work to those who've already received it there to travel light carry nothing with them not be delayed on the road but to go to particular places find hospitality there and see what he says whatever they set in front of you in that hospitality don't turn your nose up at it eat it and receive what they're giving well this is a wonderful day to think of boniface or winfred as he was called in his earlier days born in crediton in devon and he is the patron saint of devon but he's the patron saint also of many other places he came as a young monk to the monastery of nursling near southampton and in a great synod called by the king of wessex ina of wessex because the bishop of winchester had split his over large diocese in half and was about to found a new diocese of sherburne [Music] and at this synod called the synod of the nada winfried was there as a young monk but he had many gifts literary gifts gifts of oratory gifts of diplomacy the sinner of synod of the nada is dear to me i was for almost 10 years rector of tisbury in wiltshire and the site of the synod of the nada is is there near the church through the village the windy river nada runs and on the banks of the nada that great council of the church was held and oldhelm was appointed as the first bishop of sherben the king was there but they had forgotten to tell the archbishop of canterbury what a crime someone had to go and find him well over in kent and tell him and the one who was chosen because he was shall we say silver tongued was winfred he went he told the archbishop the archbishop consented to old town being the first first bishop of sherman but winfred never came back he was sent on on to be first of all an apostle in friesland in the dutch areas now and then on further into germany and as he went so his gifts were known those gifts were gifts of oratory and sound wisdom in mission he is best known of course for having evangelized so many areas of water now germany and we give thanks for that he became the bishop of mainz and his tomb is in fulda but he couldn't get out of his head friesland he wanted to evangelize that and there he met his martyrdom on this day we remember him with great thanksgiving and we'll think about him again at even song this afternoon but for the moment we give thanks most of all for the fact that the ministry of jesus can actually be given to others even by jesus himself in his human ministry because there's not time for one human being to do anything so we are witnessing in the mission of the 72 as luke says 70 in other gospels we're witnessing in that the beginning of christian mission and we give thanks for that today as we pray first for our worldwide anglican communion on this day we're thinking today of the new guinea islands papua new guinea and pray for dennis kabakape the bishop there and all his people and also the diocese of algoma in canada and pray for anne germans who is the bishop there and his people we remember in our own diocese the archbishop of canterbury bishop rose of of dover bishop tim at lambeth and the auspringe deanery and we've been remembering them yesterday but today we remember all clergy with permission to officiate who helped in that deanery we've been joined by someone you've never seen before he is the senior cat he's called monkey and normally he doesn't like the camera much but obviously today he's joined the mission let's say our prayers first the prayer for boniface god our redeemer who called your servant boniface to preach the gospel among the german people and to build up your church in holiness grant that we may preserve in our hearts that faith which he taught with his words and sealed with his blood and profess it in lives dedicated to your son jesus christ our lord amen the collect for this week god who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people by descending to them the light of your holy spirit grant us by the same spirit to have a right judgment in all things and ever more to rejoice in his holy comfort through the merits of jesus christ our savior amen so we pray for all whom we need to pray for today and pray especially for those whom we love and those whom we think of we continue to pray for our friends in the united states of america at this time so we pray the prayer our savior taught us in whatever language and in whichever way you would like to do it our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen so we keep a moment of silence as we say our own prayers today the theme of world environment day time for nature of which we are apart ourselves god the holy spirit the spirit of truth fill you with all truth and faith and hope in believing that you may in your lives and in your actions proclaim the word and works of god in creation and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you and remain with you always amen yes