Ideas for celebrating St Andrew's Day on 30 November
Gather
Prepare the space
Decorate the worship area with fishing nets, lobster pots, and floats.
Call to worship
Andrew said to Simon, 'We have found the Messiah' – and he brought him to Jesus. Following Andrew's example, let us seek Jesus, and bring the people we know to his side.
Pray
O God who loves each of us,
help us to hear your call.
As Andrew left his nets on the shore when he followed Jesus,
may we be ready to leave behind all that holds us back.
And just as Andrew brought his brother Simon with him,
give us the courage to invite others to join us
on this journey of faith and life.
So may we be messengers of your Kingdom,
and heralds of your Good News,
through Jesus Christ, who calls us even now.
Amen.
O Spirit of God, we would see Jesus.
Like the Greeks who asked Philip and Andrew for help,
we come to learn from him, and to understand.
Like the five thousand people who sat on the grass,
we come to be fed by him, and healed by his touch.
Like Andrew himself, we come to follow,
and to bring others to his side.
Help us, we pray, to see Jesus more clearly.
Amen.
Open the Word
Zechariah 8:20 to the end in which people of every nation come to Jerusalem to seek the living God.
Romans 10:12-18 which reminds us that people of all nations may receive salvation, and underlines the importance of preaching to bring people to faith.
Matthew 4:12-20 which tells how Jesus takes up John the Baptist's message when he hears that John has been arrested: 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.' The reading continues with the call of Simon Peter and Andrew.
Sermon ideas
- Andrew is remembered as the Galilean fisherman turned missionary, the disciple who brought others to Jesus. John 1:41 records that he first brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, and in John 6:8, it is Andrew who finds the small boy with the loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand. John 12:22 tells how Andrew joins Philip in taking a message to Jesus that some Greeks would like to see him.
- It is possible that Andrew was eventually martyred by crucifixion at Patras in Achaia. In the late Middle Ages, the story spread that he had suffered on an X-shaped cross, but there is no earlier account to confirm it. However, Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland, and his emblem is the X-shaped cross.
- In some parts of the world, the feast of St Andrew is a time to remember and pray for the mission of the Church, and Matthew 28:16-20 is used for times of reflection. Andrew, the first follower of Jesus, brought others to follow him. Christians today have a similar task.
- What is different in the context we face in the twenty-first century? How shall we engage in mission overseas when Britain has become a secular society, and apparently declining numbers of people call themselves Christian? Where should Andrew's twenty-first century companions be looking to cast their nets as they fish for new disciples?
- It is easy to assume that the fishermen had not met Jesus before, but Matthew's Gospel does not say that. What might have happened before, to make Andrew and Simon ready to respond to the call? Is it significant that Matthew's account of Andrew's call follows directly after Jesus' taking up John the Baptist's message? Was it the call to repentance that attracted Andrew to follow Jesus, or was it the proclamation that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand?
- How might we prepare other people to hear the call of Jesus now? What would enable them to receive the message, and respond to it?
Respond to the Word
- Dramatise the reading of Matthew 4:12-20, so that two actors, representing Simon Peter and Andrew and working with their nets as the reading begins, move away to follow Jesus at the appropriate point.
- Using a flipchart, ask everyone what they can remember about Andrew, and write notes on the chart. Discuss how he differs from his brother Simon Peter, often thought of as the more important disciple, if only because we read more about him. What is the significance of Andrew?
- Talk about how fish are caught, and what preparations have to be made. Children could prepare drawings or models, showing nets, rods and lines. Explore in discussion how it might be necessary to prepare when 'catching people' for Jesus today. What might those preparations involve?
- Bring a selection of fish to the service; their aroma could add something to the atmosphere! Explain how various species live in differing environments, for example, plaice on the seabed, and mackerel nearer the surface, where they feed on different kinds of micro-organisms. People often fish for particular kinds of fish, and may use different baits accordingly. Does this tell us anything about Jesus' calling of Andrew and Simon to be fishers for people? Is it important for us to understand the environment in which we are proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and God's Kingdom?
Hymns & songs
Key to abbreviations
- When Christ our Lord to Andrew cried (HON RC version)
- Will you come and follow me (Heaven shall not wait, Wild Goose Publications)
- Come pure hearts, in sweetest measures (AMNS)
- Jesus calls us, o'er the tumult (AMNS, MP)
- Dear Lord and Father (MP)
- Father, although I cannot see (MP)
- Go forth and tell (MP)
- How shall they hear (MP)
- I want to walk (MP)
- I heard the Lord call my name (HON RC version)
- 'Andrew's song', as below
Andrew's song
(Tune: Skye Boat Song)
The refrain could be accompanied by actions:
'Come follow' – beckon with one arm, calling others to come;
'Haul in the catch' – draw in a heavy net, with one hand pulling over another.
'We have much to do' – alternate one fist on top of another, representing building.
Casting their nets, along by the shore,
Andrew and Simon pause.
Maybe they've seen the Teacher before,
'Follow me,' Jesus calls:
'Come, follow me! Haul in the catch.
Men, women, children too.
Come, follow me, do not look back,
For we have much to do.'
Drawn by his words and healed by his hands,
Thousands sat on the hill.
Andrew espied a boy with some bread –
Everyone ate their fill:
'Come, follow me! Haul in the catch.
Men, women, children too.
Come, follow me, do not look back,
For we have much to do.'
Andrew's example, casting his net,
Still stirs the Church to share
Good news about the teacher we've met –
Tell it out everywhere!
'Come, follow me! Haul in the catch.
Men, women, children too.
Come, follow me, do not look back,
For we have much to do.'
Further resources
- John L. Bell & Graham Maule, 'Two Young' in Jesus and Peter Wild Goose Publications,2004 ISBN 9781901557176
- Donald Attwater, 'Andrew', The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 9780140513127
- Gerd Theissen, The Shadow of the Galilean, Fortress Press, 2003, ISBN 9780334028529
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