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Strange celebration

31/8/2020

We held our first service of Re-opening and Return on 23rd August.
Such a day of celebration would normally be accompanied by anthems, handshakes, hugs and cake at the very least, but not this one.
It was just a plain, said service to comply with Covid 19 regulations, but a joyful one nontheless.

As we go forward we are working on lifting the mood with music. Regulations now allow us to have a small choir, so bit by bit we'll be building on that plain beginning and taking on a "New Normal" as it grows.

This Sunday we had the passage from Matthew 16: 21-28.
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Just before this, there was that beautiful moment when Jesus asked Peter “Who do you say I am?”
The answer: “The Christ, Son of the living God” showed Peter in tune with God’s spirit and open to his word.
“It’s my Father who has made this known to you” Jesus said “You are Peter and on this rock will I build my church”.
Such a special moment when Peter recognised the Son of the Living God right there standing next to him. There was another such moment just before Jesus first called Peter, after the miraculous catch of fish when Peter recognised that Jesus was sent by God and he saw his own imperfection, his need for repentance.
So “From that time on ….”. From the time they understood who he was, he began to explain to them what God’s plan is for his Christ.
But then Peter reverts to type, telling Jesus he mustn’t let them kill him in Jerusalem.
Oh Peter, Peter, Peter.
That’s like saying “No, God’s got it wrong!” or “No, you may be the Christ, but I know better than you”
I know he’s loving and trying to protect Jesus, but he’s back to thinking like a human being again. Jesus makes life so good, he’s living the life, attracting the crowds, there are miracles, the excitement, wonder and amazement, the conversions, the proclamation of God’s Kingdom, the drama. Just being with Jesus feels good, there’s something about him. Peter loves him. Where would it all go if Jesus died? What would be left but grief if Jesus died, just to mourn and to lose it all.
It mustn’t happen.
Forget for a moment that we know how it goes, imagine Peter at that moment being told that the bottom will drop out of his world, that Jesus who he’d come to love would die.
But Jesus told him that by letting go, by not valuing earthly life more than God, by taking on the tough bits, by letting go of the best of times at God’s calling, he would find something greater and eternal. He would see the victory.
The death of Jesus would lead to resurrection and the glory of God’s Kingdom would be revealed to him.
Now it might not compare to the greater loss that Peter has to consider, but at this moment in time, I can identify in some way with that leaving behind the wonderful life we had, to go into a new way of being that might seem to be a bit dull and empty.
I think we did that when we moved from a full church life to doing email church, now for those able to come, there’s a new layer of going from a full church life to a Sunday service without the singing, and where the social aspect is minimal on Sundays and non-existent between Sundays.
Where the traditional community events can’t happen.
We will one day get it all back, but for now we’re adding in bits of music to break the sound of talking and add in bits of feeling. We will learn how to lift the Service in church so our hearts can get back to a sense of worship.
But worship of God doesn’t rely on how we feel. Even though it might be hard when it’s so plain, it’s still heard by God.
The “New Normal” is just a seed for now, but it will grow. Like Peter, we need to let go of how things used to be and be ready to take hold of what they will become and let God take the lead in growing our future.
Because when Jesus was tempted to save his own life, but chose to put that temptation behind him, he set out on the path that opened up to us the way to God.

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Being The People of God in 2020

14/6/2020

Psalm 100

1 O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth;
serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know that the Lord is God;
it is he that has made us and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and bless his name.
4 For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting,
and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

Collect

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Matthew 9.35-10.8The Harvest Is Great, the Labourers FewThen Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
The Twelve ApostlesThen Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
The Mission of the TwelveThese twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

Reflection

Almost embarrassing isn’t it? Here we are in this time of pandemic and up pops this reading where Jesus gives his disciples the authority to heal all those who are sick - and yet we pray and we pray, but the pandemic continues.

But look more closely, that would be missing the point, it would be just a superficial reading of the passage. The healing here isn’t for the sake of curing all ills, it’s to announce the Kingdom of God!
That’s not just the subject for this Sunday, it’s setting the scene for the next 6 months.
It’s the first Sunday after Trinity and we go into “Ordinary time” (if you could call it that).
Since the beginning of Advent, we’ve been going through the life of Jesus, following from the prophecy of his coming, through to the sending of the Holy Spirit.
For the rest of the year, the liturgy prompts us to consider our response as his followers.
The first Sunday after Trinity - a long time ago - was All Saints Day until the church recognised what was actually happening and adapted. Still the calling to be the people of God, the followers of Christ remains. Today is our call to respond to all that God has done for us in Christ.

In our reading Jesus appoints his disciples to go only to the people of Israel, to those trying to follow the law of Moses, but dependent on others to interpret it. He appoints them to announce the Kingdom to people who are confused, harassed, not knowing what to believe, who to follow or what to do. Probably not knowing or understanding amidst all the laws, sub-laws and complexities of Jewish law, all looking to follow God, but never quite sure if there’s some law they haven’t heard of.

They want to get it right, the harvest of those who are trying to be faithful to God is plentiful, but away from Jerusalem there are even more interpretations of how they should do that. There are multiple interpreters, maybe well meaning, maybe strict, maybe even some unscrupulous authority figures creating rules to serve themselves, but all fumbling in the dark themselves.
What or who then out of all their choices, should the people follow or believe?
The healings, the high impact miracles are there as a beacon to reveal the ones authorised to speak for God, the ones, the One who would lead them in the truth that they are seeking.

Our calling is to proclaim the good news “The Kingdom of God has come near!”. In this day of modern medicine, this time of pandemic and this stage in the lockdown, this point in history where the environment and equality are the big issues, maybe we need to look more widely at how we proclaim that Kingdom.

Please pray for:

The Church

Those churches open to the public for the first time in so long. For stewards and their safety, for the safety of all who will visit.
Those who long to visit and for those church members who long to open their church, but are prevented from doing so.

The World

For all people affected or confused by each new change in the easing of the lockdown.
For our government and the leaders of all nations in the decisions they need to make.
For all those who have lost jobs or closed their businesses for good that they may find hope for the future.

Our Community

For those businesses in Lady Bay who will re-open this week. Also for those who must remain closed.
For those who have more freedom that they will be safe, and for all to be thoughtful of others.

The Sick and Suffering

As restrictions start to lift, let’s pray for those who can now go out, for those going back to work especially those who will travel by bus, but are afraid.
For those still suffering from Coronavirus.

Give thanks

That the Kingdom of God is close to us,
For all the places we encounter God even now when we can’t go into the church.
Following the new rule that those living alone can have a ‘bubble’ where they can fully join with a family, we give thanks for those families. At the same time, let’s recognise that many are still confined and pray that they will have companionship from others and know themselves to be loved.

Lord Jesus Christ,
you taught us to love our neighbour,
and to care for those in need
as if we were caring for you.
In this time of anxiety, give us strength
to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick,
and to assure the isolated
of our love, and your love,
for your name’s sake.
Amen.

Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all
we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages.
All Amen.

Pentecost : Together in Spirit

3/6/2020

Today we should be celebrating the birthday of the church together. We are One Body, but for so long we’ve been scattered and alone.
It can be hard to be open to the Spirit coming into us and it can be hard to worship, it’s hard to really engage our hearts when we don’t have the sustenance we get from each other when we are together.

I can’t bring us together (although if you’re one of those who follow this through at 10am on Sunday, rest assured there are others of us doing it with you), but I’ve put together some ways to meditate that I hope you’ll take time to rest with and will find some sense of the Spirit’s presence that will enable you to worship in spirit and truth.
Ruth

Psalm 104: 26-end
26 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
27 There is the sea, spread far and wide,
and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.
28 There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan which you have made to play in the deep.
29 All of these look to you to give them their food in due season.
30 When you give it them, they gather it; you open your hand and they are filled with good.
31 When you hide your face they are troubled; when you take away their breath, they die and return again to the dust.
32 When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
33 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; may the Lord rejoice in his works;
34 He looks on the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke.
35 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will make music to my God while I have my being.
36 So shall my song please him while I rejoice in the Lord.
37 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Alleluia.

Collect
God, who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Acts 2: 1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Reflection
Yet again the real world matches where we are in the liturgical year. Pentecost is when the disciples finally came to the end of their lockdown. For them it was a clear single moment, not a gradual process, but the stage we are at in our process has that feeling of tipping the scales with small groups of people able to meet together again (albeit outside), many shops re-opening and the schools back for certain years will put some of their familiar sound back, but the last clap will I think, give the biggest sense of ending of all.
There are two big differences though, apart from the fact that our lockdown isn’t over.

*1 The disciples stopped being afraid, just like that all in one go. For us, the coronavirus is still out there, we still need as much caution as we ever did.
The disciples very powerfully received the Holy Spirit while we can feel that the Holy Spirit is very far away.
The reading tells us that 5,000 were added to their number that day, 5,000? We can (from Monday) meet only in groups of 6.

It’s the birthday of the church! Or could also be seen as an anniversary beginning that relationship between church and Christ, yet it will be as low key as many other birthdays / anniversaries celebrated (or not) under lockdown.
I’ve put together a selection of meditations hoping something will work for you. Take time to pray you can at least meet 1 to 1 and spend quality time with the Holy Spirit. (contact us for a copy)
Take what works for you and leave the rest.

Prayers

The Church

Let’s think with a fresh realisation of how much we value one another and our fellowship together, of the part that fellowship plays in upholding us in our relationship with God.
Let’s pray for each other, praying for that time when we will meet again in safety.
For all those Christians struggling to maintain their relationship with Jesus, and for those new to the faith whose relationship is fading.

The World

For the leaders of all nations, in particular our nation in the decisions they make decisions about what is appropriate and when in the return to normal.
For a new normal where all the insights gained have a place going forward.

Our Community

For all who are returning or preparing to return to work or school in the coming week, for their safety and for those who are afraid of going back.

The Sick and Suffering

For all who have mental health problems for whom lockdown has been particularly stressful, and for renewal of their strength and the understanding of those around them as they are faced with the new disruption from the easing of lockdown.

Give Thanks

For those places re-opening that add certain qualities to our lives, For the many victories we hear about in beating the Coronavirus, For the many ways other people and businesses have adapted to help keep us safe.

Thy will be done today.
Today is a day of completion.
I give thanks for this perfect day.
Miracle shall follow miracle,
And wonders shall never cease

Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.

May the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(Hebrews 13: 20)

Thy Kingdom Come

24/5/2020

Psalm 68: 1-10

1 Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered;
let those that hate him flee before him.
2 As the smoke vanishes, so may they vanish away;
as wax melts at the fire, so let the wicked perish at
the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
let them make merry with gladness.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; exalt him who rides on the clouds.
The Lord is his name; rejoice before him.
5 Father of the fatherless, defender of widows,
God in his holy habitation!
6 God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners to songs of welcome,
but the rebellious inhabit a burning desert.
7 O God, when you went forth before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
8 The earth shook and the heavens dropped down rain, at the presence of God, the Lord of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent down a gracious rain, O God;
you refreshed your inheritance when it was weary.
10 Your people came to dwell there;
in your goodness, O God, you provide for the poor.

Collect

O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Acts 1: 6-14
When they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Ascension

As with a lot of passages lately, I’m seeing a whole new perspective on this passage that I’ve never seen before.
I had never noticed the similarities with Easter. The disciples are with Jesus at the Mount of Olives then at the end they go from there to the Upper Room where they were staying - the room where they had shared the passover, that same room where the doors had been locked for fear of the Jews 6 weeks ago.
And yes, it was 6 weeks ago in their time, this isn’t one of those times when we jump around from passage to passage and time isn’t relevant, this is a time when we follow the same timescale as the original events.

I’ve “done” Ascension Day over (incoherent mumble) years, but just always accepted they were in that Upper room all the time, I’ve never wondered how much it took to endure that.
Now I wonder if they got Cabin Fever, if they put on weight or started to feel and get sloppy, or maybe argued as they sat around in that upper room. Or did they get into a routine and exercise as a lot of the current advisors suggest?
It doesn’t tell us if they’re still afraid or not, but I imagine they’ve probably got used to a new normal (now that’s a phrase I’ve heard a lot recently) with Jesus appearing periodically and teaching them.
The parallel with Easter doesn’t end there. Ascension to Pentecost is itself almost like a repeat of Good Friday to Easter Day. it takes longer, but there’s still that losing and regaining, leaving and returning.
The passage starts with a real facepalm moment “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus was crucified, resurrected, appeared to them, taught them, there’s at least one of them that doesn’t get it.
At Easter Jesus had left them and returned changed, but Easter alone would make Jesus a martyr. A holy martyr of course, but still just a martyr. Someone to tell stories about in times to come, but no more.
The leaving and return at Pentecost changed the world! Now each person in it is invited into experiencing that holiness and participating in the ongoing mission that Jesus started. He is alive and seated at the right hand of God, but he is also alive and walking the earth in each of his followers.
So from Ascension, we watch, we wait, we pray,
We continue Jesus’ mission as we pray those extra prayers for this mini-season and as we pray and work towards “Thy Kingdom Come”.

Prayers

The Church

We pray “Thy Kingdom Come” in us, in our church community and in our connection with the wider church.
We pray for those people we are especially praying for at this time, that they too may accept Christ as their Lord and come to know the joy of belonging to His Body.

The World

Our Community

For all who are returning or preparing to return to work or school in the coming week, for their safety and for those who are afraid of going back.

The Sick and Suffering

Give Thanks

For those places re-opening that add certain qualities to our lives, such as Libraries and Garden Centres.
For the many ways other people and businesses have adapted to help keep us safe.

We are not people of fear:
we are people of courage.
We are not people who protect our own safety:
we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety.
We are not people of greed:
we are people of generosity.
We are your people God,
giving and loving,
wherever we are,
whatever it costs
For as long as it takes
wherever you call us.
Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference

Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.

May the Father, whose glory fills the heavens,
cleanse us by his holiness
and send us to proclaim his word.
Amen.

May the Son, who has ascended to the heights,
pour upon us the riches of his grace.
Amen.
May the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
equip us and strengthen us in our ministry.
Amen.
And may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among us and remain with us always.
Amen.

Let's not go back, let's go forward

17/5/2020

From Psalm 66
1 Be joyful in God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; sing the glory of his praise.
2 Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great strength your enemies shall bow before you.
3 ‘All the earth shall worship you, sing to you, sing praise to your name.’
4 Come now and behold the works of God, how wonderful he is in his dealings with humankind.
5 He turned the sea into dry land; the river they passed through on foot; there we rejoiced in him.
6 In his might he rules for ever; his eyes keep watch over the nations; let no rebel rise up against him.
7 Bless our God, O you peoples; make the voice of his praise to be heard,
8 Who holds our souls in life and suffers not our feet to slip.
13 I will offer you fat burnt sacrifices with the smoke of rams; I will sacrifice oxen and goats.
14 Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for my soul.
15 I called out to him with my mouth and his praise was on my tongue.
16 If I had nursed evil in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me,
17 But in truth God has heard me; he has heeded the voice of my prayer.
18 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld his loving mercy from me.
Collect

God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us
to eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

John 14: 15-21
”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Reflection
How many times and in how many ways does this passage tell us / the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come, that Jesus will appear to be taken away, but through that taking away he will be with us more closely than he ever was.
Jesus was trying to reassure his disciples, to explain to them what was going to happen, except it was something they couldn’t understand.
How do you explain the Holy Spirit to someone who has never experienced anything like it? Someone who has no concept of such a thing.

We are still in the Easter season, but as we come to the last few weeks, the church starts to look to the future, to what comes next. The Ascension and Pentecost. They go together in one sweeping movement like Good Friday and Easter Day, except further apart.
Going and returning, losing and regaining.

In the last 8 weeks we’ve been journeying through both the same, and the opposite. Many have (re)discovered gardening or a connection with nature while away from the demands and the pace of regular life. One of the top Google questions has become “How do I pray?”. For many the return to regular life will be leaving and losing a golden time of reconnecting with their soul. Cars are already getting back on the roads, public transport being re-instated and carrying more passengers again.

At this Rogation-tide, let's pray for the gardens, hedgerows and wildlife that have brought the hearts of many to asking about prayer. As we pray for deliverance from calamity, we pray that the world can leave behind the fear, the sickness, the dying, the isolation, but go forward from it, not back, never forgetting all that was good.

Please pray for:

The Church:

That the Holy Spirit will abide in each of us and all Christians,
Especially in our church leaders, to give them wisdom as they make the decisions about the return to worship.
For the role we may have in marking a return to normal in our communities and among our congregations.
That we will not forget how God has been in our lives during this time.

The World:

Those seeking, asking how to pray.
For gardeners, farmers, allotment holders and those who care for those places around our boundaries where nature can thrive.
For those going back to work, that it will be a place of safety.

The Sick:

Those who have contracted Coronavirus
Those who are lonely (or more lonely) because of lockdown and those who fear going out again.
All who are vulnerable and still can’t go out while others can.

Give Thanks:

That the promise Jesus made to his disciples also applies to us, that he comes to us in the Advocate, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth to live within us and go with us into the future.

We are not people of fear:
we are people of courage.
We are not people who protect our own safety:
we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety.
We are not people of greed:
we are people of generosity.
We are your people God,
giving and loving,
wherever we are,
whatever it costs
For as long as it takes
wherever you call us.
Barbara Glasson, President of the Methodist Conference

Lord God, you are always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are feeling this way).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything today.
Amen.

Blessing
May the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

News
The weekend that wasn’t – reflecting on the 2020 Lady Bay Arts Trail.
Paul Liptrot
I’m writing this message as a member of the Lady Bay Arts Trail team but also as the curator of Evanescent, a group show planned for All Hallows’ Church. I couldn’t have imagined just a few months ago that Lady Bay wouldn’t be abuzz this weekend - with members of the public going to see art in people’s homes, at the school, scout hut and the Church, Breckles Hall and Farr Hall. The long association between the Arts Trail and All Hallows’ is special to all on the team.
This weekend in May is usually one of excitement and energy, filled with happiness as people come together in a truly community minded event, to spend time talking, sharing and seeing the work of over 70 artists, professional and amateur, young and old.
It feels particularly poignant for me to reference this as Evanescent sadly isn’t happening. I had planned on bringing 12 artists into the church, from a range of backgrounds and styles, all joined by the sense of the fleeting and ephemeral in their work. The aim was to create a space for contemplation and respite for all visitors, to offer a moments calm while in the Church, a space that lends itself well to being somewhere warm and inviting.
The work presented was to feature installation, in the form of a light and sound filled Place of Sanctuary, aptly placed within the Sanctuary of the Church, painting, photography, sculpture and a specially created piece by a young artist, Emily.
Emily was to create an installation featuring words provided by the PCC around ideas of congregation and creating connections within the communities coming to the church. In this time of lockdown, the sentiment of this feels more relevant than ever.
The disappointment felt by all involved in the Arts Trail is tempered by the knowledge that we will come back stronger in 2021, using our experiences this year to create something special and celebratory across Lady Bay. I am pleased to say that all the artists in Evanescent have agreed to take part in 2021.
I have been blown away by the creativity shown across Lady Bay at this time, with rainbows, messages of support for key workers and more, brightening our time spent out walking. I hope that you all find solace in this creativity and in the communities we are lucky to have in Lady Bay. I look forward to a time when we can come together in celebration and happiness.
Paul

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Strange celebration

Being The People of God in 2020

Pentecost : Together in Spirit

Thy Kingdom Come

Let's not go back, let's go forward

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