Our work or God's?

This morning's Psalm at Morning Prayer was Ps 92, and a couple of verses caught my eye. "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most HIgh; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the work of your hands I sing for joy." (Ps. 92.1-4) At this point in the year, for many of us there is that "back to work" feeling. Technically it may not be New Year, but as people come back from summer breaks and begin to re-engage with work, church, school or whatever it often feels like more of a New Year than January does. I find I have a tendency to reflect at this point (perhaps unfavourably) on what I have achieved , or failed to achieve, in the year that has passed, and resolve to do better in the coming year. I am full of plans, filling up spaces in the diary, thinking about the season ahead. There's nothing wrong with that in itself - it's a useful thing to do - but the Psalm reminds us that while we may only see the failures, the "could do better's" of our lives, God has been at work, steadfastly and faithfully, throughout, even the times in which, to us, there may seem to have been little going on, or when we may have felt we were going backwards. It is easy to be dissatisfied, to judge ourselves, our churches, our work, the things we have expended our time and energy on, and find them wanting. It is easy to see what we haven't accomplished, the people who haven't responded to our efforts to engage them, the targets we have missed and the plans that have come to nothing, but if we could see beneath the surface maybe we would see God at work in all sorts of ways of which we have been unaware. It's good that this Psalm reminds us of who is really doing what for whom. "YOU have made ME glad by YOUR work", says the Psalmist to God. All too often we think that we are supposed to be making God glad by our work, when actually it is the other way around. So perhaps, before rushing in to our "New Year" planning, we should take a moment to think of the things God has done in the past year, to give thanks for them and to value them, to notice the evidence of God's steadfastness and faithful love. What has God done in your life, your work, your church, that you could give thanks for?

Seal Harvest Scarecrow Festival is back...!

SEAL SCARECROW FESTIVAL

Please get your thinking caps on for your contribution to your own original scarecrow design for this year's festival. Each year this gets bigger, so please let this continue!  To enter, please complete the form in next month's Local Advertiser, or pick up one from church, or download below and print out, and pay your £5 entrance fee to Highland Printing, or in Church. The scarecrows need to be displayed any time from September 17th, to Sunday October 1st (or beyond if they are still intact)!. Judging will take place on Friday 29th September. Please display your scarecrow either outside your property, or somewhere else with the agreement of whoever owns the property. The judges will need to know where your scarecrow can be found, so please complete your form! The results will be announced at the Harvest Lunch in Seal School on Sunday October 1st.

Revised arrangements for the Ride and Stride Sept 9

Broadstairs outing.

 We had a great time on our village outing to Broadstairs. There was a good mix of old and young, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

It poured with rain for about 10 minutes when we arrived, but we weren't daunted, and it soon passed. 

Dickens' study - there are lots of Dickens connections in Broadstairs, where he lived for a while. 

Ice creams may have been consumed...

It was Broadstairs Folk Week - lots of music going on around the town.

Ride and Stride with us

Join us for our Ride and Stride in aid of Kent's Historic Churches (including ours). Half the money raised by our Riders, Striders, and those who donate to them, will come to Seal Church. You can donate online at www.justgiving.com/kentchurches