Sunday, October 25, 2020

Today's service

 It was good to welcome the Ven. Julie Conalty to preach this morning. Here is the video of today's service - with a hymn in the middle where the Eucharist was being consecrated and shared. Many thanks to Jonathan Heeb for recording and editing this. 


Sunday podcast worship links and other news

 

Dear friends

The links to our worship this week, and other news and resources for reflection are below. The Ven. Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge, will be preaching at our 10am service, and I had hoped to include her sermon on the podcasts, but haven't been able to access it ahead of time, so you have to put up with me instead! We will record Julie's sermon in our video of the first part of the morning service, which will be uploaded to the Church blog later today. 

DON'T FORGET THAT THE CLOCKS WENT BACK LAST NIGHT!

Best wishes
Revd Canon Anne Le Bas


October 25th Bible Sunday
 
Online

Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet         Hymn words (both services)
Evensong podcast              Evensong service sheet

 
We are also producing a video recording of the first part of the morning service in church - providing the technology behaves! This should be available on the church blog and through Facebook and Twitter, at some point on Sunday afternoon or evening.

In Church
Please note – face coverings must be worn in church unless you are medically exempt.
10 am              Holy Communion
4pm                 Story Church - a Bible story and informal prayers for all ages
6.30pm            Evensong

 
Wednesday    9.15 am           Morning Prayer
Friday             10.30 am         Friday Group on Zoom and in person- ask for details
 
Sunday Nov 
10 am              Holy Communion.
3-5pm              All Souls' memorial afternoon
There will be no Story Church or Evensong next week.


On Zoom this week  email sealpandp@gmail.com for links

Zoffee 11.15am Sun Oct 25


 Wednesday Zoom Church 11 am. An informal service including Bible reading, prayer and a short talk.


 NO Children's choir this week

 
Zoom Adult choir  Wednesday 7.15 pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link.


 BIBLE SUNDAY

 
Today is Bible Sunday, when we give thanks for the Bible and, as the prayer for today (the Collect) puts it to ask God’s help to “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it”. In the sermon on the podcasts today (the Archdeacon is preaching at the 10 am service and Jess Heeb at the 6.30pm service), I talk about reading the Bible, why we do it and what it matters.
 
A small group have been enjoying meeting online via Zoom on Mondays for the last couple of weeks to read the Bible together in our “Meeting Jesus” discussion groups – if you’d like to join us email me at sealpandp@gmail.com for a link. If you can’t join us, I will be releasing this course as a series of videos to work through on your own or with friends in the next couple of months.
 
We’ve been using a simple approach, which is helping us to get the most out of the Gospel stories we’ve been reading, which are all about people who met Jesus. We’ve been reading each passage with our Heads, Hearts and Hands. It’s a technique that can be used with any Bible passage – you might like to try it. The video here explains a bit more about how to do this, but basically it means first asking the “Head” questions: Who is involved in the story? When does it take place? Where does it take place? What happens in it? Then we move onto the “Heart” questions, imagining ourselves in the story, being aware of how it makes us feel and who we identify with or empathise with. Finally we ask the “Hands” questions: What should I do to respond to this story? What might I need to pray about? How might it change my life?
 
If you aren’t a regular Bible reader already (or even if you are!) you might like to try this technique. You could start by reading one of the Gospels – Mark or Luke are probably the easiest to start with – choosing some of the stories which attract you to ponder on in with your Head, Heart and Hands. Or you could follow the Church’s Daily lectionary (a lectionary is a pattern of Bible Readings used in worship). You can find these online  at https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-daily-prayeror on the C of E’s Daily Prayer app. https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/daily-prayer
There are also Church of England apps like Reflections for Daily Prayer https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/reflections-for-daily-prayer and Reflections on the Psalms, which can help you to get the most out of reading the Bible.
 
I also highly recommend the Bible Reading Fellowship’s printed daily Bible reading notes which come in a wide variety, so there should be something for everyone. You can order them here https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/our-notes, or Bobbie Rayner, our BRF rep can order them for you. Please ask if you need her contact details
 
I hope you will find within these resources something that will help you “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the treasure store which is the Bible, and encounter the Living Word within it.
 
 

Antonello da Messina’s painting, The Virgin Annunciate, depicts the moment when the Virgin Mary discovers she will be the mother of the Messiah. There is no angel Gabriel in this depiction. She is pictured reading the Scriptures, perhaps the passage from Isaiah which says that “a young woman will conceive and bear a son”, but you can see that the penny has dropped for her. She isn’t just reading words on a page; she has heard God’s word in her own heart and knows she will bear the Living Word who will speak to people of his love.

All Age resources

Come along and join us at our Story Church at 4pm on Sunday in the church for a story and prayers for all ages. Facemasks mandatory except for under 11s and those who are medically exempt. What story will we hear this week…?

Here are some resources from the Bible Society for Bible Sunday 
https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/content/get_involved/bible_sunday/2020_resources/resources/Junior_2_02.pdf
and here are some from the Bible Reading Fellowship
https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/for-children

 
Would you like us to pray for you?
Email your prayer requests to:

sealchurchprayer@gmail.com
Your email will be read by Anne Le Bas and Kevin Bright, the Vicar and Reader of Seal Church who will hold you in their prayers. 
HYMN OF THE WEEK

Through all the changing scenes of life,
in trouble and in joy,
the praises of my God shall still
my heart and tongue employ.
 
O magnify the Lord with me,
with me exalt his name;
when in distress to him I called,
he to my rescue came.
 
The hosts of God encamp around
the dwellings of the just;
deliverance he affords to all
who on his succour trust.
 
O make but trial of his love,
experience will decide
how blest are they, and only they,
who in his truth confide!
 
Fear him, ye saints, and you will then
have nothing else to fear;
make you his service your delight,
your wants shall be his care.
 
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
the God whom we adore,
be glory, as it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

There was, for a long time, a resistance to singing anything in church other than passages from the Bible. Early hymns were therefore often based on Psalms, paraphrased so that they fitted popular, singable tunes. This is one of the many fine metrical psalms which appeared in the Psalter produced by Nahum Tate (left, with a splendid wig!)  and Nicholas Brady in 1696. “The Lord’s my shepherd”, and “As pants the hart” are two others. Nahum Tate (1652-1715), who seems to have written this hymn himself, was an aspiring poet, who had come to London from Dublin. To make a living he translated French and Latin texts for publishers, and wrote and adapted plays, including Shakespeare’s – he rewrote King Lear to give it a happy ending. He also wrote the libretto for Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas”. He became Poet Laureate in 1692, but later became an alcoholic and died in a debtors’ refuge in the Royal Mint. This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 34, which is a psalm of praise to God in the face of difficulties. It is easy to praise God when all is going well, but it is when times are hard that our trust in him is really vital.
 
The lovely, lilting tune, one of my favourites, Wiltshire, was written by Sir George Smart, (1776-1867) when he was just 19 and organist at St James Chapel London. In Scottish tradition it is known as New St Ann and is one of the tunes to which “The Lord’s my Shepherd” is sung. Metrical Psalm tunes were often used interchangeably.  
 
Prayer of the week
 
Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’
Luke 23.34
 
This short prayer from the Bible (for Bible Sunday), uttered by Jesus as he was being nailed to the cross, is one of the most powerful in the Bible. Although it’s only twelve words long, it contains a powerful message. What does it take to pray for forgiveness for those who are hurting you - while they are doing it - to continue to desire their good, rather than hoping they will rot in hell? Most of us would find it hard enough to pray for forgiveness to the person who jumped a queue in front of us at the supermarket checkout. That Jesus could pray this prayer at all shows just how secure he was in himself and in his father’s love, and in his belief in the value of every human being, however damaged and twisted they were. He refused to dehumanise and condemn others, and here on the cross showed what it meant to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5.44
 
  • Perhaps this week, we could try to pray Jesus’ prayer whenever we start to feel irritated with someone, or feel the urge to condemn others. 

There is something particularly chilling about the matter-of-fact way in which the soldiers in this picture are going about their work, trying to do a good job of crucifying Jesus. This is obviously something they have had practice in doing, and they know how to work together to achieve their goal. They are “just obeying orders”, to quote the defence given by concentration camp guards.
CHURCH NEWS

NEW PCC
Congratulations and thanks to the new (or re-elected) PCC members elected at last Sunday's APCM. Maggie Fox, Matt Bell, Rosemary Milton-Thompson  and Georgina Taylor, and to all who are continuing in office. Many thanks to our churchwardens, Gesiena van Setten and Jenny Elliott, who have been elected to serve for another year. A full list of the PCC can be found in the porch. Photos will be updated as soon as possible!

CHURCHYARD WORKING PARTY

Next Saturday – Oct 31 – there will be a churchyard working party to do the small jobs which need doing at this time of year around the churchyard and hall, like unblocking the ground level gutters, removing weeds etc. If you can help, please email sealpandp@gmail.com to let me know you are coming . We will need to be in set groups of no more than six people to do this, and not mix between groups, and we will not be able to share tools, so please bring with you anything you think you might need (secateurs, trowels etc).
 
ALL SOULS’ Memorial afternoon 
Sunday Nov 1 from 3 – 5pm
A time to remember those dear to you who have died.
Come to church at any time between 3 and 5pm 
You will be able to light a candle in memory of a loved one and add their names to a memorial board and spend some time in private prayer or reflection in church.
The names on the board will be included in an Online All Souls’ service available to watch from 6pm on Nov 2 on the church website . We are sorry that we can’t hold our usual All Soul’s service in church because of the limitations on numbers in church under Covid restrictions.
If you can’t come to church in person, you can also send names to be included in the online service to me by post or email by Oct 30. I will add them to the board. There will be no 6.30pm Evensong on Nov 1
 
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY Nov 8
9am Godden Green Act of Remembrance
10.50 am Short Remembrance service at the War Memorial in the churchyard. There will be no 10 am service in church on Nov 8 because we cannot accommodate the numbers who might want to come. The service by the War Memorial will last about 15 -20 minutes.
 
STORY CHURCH
Come and join us at 4pm in church for a Bible story and some informal prayers this Sunday afternoon. Facemasks are required unless you are medically exempt or under 11. There will be NO STORY CHURCH on Nov 1.
And finally...
Connecting online is useful if you can do it, but it never tells the whole story…
https://cartoonchurch.com/

Sunday, October 18, 2020

This morning's service - video

The first part of this morning's service.

Sunday Worship links and other news

 

October 18th St Luke
 
Online

Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet         Hymn words (both services)
Evensong podcast              Evensong service sheet

 
 
In Church
Please note – face coverings must be worn in church unless you are medically exempt.
10 am              Holy Communion
4pm                 Story Church - a Bible story and informal prayers for all ages
6.30pm            Breathing Space Holy Communion

 
Wednesday    9.15 am           Morning Prayer
Friday             10.30 am         Friday Group on Zoom and in person- ask for details
 
Sunday Oct 26
10 am              Holy Communion, with the Archdeacon of Tonbridge, the Ven. Julie Conalty as guest preacher.
4pm                 Story Church
6.30pm            Evensong



On Zoom this week  email sealpandp@gmail.com for links

There's no Zoffee after the service as we are holding our Annual Parochial Church Meeting by Zoom at 11.15 instead.

Please contact sealpandp@gmail.com for the link. 

Here are the links to the Annual Reports and Financial Statements and I have also written an update, since the Annual Reports only concern the year to April 2020, and there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then!

 Wednesday Zoom Church 11 am. An informal service including Bible reading, prayer and a short talk.
 
Zoom Children’s Choir  Wednesday 5pm
 
Zoom Adult choir  Wednesday 7.15 pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link.


THE FEAST OF ST LUKE
 
Today, Oct 18, is the feast of St Luke. Luke was called “The beloved doctor” by Paul (Colossians 4.14) with whom he travelled on some of his missionary journeys around the Mediterranean, so it’s no surprise that he is the patron saint of doctors.
But he’s also the patron saint of artists, because of an ancient legend which says that he painted the Virgin Mary, on visits to the home she shared with St John in Ephesus. The picture on the left is a rather fanciful interpretation of this by Maarten van Heemskerck (1532) While he was painting her, she told him the stories of Jesus’ birth which we now find in Luke’s Gospel – the angel Gabriel’s visit, the journey to Bethlehem, the manger and shepherds.

The Hodegetria of SmolenskIt’s highly unlikely to be true that he painted Mary, but that’s never stopped people wanting to believe it, and there are several places which claim to have, or have had, the very picture he painted, an icon known as the Hodegetria, sometimes known as “Our Lady of the Way” because Mary is pointing to the infant Jesus while holding him in her arms. He is the Way which people should follow. According to legend, the icon was housed in a monastery called the Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria, in Constantinople, until it was lost in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. There are claims it was taken to Russia or Italy, but no evidence to prove it, and as the icon had been much copied, there’s no way of discovering its true location.
 
Perhaps more to the point, Luke’s Gospel paints vividly with words, not just the life of Mary, but more importantly the life of her Son, and those who first followed him, and today’s sermon unpacks the message this “beloved doctor” was trying to convey, a message of healing love for individuals, communities and the world.

Pic left: St Luke and the Madonna, Herman Rode (1484)
Or, as I would have titled it, Mary points out where Luke has got it wrong...
 


 
 

All Age resources

Come along and join us at our Story Church at 4pm on Sunday in the church for a story and prayers for all ages. Facemasks mandatory except for under 11s and those who are medically exempt. What story will we hear this week…?
  • Today we celebrate the feast of St Luke, the patron saint of artists as well as doctors. Why not paint, draw or model something today? You could make a picture out of some autumn leaves, or do some junk modelling, or whatever you like to do. 
  • St Luke's Gospel includes some of the best known stories Jesus told, like the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep (Luke 15) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). You could look them up in a Bible or Google them to listen to them.
  • Luke also tells of a time when Jesus met a tax collector called Zaccheus. Here's my version of the story in a video made for Seal School.
Would you like us to pray for you?
Email your prayer requests to:

 

sealchurchprayer@gmail.com

 
Your email will be read by Anne Le Bas and Kevin Bright, the Vicar and Reader of Seal Church who will hold you in their prayers. 

The first name of the person you ask us to pray for, but no other details, will be included in public prayer lists circulated to other members of the congregation and may be mentioned in the public prayers of the church for about a month, unless you tell us you would rather we didn't pass on their name.
HYMN OF THE WEEK
O for a thousand tongues
 
This hymn is one of over 6000 written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), brother of John Wesley. Together  John and Charles were founder members of what would one day become the Methodist Church, though originally it was just a society within the Church of England. John was known as the great preacher of the movement, often preaching outdoors to vast crowds of ordinary people who often felt unwelcome or marginalised in their parish churches, but Charles supplied the soundtrack to the work, providing hymns, often to stirring popular tunes, for the crowds to sing. This hymn was considered to be so important to Methodists that for a long time it always held pride of place as the first hymn in their hymnals. Charles original version had ten verses, but now only about 5 are commonly sung.
 
The hymn has been sung to many different tunes. Most commonly in the UK it is sung either to Richmond (the usual tune of “City of God”) or to Lyngham, as in this video, a tune written around 1803 by Thomas Jarman 1776-1861. Jarman was a Northamptonshire tailor by trade, living in the village of Clipston, but music was his great love. Choirmaster of the local Baptist Chapel, he wrote over 600 hymn tunes and other music, and his love of music often seems to have got in the way of his tailoring work, often leaving him short of money. This type of hymn tune, with its division of men and women’s voices in part of each verse was popular in the early 18th century. You may also be familiar with Sagina (And can it be)  and Diadem (All hail the power of Jesus name) which follow a similar pattern. These hymns are great fun to sing if you are in the know, but people can find themselves completely baffled about what they are actually meant to be singing. The answer is ,”it doesn’t really matter so long as you are enjoying it!” Singing along with the recording at home is a great way of practicing!
Prayer of the week
 
As I utter these prayers
from my mouth, O God,
in my soul may I feel your presence.
The knee that is stiff,
O healer, make pliant.
The heart that is hard,
make warm beneath your wing.
The wound that is giving me pain,
O best of healers, make whole,
and may my hopes and my fears
Find a listening place with you.
 
This prayer, by J. Philip Newell who is part of the Iona Community, is a prayer that expresses our longing for healing not only of the body but also of the soul. Most of all, it asks for a sense of God’s presence in times of pain, that we might feel that God is listening to us.
 
  • When you have been ill, or if you are ill now, what has helped and comforted you most?
  • How do you look for God’s presence in times of suffering?

CHURCH NEWS

Archdeacon's visit. 
Next week we welcome the Ven. Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge to preach at our 10 am service and on our podcasts.  

ALL SOULS’ Memorial afternoon 
Sunday Nov 1 from 3 – 5pm
A time to remember those dear to you who have died.
Come to church at any time between 3 and 5pm 
You will be able to light a candle in memory of a loved one and add their names to a memorial board and spend some time in private prayer or reflection in church.
The names on the board will be included in an Online All Souls’ service available to watch from 6pm on Nov 2 on the church website . We are sorry that we can’t hold our usual All Soul’s service in church because of the limitations on numbers in church under Covid restrictions.
If you can’t come to church in person, you can also send names to be included in the online service to me by post or email by Oct 30. I will add them to the board.

Story Church
Come and join us at 4pm in church for a Bible story and some informal prayers this Sunday afternoon. Facemasks are required unless you are medically exempt or under 11.
 
Meeting Jesus
It’s not too late to join in with our Zoom Bible discussion sessions. Monday mornings at 11 am, or Monday evenings at 7.30pm. Last Monday we looked at the story of Zaccheus. This week we are looking at the story of the calling of the disciples. The complete list of the Bible stories in the course are below, if you would like to read along.
 
Week 1.     Zaccheus  Luke 19.1-10
Week 2.     The disciples Luke 5.1-11
Week 3.     Legion Mark 5.1-20
Week 4.     A woman bent double Luke 13.10-17
Week 5.     The Penitent thief Luke 23.32-43
Week 6.     Mary Magdalene John 20.1-18


There is also a short video here which outlines the way in which we are approaching the stories
Join me on Zoom on Monday mornings from October 12,  at 11 am on Monday evenings at 7.30pm for a six-session Bible discussion group called Meeting Jesus. We will be looking at people who met Jesus and what that encounter meant to them. These sessions are part of a two-part course I am planning, called Starting Points, which will eventually be available for people to download and use at their own pace, on their own or with friends, with various online and printed resources to help them, but I would like to start by trying it out the material with a group, so if you would like to join me, please email to let me know.
You don’t need any special knowledge to join in -  we all learn from each other, and everyone’s views are important – so it is very suitable for those who feel they are new to Christian faith, but also for “older hands”, those who’ve been part of Lent groups, Home Groups or the Good Book Club, for example. There will be some input from me, some discussion in breakout rooms and some discussion together in a very informal way finishing with an act of prayer.
Please email sealpandp@gmail.com as soon as possible, letting me know whether you would like to join the morning or evening group (though some swapping around will probably be possible.
 
And finally...
Seal School farm again - an endless source of entertainment! Click on the link to watch it - I couldn't manage to embed the video.
I'm not sure their shepherding is quite up to One Man and His Dog standards yet...

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Zaccheus

Here's the story of Zaccheus, recorded for Seal School - but anyone else who would like to watch is welcome!

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Sunday Worship links and other news...

 

October 11th Harvest
 
Online

You can listen to our podcasts here, which include hymns 

Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet         Hymn words (both services)
Evensong  podcast              Evensong service sheet


Or you can watch a video of the first part of the service here.

 

In Church
Please note – face coverings must be worn in church unless you are medically exempt.
10 am              Holy Communion
4pm                 Story Church - same format as Outdoor Church, but inside!
6.30pm            Evensong

 
Wednesday    9.15 am           Morning Prayer
Friday             10.30 am         Friday Group on Zoom and in person- ask for details
 
Sunday Oct 18
10 am              Holy Communion
11.15 am         Annual meeting on Zoom
4pm                 Story Church
6.30pm            Evensong



On Zoom this week  email sealpandp@gmail.com for links

Zoffee – Zoom chat at 11.15 am (Please note - Zoffee next week - Oct 18 - will be replaced by our Annual Parochial Church Meeting)

 Wednesday Zoom Church 11 am. An informal service including Bible reading, prayer and a short talk.
 
Zoom Children’s Choir  Wednesday 5pm
 
Zoom Adult choir  Wednesday 7.15 pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link.


 

The picture above is a busy scene depicting today’s Gospel story, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, painted by an anonymous artist known as the Brunswick Monogramist, who painted in the Netherlands in the mid- to late- sixteenth Century. It’s possible the painter may have been Mayken Verhulst, one of the few female painters whose names have come down to us from this period.

It’s a lively depiction of a rather grand banquet, but one which is populated with very ordinary people, like the mother with her children in the centre, and the man behind her with his wooden leg, people who would never normally have been invited to an occasion like this. The story tells that the guests who had initially been invited refused to come,  so the king, whose son’s wedding feast this was, invited anyone and everyone, pulling people in off the streets to join the party. It’s a story with a sting in its tale though, as one man was found without a wedding garment (indeed in this picture we can see him in the bottom left hand corner, wearing nothing on at all , which would have caused a stir!). The king ordered him to be thrown out, which is what is happening. It’s a detail which often disturbs modern readers. Does God judge us by what we wear? What if he didn’t have, and couldn’t afford a wedding garment? There may be a straightforward explanation. It wasn’t unknown for rich hosts to provide clothes for their guests to wear, just as people sometimes did at English funeral. Even if this isn’t so, though, the fact that this detail isn’t explained tells us it wouldn’t have been an issue for those who first heard the parable. They would have got the point. This man was happy to eat the food and drink the wine, but he wasn’t really entering into the spirit of the occasion, celebrating the new era which this wedding banquet ushered in. He wasn’t really prepared to be part of the king’s vision for the future. In today’s sermon I explore what that might mean for us.



All Age resources

Come along and join us at our Story Church at 4pm on Sunday in the church for a story and prayers for all ages. Facemasks mandatory except for under 11s and those who are medically exempt. What story will we hear this week…?
  • The Gospel story today is about a royal wedding party. The king invited important, rich guests, but they didn't turn up, so he decided to invite ordinary people who would never normally go to a party like that. 
  • Talk about parties you have been to. What makes them good?
  • What do you think it would be like to be invited to a Royal wedding? You could make some pretend invitations for one.
Would you like us to pray for you?
Email your prayer requests to:

 

sealchurchprayer@gmail.com

 
Your email will be read by Anne Le Bas and Kevin Bright, the Vicar and Reader of Seal Church who will hold you in their prayers. 

The first name of the person you ask us to pray for, but no other details, will be included in public prayer lists circulated to other members of the congregation and may be mentioned in the public prayers of the church for about a month, unless you tell us you would rather we didn't pass on their name.
THE INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
 
This week saw the release of the latest report from the Independent Inquiring into Child Sexual Abuse, which focussed on abuse in the Church of England, both recent and non-recent. I refer to it in today’s sermon. The report made painful reading, and Rochester Diocese made the following statement in response to it.
 
“On Tuesday 6 October, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published its report into the Anglican Church.
It found that the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual predators within its ranks. 
The report is based on public hearings held during July 2019, which examined the response of the Church of England and Church in Wales to allegations of child sexual abuse, as well as the adequacy of current safeguarding policies and practices.

Responding to the publishing of the report, the Rt Rev James Langstaff, the Bishop of Rochester said:
"Today, as the entire Church of England receives this report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, we first pay tribute to all the victims and survivors of church-context abuse whose brave testimony has allowed this report to come into being.
"Testimony which has been given at huge personal, emotional and spiritual cost. For this we must be both grateful for their courage, and ashamed of the abuse and re-abuse they have experienced.
"Myself and all within the Church must now take time to sit with this report, to listen to what it has to tell us, to learn, to repent and to act. This I will be encouraging across our parishes and among our senior leadership, as we pray for God to help us bring about the profound changes needed in the Church.”
 
You can find this statement, along with links to the report and interviews with Bishop James and with the Ven Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge and the Diocesan Safeguarding Lead on the Diocesan Website here.
https://www.rochester.anglican.org/communications/news/time-to-quotlearn-to-repent-and-to-actquotsays-bishop-as-report-into-church-child-sexual-abuse-is-published.php
 
In Seal Church, we take safeguarding children and vulnerable adults very seriously, and take as much care as we can to ensure that all those working with children or vulnerable adults on behalf of the church have the right training and vetting and work in accordance with the Church of England’s safeguarding policy. If you ever have any concerns about safeguarding – within or outside the church – you can talk either to the vicar or to the Parish Safeguarding Officer, Matt Bell
, 01732 764227  or you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding team or a new helpline funded by the Churches but run independently by Victim Support, called Safe Spaces.
Call free on 0300 303 1056, or email: safespaces@victimsupport.org.uk or visit www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
 
HYMN OF THE WEEK
Jerusalem the Golden
 
“Jerusalem the Golden” which features at the end of our podcasts this week, is a Victorian translation by John Mason Neale, 1818-1886, (about whose hymn Light’s Abode, Celestial Salem I wrote back in August) of a section of a 12th century medieval Latin poem by Bernard of Cluny . Bernard’s poem  was a satire on the corruption of his age, De Contemptu Mundi , but included within it the passage Neale translated, a song of intense longing for the a world made right, the heavenly city, where all that was broken had been mended and all that was wrong put to rights.
 
It’s soaring tune was composed by Alexander Ewing,(1830-95) and is named “Ewing” after him. If you Google his name you will probably discover a man of that name who was Scottish  Episcopal Bishop of Argyll and the Isles and could be forgiven for assuming he was the composer. However, he was actually the cousin of the man who wrote this tune – evidently imagination was in short supply in the extended Ewing family! The Ewing who gave his name to this tune was a career soldier, who servied in the Crimea, China and Ireland, and was the Deputy Assistant Commissary in charge of a British Garrison in what was then the Dominion of Canada. On returning from Canada he served in the British Army Pay Corps. Although no other music of his seems to have survived, he is known to have taught music to Ethel Smyth, the daughter of a military colleague at Aldershot, who later went on to be a notable composer. She remembered Ewing, who taught her composition, as  "a real musician" and "one of the most delightful, original, and whimsical personalities in the world". His tune certainly lifts the spirits, and fits the mood of the hymn, which encourages those with “heart and voice oppressed” to look forward to a better time.  The last verse has been altered a number of times over the years, and St Martin in the Field’s choir sing a slightly different version to the one below on our podcasts today, but I prefer the ending of this version, which reminds us that although we may feel dusty and ashy, we are also God’s children. “Exult, O dust and ashes/ The Lord shall be thy part: His only , his forever/ Thou shalt be and thou art.”
 
 
Jerusalem the golden,
with milk and honey blest,
beneath thy contemplation
sink heart and voice oppressed:
I know not, oh, I know not,
what joys await us there;
what radiancy of glory,
what bliss beyond compare!
 
They stand, those halls of Zion,
all jubilant with song,
and bright with many an angel,
and all the martyr throng:
the Prince is ever in them,
the daylight is serene;
the pastures of the blessèd
are decked in glorious sheen.
 
There is the throne of David;
and there, from care released,
the shout of them that triumph,
the song of them that feast;
and they who with their Leader
have conquered in the fight,
for ever and for ever
are clad in robes of white.
 
Oh, sweet and blessèd country,
Shall I ere see thy face?
Oh, sweet and blessèd country,
Shall I ere win thy grace?
Exult O dust and ashes
The Lord shall be thy part
His only, his for ever,
Thou shalt be, and thou art!
 
 
Prayer of the week
God our hope and our desire,
We wait for your coming
As a woman longs for the birth,
The exile for her home,
The lover for the touch of his beloved,
And the humble poor for justice.
 
Janet Morley: Christian Aid, from “Bread of Tomorrow”

Janet Morley’s lovely prayer seemed to me to go with the hymn above it. It is a prayer of longing for “God, our hope and our desire” and for his kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven” as the Lord’s Prayer says.
 
  • Have you ever longed for something intensely? Can you remember what it felt like?
  • What do you most long for now?

CHURCH NEWS
APCM – link to reports.
Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place next Sunday at 11.15 online via Zoom, because we can’t fit everyone who would be entitled to vote (those who are on the Electoral Roll) into the church under the social distancing rules.

Please email sealpandp@gmail.com if you would like the Zoom code.

If you aren’t able to use the internet, you can also join the meeting by phone. If you would like to do this, you can contact me by phoning 07510 522292 before next Sunday and I will tell you how to do this. Obviously you won’t be able to see others, and they won’t be able to see you, as they would online, but you will be able to hear and be heard.
 
Here are the links to the Annual Reports and Financial Statements and I have also written an update, since the Annual Reports only concern the year to April 2020, and there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then!
 
Story Church
Last week’s Story Church (the same format as Outdoor Church, but indoors!) was very successful, so do come and join us at 4pm in church for a Bible story and some informal prayers this Sunday afternoon. Facemasks are required unless you are medically exempt or under 11.
 
Meeting Jesus
Join me on Zoom on Monday mornings from October 12,  at 11 am on Monday evenings at 7.30pm for a six-session Bible discussion group called Meeting Jesus. We will be looking at people who met Jesus and what that encounter meant to them. These sessions are part of a two-part course I am planning, called Starting Points, which will eventually be available for people to download and use at their own pace, on their own or with friends, with various online and printed resources to help them, but I would like to start by trying it out the material with a group, so if you would like to join me, please email to let me know.
You don’t need any special knowledge to join in -  we all learn from each other, and everyone’s views are important – so it is very suitable for those who feel they are new to Christian faith, but also for “older hands”, those who’ve been part of Lent groups, Home Groups or the Good Book Club, for example. There will be some input from me, some discussion in breakout rooms and some discussion together in a very informal way finishing with an act of prayer.
Please email sealpandp@gmail.com as soon as possible, letting me know whether you would like to join the morning or evening group (though some swapping around will probably be possible.
I will send out the link to the Zoom meetings on Sunday afternoon to those who have requested them. 
 
And finally...

We’re still working on our plans for our Christmas services – as well as an online services, it looks like there will be simple, said, Communion services on Christmas Eve at 9pm (no midnight mass) and on Christmas Day at 10 am and 11 am, so we can make sure everyone who wants to come to worship in person can do so. Booking will be needed, as we’ve only got room for about 39 people at each service. I’ll let you know how to book your place at these services in about a month’s time, so no need to do it now! However, if seats are in short supply, I am hoping you won’t feel tempted to resort to Dave Walker’s  ideas below…! If needed we will put on more services!

www.cartoonchurch.com