OUTDOOR CHURCH CANCELLED TODAY (JUNE 27)

 Sorry - Outdoor Church will not be happening this afternoon owing to the weather. Back next Sunday 

Sunday podcast worship links and other news: June 27

 

June 27 St Peter and St Paul Online Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet       Hymn words (both services) Evensong podcast  Evensong service sheet Don't forget that you can also listen to a shortened version of the podcast by phoning 01732 928061 -  if you know someone who doesn't "do" the internet, please pass on the number to them. It costs the same as any phone call to a Sevenoaks number. In Church 10 am Holy Communion with a hymn outside the church after the service. 2pm Baptism in church - please pray for Macy, Sidney and Leo 4pm Outdoor Church in the churchyard. With two hymns, a Bible story, and prayers. Very relaxed and informal - come along and join us.  6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion    Numbers limited to 35 people. Facemasks required unless medically exempt. Services are said, with recorded music – there is no singing in church, but we do now have permission to sing outside, so there will be a congregational hymn at the end of the 10 am service outside.   During the week, in person and on Zoom - email for Zoom links ZOFFEE - informal chat on Zoom at 11.15 am Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86194321991?pwd=RjJlNWZTK0ZCcTY3QU1oaWcrcW5idz09 Meeting ID: 861 9432 1991 Passcode: 471456 Wednesday Zoom Church 11am - email for the link   Wednesday 5-5.30pm Children's Choir  in the church hall garden from 5-5.30pm Wednesday Zoom Adult choir 7.15pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link to join in with some simple hymn singing together. Friday - 9.30 Morning Prayer. A short, socially distanced service in church. Bible readings, psalms and prayers to start the day Anyone is welcome. You can see the service sheet here. Friday Group - 10.30-12 noon in the church hall garden The Feast of St Peter and St Paul   2 Cor 4.5-15, John 21.15-22 Today marks our Patronal Festival, the feast of the saints to which our church is dedicated (It's actually on June 29, but we celebrate it on the nearest Sunday). St Peter and St Paul is a popular dedication in this part of the country, probably because when St Augustine brought Christianity back to South-East England, he also brought a particular devotion to Peter and Paul, who were the Patron Saints of the city of Rome the centre of Western Christianity. Although we can’t celebrate in the way we normally would, with uplifting hymns and music from the choir, and a strawberry tea in the afternoon, this can still be a day of thanksgiving for the life of our church, and a chance to ponder the lives of these two very influential figures in the Church’s story. Both were early Christian leaders, right at the start of the Church’s history. Peter had been a close friend of Jesus’, who, despite his impulsive nature and tendency to put his foot in it, was called by Jesus the “Rock on which I will build my church”. Paul had initially been opposed to the Christian message, persecuting the early Church, but after having a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus, he changed his mind. Perhaps surprisingly, the Christians he had been hell-bent on arresting and killing forgave him and welcomed him, something which it is clear affected him profoundly. His letters speak often about the importance of love, and the inclusive message of God which is for all, “Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female”. Today’s sermon explores the legacy of these flawed human beings who found the love of God in their own failures and troubles. ALL AGE IDEAS   Today is our Patronal Festival, the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, the saints our church is named after. Draw a picture of the church building, It is over 800 years old. Imagine all the people who have been part of the church in that time. Why do you think it has been special to them?  What kind of church do you think it should be, and how can you make it be like that? 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.  CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWs CHURCHYARD RECORDING Sat July 3 from 10am-12noon  Can you help? The first churchyard mapping session will be next Saturday July 3 from 10am – 12 noon. Anyone of any age will be welcome to come along and help us record who is buried where, and instructions will be given on the day to do this. It will simply be a matter of writing down the names and dates on headstones on a form, so that we can make a proper churchyard map. Children and families are welcome, and there will also be some churchyard wildlife spotting resources available, so you can explore this rich natural habitat as well.   CHURCH CLEANERS WANTED We could do with a couple more people to come onto the church cleaning rota. This would involve a commitment to cleaning the church with someone else, once a month at a time to suit you. If you think you can help, please contact Marion Gilchrist, marionjgilchrist@gmail.com, 07909 905975. If you would like to know what it might involve there is a description of the role here.                                                     Jess Heeb asked me to pass on her thanks for the gift and good wishes of the church when she was licensed last month as a Lay Minister. I have put a card from her on the noticeboard.   OUTDOOR CHURCH The weather looks rather uncertain for this afternoon’s Outdoor Church at 4pm. If at all possible, we will go ahead, but if you are planning on coming, you might like to check the church website www.sealpeterandpaul.com  before you set out (and bring waterproofs to wear/sit on!   MORNING PRAYER ON FRIDAYS Jess and I are saying Morning Prayer together on Friday mornings at 9.30 in church. If anyone would like to join us for this small service, you’d be very welcome. You don’t need to bring anything with you – the service sheet will be available when you get there, but if you want to have a look at the service (or pray it yourself at home when it is convenient for you) I will happily send you one.   FRIDAY GROUP - This group is meeting weekly on Fridays from  10.30 – 12 noon in the Church hall garden, or inside in socially distanced groups of six if necessary. Come along and join them for an informal natter in the sunshine (we hope…) HYMN OF THE WEEK Lord for the years   This hymn was written in 1962 by Timothy Dudley-Smith, who has lots of local connections here, having been educated at Tonbridge School and ordained by Bishop Chavasse of Rochester.   Dudley-Smith, who was born in 1926, went on to become Bishop of Thetford, in the Diocese of Norwich, but is best known as a prolific hymn writer, who has written over 400 hymns including, from our hymn books “Tell out my Soul”, “Faithful vigil ended”, “Fill your hearts with joy and gladness” and set to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy His hymns have a great ability to express Christian truths in language which is modern enough for people to understand without being trite, a good indication that they will stand the test of time.   “Lord for the years” is a hymn often sung at anniversaries or thanksgivings, so it is very appropriate for our Patronal Festival, which is a celebration of our church’s life, as well as of the saints themselves. It encourages us to give thanks for what has been and seek strength as we go forward.     1 Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way, sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided: Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today. 2 Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us, speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze, teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us: Lord of the word, receive Your people's praise. 3 Lord, for our land in this our generation, spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care: for young and old, for commonwealth and nation, Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer. 4 Lord, for our world when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain, hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him: Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign. 5 Lord for ourselves; in living power remake us - self on the cross and Christ upon the throne, past put behind us, for the future take us: Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.

Timothy Dudley-Smith, now 94, introduces his hymn at the New Year of 2020/21. PRAYER OF THE WEEK   A prayer of St Paul Ephesians 3.14-21 I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.     A prayer from St Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus this week, in honour of his feast day, that we might “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”, which is, of course, logically impossible – but that’s Paul’s point. God’s love always goes beyond our logic and imagination. AND FINALLY...   Royal Mail responds to post box bonnets by yarn bomber https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19380827.royal-mail-responds-post-box-bonnets-yarn-bomber/   By David Morgan  DMorganguardianReporter   Royal Mail speaks out about all the yarn bombed post boxes as more appear in Warrington ROYAL Mail has responded to the post box toppers that have been seen all over Warrington. A mystery group of yarn bombers have been painstakingly creating crocheted 'bonnets' for post boxes with the latest ones spotted in Lymm.  Lymm Each bonnet is different and often carries some relevance to where it was placed. For example, the post box near the Lower Dam has ducks on it as that is where Lymm Duck Race is held. Stockton Heath And there is a Cuthbert topper near Aldi in Stockton Heath in reference to the the supermarket's caterpillar cake battle with M&S. They have spreading much needed cheer throughout Warrington.

Sunday Worship podcast links and other news: June 20

 

Dear friends The links to our audio podcasts, Zoom sessions etc are below, as usual.  Best wishes Revd Canon Anne Le Bas June 20 Trinity 3 Online Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet       Hymn words (both services) Evensong podcast  Evensong service sheet Don't forget that you can also listen to a shortened version of the podcast by phoning 01732 928061 -  if you know someone who doesn't "do" the internet, please pass on the number to them. It costs the same as any phone call to a Sevenoaks number. In Church 10 am Holy Communion with a hymn outside the church after the service. 4pm Outdoor Church in the churchyard. With two hymns, a Bible story, and prayers. Very relaxed and informal - come along and join us.  6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion    Numbers limited to 35 people. Facemasks required unless medically exempt. Services are said, with recorded music – there is no singing in church, but we do now have permission to sing outside, so there will be a congregational hymn at the end of the 10 am service outside.   During the week, in person and on Zoom - email for Zoom links ZOFFEE - informal chat on Zoom at 11.15 am Wednesday Zoom Church 11am - email for the link   Wednesday 5-5.30pm Children's Choir  in the church hall garden from 5-5.30pm Wednesday Zoom Adult choir 7.15pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link to join in with some simple hymn singing together. Friday - 9.30 Morning Prayer. A short, socially distanced service in church. Bible readings, psalms and prayers to start the day Anyone is welcome. You can see the service sheet here. Friday Group - 10.30-12 noon in the church hall garden Trinity 3 Job 38.1-11, Psalm 107,1-3,23-32, Mark 4,35-end “Some went down to the sea in ships” says today’s Psalm (107). The Israelites were not a great sea going nation, despite being on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean. They had a healthy fear of water, associating it with the chaos which God had subdued at the creation of the world. As the Old Testament reading from the book of Job says, it was God who “shut in the sea with doors… saying ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped.’” In the Gospel, though, there are those who have to “go down to the sea”, or rather the inland lake of Galilee, which is a large body of water subject to sudden storms. Some of the disciples, in particular Peter, Andrew, James and John, were experienced fishermen, but even for them, the storm they encounter on this particular night turns out to be more than they can handle. The story invites us to consider what we do when we feel all at sea, out of our depth and “not waving but drowning” as the poet Stevie Smith put it.   We can read this story as an allegory of our own, often storm-tossed, lives, but it is good also to remember those who face the dangers of seafaring today, not just storms but also the political, economic and environmental challenges which can make life at sea a miserable experience. If you would like to find out more, and do something to help them, some of the most vulnerable and easily exploited workers in the world, you might like to find out more about the work of the Mission to Seafarers, and the Fishermen’s Mission, two organisations who are at the forefront of supporting those who work at sea. If you are a knitter, you might like to know that one very practical thing you can do is to knit hats, scarves and gloves for seafarers who may have embarked in the tropics never having needed to wear more than shorts and t-shirts, but find themselves landing in the cold of a British winter at container ports like Felixstowe or South Shields…The woollies that people knit for them are handed out regularly, and worn with gratitude! https://www.missiontoseafarers.org/wp-content/uploads/MtS-Knitting-Patterns.pdf ALL AGE IDEAS   Lots of lovely watery ideas from Together at Home in their weekly sheet today, and an invitation to talk together about what frightens you, and what you do about it.  https://af51dd98-adab-4c43-ba03-c87e019551a5.filesusr.com/ugd/ebdd71_7b6fbfb5ff8243f3b6ccac191396332d.pdf   Today's Gospel story retold. 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.  CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWs We're starting to think about our plans as we come out of lockdown and restrictions are eased. We want to make sure we maintain some of the best of what we have been doing online and through things like this email newsletter, as we know that there are many who have connected with the church who might not be able to join us in the church building, but we need to balance this with what we want to resume doing face to face when we can, and the inevitable increase in workload that represents.  I plan to keep a weekly podcast worship going, starting from mid-August. It will be slightly shorter and available both online and via the telephone - and a simplified weekly email, probably just with the podcast link and news of what is going on in church. Those who receive the newsletter by post can continue to do so if they wish if they will not be in church.  I also plan to keep at least two Zoom Wednesday Church sessions per month in the calendar, alternating with Good Book Club and Lavender Fields Communion in person. There won't be any changes until  after July 19, and then I will be taking a couple of week's holiday, but I wanted to ask in advance for any thoughts you might have about what you have valued and what you would like to see continue of the things we have done during the pandemic, so that we can make sure we are putting our efforts where they are most needed from mid August onwards. Let me know what you think! CHURCH CLEANERS WANTED We could do with a couple more people to come onto the church cleaning rota. This would involve a commitment to cleaning the church with someone else, once a month at a time to suit you. If you think you can help, please contact Marion Gilchrist, marionjgilchrist@gmail.com, 07909 905975                                                      EMILY'S YORKSHIRE THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE She made it! Emily Durling understood the Yorkshire three peaks challenge last Saturday, and was still able to move enough to get to Outdoor Church on Sunday afternoon, looking remarkably fit and well rested. She sent the following message to all who supported her – and there is still time to donate online to the charities she was walking for, Tourettes Action (tourettes-action.org.uk) and Nova Respite care (novachildrensproject.co.uk) A huge thank you to everyone who supported me with my Yorkshire three peaks challenge. We ascended 5200 ft over 24 miles in less than 12 hours walking time. It was a memorable day and I am so grateful to all the wonderful people who have donated over £1,000 to make a different to the lives of young people with neurodevelopmental disabilities. It has given my NHS colleagues and I a real boost to see this level of care. The sponsorship page will close at the end of June https://gofund.me/cb59ae91    OUTDOOR CHURCH takes place (weather permitting) this afternoon at 4pm in the churchyard by the war memorial. As we are allowed to sing outside, we will include a couple of hymns in this short service (no more than 30 mins), which will be very informal, interactive and based around a Bible story. All ages are welcome.   MORNING PRAYER ON FRIDAYS Jess and I are saying Morning Prayer together on Friday mornings at 9.30 in church. If anyone would like to join us for this small service, you’d be very welcome. You don’t need to bring anything with you – the service sheet will be available when you get there, but if you want to have a look at the service (or pray it yourself at home when it is convenient for you) it is here.   DO YOU VALUE SEAL CHURCHYARD? It is a special place for many, for a variety of reasons. For some it is the last resting place of a loved one, for some it is simply a beautiful space full of wildlife, with lovely views to enjoy. We are hoping to recruit some people who might help us both to take care of the churchyard, litter picking and caring for it as an ecological haven, and to record memorials in some areas of the churchyard, mostly Victorian and Edwardian, for which we have never had a burial map. If you would like to help with either or both of these projects over the summer, please email me to let me know at sealpandp@gmail.com   The first CHURCHYARD MAPPING SESSION will be on Saturday July 3 from 10am – 12 noon. Anyone of any age will be welcome to come along and help us record who is buried where, and instructions will be given on the day to do this. Children and families are welcome.   FRIDAY GROUP - This group is meeting weekly on Fridays from  10.30 – 12 noon in the Church hall garden, or inside in socially distanced groups of six if necessary. Come along and join them for an informal natter in the sunshine (we hope…) HYMN OF THE WEEK  Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? In honour of the Gospel story, set in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, I thought we should hear the rousing hymn, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?” today. Written by Priscilla Owens (1829–1907) a day and Sunday school teacher from the port town of Baltimore, Maryland, it has become a favourite in seafaring communities. Owens was of Scottish and Welsh descent and was a member of the Methodist church. She wrote many hymns and songs for her pupils, but this is the only one which is still regularly sung today. It was set to a hymn by William James Kirkpatrick, a publisher and compiler of hymn collections, and a fellow Methodist.  (He also wrote the tune for “Away in a Manger”) The hymn was adopted as the official hymn  of the Boys Brigade, founded in 1883. This was long before the Scouts were formed and was part of the inspiration for Baden-Powell’s movement. The Poole branch of the Boys Brigade were among those who took part in his first experimental camp on Brownsea Island, which gave birth to the Scouting movement. The Boys Brigade has the motto,”Sure and Steadfast" and uses the symbol of an anchor. Both the hymn and the Boys Brigade draw on a verse from the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews (6.19) which says “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…” The passage encourages us to trust in God’s promise of his eternal love and welcome.   It’s a hymn which asks to be sung with gusto, and often is! Its words are profound, comforting and expansive in their vision, however. It invites us to think about what or who we place our trust in, and whether we are anchored in something which can hold us strongly enough through the storms which beset us all.  1 Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, when the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain, will your anchor drift, or firm remain? Refrain: We have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll; fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love! 2 Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear, when the breakers roar and the reef is near? While the surges rage, and the wild winds blow, shall the angry waves then your bark o'erflow? [Refrain] 3 Will your anchor hold in the floods of death, when the waters cold chill your latest breath? On the rising tide you can never fail, while your anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain] 4 Will your eyes behold through the morning light the city of gold and the harbour bright? Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore, when life's storms are past for evermore? [Refrain] What has helped you to get through this difficult last year or so, or other times in your life?

PRAYER OF THE WEEK    Prayer of St Richard of Chichester   Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ For all the benefits thou hast given me, For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother, May I know thee more clearly Love thee more dearly, Follow thee more nearly. Amen   Many people will know some version of this prayer, or often just the last three lines, in the form “Day by day, dear Lord of thee three things I pray. To know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, day by day.” It was set to music as part of the musical Godspell in the 1960s, and had been sung as a hymn from the 1930s when it was included in a Hymn Book called Songs of Praise, which was often used in schools. The prayer is attributed to St Richard of Chichester (1197 – 1253), Bishop of Chichester, whose feast day was last Wednesday. Richard was born in Droitwich to a gentry family, but he was orphaned as a child. When he was old enough a marriage was arranged for him, but he chose to become a priest instead, and encouraged his older brother to marry his intended wife (whose feelings on the matter don’t seem to have been recorded…) and take his inheritance too. His career in the Church was  far from straightforward. After a time as a priest in Canterbury Diocese, as vicar of Deal and Charing, he was eventually elected as Bishop of Chichester, but King Henry III wanted another candidate, in defiance of the Pope’s wishes and declared that no one in his new Diocese should house or feed him. He was taken in by the Vicar of Tarring, now part of Worthing, who was an old friend, and eventually King Henry had to give way. He was a great supporter of the clergy in his Diocese, but expected high standards of behaviour from them and challenged corruption and idleness wherever he found it. He never ate meat, wore a hair shirt, and was also renowned for visiting his Diocese on foot, rather than horseback. He also had passion for cultivating figs… He eventually died in Dover, while on a preaching tour to encourage support for one of the Crusades. His internal organs were buried in the Maison Dieu in Dover, but the rest of his body was taken back to his Cathedral in Chichester, where a shrine was established at his grave site. The shrine was destroyed at the time of the Reformation - Henry VIII did not want to encourage devotion to a saint who had stood up to another king, particularly a namesake of his – but despite this he was, and is, a popular saint, especially in Sussex, whose patron saint he is. His shrine was restored in the twentieth century, and a relic of his body, which had been kept safe elsewhere, was returned to the cathedral in 1990.   But back to the prayer, because all is not as it might seem. In fact, the original prayer, written down on his deathbed in Latin, was rather different from the “Day by Day” setting that we know. A literal translation of it runs: Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You for all the blessings You have given me, and for all the sufferings and shame You have endured for me, on which account that pitiable cry of sorrow was Thine: ” Behold and see, if there was any sorrow like unto My sorrow!” ” You know, Lord, how willing I should be to bear insult, and pain, and death for You; therefore have mercy on me, for to You, I commend my spirit.” Amen   Where is the memorable little triplet of “dearly, clearly, nearly” we expect? Where is the “Day by Day”? Alas, it seems they were additions by an anonymous author at the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Ironically, the most famous part of the prayer wasn’t Richard’s at all, and we will probably never know who added it. Perhaps it’s good to be reminded, though, that every time we pray a traditional prayer, however ancient it is, we should be bringing something new to it, our own experiences, our own thoughts. Prayer is a living thing, not just words on a page!   Here’s a version of the prayer, set by L.J White. https://youtu.be/LBBFZIytfiU And the version from Godspell, sung by Shirley Bassey https://youtu.be/lXSx9NUfmsI AND FINALLY... Continuing the maritime theme of this newsletter, the G7 summit in Cornwall was full of serious business, but one reporter discovered that being in a seaside resort brought challenges she hadn’t anticipated. Here's the report from Cornwall Live... See the moment here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1404151219527073800 ...and the report from Cornwall Live here.  Brilliant moment CNN news anchor is interrupted by Cornish singers Luckily Hala Gorani took the unexpected performance in good spirit   An international news anchor had to think on her feet after her broadcast link to Israel was interrupted - by a group of Cornish singers. Hala Gorani from CNN was linked to a colleague in Jerusalem, Israel who was reporting the crucial no confidence vote in Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Ms Gorani was presenting the bulletin from the G7 Summit at the Royal Yacht Club in Falmouth where, unknown to her, Cornish singers The Oggymen were performing a surprise concert on a floating vessel metres from the media centre. The Oggymen’s concert was to raise awareness about child poverty in Cornwall. In the hilarious clips shared by Ms Gorani, you can hear The Oggymen over her as she attempts to speak to the correspondent in Israel. Luckily, Ms Gorani saw the funny side. She said: “Apologies there’s an a capella group, a wonderfully harmonious group of a capella singers behind me so apologies to our viewers if there’s a few audio issues.” She later shared the clips on Twitter with the caption: “When you’re anchoring the Israeli Knesset confidence vote and a traditional a capella sea shanty singing barge floats past your location.” https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/brilliant-moment-cnn-news-anchor-5528095

Sunday Worship podcast links and other news: June 13

 

Dear friends The links to our audio podcasts, Zoom sessions etc are below, as usual.  Best wishes Revd Canon Anne Le Bas June 13 Trinity 2 Online Morning Worship podcast   Morning service sheet       Hymn words (both services) Evensong podcast  Evensong service sheet Don't forget that you can also listen to a shortened version of the podcast by phoning 01732 928061 -  if you know someone who doesn't "do" the internet, please pass on the number to them. It costs the same as any phone call to a Sevenoaks number. In Church 10 am Holy Communion with a hymn outside the church after the service. 4pm Outdoor Church in the churchyard. With two hymns, a Bible story, and prayers. Very relaxed and informal - come along and join us.  6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion    Numbers limited to 35 people. Facemasks required unless medically exempt. Services are said, with recorded music – there is no singing in church, but we do now have permission to sing outside, so there will be a congregational hymn at the end of the 10 am service outside.   During the week, in person and on Zoom - email for Zoom links ZOFFEE - informal chat at 11.15 am Monday 11am Good Book Club Bible discussion in the Vicarage Garden Wednesday Zoom Church 11am - email for the link   Wednesday 5-5.30pm Children's Choir  in the church hall garden from this Wednesday from 5-5.30pm Wednesday Zoom Adult choir 7.15pm contact philiplebas@gmail.com for the link to join in with some simple hymn singing together. Friday - 9.30 Morning Prayer. A short, socially distanced service in church. Bible readings, psalms and prayers to start the day Anyone is welcome. You can see the service sheet here. Friday Group - 10.30-12 noon in the church hall garden Trinity 2 Ezekiel 17.22-end, Psalm 92. 1-4,11-14, Mark 4.26-34   Kevin Bright is preaching today, so I don’t want to steal his thunder or anticipate what he might explore with us. I couldn’t resist including this image which I found online though. Today’s Gospel reading includes the famous parable of the mustard seed, in which Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. It may be small, but when it is sown and germinates and grows, it becomes a tree which gives shelter to all the birds of the air. We’re invited to join in with God’s work, even if it is only by doing something tiny. It might make all the difference!   ALL AGE IDEAS Jesus tells a parable in today's Gospel reading, a story that helps us to think about our lives and about God. He talks about a mustard seed which is very small, but grows into a plant that gives shelter to all the birds of the air. Children from Seal School will know this story well. It is a story that gives a "theme" to the Christian character of the school, a school where everyone is welcome and cherished for who they are.  There's a lovely book by Mary Joslin called "The Tale of the Heaven Tree" which develops the idea that from very small beginnings we can change the world. Highly recommended!  Have you ever grown anything from a seed? Why not have a go? You can sow cress, or dried peas and beans, apple, orange or lemon pips, or even grass seed - as the grass ripens in the coming  weeks you may be able to gather some and sow that. What does it feel like to wait and watch for the seed to start to grow? Can you really believe that a plant could come from a tiny thing that looks so dead? Today's Gospel story retold. 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.  CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWs OUTDOOR CHURCH will resume TODAY Sunday June 13 at 4pm in the churchyard by the war memorial. As we are allowed to sing outside, we will include a couple of hymns in this short service (no more than 30 mins), which will be very informal, interactive and based around a Bible story. All ages are welcome.   GOOD BOOK CLUB IS BACK Our monthly Good Book Club, which looks at a story from the Bible, will be back for two outdoor sessions, weather permitting, tomorrow morning (Jun14) in the vicarage garden at 11 am, and then on Monday July 12. We will then take a break in August and, hopefully, resume our normal pattern of meeting on the first Wednesday of the month from September. We will be looking at Ezekiel 36.22-37.14, a passage about restoration and recovery, which seems apt for these times. You don’t need any special knowledge to come along. Everyone’s thoughts are relevant and welcome (and there’s no exam!)  at these very informal sessions.   MORNING PRAYER ON FRIDAYS Jess and I are saying Morning Prayer together on Friday mornings at 9.30 in church. If anyone would like to join us for this small service, you’d be very welcome. You don’t need to bring anything with you – the service sheet will be available when you get there, but if you want to have a look at the service (or pray it yourself at home when it is convenient for you) it is here.   DO YOU VALUE SEAL CHURCHYARD? It is a special place for many, for a variety of reasons. For some it is the last resting place of a loved one, for some it is simply a beautiful space full of wildlife, with lovely views to enjoy. We are hoping to recruit some people who might help us both to take care of the churchyard, litter picking and caring for it as an ecological haven, and to record memorials in some areas of the churchyard, mostly Victorian and Edwardian, for which we have never had a burial map. If you would like to help with either or both of these projects over the summer, please email me to let me know at sealpandp@gmail.com   The first churchyard mapping session will be on Saturday July 3 from 10am – 12 noon. Anyone of any age will be welcome to come along and help us record who is buried where, and instructions will be given on the day to do this. Children and families are welcome. THE CHILDREN’S CHOIR will meet again in person this Wednesday from 5-5.30pm in the church hall garden. It was a great success last week!   FRIDAY GROUP - This group is meeting weekly on Fridays from  10.30 – 12 noon in the Church hall garden. Come along and join them for an informal natter in the sunshine (we hope…)  HYMN OF THE WEEK  Praise to the Lord, the Almighty The words and music for this popular hymn are by Joachim Neander 1650-1680, a German Reformed Church minister. The tune is probably based on a German folk tune. It would originally have been sung unaccompanied and in unison, in line with the Calvinist views of the Reformed Church. Neander loved exploring the landscape around him, and  was fond of conducting worship in the open air in a valley which eventually became named after him – the Neander Thal, literally the ‘Neander Valley’. In 1856 ancient human remains were found in a cave in the valley, a species now known as Neanderthal man! I am fairly confident that Neander is the only hymn writer who has a prehistoric species named after him.   The hymn was translated by Catherine Winkworth.1827-1878, who was described in her lifetime as "the most gifted translator of any foreign sacred lyrics into our tongue, after Dr. Neale and John Wesley”. She grew up in Manchester, where her father owned a silk mill, and she was taught by William Gaskell, a prominent Unitarian minister (and husband of Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell, whose novels are full of concern for the urban poor.) Subsequently she lived in Clifton, Bristol. As well as translating hymns she was well known for her work to better the education of girls and women.   Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near; praise him in glad adoration.   Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth, shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen how thy heart’s wishes have been granted in what he ordaineth?   Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, who with his love doth befriend thee.   Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him! All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him. Let the amen sound from his people again, gladly for aye we adore him.   •           What signs of the goodness of God have you seen this week?

PRAYER OF THE WEEK    The Collect for the second Sunday after Trinity Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth:  send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Today’s Collect – the special prayer for the day which ‘collects’ the themes of the day’s readings – is a slightly modernised version of one which Archbishop Cranmer wrote for the prayer book of 1549, which was eventually revised in 1662, and became the Book of Common Prayer. (It is set for the Sunday before Lent, Quinquagesima, in the BCP). It’s a collect which paints a very black and white picture of things. “All our doings without love are nothing worth”, “without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.”  Cranmer, a Protestant Reformer, believed that the Roman Catholic Church taught that if we tried hard enough, prayed more prayers and heard more masses, people could, in effect, save themselves. This was a very inaccurate caricature of Roman Catholic belief then and is even more so now, but he was reacting to the idea that forgiveness, in the shape of indulgences giving “time off” purgatory, could be purchased or earned. In fact, Protestants are just as good at trying to twist God’s arm, or thinking they can do so; they just do it in different ways – believe the right things, say the right prayers, act in the right ways etc.  But whatever the dubious prejudices that may have been floating around in Cranmer’s mind, he is right to point us back to our dependence on God’s grace, his unearned, undeserved gift to us. The beginning of the prayer deliberately echoes that famous passage of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13, which is so often read at weddings.  “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Living in the way God intends for us, the way which brings true peace and blessing, isn’t a matter of fancy words, special knowledge, or grand, miraculous gestures. It is about learning to accept the love which God pours into our hearts, and let that love flow out to others too.  AND FINALLY... 'Unseaworthy' Noah's Ark replica detained at Ipswich Waterfront   I am tempted just to leave the BBC headline there… But perhaps you want to know the rest of the story.   If so, it’s here.   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-57363750   “A giant replica of Noah's Ark has been deemed unseaworthy and detained where it is docked.   The 70m-long (230ft) ship, which has been transformed into a floating museum, arrived in Ipswich in 2019.   In response to a Freedom of Information request made by the East Anglian Daily Times, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the vessel was not safe to leave due to "deficiencies".   The BBC has approached the ship's owner for comment.   The ship was bought for €3m (£2.6m) and its owner, Dutch TV and theatre producer Aad Peters, previously said he wanted to create a "talking point" for people from all backgrounds. It houses wooden sculptures depicting Bible stories, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel as well as the nativity scene.   A spokesman for the MCA said: "The vessel, Noah's Ark will remain detained until all the deficiencies have been put right and a Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyor is invited back by the owners to check that they have been corrected."   He said he was unable to disclose specific details of the deficiencies.   TV and theatre producer Aad Peters previously said he wanted to create a "talking point" Mr Peters bought the ark in 2010 and a team of 50 expert craftsmen took five months to create the museum, thought to be about half the size of the ark described in the Bible.”