Worship podcast and other news from Seal Church: Jan 9

 

Dear friends Join us for worship online, on the phone or in the building today.  with best wishes Anne Le Bas Online Worship podcast       Order of service You can also access this podcast by phoning 01732 928061 In the church building today - Jan 9 10 am   All Age Worship 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion During the week Wednesday 10am Zoom Church (email for the link)                       5- 5.30 pm Children's Choir in the church hall                                         (To be confirmed - please check on the day)            Friday              9.30 am Morning Prayer in Church                             10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Sunday Jan 16 10 am   Holy Communion 6.30pm  Evensong Baptism of Christ / Plough Sunday Today is the feast of the Baptism of Christ, but also Plough Sunday, the day before Plough Monday when agricultural labourers traditionally went back to work after the Christmas break. It was a day when ploughs were blessed, and prayers said for daily work and the coming year. Today's sermon explores the link between these two feasts.  ALL AGE IDEA  Plough Sunday was a day for praying for the crops that would grow in the fields in the coming year. You could sow some cress seeds - I will be giving some out in church today, and will leave spare packets in the children's chapel in church if you'd like to pick some up. You can sow the seed in compost, or on damp kitchen towel, put it in a warm place, and keep it watered, until the shoots are tall enough to cut and eat. Alternatively, you could go for a walk and try to find things that are already starting to grow - spring bulbs pushing through the ground, or winter flowering shrubs. Find something that symbolises your daily life during the week - something that reminds you of school or work or whatever you do from Monday to Friday. That's the equivalent of the ploughs that were traditionally blessed on Plough Sunday - ask God to bless it as a reminder that he is with you in what you do day by day.  STORY OF THE WEEK     Matthew 2.13-32   The Gospel reading for today ends with the story of the Magi returning home "by another way". But Matthew’s story of the birth of Christ doesn’t end there. Read the rest of the story and think about how it changes your impression of the childhood of Jesus. What resonances does this story have for us today, in a world where many are refugees as  the Holy Family are. CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS We urgently need a new church Treasurer. Can you help? More details from the vicar. CHOIR PRACTICE - There will be no adult choir practices until Jan 19 at the earliest. We anticipate that CHILDREN's CHOIR will begin again on Jan 12, but please check to make sure it is on if you are planning on coming. We will be watching the Covid statistics closely, and making a judgement based on how safe it feels to do these activities. REFRESHMENTS - There will be no tea and coffee after the 10 am services during January, to reduce the risk of transmitting Covid.  COMMUNITY NEWS - For more community news from Marion Gilchrist, check out the Know Your Neighbours blog. https://knowyourneighbours.blogspot.com/ or email marionjgilchrist@gmail.com to ask to be put on her mailing list. Know Your Neighbours Zoom meeting - Thursday Jan 13 at 8pm. KYN will be holding a meeting on Zoom this Thursday to talk about various community initiatives, including what plans we might like to make to celebrate HM the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June. The more people's ideas we have the better, so do join in. Email Marionjgilchrist@gmail.com for the Zoom link. If you don't do Zoom, but want to be involved, please let Marion know any ideas you have.  For more community news from Marion Gilchrist, check out the Know Your Neighbours blog. https://knowyourneighbours.blogspot.com/