Sunday Worship podcast link and other news: July 17

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 - July 17 Trinity 5 10 am  Holy Communion 3-4.30pm Messy Church 6.30pm Evensong During the week Monday             2-3.30pm Talking Village in Deniz Cafe in the High Street                                                  Friday                10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Sunday 24th July  (no worship podcast or newsletter) 10 am  Morning Worship (not communion) 6.30pm Evensong Sunday 31st July (no worship podcast or newsletter) 10.00 am Holy Communion (led by Revd Harriet Johnson) 6.30pm Evensong Trinity 5 Genesis 18.1-10a, Luke 10.38-end Today's readings give two different pictures of hospitality. Abraham welcomes three mysterious strangers who turn up as he is resting at the entrance to his tent. Martha invites Jesus into her home. Both work hard to provide for their guests, but while Abraham spends time with his visitors, Martha is not only too busy to sit down with Jesus, but angry that her sister Mary does. Today's sermon explores why that might be, and what Martha's reluctance to spend time listening to Jesus might mean. A clue - it isn't just to do with how many carrots there are still to peel... ALL AGE IDEAS In today's Gospel story, Martha finds it hard simply to sit and listen to Jesus and is cross with her sister who does.  When you have visitors, what do you think is the most important thing to do? What makes you feel welcome when you visit someone else? There are lots of ways of spending time with God, welcoming him into our lives. Prayer is one - just talking and listening to him. We can also see God's hand in his creation, so you could spend some time out of doors, exploring the world around you. The Bible also says we can find him in one another, and that when we care for others we care for him. What ideas do you have for stilling and calming yourself when you feel flustered?  We will be exploring ways of doing this at Messy Church today - we will be under the shade of the trees in the vicarage garden.  CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS There will be no worship podcasts or newsletters on July 24 and 31 as I will be on holiday. Kevin and Jess will be leading non-eucharistic services in church on July 24, and the Revd Harriet Johnson will preach and preside at Holy Communion on July 31. Many thanks in advance to them.  If you would like to join in with online worship from the Church of England during this time, you can find it here.  Online worship from the C of E is also available by phone on 0800 804 8044 MESSY CHURCH takes place this Sunday, from 3 -4.30pm, and will be in the vicarage garden (in the shade of the trees!) on this occasion. Come and join us! It is for all ages, and is a very informal mix of craft, activity, worship and tea. There won't be a Messy Church session in August, so the next one after this will be on Sept 17. COVID is still with us! As I am very aware, having just had it, Covid is still around, and there has been a surge in cases locally recently. While we believe that the measures we are taking to guard against transmission at Sunday services are adequate, we would like to remind people that it is really important not to come to church if you think you may have covid, even if you are on a rota for something! Mask wearing isn’t mandatory any more, but please feel free to wear one if you would like to to protect yourself and others. I will continue to wear a mask to distribute communion. TALKING VILLAGE Monday afternoons between 2pm and 3.30 in Deniz's on the High Street. Buy a cup of tea or coffee and join us on the Talking Village table, for a chat and to make new friends, or catch up with old ones! Saturdays - On the first Saturday of each month in Seal Library from 10.15-11.15am. Join us for a coffee whilst out browsing for your library books. At both these venues, there will always be two hosts to welcome you, and we look forward to meeting with you and getting to know each other better.   SEW TO PRINT Sew to Print - Summer Holiday Workshops in Seal for children 8years + 10.30 - 2pm at Seal Church Hall on:- 19th July and 5th August - Foraging and making botanical dyes 3rd August - Bookbind a sketchbook and make natural ink 4th August - Decorate a t shirt/bag or make a scrunchy. Places are limited so to book contact via Instagram or at sew2print@gmail.com Sophia - BA Hons Textiles, Montessori Teaching Diploma, Forest School Leader.OTHER 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.

Sunday worship podcast link and other news: July 10

 

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 - July 10 Trinity 4 10 am  All Age Worship 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion During the week Monday             2-3.30pm Talking Village in Deniz Cafe in the High Street Wednesday     10 am Zoom Church                                                    Friday                9.30am Morning Prayer in Church                            10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Saturday            1pm: Baptism  Next Sunday 10 am  Holy Communion 3-4.30pm Messy Church 6.30pm Evensong Trinity 4 Luke 10.25-37 Today's Gospel reading is the famous story of the Good Samaritan. The idea of a "good" Samaritan would have been a surprise to Jesus' mainly Jewish audience. Samaritans and Jewish people didn't get on at all. They were closely related, ethnically and religiously, but that only seemed to make the differences more prominent and significant to them. The idea of being helped by a Samaritan would not only have seemed unlikely, but may have been rather unpalatable to many people. But if you are in a desperate situation, then what matters is that you are helped, not who helps you.  Jesus story challenges us on many fronts, but in today's sermon, I suggest that there may be more to it than a simple, moral lesson... Van Gogh's picture (right)  shows the injured man being lifted onto the horse by the Samaritan, while in the background the shadowy figures of the Priest and the Levite are seen walking away into the distance. It is clearly an effort to lift the man up, and Van Gogh emphasizes the physical awkwardness of this act of compassion. This is no easy task, but the Samaritan is determined to help.  ALL AGE IDEAS The story of the Good Samaritan asks us to think about who we feel closest to. It is easy to love, and be loved by, people we like, who are like us - our family and friends, for example - but what about those who are different? What is it like to be them? What might they need from us, and what might we need from them? Who helps you? You could make a card to say thank you to them, or do something special for them. How do you feel about people helping you? Are there times when it is difficult to accept help?

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS   Many thanks to all who helped at our Strawberry Tea last week - it was a great success, and raised £379. Special thanks to Rosemary Pattullo for organising this event. MESSY CHURCH takes place next Sunday, from 3 -4.30pm, and will be in the vicarage garden on this occasion. Come and join us! It is for all ages, and is a very informal mix of craft, activity, worship and tea. COVID is still with us! As I am very aware, having just had it, Covid is still around, and there has been a surge in cases locally recently. While we believe that the measures we are taking to guard against transmission at Sunday services are adequate, we would like to remind people that it is really important not to come to church if you think you may have covid, even if you are on a rota for something! Mask wearing isn’t mandatory any more, but please feel free to wear one if you would like to to protect yourself and others. I will continue to wear a mask to distribute communion. TALKING VILLAGE Monday afternoons between 2pm and 3.30 in Deniz's on the High Street. Buy a cup of tea or coffee and join us on the Talking Village table, for a chat and to make new friends, or catch up with old ones! Saturdays - On the first Saturday of each month in Seal Library from 10.15-11.15am. Join us for a coffee whilst out browsing for your library books. At both these venues, there will always be two hosts to welcome you, and we look forward to meeting with you and getting to know each other better.   SEW TO PRINT Sew to Print - Summer Holiday Workshops in Seal for children 8years + 10.30 - 2pm at Seal Church Hall on:- 19th July and 5th August - Foraging and making botanical dyes 3rd August - Bookbind a sketchbook and make natural ink 4th August - Decorate a t shirt/bag or make a scrunchy. Places are limited so to book contact via Instagram or at sew2print@gmail.com Sophia - BA Hons Textiles, Montessori Teaching Diploma, Forest School Leader.OTHER 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.

Sunday Worship podcast link and other news: July 3

 

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 - July 3 Patronal Festival: St Peter & St Paul 10 am  Holy Communion  2pm      Baptism: Connie Stupple 4-6pm   Strawberry Tea in the Church hall 6.30pm Evensong During the week Monday             2-3.30pm Talking Village in Deniz Cafe in the High Street Wednesday      Good Book Club in the Church hall                            5-5.30pm Children's Choir                            7.15-8.15 pm Choir                           Friday                9.30am Morning Prayer in Church                            10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Next Sunday 10 am   All Age Worship 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion The feast of St Peter and St Paul Philippians 1.1-13, Matthew 16.13-19 What do we give thanks for in one another and in ourselves? How do we see God at work in us? As we celebrate our Patron Saints, Peter and Paul, we think about the way they answered these questions in their own lives.   The picture on the right, from the workshop of Dirk Bouts (d. 1475) shows an image that could never have been seen in real life. Mary sits with the infant Jesus on her lap, while St Peter, on the left, and St Paul on the right, kneel beside her. We can tell which saint is which, because St Peter's keys lie on the floor in front of him, and St Paul's sword rests on the wall behind him. It either represents his death by beheading, or the sword of the Spirit - the word of God - which he wrote about.  St Paul holds out a carnation to Jesus, which is a symbol of the crucifixion. In reality, Jesus was probably the same sort of age as Peter and Paul, so they would have never seen him as a baby, and Paul probably never saw him in the flesh anyway! The picture was designed to draw people into prayer, however, imagining themselves with these great saints of the church drawing close to Jesus and Mary.  ALL AGE IDEAS St Paul wrote the words we hear in our first reading today when he was in prison and thinking about the Christians in Philippi who he was writing to. "I thank my God every time I remember you..."  Think of the people you know - your friends and family. What do you give thanks for when you think of them? Write their names and the things you think of when you think of them.  How could you let them know what they mean to you? Perhaps you could write a letter or phone or text them to tell them what you especially give thanks for about them.   I wonder what other people give thanks for when they think of you? What do you hope it might be? What do you think God feels about you? CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS   PATRONAL FESTIVAL STRAWBERRY TEA Come and join us for our Patronal Festival Strawberry Tea on July 3 from 4-6pm in the church hall and vicarage garden.  Tickets are: adults £8, children £4, family ticket £20 - pay at the door on the day FIRST COMMUNION. We will be welcoming some of the children in our church community for their first communion during the 10 am service this morning (and some who can't make it today at future services). Please pray for them. COVID is still with us! As I am very aware, having just had it, Covid is still around, and there has been a surge in cases locally recently. While we believe that the measures we are taking to guard against transmission at Sunday services are adequate, we would like to remind people that it is really important not to come to church if you think you may have covid, even if you are on a rota for something! Mask wearing isn’t mandatory any more, but please feel free to wear one if you would like to to protect yourself and others. I will continue to wear a mask to distribute communion. TALKING VILLAGE Monday afternoons between 2pm and 3.30 in Deniz's on the High Street. Buy a cup of tea or coffee and join us on the Talking Village table, for a chat and to make new friends, or catch up with old ones! Saturdays - On the first Saturday of each month in Seal Library from 10.15-11.15am. Join us for a coffee whilst out browsing for your library books. At both these venues, there will always be two hosts to welcome you, and we look forward to meeting with you and getting to know each other better.   SEW TO PRINT Sew to Print - Summer Holiday Workshops in Seal for children 8years + 10.30 - 2pm at Seal Church Hall on:- 19th July and 5th August - Foraging and making botanical dyes 3rd August - Bookbind a sketchbook and make natural ink 4th August - Decorate a t shirt/bag or make a scrunchy. Places are limited so to book contact via Instagram or at sew2print@gmail.com Sophia - BA Hons Textiles, Montessori Teaching Diploma, Forest School Leader.OTHER 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.