Sunday worship podcast and other news: Feb 5

 

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 10 am   Holy Communion 6.30pm Evensong Next Sunday   10 am  All Age Worship 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion This week: Mon      2-3.30 Talking Village at Deniz Cafe in the High Street Wed     10 am Zoom Church              No Children's choir today, or on Feb 15              7.15-8.15 pm Adult choir Fri         9.30am Morning Prayer in church              10.30-12.30 Friday Group in church hall

Third Sunday before Lent Today's sermon invites us to think about our attitudes to our faith and worship, what we think they are "for"? In the readings Isaiah speaks God's words to his people, fed up and frustrated by many years of living under the rule of the Babylonians, despite all their prayers and religious rituals. But Isaiah calls them to look at the whole of their lives, and the kind of fasting and worship God really wants.  Maarten van Heemskerck's picture of Isaiah, portrays him looking at the ruins of his society, as he holds a book, presumably of his prophecies, which promise that these ruins can be rebuilt, if people will cooperate with God's work.  In the Gospel reading, Jesus calls us to live as the salt and light that God has made us to be, making a difference in the places we find ourselves.  Why do you pray and/or worship, if you do? What do you think prayer is "for"? How do you think you are called to be salt and light in the situation you find yourself?

All Age Ideas Jesus talks about us being like salt and light in the world. Talk about salt, and the difference it makes. We shouldn't eat too much of it, but it is important as part of our diet, and a very small amount can make a big difference. You could make a salt picture, by making a pattern with glue on a dark coloured piece of paper, then sprinkling salt on the glue.  In Jesus' time, salt was made by evaporating (drying out) sea water, though it could also be dug up from the ground as rock salt. It was made in "salt pans" - shallow ponds where the water would dry out in the sun. The video below shows salt being made in the traditional way in the salt marshes of Guerande, in France. Philip and I often go on holiday near here! Salt was also made in this way around our coasts too, and places with names like "Seasalter", on the North Kent coast remind us of that.

Salt making the traditional way in France.

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS  LENT GROUPS This year’s Lent Course, “Do this in remembrance of me” will be exploring Holy Communion and what it means to us. There will be four online Zoom sessions on Monday evenings, and four sessions in the vicarage (or possibly the church hall ) on Thursday mornings. Ash Wednesday is on Feb 22, so they will start after this. There is a sign up sheet at the back of church, or you can email to book a place - sealpandp@gmail.com.  if you would like to come. Places will be limited, so please sign up as soon as possible. SEAL CHURCH CLOCK Are you missing the chiming of Seal Church clock? So are we! The mechanism, which is over 150 years old, is badly in need of repair. It will cost around £6000 to do the job, which will involve dismantling the clock, getting it down the tower stairs and taking it to the clock repairers workshop, then doing the whole operation in reverse when it is complete. If you can help with raising the money for this you can donate here https://givealittle.co/campaigns/08d6ce0f-43b4-4d7a-aee7-b94c269b0555, or by cheque payable to Friends of St Peter and St Paul Church" or in cash delivered to The Vicarage, Church Street, Seal, TN15 0AR We're hoping the repairs can be started as soon as possible! SEAL VILLAGE FUND: CALLING ALL ORGANISATIONS/CLUBS AND SOCIETIES THAT OPERATE IN SEAL VILLAGE Do you need some extra funding for a specific project or need? Then the Seal Village Fund may be able to help you! Successful fund raising events have resulted in excess funds being available to distribute to the groups that provide such wonderful opportunities and support in our friendly village. The Seal Village Fund will consider bids from any village organisation/club/society that benefits those that live, work or play in the village. The Rules of Engagement:- 1 - Only bids up to £250 please 2 - Submit a written proposal providing details of the project/initiative, how it will benefit the village, and the amount of funding being requested. Proposals need to be received by Friday February 24th 2023. 3 - You must be prepared to come and present your case at the Seal Village Fund AGM which will take place at the Know Your Neighbours Meet and Greet session on Saturday March 11th 2023 in Seal Village Hall at 11,30. 4 - All successful bids will be notified shortly after the AGM. Any questions and written proposals to be sent to Becky Watson (Seal Village Fund Secretary) at beckywatson@btinternet.com SAVE THE DATE - SAT MARCH 11TH 11.30-1.00 SEAL VILLAGE HALL  KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS MEET AND GREET PLUS SEAL VILLAGE FUND AGM. Come along, have a coffee, cake and a chat with members of local village organisations and find out what happens in our village. Also, let's have your ideas for what you would like to see in the future. NEWS FROM SEAL LIBRARY FROM JILLIAN Do you have any 50th Anniversary banners or decorations that might help Seal Library to decorate te building for it's 50th Anniversary on Friday February 17th? Please either drop it in to Jill in the library, or leave it with me and I will deliver. The preparations for the library celebrations are well underway. There will be cake and nibbles in the morning. We have prizes for Frances’ 70’S Quiz and I think we may have some volunteers in period clothes! I have put together a small exhibition on the library opening, books which came out then and a section on life in the 1970’s including crafts from the period. In the afternoon we have 2 sessions from the Kent Wildlife lady for children over 5 on British Birds and for the younger children I have some activities based on characters from the time (Wombles and Clangers!!). CORONATION CELEBRATIONS We have been discussing the logistics of having one large village celebration, and in light of the lack of people keen to organise such an event, we were thinking, maybe some of you might prefer to organise a more localised celebration just for your immediate neighbours - a proper old fashioned street party - just for your street or direct neighbourhood. Of course, this will be more difficult for some roads than others, but there is always a solution to be found when getting together with others ! We will all have memories, however young or old, of royal celebrations, and it would be great to pass this legacy on to the very youngest of us. If you feel you want to do this, and may need some support, please let us know and we will help you to facilitate this in any way we can. For instance, if you would like to get together with others who are also planning something similar, we could have a get together to discuss how we can all move the plans forward and support each other. Again, we will have some funds to share, thanks to our 100 Club revenue, but, undoubtedly, more will be needed.   If you are planning, or already running some activity in Seal you would like to share with us, please contact marionjgilchrist@gmail.com, and we will do our best to spread the word. Also, please remember to tell any new neighbours about Know Your Neighbours, so that we can add them to our circulation list, or they can use the FaceBook page - search for Know Your Neighbours in Seal.