Sunday Worship podcast link and other news from Seal Church: April 30

 

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  Holy Communion  3-6pm  Coronation Fun in the churchyard (in church if wet), beginning with a short service at 3pm 6.30pm Evensong This week:  Wed     10 am Good Book Club in the vicarage ( Luke 24 & Acts 1)             4.30-5pm Children's Choir              7.15-8.15 Adult choir Fri        9.30 am Morning Prayer in Church             10.30 - 12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Easter 4 Kevin is preaching today, exploring the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and what it means to listen to his voice and follow him. The Good Shepherd is one of the earliest images used by Christians of Jesus. It features in art on early Christian tombs, like that of Gallia Placidia in Ravenna, or the 3rd century image below it from the catacomb of St Callixtus in Rome. One of the reasons it was popular is because it was an image that was already familiar in ancient art, called the Kriophorus, of the Greek God Hermes - see the statue below, which is easily to assume is of Jesus, but is actually a "Kriophorus" from about 450 years before Christ. It is alleged that Christians felt they could use the image of a shepherd as a coded message without drawing too much attention to themselves in a time of persecution, as it could always be explained away as a "Kriophorus".  Whether this is true or not, the image of shepherds and shepherding clearly reminded people of the care and protection of God.  God as Shepherd is a familiar image from the Hebrew Bible too. Psalm 23 - the Lord is my Shepherd - was, and still is, one of the most popular and vivid psalms in the Bible, speaking of God's love for us throughout the journey of our lives.   Most of us will not have direct experience of shepherding, but to those in the ancient world this would have been very familiar, a normal part of everyday life. As Jesus' words suggest, sheep were  often kept overnight in communal sheepfolds, to be called out by their own shepherd in the morning and led out to pasture. They weren't kept in neat, fenced off fields, as we now often see them, but roamed far and wide over large areas. Knowing the voice of their shepherd was vital if they weren't to get lost.  We are surrounded by voices - family, friends, the media etc - trying to influence us to do this or that, go this way or that way.  How do you decide what is right and wrong, and which way you should go in life?  What does it mean to you to "know the voice of Jesus"? All Age Ideas In today's Gospel story, Jesus says that he is like a shepherd whose sheep know his voice and know they can trust him.  Who do you listen to and trust? Are there people you think you shouldn't listen to or follow? How do you decide what are good and bad things to do? Play a game of "Simon says". Choose someone to be "Simon". They say "Simon says..." and then tell you to do something - "Simon says touch your toes" for example - and everyone does the action, but only if they start by saying "Simon says". If they leave that out, then you don't do what they say. If you do, you are out! Jesus says that his sheep know his voice. Whose voices do you recognise straight away without even seeing them? You could record the voices of people in your family and see how quickly you can recognise who they are by the sound of their voices. What happens if they try to disguise their voices? Can you still tell who they are? CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS TALKING VILLAGE - There's no Talking Village session on Monday, or next Monday, because the Bank Holiday  means that Deniz Cafe is closed. There will be a session in the Library on Saturday morning from 10.15 -11.15 however, so do pop along for a chat then. WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN OUR PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL? The PCC meets six times a year to discuss a wide range of matters to do with church activities, services, fabric and finance. Members must be prepared to have a DBS check, and do safeguarding training. They must not have been disqualified from being charity trustees. They need to be confirmed, and have been on the church electoral roll for at least six months. Elections will take place at our APCM on May 21, but if you would like to find out more in advance, please let me know. There is a copy of the Role Description on the noticeboard. We are also looking for people (on the PCC or not) to join our Fabric and Maintenance team, to help organise repairs and routine maintenance etc. If you could help, let me know! ELECTORAL ROLL - The last date to sign up for this, if you are not already on it , is today.  If you are not on our Electoral Roll, and would like to be, please fill in a form which you can find at the back of the church. Being on the church Electoral Roll qualifies you to vote at the Annual Meeting, but also means that, if you don’t live in the parish, you could be buried in the churchyard, if you want to. Electoral roll forms can be found at the back of church or downloaded here. https://www.parishresources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Application-for-Enrolment-Electoral-Roll.docx Completed forms should be returned to the Electoral Roll officer, Wivine Turner, c/o The Vicarage, Church Street, Seal, TN15 0AR DAVID WILLIAMS' TALK ON SEAL VILLAGE DURING THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 2ND David delivered a very interesting talk at Seal Library's Tea Set following the Platinum Jubilee last year. There was also, a fantastic display of photographs, depicting Seal village betweeen 1953 and 2022.  For those who didn't make it, you have a second bite at the cherry, as David is repeating this event on  FRIDAY MAY 26TH AT 7.30PM AT ST EDITH'S SMALL HALL FOR THE KEMSING HERITAGE CENTRE. Do go along and enjoy -  Just turn up - it'll be well worth a visit! CALLING ALL KNITTERS AND CROCHETERS AGAIN! So, now we have seen what some of the village talent can achieve, by way of our magnificent pillar box topper, Chris Rampton is making a request - well in advance - for anybody to come forward to make as many poppies as they possibly can please. She says the more the merrier, as we will be needing an awful lot of this this November, so if you get started now, we will be in with a chance of receiving sufficient. I believe these will be used on the pillar box, and to decorate our church for Remembrance Sunday too. Chris says, you can use any pattern you can find - always good to have some diversity - but abundance is the keyword. Sounds like this will be another terrific show.  Have you spotted the bug hotels and feeders now dotted here and there around the churchyard? Many thanks to the Eco Church team for organising these, and to those who have donated or made them.  There are also a couple of photos below of last Saturday's Eco Church walk on the hills above Kemsing. Blue bells and cowslips were around in abundance and a good time was had by all.