Sunday Worship podcast link: July 2 : Patronal Festival

 

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 followed by Patronal Festival refreshments 6.30pm Evensong Next Sunday  10 am  All Age Worship and Baptism 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion This week:  Mon     2-3.15 Talking Village in Deniz' cafe Wed     10am Good Book Club Bible study in the Vicarage (Acts 15)              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

Patronal Festival: The Feast of St Peter and St Paul   Today we celebrate our Patron Saints, Peter and Paul. The custom of dedicating churches to particular saints is an ancient one. People thought of it as a way of drawing on the inspiration and support of "friends in high places", just as they might do in life ("It's not what you know, but who you know that counts") Today's sermon explores what it might mean to be part of "the communion of saints", and looks at the way Peter and Paul both needed the help of others.    Is there anyone you remember having "taken you under their wing", helping and supporting you in your journey through life? Who do you support and help?  Do you think it matters to get together with other Christians when you can? How might it enrich our spiritual lives to be part of a church community, either in the flesh or online?

All Age Ideas Today we celebrate St Peter and St Paul. Our church is named after them.  St Peter was a fisherman who followed Jesus and was one of his closest friends. When Jesus was arrested, though, Peter got scared and said he didn't know him. After Jesus died, Peter was very sad, but then Jesus rose from the dead, and although that was good news, I expect Peter felt even more guilty - he hadn't been a good friend at all. But in the story we hear today from the Bible, Jesus forgave Peter and called him to look after other Christians.  St Paul messed up even more than St Peter. At first he hated Christians. He thought that Jesus had been wrong in the things he said, and that others were wrong to follow him. He had Christians arrested and thrown into prison. But when he was on his way to a city called Damascus to seek out any Christians he could find, he saw a bright light , which blinded him, and heard the voice of Jesus from heaven. He couldn't understand it. If Jesus had been wrong, why was he in heaven with God? Paul was led into Damascus, where one of the Christians, Ananias, was told by God to go and pray for him to be healed. Ananias was very brave - he didn't know whether it might be a trap, and Paul might just be pretending - but he went anyway. Paul was healed, and became a Christian too, and went on to spread Jesus message far and wide, writing letters which we still have in the Bible.  St Peter and St Paul weren't superheroes. They were ordinary people who often got things wrong, but learned that God loved them and could use them anyway. Their stories can help us when we make a mess of things, reassuring us that God calls all sorts of people to be saints, people who can shine with the light of Jesus. He even calls us!  Who helps and supports you? Are there people outside your family who have made a real difference to your life? Have a look at the picture on the podcast, which shows St Peter and St Paul together. You could draw a picture of them, or of someone who has been special to you and helped you in some way. What does it feel like when you have made a mess or done something wrong? What do you do if that happens to you?

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS We will be celebrating our Patron saints with special refreshments after the 10am service this morning. If you are coming to church, do stay for cake and other nibbles!    SHARING COMMUNION AT SEAL CHURCH The results of the little survey I asked you to fill in about how you felt about drinking wine from a shared cup and going back to receiving communion at the Altar rail are in.  Wafers dipped in wine vs. the common cup Only 4 out of the 38 people who responded wanted to drink from a shared cup, with the rest preferring to continue to receive a wafer dipped in wine. Having discussed it with the PCC, we have decided to continue to give wafers dipped in wine as standard, but also to have a chalice of wine available for those who want it - we are working out how we will manage the distribution of this, and how people can make it clear if they do want to drink from the common cup. This will start in August. The altar rail vs the chancel steps About two thirds of those who responded wanted to go back to kneeling or standing at the altar rail, with the rest preferring to continue to receive at the chancel steps, so it was much more evenly distributed than the question of the common cup. Before the pandemic, we used to have a slightly simpler service of communion once a month, using the portable nave altar at the chancel steps and receiving there, so it seems sensible to reinstate that, and to distribute communion at the altar rail on the other Sundays. Again, this will start in August, with the portable altar at the chancel steps on the first Sunday of each month.  Whether the distribution is at the chancel steps or at the altar rail, if people need communion brought to them in their pews, that will be fine - just let me know this is what you want.  FABRIC AND MAINTENANCE TEAM We are forming a team to help us look after the fabric of the church (especially important as we currently have no churchwardens). Between them, the Fabric and Maintenance Team will: keep the Log Book and Terrier up to date. This records any work done on the church  prepare and present advice for the PCC and APCM about the state of the fabric of the church  liase with contractors etc for example to allow access to the church and check the quality of any work done, liaise with PCC with Diocesan Advisory Committee to discuss of work and check what faculties or permission might be needed.  seek quotes from contractors, plan work that needs doing, make sure bills are passed to Finance Team for payment There will be a need for someone to take on the role of coordinating the group, and reporting back to the PCC – this role could rotate among members. With a team of people, these tasks need not be overwhelming or too time-consuming. The team will need to have some PCC members on it, but it would be good if there were others who could help. You may be able to do some jobs, but not others, and that's fine too!  The team wouldn't necessarily have to meet in person on any regular basis, but would need to be able to communicate with each other via email or WhatsApp or something similar.  A few people have already volunteered to help with this, but we need some more, so if you can offer some time - working around your existing commitments - I would like to hear from you! The volunteer role description is here.  DO YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THE LOCAL FOODBANK? You may wish to use this link to see what foods are needed right now, and what there would appear to be a surplus of https://www.donation-genie.co.uk  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.