Sunday Worship podcast and other news from Seal: March 3 2024

 

Dear Friends Listen to today's worship podcast by clicking on the picture above.  Anne Le Bas Worship Online Worship podcast - Click on picture above Order of service You can also access this podcast by phoning 01732 928061 DONATE TO SEAL CHURCH HERE - all contributions gratefully received to keep the church thriving! In the church building today 10 am Holy Communion 6.30pm Evensong This week:  Wed     4.30-5pm Children's Choir             7.15 pm Adult choir practice Thurs   10-11.30am Lent Group in the church hall Fri        9 am Morning prayer in church             10.30am Friday Group in the Church Hall Next Sunday 10 am All Age Worship for Mothering Sunday 6.30pm Breathing Space Meditative Communion Lent 3 Today's readings invite us to consider the values by which the communities we belong to live. Our "households" may be our families, friends, workplaces, church, nation or the world, but we all have to share space with others.  In the Old Testament Reading, God gives the community he is forming - the household of Israel - ten commandments to live by, but they aren't just an arbitrary list. There is a pattern within them which hints at a fundamental commandment to let God be God. In the Gospel, Jesus causes chaos in the Temple when he clears the traders from its courts, but he isn't just addressing a temporary local issue of shared space, he is, like Moses, calling his nation to consider who they are and what their values should be. The picture (right) by Cecco del Caravaggio, a follower of the painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, is full of the energy, and the upheaval of this confrontation.  In the sermon I ask what your "household rules" are. What are the values which bind the "households" of which you are a part together? How have you come to those values? All Age Ideas In today's Old Testament story, God gives Moses ten commandments, rules to live by.  Rules aren't meant to let some people boss other people around. They are meant to make life fair and to help us look after one another.  What rules does your family or school have? Do you think they are fair? Do you think it is a good idea to have rules? You could play "Simon says" - everyone has to do what you say, as long as they say "Simon says" first.  How does it feel to give the orders, or to have to do what someone else says? CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS FROM SEAL Next Sunday is MOTHERING SUNDAY. We will be celebrating all those who care for us at our 10 am All Age Worship, which will be followed by a cake sale - contributions of cakes will be very welcome! BARBARA ARNOLD'S MEMORIAL SERVICE will take place on Tuesday March 26th at 12.30 in Seal Church, following a private family cremation. After the service in church there will be a reception in the Restoration Pub, off Sevenoaks High Street (formerly the Blackboy). Everyone is welcome both to the service and the reception afterwards.  COFFEE ROTA Clare Jenne would like to pass over the organisation of the coffee rota to someone else - the current rota runs until June. Would anyone be able to take this on? It also involves making sure that the stocks of coffee, tea, sugar and squash are adequate. CONFIRMATION I am planning to organise some confirmation preparation with a view to taking candidates to a Confirmation service at St Giles Farnborough on Sunday June 16 at 4pm. I would need to meet with candidates a number of times for some preparation – in a group if possible, but otherwise one to one. If you would like to be confirmed, please let me know as soon as possible. This will be the last opportunity to be prepared and presented for confirmation before I retire. FUN QUIZ NIGHT FOR ST PETER AND ST PAUL CHURCH SEAL SATURDAY MARCH 23RD 6.45 for 7pm SUPPER AT SEAL CHURCH HALL. Please join us for a fun evening of quizzing, eating and drinking, not to mention laughing! The tickets include a light supper of baked potatoes with various fillings ,salads followed by apple pie. We ask you to bring your own drinks and glasses, along with yourselves and - most importantly - your sense of fun! Why not get up a team of 6 people and enjoy a cheap evening out. If you don't come in a team, don't worry - you can easily join another group! The tickets are a bargain at just £ 10  per adult and £5 for children in full time education, and can be booked through Ann Frow 07939 431183    or by emailingl marionjgilchrist@gmail.com SEAL KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS MEET AND GREET PLUS SEAL VILLAGE FUND AGM On Saturday March 16th, there will be an opportunity, to find out just what goes on in our village. We try to have an annual session, where new residents, or anybody who wishes to know more about village organisations, can come along, have a chat, coffee and cake, and meet those who run the local groups. We will be in the Village Hall between 11.30 and 1pm, along with information for you to glean. Do, please join us. SVF AGM Around 20 minutes of this session, is taken up with the Seal Village Fund AGM, where you can see our accounts, and where your money has been spent, and how this year's funds are being allocated.  If you belong to a local, non profit making organisation, have a specific project for this year, and need a small grant towards this, please make your bids before March 1st. Please contact Becky Watson, the SVF Secretary, for more information. If you have received funding oin excess of £400 over the past 2 years, from this source, other organisations will be prioritised.  REGULAR VILLAGE ACTIVITIES 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 - First Saturday of each month in Seal Library from 10.15am-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. FRIDAY GROUP Meets each Friday morning in the Church Hall between 10.30 and 12.30   Coffee, chat, by all means, bring your crafting with you but mostly, enjoy the company. SEAL TIDDLERS  In Seal Church Hall £2 per session pre schoolers and parents/Carers Monday mornings 9.30-11.30 tea drinks snacks for children art activities singing. Term time only. SEAL OVER 60S As from March, the cost of the over 60s meetings will be increased to £5 per head. (It has to be said though, that this is still excellent value for a great tea, and often very interesting speakers or entertainment.)