26 October 2025
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
It was lovely to see Fr Chris back leading our worship. A lovely sunny day and an excellent sermon reminding us not to judge.
The children were busy preparing shields of the twelve Apostles ready for worship next Sunday, All Saints.
Next Saturday is our service for All Souls, a liturgical setting of Faure's Requiem. The service is at 6pm. If you have someone you would like remembered and prayed for at this service there is a list at the back of the church where you can add their name. If you would like to sing with the choir, there is a rehearsal at 3.30pm with tea and cake at 5pm before the service at 6pm. If you do have a copy of the work, please bring it, we do have a few spares.
Ecclesiasticus 35:12-17
A reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
and as generously as you can afford.
For the Lord is the one who repays,
and he will repay you sevenfold.
Do not offer him a bribe,
for he will not accept it;
and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice;
for the Lord is the judge,
and with him there is no partiality.
He will not show partiality to the poor;
but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.
He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,
or the widow when she pours out her complaint.
2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
A reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy.
As for me,
I am already being poured out as a libation,
and the time of my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
From now on
there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge,
will give to me on that day,
and not only to me
but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
At my first defence no one came to my support,
but all deserted me.
May it not be counted against them!
But the Lord stood by me
and gave me strength,
so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack
and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 18:9-14
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus also told this parable to some
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous
and regarded others with contempt:
‘Two men went up to the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus,
“God, I thank you that I am not like other people:
thieves, rogues, adulterers,
or even like this tax-collector.
I fast twice a week;
I give a tenth of all my income.”
But the tax-collector, standing far off,
would not even look up to heaven,
but was beating his breast and saying,
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
I tell you,
this man went down to his home justified rather than the other;
for all who exalt themselves will be humbled,
but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
19 October 2025
Genesis 32:22-31
A reading from the book of Genesis.
At night Jacob got up and took his two wives,
his two maids, and his eleven children,
and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
He took them and sent them across the stream,
and likewise everything that he had.
Jacob was left alone;
and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob,
he struck him on the hip socket;
and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Then he said,
‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’
But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’
So he said to him,
‘What is your name?’
And he said, ‘Jacob.’
Then the man said,
‘You shall no longer be called Jacob,
but Israel, for you have striven with God
and with humans, and have prevailed.’
Then Jacob asked him,
‘Please tell me your name.’
But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’
And there he blessed him.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying,
‘For I have seen God face to face,
and yet my life is preserved.’
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel,
limping because of his hip.
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
A reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy.
Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it,
and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings
that are able to instruct you for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient,
equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who is to judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom,
I solemnly urge you:
proclaim the message;
be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable;
convince, rebuke, and encourage,
with the utmost patience in teaching.
For the time is coming
when people will not put up with sound doctrine,
but having itching ears,
they will accumulate for themselves teachers
to suit their own desires,
and will turn away from listening to the truth
and wander away to myths.
As for you, always be sober,
endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist,
carry out your ministry fully.
Luke 18:1-8
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always
and not to lose heart.
He said,
‘In a certain city there was a judge
who neither feared God nor had respect for people.
In that city there was a widow
who kept coming to him and saying,
“Grant me justice against my opponent.”
For a while he refused;
but later he said to himself,
“Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will grant her justice,
so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’
And the Lord said,
‘Listen to what the unjust judge says.
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones
who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long in helping them?
I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.
And yet, when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on earth?’
aGk he
12 October 2025
Fr Tom, our new Arch Deacon, took our service today. This children made little wreaths and wrote onto them the things that they were grateful for.
A reading from the second book of Kings.
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram,
was a great man and in high favour with his master,
because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram.
The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.
Now the Arameans on one of their raids
had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel,
and she served Naaman’s wife.
She said to her mistress,
‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!
He would cure him of his leprosy.’
When the king of Israel read the letter,
he tore his clothes and said,
‘Am I God, to give death or life,
that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?
Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’
But when Elisha the man of God
heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes,
he sent a message to the king,
‘Why have you torn your clothes?
Let him come to me,
that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’
So Naaman came with his horses and chariots,
and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house.
Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying,
‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times,
and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’
But Naaman became angry and went away, saying,
‘I thought that for me he would surely come out,
and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God,
and would wave his hand over the spot,
and cure the leprosy!
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’
He turned and went away in a rage.
But his servants approached and said to him,
‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult,
would you not have done it?
How much more, when all he said to you was,
“Wash, and be clean”?’
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan,
according to the word of the man of God;
his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy,
and he was clean.
Then he returned to the man of God,
he and all his company;
he came and stood before him and said,
‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth
except in Israel.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
A reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy.
Remember Jesus Christ,
raised from the dead, a descendant of David—
that is my gospel,
for which I suffer hardship,
even to the point of being chained like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect,
so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
with eternal glory.
The saying is sure:
If we have died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him;
if we deny him,
he will also deny us;
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
Remind them of this,
and warn them before God
that they are to avoid wrangling over words,
which does no good
but only ruins those who are listening.
Do your best to present yourself to God
as one approved by him,
a worker who has no need to be ashamed,
rightly explaining the word of truth.
Luke 17:11-19
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
On the way to Jerusalem
Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.
As he entered a village,
ten lepers approached him.
Keeping their distance,
they called out, saying,
‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’
When he saw them, he said to them,
‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’
And as they went, they were made clean.
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed,
turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.
And he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked,
‘Were not ten made clean?
But the other nine, where are they?
Was none of them found to return
and give praise to God except this foreigner?’
Then he said to the Samaritan,
‘Get up and go on your way;
your faith has made you well.’
05 October 2025
A really beautiful day for our Harvest celebration taken by Fr Roger. Please remember Fr Chris in your prayers for a quick recovery. As usual, the ladies who do the flowers put on a stunning display and the church looked wonderful. The choir sang "Thou Visiteth The Earth" ad their anthem.
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you
as an inheritance to possess,
and you possess it, and settle in it,
you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground,
which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you,
and you shall put it in a basket
and go to the place
that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
You shall go to the priest
who is in office at that time, and say to him,
‘Today I declare to the Lord your God
that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’
When the priest takes the basket from your hand
and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God,
you shall make this response before the Lord your God:
‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor;
he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien,
few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.
When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us,
by imposing hard labour on us,
we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors;
the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction,
our toil, and our oppression.
The Lord brought us out of Egypt
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;
and he brought us into this place and gave us this land,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground
that you, O Lord, have given me.’
You shall set it down before the Lord your God
and bow down before the Lord your God.
Then you, together with the Levites
and the aliens who reside among you,
shall celebrate with all the bounty
that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Philippians 4:4-9
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians.
Rejoiceain the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved,
whatever is true, whatever is honourable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think aboutd these things.
Keep on doing the things that you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me,
and the God of peace will be with you.
John 6:25-35
A reading from the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
When they found Jesus on the other side of the sea,
the crowd said to him,
‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus answered them,
‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me,
not because you saw signs,
but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Do not work for the food that perishes,
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’
Then they said to Jesus,
‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’
Jesus answered them,
‘This is the work of God,
that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
So they said to him,
‘What sign are you going to give us then,
so that we may see it and believe you?
What work are you performing?
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness;
as it is written,
“He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’
Then Jesus said to them,
‘Very truly, I tell you,
it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,
but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God
is that which comes down
from heaven and gives life to the world.’
They said to him,
‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
Jesus said to them,
‘I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
28 September 2025
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
A reading from the book of the prophet Amos.
Thus says the Lord,, the God of hosts:
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory
and lounge on their couches
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall,
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David improvise on instruments of music,
who drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
1 Timothy 6:6-19
A reading from the first letter of Paul to Timothy.
There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment,
for we brought nothing into the world,
so that we can take nothing out of it,
but if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with these.
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation
and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires
that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,
and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many pains.
But as for you, man of God, shun all this;
pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance, gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith;
take hold of the eternal life to which you were called
and for which you made the good confession
in the presence of many witnesses.
In the presence of God, who gives life to all things,
and of Christ Jesus,
who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame
until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which he will bring about at the right time—
he who is the blessed and only Sovereign,
the King of kings and Lord of lords.
It is he alone who has immortality
and dwells in unapproachable light,
whom no one has ever seen or can see;
to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
As for those who in the present age are rich,
command them not to be haughty
or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches
but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
They are to do good,
to be rich in good works,
generous, and ready to share,
thus storing up for themselves
the treasure of a good foundation for the future,
so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
Luke 16:19-31
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus told this parable
to those among the Pharisees who loved money.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen
and who feasted sumptuously every day.
And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who longed to satisfy his hunger
with what fell from the rich man’s table;
even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
The poor man died
and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried.
In Hades, where he was being tormented,
he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away
with Lazarus by his side.
He called out,
‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue,
for I am in agony in these flames.’
But Abraham said,
‘Child, remember that during your lifetime
you received your good things
and Lazarus in like manner evil things,
but now he is comforted here,
and you are in agony.
Besides all this,
between you and us a great chasm has been fixed,
so that those who might want to pass from here to you
cannot do so,
and no one can cross from there to us.’
The man who had been rich said,
‘Then father, I beg you, to send him to my father’s house—
for I have five brothers—
that he may warn them,
so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’
Abraham replied,
‘They have Moses and the prophets;
they should listen to them.’
He said,
‘No, father Abraham,
but if someone goes to them from the dead,
they will repent.’
Abraham said to him,
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be convinced
even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
21 September 2025
A beautiful sunny day greeted us for Matins in church and Crafty Communion in the parish hall.
Fr Roger preached today about Matthew, apostle and evangelist. He also explined that Matthew the tax collector turned disciple would not be the same as the writer of the gospel according to Matthew. He also explained many similarities in the gospel between Moses and Jesus, but with the emphasis on Jesus being just a little bit better.
There is no said Eucharist on Thursday as Fr Chris is on holiday until 1st October. Mary's Place will go ahead as normal. All welcome for tea, coffee, cake and most of all, a jolly good chat!
The first weekend of October is our Harvest celebration with things happening over the weekend.
A reading from the book of Proverbs.
Happy are those who find wisdom
and those who get understanding,
for her income is better than silver
and her revenue better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called happy.
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry,
we do not lose heart.
We have renounced the shameful things that one hides,
we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word,
but by the open statement of the truth
we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves;
we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord
and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake.
For it is the God who said,
“Light will shine out of darkness,”
who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 9:9-13
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mathhew.
As Jesus was walking along,
he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
And as he sat at dinner in the house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
But when he heard this, he said,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means,
‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
14 September 2025
A grey day outside but not inside as we celebrated our Patronal Festival. The children stayed with us rather than go to do their stuff in the Parish rooms so the homily was a question and answer affair aimed at the children first then the adults. We learnt about the meaning of a Patronal Festival, Pilgrimage and Shrine, all about a journey to bring us closer to God.
Father Chris told us about the modern 'Pilgrims' who visited our church on their way to the recently resurrected 'Pilgrim's Trail' , between the site of the original Cathedral and Abbey at Selsey and the current Chichester Cathedral. The trail has been created by the Cathedral as it celebrates its 950th anniversary, and is in partnership with the British Pilgrimage Trust. It’s approximately 14.5 km long and is known as the Chichester 950 Way.
Join us at 5.30pm for a Festal Evensong with nibbles and drinks afterwards.
A reading from the book of the prophet Micah.
Now you are walled around with a wall;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel
upon the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure,
for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
Galatians 4:4-7
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.
When the fullness of time had come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under the law,
in order to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as children.
And because you are children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
“Abba! Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a child,
and if a child then also an heir through God.
Luke 1:26-38
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David.
The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said,
“Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.”
But she was much perplexed by his words
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favour with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
The angel said to her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be holy;
he will be called Son of God.
And now,
your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son,
and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Then Mary said,
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
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