Father Roger was still int he driving seat today as we celebrated the birth of St John the Baptist.  Father Roger told us that until recently, his day was celebrated in the week, not on Sunday, but we now recognise the importance of John the Baptist. His birthday is also Midsummer day, one of the legal quarter days, the others being Michaelmas, Christmas and Lady Day.  Jesus' birth is celebrated because he grew up to be a special person, also so did John. Zachariah his father was a descendant of Aaron and so he was a born to be a priest. He worked int he temple.  He and his wife Elizabeth were elderly and childless.  Israel had been occupied for centuries, waiting for the Messiah.  They had not even had a good prophet for centuries. Zachariah was then allowed to burn incense in the temple, a once in a lifetime occurrence and whilst he was fulfilling this, Gabriel comes to him and tells him that he will have a son, a prophet who will precede the Messiah. He is struck dumb by the news.  When the pregnant Elizabeth meets the pregnant Mary, the unborn John greets the unborn Jesus. Prophets had called Jews to the right path, they had a sense of calling and duty, although this was not a job wanted or sort for.  Elijah had to appear again to herald the coming of the Messiah.  John spoke out against Herod and the excesses of him and his family and got beheaded for it. John, because of his heritage, could have had a comfortable life working in the temple, but instead he listened to God and lived in the desert, an uncomfortable and tough life.  But John was more than a prophet.  He brought baptism to the Jews, not a christian baptism, but he rallied people to behave themselves, repent before judgement and prepare for the new times coming.  John's baptism was a new thing for the Jews. In ritual bathing, you immersed yourself, but John immersed other people. Anything we do for God is not forced, it is our choice. God's spirit works in his church, but it not confined to Christian people, for anyone of any faith or no faith can try to take humanity forward in love.




The Sunday school have also been busy. Below is their work on Pentecost.



Today they were learning about the fishing boats being buffeted on the sea of Galilee and made their own boats which they sailed in a tank of water.