05 October 2025
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
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.
07 September 2025
Unfortunately, Fr Chris was not present due to Covid infection, so we had Fr Roger instead. We hope he gets better soon. The choir was back from their August break and sang Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus as the anthem.
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
“See, I have set before you today
life and prosperity, death and adversity.
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
that I am commanding you today,
by loving the Lord your God,
walking in his ways, and observing his commandments,
decrees, and ordinances,
then you shall live and become numerous,
and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land that you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you do not hear
but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,
I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish;
you shall not live long in the land
that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today
that I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses.
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,
loving the Lord your God,
obeying him, and holding fast to him,
for that means life to you and length of days,
so that you may live in the land
that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Philemon 1-21
A reading from the letter of Paul to Philemon.
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus,
and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon, our dear friend and coworker
to Apphia our sister,
to Archippus our fellow soldier,
and to the church in your house:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I mention you in my prayers,
I always thank my God
because I hear of your love for all the saints
and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.
I pray that the partnership of your faith
may become effective when you perceive all the good
that we share in Christ.
I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
For this reason,
though I am more than bold enough in Christ to command you to do the right thing,
yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—
and I, Paul, do this as an old man
and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus,
whose father I have become during my imprisonment.
Formerly he was useless to you,
but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
I am sending him,
that is, my own heart,
back to you.
I wanted to keep him with me
so that he might minister to me in your place
during my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I preferred to do nothing without your consent
in order that your good deed might be voluntary
and not something forced.
Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while,
so that you might have him back for the long term,
no longer as a slave but more than a slave,
a beloved brother—
especially to me but how much more to you,
both in the flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me your partner,
welcome him as you would welcome me.
If he has wronged you in any way
or owes you anything, charge that to me.
I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand:
I will repay it.
I say nothing about your owing me even your own self.
Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord!
Refresh my heart in Christ.
Confident of your obedience,
I am writing to you,
knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
Luke 14:25-33
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and said to them,
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
yes, and even life itself,
cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple.
For which of you,
intending to build a tower,
does not first sit down and estimate the cost,
to see whether he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish,
all who see it will begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
Or what king,
going out to wage war against another king,
will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand
to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
If he cannot, then while the other is still far away,
he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
So therefore, none of you can become my disciple
if you do not give up all your possessions.
31 August 2025
Jeremiah 2:4-13
A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob,
and all the families of the house of Israel.
Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things,
and became worthless themselves?
They did not say,
“Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?”
I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say,
“Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me; t
he prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord,
and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
Let mutual love continue.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Remember those who are in prison,
as though you were in prison with them;
those who are being tortured,
as though you yourselves were being tortured.
Let marriage be held in honour by all,
and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled;
for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
Keep your lives free from the love of money,
and be content with what you have;
for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?”
Remember your leaders,
those who spoke the word of God to you;
consider the outcome of their way of life,
and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Through him, then,
let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Do not neglect to do good
and to share what you have,
for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
On one occasion
when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees
to eat a meal on the sabbath,
they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour,
he told them a parable.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not sit down at the place of honour,
in case someone more distinguished than you
has been invited by your host;
and the host who invited both of you
may come and say to you,
‘Give this person your place,’
and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.
But when you are invited,
go and sit down at the lowest place,
so that when your host comes,
he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’;
then you will be honored
in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
He said also to the one who had invited him,
“When you give a luncheon or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or rich neighbors,
in case they may invite you in return,
and you would be repaid.
But when you give a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you,
for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
24 August 2025
Jeremiah 1:4-10
A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
The word of the Lord came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
Truly I do not know how to speak,
for I am only a boy.”
But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.”
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth;
and the Lord said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
Hebrews 12:18-29
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
You have not come to something that can be touched,
a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom,
and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet,
and a voice whose words made the hearers beg
that not another word be spoken to them.
(For they could not endure the order that was given,
“If even an animal touches the mountain,
it shall be stoned to death.”
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,
“I tremble with fear.”)
But you have come to Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,
and to God the judge of all,
and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood
that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking;
for if they did not escape
when they refused the one who warned them on earth,
how much less will we escape
if we reject the one who warns from heaven!
At that time his voice shook the earth;
but now he has promised,
“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.”
This phrase, “Yet once more,”
indicates the removal of what is shaken—
that is, created things—
so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us give thanks,
by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;
for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
Luke 13:10-17
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
And just then there appeared
a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.
She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said,
“Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
When he laid his hands on her,
immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
kept saying to the crowd,
“There are six days on which work ought to be done;
come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”
But the Lord answered him and said,
“You hypocrites!
Does not each of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his donkey from the manger,
and lead it away to give it water?
And ought not this woman,
a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years,
be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”
When he said this,
all his opponents were put to shame;
and the entire crowd
was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
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