13 October 2024
10:00 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
A reading from the book of the prophet Amos
Seek the Lord and live,
or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,
and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.
Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,
and bring righteousness to the ground!
They hate the one who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and take from them levies of grain,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your transgressions,
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
and push aside the needy in the gate.
Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time;
for it is an evil time.
Seek good and not evil, that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be with you, just as you have said.
Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Hebrews 4:12-16
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
Indeed, the word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing until it divides soul from spirit,
joints from marrow;
it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And before him no creature is hidden,
but all are naked and laid bare
to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
Since, then, we have a great high priest
who has passed hrough the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are,
yet without sin.
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness,
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.
Mark 10:17-31
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
As he was setting out on a journey,
a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him,
‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments:
“You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;
You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’
He said to Jesus,
‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said,
‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own,
and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come, follow me.’
When he heard this,
he was shocked and went away grieving,
for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!’
And the disciples were perplexed at these words.
But Jesus said to them again,
‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
They were greatly astounded and said to one another,
‘Then who can be saved?’
Jesus looked at them and said,
‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God;
for God all things are possible.’
Peter began to say to him,
‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’
Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you,
there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or fields,
for my sake and for the sake of the good news,
who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—
houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields,
but with persecutions—
and in the age to come eternal life.
But many who are first will be last,
and the last will be first.’
06 October 2024
Joel 2:21-27
A reading from the book of the prophet Joel
Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!
Do not fear, you animals of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
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.
Matthew 6:25-33
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to his disciples:
Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air;
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And can any of you by worrying
add a single hour to your span of life?
And why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you,
even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you—
you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry,
saying, “What will we eat?”
or “What will we drink?”
or “What will we wear?”
For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things;
and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
29 September 2024
This was the fifth sunday in September, so we had a Parish Eucharist, celebrated by Father Chris. he children are already preparing for Autumn as they made Prayer pumpkins in Sunday school and bought them into church to show us!
The choir sand Jesu Joy of Mans Desitring as the anthem.
There was coffee after the service.
next week is Harvest, with A Celebratory Eucharist, and Choral Evensong on Sunday.
COme and see the Church decorated for harvest and enjoy food, wine and live music on Saturday Evening!
We are also pleased to announce we have been given the Bronze award as an Eco CHurch by A Rocha UK as acknowledgement for our care of God's Earth
A reading from the book of numbers.
The rabble among them had a strong craving;
and the Israelites also wept again, and said,
‘If only we had meat to eat!
We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing,
the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
but now our strength is dried up,
and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families,
all at the entrances of their tents.
Then the Lord became very angry,
and Moses was displeased.
So Moses said to the Lord,
‘Why have you treated your servant so badly?
Why have I not found favour in your sight,
that you lay the burden of all this people on me?
Did I conceive all this people?
Did I give birth to them,
that you should say to me,
“Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child”,
to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors?
Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?
For they come weeping to me and say,
“Give us meat to eat!”
I am not able to carry all this people alone,
for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you are going to treat me,
put me to death at once—
if I have found favour in your sight—
and do not let me see my misery.’
So the Lord said to Moses,
‘Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel,
whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them;
bring them to the tent of meeting,
and have them take their place there with you.
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord;
and he gathered seventy elders of the people,
and placed them all around the tent.
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him,
and took some of the spirit that was on him
and put it on the seventy elders;
and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.
But they did not do so again.
Two men remained in the camp,
one named Eldad, and the other named Medad,
and the spirit rested on them;
they were among those registered,
but they had not gone out to the tent,
and so they prophesied in the camp.
And a young man ran and told Moses,
‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’
And Joshua son of Nun,
the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said,
‘My lord Moses, stop them!’
But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake?
Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets,
and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’
James 5:13-20
A reading from the letter of James.
Are any among you suffering?
They should pray.
Are any cheerful?
They should sing songs of praise.
Are any among you sick?
They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them,
anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick,
and the Lord will raise them up;
and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to one another,
and pray for one another,
so that you may be healed.
The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a human being like us,
and he prayed fervently that it might not rain,
and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
Then he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters,
if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another,
you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering
will save the sinner’s soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins.
Mark 9:38-50
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
After Jesus had finished teaching his disciples,
John said to him,
‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,
and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’
But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him;
for no one who does a deed of power in my name
will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me.
Whoever is not against us is for us.
For truly I tell you,
whoever gives you a cup of water to drink
because you bear the name of Christ
will by no means lose the reward.
‘If any of you put a stumbling-block
before one of these little ones who believe in me,
it would be better for you
if a great millstone were hung around your neck
and you were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off;
it is better for you to enter life maimed
than to have two hands and to go to hell,
to the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off;
it is better for you to enter life lame
than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.,
And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out;
it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye
than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,
where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
‘For everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good;
but if salt has lost its saltiness,
how can you season it?
Have salt in yourselves,
and be at peace with one another.’
22 September 2024
Some pictures from last weeks Ride and Stride
Wisdom of Solomon 1:16 - 2:1, 12-22
A reading from the book of Wisdom.
The ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death;
considering him a friend, they pined away
and made a covenant with him,
because they are fit to belong to his company.
For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
‘Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
‘Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.’
Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a
A reading from the letter of James.
Who is wise and understanding among you?
Show by your good life
that your works are done with gentleness
born of wisdom.
But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts,
do not be boastful and false to the truth.
Such wisdom does not come down from above,
but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
For where there is envy and selfish ambition,
there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.
But the wisdom from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who make peace.
Those conflicts and disputes among you,
where do they come from?
Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?
You want something and do not have it;
so you commit murder.
And you covet something and cannot obtain it;
so you engage in disputes and conflicts.
You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God,
and he will draw near to you.
Mark 9:38-50
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
After leaving the mountain
jsus and his disciples went on from there
and passed through Galilee.
He did not want anyone to know it;
for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,
‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands,
and they will kill him,
and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’
But they did not understand what he was saying
and were afraid to ask him.
Then they came to Capernaum;
and when he was in the house he asked them,
‘What were you arguing about on the way?’
But they were silent,
for on the way they had argued with one another
about who was the greatest.
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them,
‘Whoever wants to be first
must be last of all and servant of all.’
Then he took a little child and put it among them;
and taking it in his arms, he said to them,
‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me
welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
15 September 2024
We have been busy again this weekend with the Ride and Stride for Sussex Historical Churches on Saturday. Some of or families rode together around some of the churches on the Peninsula and one of our members visiting 7 churches in Chichester on foot/bus!
After the ride and stride there was a barbecue at church and some brave souls camped in the field next to the vicarage. On Sunday morning Father Chris held a eucharist out on the field.
Simultaneously in church there was a Sung Matins with Father Roger, The choir sang the Benedictus in C by C V Stanford. For details please take a look at the Music blog!
There was coffee after the service.
Harvest is on the horizon, and there will be an opportunity to see the church decorated to celebrate Harvest on Saturday 5th of October at 6pm when there will be canapes and drinks and live music in addition to the wonderful displays of flowers, fruit and produce. Please sign up in church so we have numbers for catering!
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Isaiah 50:4-9a
A readiing from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The servant of the Lord said:
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
James 3:1-12
A reading from the letter of James.
Not many of you should become teachers,
my brothers and sisters,
for you know that we who teach
will be judged with greater strictness.
For all of us make many mistakes.
Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect,
able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.
If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,
we guide their whole bodies.
Or look at ships:
though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them,
yet they are guided by a very small rudder
wherever the will of the pilot directs.
So also the tongue is a small member,
yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!
And the tongue is a fire.
The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity;
it stains the whole body,
sets on fire the cycle of nature,
and is itself set on fire by hell.
For every species of beast and bird,
of reptile and sea creature,
can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,
but no one can tame the tongue—
a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless the Lord and Father,
and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
My brothers and sisters,
this ought not to be so.
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening
both fresh and brackish water?
Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters,
yield olives, or a grapevine figs?
No more can salt water yield fresh.
Mark 8:27-38
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the way he asked his disciples,
‘Who do people say that I am?’
And they answered him,
‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;
and still others, one of the prophets.’
Jesus asked them,
‘But who do you say that I am?’
Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’
And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them
that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering,
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and after three days rise again.
He said all this quite openly.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But turning and looking at his disciples,
he rebuked Peter and said,
‘Get behind me, Satan!
For you are setting your mind not on divine things
but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
‘If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake,
and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
For what will it profit them to gain the whole world
and forfeit their life?
Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
Those who are ashamed of me
and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed
when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
08 September 2024
We celebrated our Patronal Festival today with some lovely Hymns about Saint Mary, with the choir singing the Ave Maria by Faure and with a Baptism! all at our 10 am Eucharist, a truly joyful service!
Revelation 11:19- 12:6
A reading from the book of Revelation.
God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple;
and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,
peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
A great portent appeared in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs,
in the agony of giving birth.
Then another portent appeared in heaven:
a great red dragon, with seven heads
and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven
and threw them to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child,
so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.
And she gave birth to a son, a male child,
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne;
and the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she has a place prepared by God,
so that there she can be nourished for
one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
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 1:46-55
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
01 September 2024
We have had a busy weekend! On Saturday there was a wedding, beautiful flowers for a lovely occasion!
Father Chris was the celebrant and in his sermon he talked to us and especially to the younger people, about our Lord's words regarding washing our hands! we had to answer quite a few questions!
After the service there was Coffee.
In the afternoon, on the Primary School playing field, we had our Football tournament, with a visiting team from St George's Church in Chichester. There was some very good football, and in general the goals went St Georges- a lot, St Mary's -not so many. So a re match is necessary.
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Finally later in the afternoon we had sung evensong. The choir sany the Canticles in the setting byC V Stanford in C and the anthem 'Teach me O Lord' (Psalm 119) setting by Attwood.
This lovely evening service was followed by Tea and Cake in the rooms.
A full and very satisfactory day.
A reading from the book of Solomon.
The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, there he stands behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.'
James 1:17-27
A reading from the letter of James.
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift,
is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
In fulfilment of his own purpose
he gave us birth by the word of truth,
so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved:
let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger;
for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness
and rank growth of wickedness,
and welcome with meekness the implanted word
that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
For if any are hearers of the word and not doers,
they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
for they look at themselves and,
on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty,
and persevere,
being not hearers who forget
but doers who act—
they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious,
and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts,
their religion is worthless.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
When the Pharisees and some of the scribes
who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
they noticed that some of his disciples
were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.
(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews,
do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,
thus observing the tradition of the elders;
and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it;
and there are also many other traditions that they observe,
the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)
So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him,
‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders,
but eat with defiled hands?’
He said to them,
‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites,
as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’
Then he called the crowd again and said to them,
‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand:
there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile,
but the things that come out are what defile.’
For it is from within, from the human heart,
that evil intentions come:
fornication, theft, murder,
adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.
All these evil things come from within,
and they defile a person.’
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