This morning our 10 am service was a Parish Eucharist and the celebrant was Father Roger. The Gospel reading today was one of the more difficult passages where Our Lord talks of dividing families and bringing a sword to the world. In his sermon Father Roger talked about Radical Extremism, pointing out that this description has become associated with acts of terror, where as in its true meaning, Radical implies returning to the roots of the issue and Extreme can be either extremely bad or extremely good! In this context Christ himself was a radical extremist!! Certainly to the First century Jewish people, who had lost sight of the spirit of the 10 commandments, encircling their lives with over 600 small rules and regulations based on the teachings of Moses,His simple instructions Love the Lord thy God and your neighbour were both radical and extreme. Father Roger also spoke about the roots of Islam and that we should be clear that Islam in its true practice is a peaceful religion, Jihad is a holy war conducted internally against the temptations to stray from the path, and that acts of terror are not part of the religion, as shown by the refusal of Imams to say burial prayers for the perpetrators of these acts. Father Roger gave us much to think about in this sermon.

The Choir sang 'God so Loved the World' Setting by J Stainer as the anthem. There was coffee after the service.

The Fete is rapidly approaching! Saturday 29th of July! The fete committee would be glad of help on the preceeding days to prepare the site and afterwards to clear, If you can help please contact the Church wardens.

There is a PCC meeting on Thursday evening, preceded by a said Eucharist at 6:30.

Our Patriotic Flowers reflect Armed Forces weekend

No photos this week as Dr Lesley was not in church today and I had not brought my camera. Many apologies.

Father Roger preached as Father Stephen is still away.

Being Matins we had Psalm 100 "O be joyful in the Lord" which was repeated in the choir anthem as they sang Stanford's "Jubilate Deo" from his Morning, Communion and Evening Service in B flat, Op 10.

Father Roger's sermon reflected the second reading from Matthew outlining 3 things the church requires, Mission, Staff and Clear Priorities. We should be saddened that people are lost and have lost direction. Christian faith was a less alien concept in centuries past.  Few now have insight into the meaning of Christmas and Easter.  They now lack confidence in God to bring good from evil, life from death. The Christian teaching of children now has to compete with myriad other activities. Christians should 1) proclaim the good news, 2) teach, baptise and nurture, 3)give loving service, 4) challenge unjust structures in society and 5) safeguard creation and the life of the earth.

We are all sinners, but sin has different meaning to different people depending n where they are in society.  Tolerance needs scrutiny.  Life is not easy and we are called to value all, but not to tolerate everything. Sin is about a tarnished creation, not a list of naughty deeds, the less than perfect, but we may not be to blame for it.  It is more about what we do with the hand we have been dealt.

This morning our 10 o'clock Eucharist was celebrated by Father Roger, as Father Stephen is on leave. It is Trinity Sunday, and so we were thinking about the mystery of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In his sermon Father Roger talked about the image of the three concentric rings, he gave us each an example of the image on paper, two rings together makes a chain, but the three rings together intertwine in a more complex way, a good analogy of the Trinity! The Choir sang a setting of 'Holy holy holy' by Tchaikovsky  as the anthem. There was coffee after the service.

Do get your tickets for the Chichester Voices concert on the 2nd of July, they are available from Janet Harland. Proceeds to the RNLI.

This morning, the first Sunday in June, was our Family Service. We celebrated Pentecost, but also took the opportunity to have our Rogation Walk. As the boundaries of our Parish stretch from Selsey up to Donnington and over to Birdham  we modify our walk to the environs of the Church! We started in the Church, with our notices,and an opening hymn and prayer. We then walked, first to the barn in Church Farm Lane, then to the new extension of the grave yard, which is adjacent to Mr Spiby's land, where some calves came to see us. We then walked down to Russetts where Mr Harland's fish were blessed, into the garden of Scantlands, and finally into the Fete field thanks to Mr Torrance, where Jane Robinson's horses were grazing. At each stop we had a reading from Genesis, a prayer and a verse of All things Bright and Beautiful. We walked through the Vicarage drive, past our nearly completed new building to the South door of the Church for our final hymn and prayers. Rogation comes from the Latin 'Rogere'  to ask, and our prayers for a successful harvest are made on this day. Many thanks to all who took part, who allowed access to their land, or animals, and to Miss Beryl Rodd who accompanied us on the Piano.