15 December 2024
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
For our third Sunday in Advent we had the option of two services at 10 am In Church there was sung Mattins taken by Father Roger, while in the Church Hall Father Chris celebrated Crafty Communion.
After the Service there was Coffee in the Rooms and Father Roger kindly did the draw for the Christmas Grand Draw prizes!
A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah.
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgements against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
I will deal with all your oppressors at that time.
And I will save the lame and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.
Philippians 4:4-7
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
Rejoice in 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.
Luke 3:7-18
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,
‘You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Do not begin to say to yourselves,
“We have Abraham as our ancestor”;
for I tell you,
God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees;
every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire.’
And the crowds asked him,
‘What then should we do?’
In reply he said to them,
‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none;
and whoever has food must do likewise.’
Even tax-collectors came to be baptized,
and they asked him,
‘Teacher, what should we do?’
He said to them,
‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’
Soldiers also asked him,
‘And we, what should we do?’
He said to them,
‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,
and be satisfied with your wages.’
As the people were filled with expectation,
and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John,
whether he might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying,
‘I baptize you with water;
but one who is more powerful than I is coming;
I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. H
e will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing-fork is in his hand,
to clear his threshing-floor
and to gather the wheat into his granary;
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
So, with many other exhortations,
he proclaimed the good news to the people.
08 December 2024
Father Chris had help to light the second Advent Candle, before celebrating the Eucharist at 10 am.
This Sunday our thoughts were with the story of John the Baptist who preached about the coming of our Lord. The Choir sang 'The Record of John' As the anthem (see music blog for details)
We had coffee after the service in the Parish Rooms.
Next week we will draw the winners of the Christmas Grand Draw!
A reading from the book of the prophet Baruch.
Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,
and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God.
Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;
put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
for God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven.
For God will give you evermore the name,
‘Righteous Peace, Godly Glory’.
Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
look towards the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that God has remembered them.
For they went out from you on foot,
led away by their enemies;
but God will bring them back to you,
carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
For God has ordered that every high mountain
and the everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel at God’s command.
For God will lead Israel with joy,
in the light of his glory,
with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
Philippians 1:3-11
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
My brothers and sisters,
I thank my God every time I remember you,
constantly praying with joy
in every one of my prayers for all of you,
because of your sharing in the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work among you
will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
It is right for me to think this way about all of you,
because you hold me in your heart,
for all of you share in God’s grace with me,
both in my imprisonment
and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel.
For God is my witness,
how I long for all of you
with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer,
that your love may overflow more and more
with knowledge and full insight
to help you to determine what is best,
so that on the day of Christ
you may be pure and blameless,
having produced the harvest of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
Luke 3:1-6
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was ruler of Galilee,
and his brother Philip
ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,
during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
He went into all the region around the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’
01 December 2024
David Flint – Actor
David toured with The National Youth Theatre in Coriolanus and was in their London production of Zigger Zagger in 1969. David’s Shakespearian roles include Petruchio, Macbeth, Bottom, Puck, Feste, Mr Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor), Lorenzo (Merchant of Venice) and Lucio (Measure for Measure). He has appeared in venues as diverse as The Ruhrfestspielhouse in Germany, The Roman Amphitheatre of Curium in Cyprus, Polesden Lacey Open Air Theatre, and a variety of theatres in the UK. David directed Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Theatre Royal Lincoln and Merry Wives at the Pavilion Theatre, Felixstowe. He won best actor awards as Ken Harrison in Whose Life is it Anyway and Danny in Night must Fall. Over 40 years he has performed in many of Gillian Plowman’s plays.
In 2014 he appeared in the Selsey Pavilion as the Colonel in The End of the Journey and in 2015 he created the role of the 70 year-old Chaplin in Tonight in the Pavilion – Charlie Chaplin, reprising this in the acclaimed 2016 London run of the Selsey production. David played Jeremy in 2017’s The Ox and the Ass and Jon in Beata Beatrix. He was well cast as the short dumpy Trotter in Journey's End, a 2018 Arts Dream production to mark the centenary of the end of World War I. He has continued his association with Arts Dream Selsey, appearing in the recent series of radio plays, memorably as Johnnie in One Last Adventure.
Gillian Plowman – Director
Gillian won the Verity Bargate award in 1988 with Me and My Friend, a poignantly funny play about the release of four patients from a psychiatric hospital into the community. It was first produced at the Soho Poly Theatre in 1990 and at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1992, directed by Ian Rickson.
The Purity Game formed part of the opening season of Chichester`s Minerva Theatre Studio in 1989. Storm was produced in Hastings and London’s Soho theatre by Freehand Theatre Company in 2001.
Radio plays for the BBC include The Wooden Pear in 1991 starring Anna Massey, Philip and Rowena in 1993 with Leslie Phillips and Renee Asherson, A Sea Change in 1995 with Jenny Funnell and David's Birthday in 2000 with Amanda Root and Clare Holman. Boniface and Me, a radio version of Yours Abundantly from Zimbabwe was broadcast in December 2007, the first in a trilogy of radio plays featuring Dame Harriet Walter. (Gracey and Me was broadcast in 2010 and Loveness and Me in 2012)
Yours Abundantly from Zimbabwe, directed by Annie Castledine, was produced at the Oval House Theatre, London, during Black History Month, October 2008 and was featured in Plays for Today by Women, published by Aurora Metro Books in 2013. Crooked Wood was produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in September 2008 and was published by Oberon Books. Other plays can be licensed from
https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/search?author=Gillian%20Plowman
A film script Daisyworld was commissioned by Paramount Pictures.
The End of the Journey, Gillian’s full-length play, linked to the start of WW1 was produced in the Pavilion Theatre in Selsey in August 2014, a first production in the near derelict building for over fifty years. Tonight in the Pavilion –Charlie Chaplin was produced there in 2015 and transferred to The Cinema Museum in London in 2016. Tonight in the Pavilion – Laurel and Hardy was produced in the Pavilion Selsey in May 2016, The Ox and the Ass and Spindrift in 2017 and Touching Tomorrow and Beata Beatrix in 2018. The Gillian directed Journey’s End by R C Sherriff in the Pavilion in October 2018, as part of Selsey’s commemoration of the centenary of the Armistice.
You can get your tickets by accessing the Arts Dream Selsey website or using the sign up sheet at the back of the church. This is an intimate one-man show and seating is limited.
A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will fulfil the promise
I made to the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.
In those days and at that time
I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David;
and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this is the name by which it will be called:
‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians.
How can we thank God enough for you
in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?
Night and day we pray most earnestly
that we may see you face to face
and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
Now may our God and Father himself
and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.
And may the Lord make you increase
and abound in love for one another and for all,
just as we abound in love for you.
And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness
that you may be blameless before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Luke 21:25-26
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on the earth distress among nations
confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will faint from fear and foreboding
of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud”
with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to take place,
stand up and raise your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near.’
Then he told them a parable:
‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
as soon as they sprout leaves
you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
So also, when you see these things taking place,
you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Truly I tell you,
this generation will not pass away
until all things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down
with dissipation and drunkenness
and the worries of this life,
and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.
For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
Be alert at all times,
praying that you may have the strength
to escape all these things that will take place,
and to stand before the Son of Man.’
26 November 2024
***Tickets for the Selsey performances are sold out ****
David Flint – Actor
David toured with The National Youth Theatre in Coriolanus and was in their London production of Zigger Zagger in 1969. David’s Shakespearian roles include Petruchio, Macbeth, Bottom, Puck, Feste, Mr Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor), Lorenzo (Merchant of Venice) and Lucio (Measure for Measure). He has appeared in venues as diverse as The Ruhrfestspielhouse in Germany, The Roman Amphitheatre of Curium in Cyprus, Polesden Lacey Open Air Theatre, and a variety of theatres in the UK. David directed Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Theatre Royal Lincoln and Merry Wives at the Pavilion Theatre, Felixstowe. He won best actor awards as Ken Harrison in Whose Life is it Anyway and Danny in Night must Fall. Over 40 years he has performed in many of Gillian Plowman’s plays.
In 2014 he appeared in the Selsey Pavilion as the Colonel in The End of the Journey and in 2015 he created the role of the 70 year-old Chaplin in Tonight in the Pavilion – Charlie Chaplin, reprising this in the acclaimed 2016 London run of the Selsey production. David played Jeremy in 2017’s The Ox and the Ass and Jon in Beata Beatrix. He was well cast as the short dumpy Trotter in Journey's End, a 2018 Arts Dream production to mark the centenary of the end of World War I. He has continued his association with Arts Dream Selsey, appearing in the recent series of radio plays, memorably as Johnnie in One Last Adventure.
Gillian Plowman – Director
Gillian won the Verity Bargate award in 1988 with Me and My Friend, a poignantly funny play about the release of four patients from a psychiatric hospital into the community. It was first produced at the Soho Poly Theatre in 1990 and at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1992, directed by Ian Rickson.
The Purity Game formed part of the opening season of Chichester`s Minerva Theatre Studio in 1989. Storm was produced in Hastings and London’s Soho theatre by Freehand Theatre Company in 2001.
Radio plays for the BBC include The Wooden Pear in 1991 starring Anna Massey, Philip and Rowena in 1993 with Leslie Phillips and Renee Asherson, A Sea Change in 1995 with Jenny Funnell and David's Birthday in 2000 with Amanda Root and Clare Holman. Boniface and Me, a radio version of Yours Abundantly from Zimbabwe was broadcast in December 2007, the first in a trilogy of radio plays featuring Dame Harriet Walter. (Gracey and Me was broadcast in 2010 and Loveness and Me in 2012)
Yours Abundantly from Zimbabwe, directed by Annie Castledine, was produced at the Oval House Theatre, London, during Black History Month, October 2008 and was featured in Plays for Today by Women, published by Aurora Metro Books in 2013. Crooked Wood was produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in September 2008 and was published by Oberon Books. Other plays can be licensed from
https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/search?author=Gillian%20Plowman
A film script Daisyworld was commissioned by Paramount Pictures.
The End of the Journey, Gillian’s full-length play, linked to the start of WW1 was produced in the Pavilion Theatre in Selsey in August 2014, a first production in the near derelict building for over fifty years. Tonight in the Pavilion –Charlie Chaplin was produced there in 2015 and transferred to The Cinema Museum in London in 2016. Tonight in the Pavilion – Laurel and Hardy was produced in the Pavilion Selsey in May 2016, The Ox and the Ass and Spindrift in 2017 and Touching Tomorrow and Beata Beatrix in 2018. The Gillian directed Journey’s End by R C Sherriff in the Pavilion in October 2018, as part of Selsey’s commemoration of the centenary of the Armistice.
24 November 2024
Thankfully Storm Bert hasn't damaged the church, although the strong wind kept opening the south door during the service. The Sunday School made beautiful crowns to celebrate today being Christ the King. They wore their crowns when they came to join us for communion.
Important date for your diary!
A reading from the book of Daniel
As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued
and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousand served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat in judgement, and the books were opened.
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
Revelation 1:4b-8
A reading from the book of Revelation
Grace to you and peace from God
who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us
from our sins by his blood,
and made us to be a kingdom,
priests serving his God and Father,
to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God,
who is and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty.
John 18:33b-37
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
Pilate asked Jesus,
‘Are you the King of the Jews?’
Jesus answered,
‘Do you ask this on your own,
or did others tell you about me?’
Pilate replied,
‘I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests
have handed you over to me.
What have you done?’
Jesus answered,
‘My kingdom is not from this world.
If my kingdom were from this world,
my followers would be fighting t
o keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’
Pilate asked him,
‘So you are a king?’
Jesus answered,
‘You say that I am a king.
For this I was born,
and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’
21 November 2024
A reminder to come and join us in the Parish Rooms for a festive play.
Gillian Plowman is an English playwright. She is the author of more than 20 plays. She won the 1988 Verity Bargate Award for her play Me and My Friend. Originally staged at the Soho Poly, it was later revived at the Chichester Festival and at the Orange Tree Theatre.(source: Wikipedia)
17 November 2024
We had a lovely sunny morning to greet us today. Crafty church was held in the Church Hall whilst in church we had sung Matins. Fr Roger who was to lead us in worship today was unable to attend at the last minute, so Janet and Chris led the service in chuch.
The choir sang "The Call" one of "Five Mystical Songs" words by George Herbert and music by Vaughan Williams.
A reading from the book of Daniel
In the third year of King Cyrus a word was revealed to Daniel.
‘At that time Michael, the great prince,
the protector of your people, shall arise.
There shall be a time of anguish,
such as has never occurred
since nations first came into existence.
But at that time your people shall be delivered,
everyone who is found written in the book.
Many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky,
and those who lead many to righteousness,
like the stars for ever and ever.
Hebrews 10:11-14,19-25
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
Every priest stands day after day at his service,
offering again and again the same sacrifices
that can never take away sins.
But when Christ had offered for all time
a single sacrifice for sins,
‘he sat down at the right hand of God’,
and since then has been waiting
‘until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.’
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time
those who are sanctified.
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence
to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain
(that is, through his flesh),
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who has promised is faithful.
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Mark 13:1-8
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
As Jesus came out of the temple,
one of his disciples said to him,
‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’
Then Jesus asked him,
‘Do you see these great buildings?
Not one stone will be left here upon another;
all will be thrown down.’
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple,
Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
‘Tell us, when will this be,
and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’
Then Jesus began to say to them,
‘Beware that no one leads you astray.
Many will come in my name and say,
“I am he!” and they will lead many astray.
When you hear of wars and rumours of wars,
do not be alarmed;
this must take place,
but the end is still to come.
For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. T
his is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
10 November 2024
For Remembrance Sunday we had a 10 am Eucharist celebrated by Father Chris and observed the 2 minutes silence at 11 in Church, and read the names from the roll of honour. We then moved down to the War Memorial were there was an act of remembrance and laying of poppy wreaths by the organisations of the village.
We were blessed with dry but overcast weather.
The Christmas Market will take place in the rooms and the Church on Saturday 30th November from 11am to 2pm. German Christmas Lunch available!
Sunday the 1st of December is Advent Sunday and we shall have evensong at 3:30 in addition to our morning services.
A reading from the book of Jonah
The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying,
‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’
So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city,
a three days’ walk across.
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk.
And he cried out,
‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’
And the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast,
and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When God saw what they did,
how they turned from their evil ways,
God changed his mind about the calamity
that he had said he would bring upon them;
and he did not do it.
Hebrews 9:24-28
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands,
a mere copy of the true one,
but he entered into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
Nor was it to offer himself again and again,
as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year
with blood that is not his own;
for then he would have had to suffer again and again
since the foundation of the world.
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age
to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once,
and after that the judgement,
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time,
not to deal with sin,
but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Mark 1:14-20
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
After John was arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
and saying,
‘The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.’
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—
for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them,
‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As he went a little farther,
he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John,
who were in their boat mending the nets.
Immediately he called them;
and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men,
and followed him.
03 November 2024
Another busy weekend at St Mary our Lady. On Saturday night we had a Eucharist for All Souls Day with the Faure Requiem sung liturgically in the service. St Mary's choir was joined by a number of guest singers and our soloist was our friend Peter Webster. It was a very lovely event to recall all those who have gone before us. Many thanks to Joanna for all the work involved in the music.
A reading from the book of Revelation
I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun,
having the seal of the living God,
and he called with a loud voice to the four angels
who had been given power to damage earth and sea,
saying,
‘Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees,
until we have marked the servants of our God
with a seal on their foreheads.’
And I heard the number of those who were sealed,
one hundred and forty-four thousand,
sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:
After this I looked,
and there was a great multitude that no one could count,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’
And all the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures,
and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God,
singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving
and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying,
‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’
I said to him,
‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’
Then he said to me,
‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
1 John 3:1-3
A reading from the first letter of John
See what love the Father has given us,
that we should be called children of God;
and that is what we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we will be has not yet been revealed.
What we do know is this:
when he is revealed, we will be like him,
for we will see him as he is.
And all who have this hope in him purify themselves,
just as he is pure.
Matthew 5:1-12a
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain;
and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
27 October 2024
Father Chris is back, and we had a parish Eucharist today at 10 am
The choir sang 'Tantum Ergo' in the setting by Deodat de Severac as the anthem.
There was coffee after the service,
A reading from the book of Job
Job answered the Lord:
‘I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me,
which I did not know.
“Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.”
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.’
And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job
when he had prayed for his friends;
and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters
and all who had known him before,
and they ate bread with him in his house;
they showed him sympathy and comforted him
for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him;
and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring.
The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning;
and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,
a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.
He also had seven sons and three daughters.
He named the first Jemimah,
the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters;
and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
After this Job lived for one hundred and forty years,
and saw his children, and his children’s children, four generations.
And Job died, old and full of days.
Hebrews 7:23-28
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
The former priests were many in number,
because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;
but he holds his priesthood permanently,
because he continues for ever.
Consequently he is able for all time
to save those who approach God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest,
holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners,
and exalted above the heavens.
Unlike the other high priests,
he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day,
first for his own sins,
and then for those of the people;
this he did once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints as high priests
those who are subject to weakness,
but the word of the oath,
which came later than the law,
appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.
Mark 10:46-52
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho,
Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar,
was sitting by the roadside.
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to shout out and say,
‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
Many sternly ordered him to be quiet,
but he cried out even more loudly,
‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
Jesus stood still and said,
‘Call him here.’
And they called the blind man, saying to him,
‘Take heart;
get up, he is calling you.’
So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.
Then Jesus said to him,
‘What do you want me to do for you?’
The blind man said to him,
‘My teacher, let me see again.’
Jesus said to him,
‘Go; your faith has made you well.’
Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
20 October 2024
The Third Sunday of October so our service was Mattins. Father Roger and Christine were with us today as Father Chris is still away. The Children had a session in the Parish rooms att eh same time!
Its starting to look like Autumn!
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Hebrews 5:1-10
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
Every high priest chosen from among mortals i
s put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward,
since he himself is subject to weakness;
and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins
as well as for those of the people.
And one does not presume to take this honour,
but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest,
but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you’;
as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest for ever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.’
In the days of his flesh,
Jesus offered up prayers and supplications,
with loud cries and tears,
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Although he was a Son,
he learned obedience through what he suffered;
and having been made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
having been designated by God a high priest
according to the order of Melchizedek.
Mark 10:35-45
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came forward to Jesus and said to him,
‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’
And he said to them,
‘What is it you want me to do for you?’
And they said to him,
‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand
and one at your left, in your glory.’
But Jesus said to them,
‘You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink,
or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’
They replied, ‘We are able.’
Then Jesus said to them,
‘The cup that I drink you will drink;
and with the baptism with which I am baptized,
you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant,
but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’
When the ten heard this,
they began to be angry with James and John.
So Jesus called them and said to them,
‘You know that among the Gentiles
those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them,
and their great ones are tyrants over them.
But it is not so among you;
but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life a ransom for many.’
13 October 2024
Father Chris is away at present so we had Father Reggie with us for our 10 am Eucharist
He had all the children helping with the consecration
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.’
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