29 December 2024
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
A reading from the first book of Samuel.
Samuel was ministering before the Lord,
a boy wearing a linen ephod.
His mother used to make for him a little robe
and take it to him each year,
when she went up with her husband
to offer the yearly sacrifice.
Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say,
‘May the Lord repay you with children by this woman
for the gift that she made to the Lord’;
and then they would return to their home.
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow
both in stature and in favour with the Lord and with the people.
Colossians 3:12-17
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and,
if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other;
just as the Lord has forgiven you,
so you also must forgive.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in the one body.
And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
teach and admonish one another in all wisdom;
and with gratitude in your hearts
sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Luke 2:41-52
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Now every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem
for the festival of the Passover.
And when he was twelve years old,
they went up as usual for the festival.
When the festival was ended and they started to return,
the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Assuming that he was in the group of travellers,
they went a day’s journey.
Then they started to look for him
among their relatives and friends.
When they did not find him,
they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard him were amazed
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him they were astonished;
and his mother said to him,
‘Child, why have you treated us like this?
Look, your father and I have been searching for you
in great anxiety.’
He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’
But they did not understand what he said to them.
Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them.
His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years,
and in divine and human favour.
25 December 2024
And so we reach Christmas Morning, we had an all age Eucharist and it was lovely to see lots of families worshiping together. We wish everyone a Happy Christmas!
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Hebrews 1:1-4
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors
in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,
whom he appointed heir of all things,
through whom he also created the worlds.
He is the reflection of God’s glory
and the exact imprint of God’s very being,
and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
When he had made purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
having become as much superior to angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
John 1:1-14
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light,
but he came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came into being through him;
yet the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood
or of the will of the flesh
or of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
24 December 2024
Our Midnight Service started at 11:30 and the Church was now decorated with green and red as we reach the Feast of the Nativity.
We sang Carols and Father Chris celebrated the Eucharist and we went out into the night wishing each other 'Happy Christmas'
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| Father Chris with our Junior Choristers in Christmas mood! |
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish.
In the former time he brought into contempt
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea,
the land beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Titus 2:11-14
A reading from the letter of Paul to Titus.
The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions,
and in the present age to live lives
that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope
and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour,
Jesus Christ.
He it is who gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify for himself a people of his own
who are zealous for good deeds.
Luke 2:1-14
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus
that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration
and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,
to the city of David called Bethlehem,
because he was descended from the house and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary,
to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in bands of cloth,
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid; for see—
I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you:
you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth
and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
22 December 2024
At 6pm we met for our traditional service of 9 Lessons and Carols. The Church was bathed in candle light and the Congregation and choir sang well known hymns and Carols as they listened to the story of the birth of Christ starting with the fall of Man in the garden of Eden and finishing with the opening of ST Joun's gospel which puts the story in context of being beyond time and space.
The Choir sang several solo carols including 'Up good Christians' 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree' Gabriel's Message', 'Torches' 'Ding Dong Merrily on High'
We left Church feeling that Christmas was here!
We reach the fourth Sunday of Advent and lit the last Candle of the Advent Wreath before Christmas and the white candle s added.
A lovely service full of anticipation for the events of this evening and next week.
Our Carol service is this evening at 6pm all are welcome!
Micah 5:2-5a
A reading from the book of the prophet Micah.
The Lord says to his people:
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 labour 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;
and he shall be the one of peace.
Hebrews 10:5-10
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
When Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said,
“See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’
When Christ said,
‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure
in sacrifices and offerings
and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’
(these are offered according to the law),
then he added,
‘See, I have come to do your will.’
He abolishes the first
in order to establish the second.
And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
Luke 1:39-55
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Mary set out and went with haste
to a Judean town in the hill country,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the child leapt in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and exclaimed with a loud cry,
‘Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why has this happened to me,
that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting,
the child in my womb leapt for joy.
And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfilment
of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And 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.’
15 December 2024
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.’
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Saturday 26th July
