This morning we met at 10 am for the Eucharist in lovely late autumn sunshine. Today's gospel was from St Mathew and told the story of the workers in the vineyard. This story only occurs in St Mathew, tells of the workers being hired all through the day but at the end of the day every one received the same pay! In his Sermon Father Stephen suggested that this approach to industrial relations was unlikely to be very successful, but of course the story, which seems so unfair is in fact a demonstration of the fact that God's grace is available to all who come to him, whether at the beginning of the day or the end. It is not about what we deserve, but the fact that God gives us his grace, when we turn to him, whether we have been good or not, not an excuse to behave badly however!!

The Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by W.A. Mozart as the anthem.
There was coffee after the service in the new rooms. Next Saturday the Choir will sing in Chichester Cathedral at 10:30 at a Eucharist in celebration of the Prayer Book Society, do come along and support them. Next weekend is also our Harvest Festival. The Harvest Supper in the Church Hall will be on Saturday night, tickets available from the Church Wardens. Next Sunday we will have a Family Eucharist of Harvest Thanksgiving at 10 am. Please note this is the only Harvest Service this year.

A touch of Autumn in our flowers this week

 

As it is the third Sunday, we had Matins.

Father Stephen's sermon was about forgiveness, echoing the readings today.

If someone does something horrible, human nature wants revenge. But as Christians, we should not want revenge.  Revenge is up to God. Christ spoke of forgiveness.  In recent years we have witness amazing acts of forgiveness.  Gordon Wilson lost his daughter Marie in the Enniskillen bomb attack. Marie's last words were "Daddy I love you very much". He prayed for the terrorists every night, drawing on his deep Christian faith to forgive.  It can seem impossible to forgive, but as we are forgiven, we can also forgive.

In the parables, Jesus uses exaggeration to show forgiveness.  We must forgive "77 times", echoing Genesis cursing 77 times. Jesus is the second Adam, restoring us to God.

Forgiveness is a free gift from the Lord, there for us to take.

The Anthem was "O Lord My God" by Samuel Sebastian Wesley.

This morning at our 10 am Eucharist  we felt 'back to normal' after the excitement of the visit from the Bishop last week! The gospel reading from St Mathew included those words so important to us 'where ever two or three are gathered together I am with you' Father Stephen in his sermon reminded us that we are still in the Year of the Bible. He told us something of the assembling of the Bible as we now have it at the beginning of the 4th century, the test for inclusion being that the book  gave sight of the real Jesus. There were many other accounts circulating at the time, but the 4 Gospels and Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation of St John were decided on by the Holy Fathers as meeting these criteria. Worship in a community we are promised makes Jesus present with us in Word and Sacrament, although private prayer is commended to us in other parts of the Gospel. We strive to have Jesus present in our lives every day and to be guided by Him to a christian life.

The Choir sang 'A New Commandment' an anthem by Peter Nardone during the distribution of Communion.
One of the delights of having the new Rooms open is that the Sunday School were able to join us at Communion and stay with us to the end of the service. We then all repaired to the Rooms for coffee and to look at the work the Sunday School have done during the morning.

Our good friend Tom Cooper will give us a recital of Russian piano music on the afternoon of the 15th October from 3 pm followed by Tea in the Rooms. A retiring collection will be made. Tom has dedicated this concert to Alfred Lytton, who recently died, and the collection will be divided between St Wilfrid's Hospice and St Mary's. Please do come along.

This morning we were truely blessed to reach a moment that sometimes seemed as though it would never arrive! Bishop Martin came to St Mary our Lady, to celebrate the Eucharist, and to bless and officially open the new Parish Rooms. It was also our celebration of the birth of our Patron, St Mary Our Lady, and finally as the first Sunday in the month it was very much a family service!
Bishop Martin pointed out to us that the Bible didn't mention much about committees, but was very keen on the creative and artisan activities that lead the Israelites from their tabernacle of the exodus to Solomon's Temple and the glory of God. All these activities which had contributed to our new building, but of course committees have their place, especially when issues of fairness and justice are to be decided. He also told us of the tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church that St Mary was educated in the Temple, and was involved in the weaving of the Veil that separated the public area from the Holy of Holies. This veil was riven in two pieces at the time of the Crucifixion symbolising that the Holy is no longer separated from us, Our Lord is amongst us, in the Eucharist, and every day through the Holy Spirit, this is our belief and by this we pass along our Christian Journey.

After his sermon the congregation followed the Altar Party to the door of the new Rooms, where Bishop Martin blessed the threshold, and marked it with the sign of the cross with Holy Oil, we then all entered the building and the main area, the Kitchen, the Office, and the 'facilities' were all in turn blessed. We then returned to the Church, with the peace, and our Eucharist proceeded.  During Communion the Choir sang Ave Maria, setting by Ricard Dubra, The service ended and everyone repaired to the Parish rooms for a Champagne  Reception, Chris Field said a few words of thanks to everyone who had helped, with activities, donations, design and building skills, to produce these new facilities. She told us that the earliest reference to providing lavatories at St Mary's was in a PCC minute from 1974! She was followed by Dame Jenny, who thanked both Chris and Janet our Churchwardens for all they had done and they were given flowers and presents. A call for three cheers for Dame Jenny and the two Church Wardens jolly nearly took off the new roof!!
As is traditional at Sidlesham, there was plenty to eat to soak up the champagne!!

The Bishop stayed and spoke to members of the congregation of all ages, and at the end we were able to test out the new dishwasher!!

Congregation members from the youngest to the most senior!

Janet, Chris and Jenny without whom non of this would be here!

This morning we met at 10am for our Parish Eucharist, on a beautiful sunny, warm day. We had a said service, as Joanna is on holiday, but Beryl Rodd kindly played the piano for the hymns. The lessons today were from Romans, and St Matthew. The Gospel passage related the conversation between Our Lord and his disciples in which he asks who people think he is. Peter replies that he is the Messiah, and characteristically Jesus acknowledges this, but tells the disciples not to reveal this truth as his time has not yet come. In his sermon Father Stephen connected this story to the reading from last week where the Canaanite woman had also realised who Jesus was. Father Stephen discussed how the Faith of these followers was demonstrated by their reactions to the question 'who do you think I am' a question we are selves are asked by the Lord, and how our faith in him guides us through our earthly journey.

There was coffee after the service in the North Transept, for the last time! Next week we are joined by Bishop Martin to give thanks and bless our new Parish Rooms, this service will be followed by a champagne reception! All are welcome to join us at the service to give thanks for this great work which will, among other things, allow us to prepare and serve our coffee in a proper kitchen from now onward! The Rooms are available for use by all, and can be booked by contacting the Church Wardens.

This morning, a fine summer's morning, at 10 am we had Mattins. As it is August there was no Choir, but we sang the Psalm and Canticles to familiar chants. The Old Testament lesson was from Isaiah and the New Testament lesson was the story of Jesus curing the Canaanite woman's daughter. In his sermon Father Stephen also called to our minds the story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel 'all night' He enlarged on the theme of perseverance as part of our Christian life, especially in prayer. The Church has 4 elements, ideas, words, actions and endurance. We ask in prayer for peace in our world, but it doesn't seem to happen, but we must continue and endure, and in the end, like the daughter of the Canaanite women we will be healed and our prayers answered. This is our Christian faith, and for it to grow we must keep on keeping on.

There was coffee after the service, the penultimate coffee session using the urn in the church, as we are now within a fortnight of using our new rooms!  Bishop Martin will be with us at our Eucharist on the 3rd of September, when he will also bless the new rooms and officially open them . Please join us for this joyous occasion at 10 am, refreshments will be provided after the service.

A date for the diary, Tom Cooper  will give us a recital of Russian piano music on October 15th at 3pm followed by tea, retiring collection for St Mary's. We are delighted to welcome Tom back to Sidlesham for what has become one of our great treats!

Before that the weekend of the 30th September, 1st of October is Harvest. On the Saturday morning the Choir will again sing in Chichester Cathedral for the annual Prayer Book Society service, which is open to everyone. In the evening we shall have the Harvest Supper, tickets available from the Churchwardens, pay on booking no tickets will be reserved, for this very popular event. On Sunday the 1st of October we shall have our Harvest Festival Service at the 10 am Eucharist, please note this year the 10 am service will be the only Harvest Festival. There will not be an evening service. Elements of the former evening service including presentation of gifts by representatives of the Farmers, growers and gardeners in the Parish, and by the children will be in the 10 am service. We look forward to seeing you there.



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On a glorious summer morning we met to celebrate one of the Feasts dedicated to our Patron Saint, St Mary. Today we celebrate her arrival in Heaven, In September we again celebrate, marking her birth. The readings today included Luke's account of the visit of the Angel Gabriel. Father Stephen, who was the celebrant, preached about Mary's role of protector of the young Jesus, of the role of protection of the young in age and in faith, and how now Our Lady helps protect us from Heaven. There was a hymn after communion, as it being August, there was no choir.
The Church was filled with beautiful garden flowers, which had been placed there for the funeral of our dear friend Alfred Lytton on Friday. We shall miss him, but are confident he is safe in the hands of God.

There was coffee after the service. Our new rooms are very nearly ready to be handed over to us, the Bishop will formally bless and open them on the 3rd of September.