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Pew Sheets

 

 

 

16^th November

2^nd Sunday before Advent

Collect

Heavenly Lord, you long for the world’s salvation: stir us from apathy, restrain us from excess and revive us in new hope that all creation will one day be healed in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Old Testament                        Malachi 4. ^1-2a.

New Testament                      2 Thessalonians 3. ^6-13.

Gospel                                      Luke 21. ^5-19.

 

Recent events in the Royal Family enacted the downfall of arrogance. Certainly Malachi was anticipating such a fate to befall those who prospered under the rule of the Persian overlords and expresses feelings of anger and disappointment at the conduct of the Temple staff. The early hopes which were expressed when the Temple had been restored in 512 B.C. after the return from the Babylonian Exile, had faded away. The hopes for freedom of thought and religion created by the Reformation in 16th Century Europe faded as Europe passed from an oppressive Church to oppressive kings and governments. Even the Pilgrim Fathers, having fled religious oppression in England, were themselves quite as oppressive in due time. Malachi’s Temple Priests, Levites and the other functionaries did not greatly differ from the absentee clergy who held livings in England which they left in the care of some illpaid curate, while they enjoyed life in London, or like a former Rector of Ross, who lectured at Oxford University. He came twice to the parish; once to be installed as the Rector and then for his funeral. He, of course, took all the fees which arose from tithes, weddings and funerals and has a splendid memorial in the chancel. Another issue raised by Malachi was the failure of the tithing system to support the worship at the Temple. Creatures brought and

offered for sacrifice were unworthy, old, sometimes lame or even ritually unclean. In a sort of parallel, the tithing system in England led to disputes, outrage and refusal to pay the dues arising from land tenure. The Vicar depended on the tithes as part of his stipend. But eventually prosperous farmers with larger tithing demands, joined one of the Free Churches and claimed that they had no need of a Parson’s ministry. Tithing was finally abandoned in 1936. Malachi warned that having priests working with the Persian rulers was a denial of God’s authority over the Country. In England in 1927 and 1928 the House of Commons rejected the long-awaited revised version of the Book of Common Prayer. Even Members of other Faiths, or none could vote for or against it. Thus it became illegal for use in church. Happily, illegal though it was, sixty years ago in Ross we used the 1928 Prayer Book as a matter of course.                               Brian

 

Services next Sunday 23^rd November – Christ the King

Weston-under-Penyard	Parish Communion	9.30 a.m.
The Lea	Children’s Church	10.00 a.m.
Hope Mansell	Mattins	9.30 a.m.
Aston Ingham	Parish Communion	10.30 a.m.
Linton	Communion Service	11.00 a.m.
Upton Bishop	All Age Communion	10.30 a.m.

 

Forthcoming Services & Events

LINTON. Just a reminder that the Linton Church Annual Quiz and Pudding Evening is on Friday 21st November at the Village Hall.  Currently we are short of teams.  Please do consider coming or pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested.  Folk can be a team of 4 or come and be joined into a team.  Don’t worry if you are not the best at quizzing – the puddings alone are worth the £8 per head!  Contact Ernst ehz200@btinternet.com to book in.

WESTON. ALPHA YOUTH GROUP, An informal group to chat, to explore Christianity and to eat cake. Weston Village Hall, 13^th November, 5pm – 6.30pm.

WESTON: “Join us for our Autumn series of Bible studies led by David and Ewan as we explore the Pastoral letters of St John.  We meet at 2.30 pm. On the Thursday dates below at, Penyard Rise, WUP HR9 7PH. You and your contribution will be most welcome. 13^th November   1 John 2 v 3 to 14,    27^th Nov, 1 John 2 v 15 to 29, 

11^th December, 1 John 3 v 1 to10,    Christmas break

Please note if any date changes we’ll let you know. Tony Mary Pitt 07534510614.

UPTON BISHOP have a BCP communion Service at 9.30 am on the first Wednesday of each month. A quiet midweek service. All welcome”                

Please be aware that if you have any events you would like to advertise here, do please contact Debs directly (details below) and she will be pleased to include them.

Please pray for all who are sick, Margaret Minnet (AI)

Please pray for all who have died, Mr William Victor Gardner (WuP)

Rev David Howell:  07903 790049   email:   revdavidhowell@icloud.com

               Rev Ewan Gillings: 07568 515628   email:   revgillings@gmail.com

If you would like to receive this pew sheet via email¸ please email Debs debsparishsecretary@outlook.com

Website: www.ariconium.church

09^th November

Remembrance Sunday

Collect

Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, 

the King of all: govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and 

bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of 

sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with 

you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 

Readings

Old Testament                        Job 19. ^23-27a.

New Testament                      2 Thessalonians 2. ^{1-5, 13-end.}

Gospel                                      Luke 20. ^27-38.

In my early ministry, I was well aware that I was conducting a service that meant so much more to many who attended on Remembrance Sunday than it did to me and I had to respect that.  The passage of time can be numbing, healing and diluting the intensity of peoples’ memories.  Naively, I thought that the need for such an occasion would have faded away over the years.  How wrong this proved to be!  The turning point came, when there were more young people in the congregation from the uniformed organisations than those who fought, or were alive during the War years. Listening to a radio broadcast by a member of the Royal British Legion, it was said that war is an obscenity and its glorification should be avoided at all costs.  However, the religious, theological and sociological concept of Sacrifice must never be neglected.  Today we must give thanks for all those who made a collective sacrifice for the benefit of us all.

Many parents make personal sacrifices to keep their children fed, clothed and educated.  Some sacrifice their freedom to care for sick or elderly relatives or friends.  Others, for religious or political beliefs, may leave home, sacrifice future prospects or even undergo persecution for their convictions. The greatest and most effective sacrifice is that of our Lord Jesus, which we call to mind each time we

celebrate the Eucharist.  

We are in debt to so many to whom in war, made a sacrifice that they might not readily have chosen – on both sides of a conflict.  Undoubtedly, many would have been unwilling victims.

So, what can we do on this Remembrance Sunday?

We can thank God for these folk, praying that they may have the eternal peace that they did not find in this life.

Above all, to make a personal resolve not to fritter away the life and opportunities that have been so dearly bought for us, by the sacrifice of so many.              Martin

Services next Sunday 16^th November – 2^nd Sunday before Advent

Weston-under-Penyard	Family Communion	11.00 a.m.
The Lea	Parish Communion	9.30 a.m.
Hope Mansell	Parish Communion	9.30 a.m.
Aston Ingham	Village Praise	10.30 a.m.
Linton	Bible Brunch	10.30 a.m.
Upton Bishop	Parish Communion	10.30 a.m.

 

Forthcoming Services & Events

 

LEA. Christmas Fayre & Soup Bar. Saturday 15^th November 10.30 am – 2pm, Lea Village Hall. Artisan Gifts, Produce, Preserve & Cake stall, Raffle, Warming soup for Lunch, Tea Coffee & Mince Pies. FREE ENTRY. Proceeds to Lea Church.

LEA. ‘Thank you all those who have completed shoeboxes for the Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child. Next week is collection week when I will be taking them to Gorsley Baptist church for their onward journey. 

Anyone who has a box to go, could you please either leave it in Lea church for me to pick up by Friday, or take it directly to Gorsley next week.  If you take it to Gorsley, please let me know, also anyone who has completed a shoebox online, again please tell me, so I can include it in my figures (01989 750808 or cornagefarm1@btinternet.com).

Many thanks to you all and God bless you for thinking of a child this Christmas.’

WESTON. ALPHA YOUTH GROUP, An informal group to chat, to explore Christianity and to eat cake. Weston Village Hall, 6^th November, 5pm – 6.30pm.

WESTON: “Join us for our Autumn series of Bible studies led by David and Ewan as we explore the Pastoral letters of St John.  We meet at 2.30 pm. On the Thursday dates below at, Penyard Rise, WUP HR9 7PH. You and your contribution will be most welcome. 13^th November   1 John 2 v 3 to 14,    27^th Nov, 1 John 2 v 15 to 29, 

11^th December, 1 John 3 v 1 to10,    Christmas break

Please note if any date changes we’ll let you know. Tony Mary Pitt 07534510614.

UPTON BISHOP have a BCP communion Service at 9.30 am on the first Wednesday of each month. A quiet midweek service. All welcome”                

 

Please be aware that if you have any events you would like to advertise here, do please contact Debs directly (details below) and she will be pleased to include them.

Please pray for all who are sick, Margaret Minnet (AI)

Please pray for all who have died, Mr William Victor Gardner (WuP)

Rev David Howell:  07903 790049   email:   revdavidhowell@icloud.com

               Rev Ewan Gillings: 07568 515628   email:   revgillings@gmail.com

If you would like to receive this pew sheet via email¸ please email Debs debsparishsecretary@outlook.com

Website: www.ariconium.church

02^nd November

All Saints Day

Collect

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Readings

Old Testament                        Daniel 7. ^{1-3, 15-18.}

New Testament                      Ephesians 1. ^11-end.

Gospel                                      Luke 6. ^20-31.

Many people have a false idea about what a saint is. They, think Saints are people who never committed a sin in their entire lives, people who were always shining with virtue. But this is a fallacy. It implies that the Saints were Saints from the cradle onwards. In other words, they were born saints.

We shouldn’t draw a rigid line between saints and sinners. There is something of the sinner in every saint and something of the saint in every sinner. It has been said that saints are sinners who go on trying. The saints were made of the same flawed material as us. They faced the same temptations as we do. They did not have things easier than us. They just struggled harder. They were not born saints; they became saints through the choices they made. Every saint underwent a conversion. We, see this in the lives of some greatest names in the churches list of saints: Saint Francis of Assisi; Ignatius of Loyola; Augustine of Hippo; Paul of Tarsus…Each of these at a certain moment in their lives heard and obeyed the words of Christ, ‘repent and believe the good news.’ All the Saints were converted from darkness to light, from selfishness to generosity, from sin to virtue, a conversion is not something that could be achieved overnight rather it is the result of a long and painful struggle. This is why the Saints even the little ones are such a challenge to us. We cannot think about them without experiencing a call to conversion, a call to rethink our basic attitude to life, to redefine our goals, to confront our sinfulness, and our need to open ourselves to God’s love and mercy. The saints show us what we could be if we were willing to take the risk of total surrender to the love of God. The saints serve as models for us precisely because they were sinners like us. But they were not overwhelmed by their sins or crippled by their feelings of guilt and shame. They rejoiced in God‘s forgiveness, and with the help of God’s grace succeeding in putting their sins behind them. In them we see the triumph of grace over every weakness and sinfulness. Today people can’t relate to the plastic saints of perfectionism. We must respect the dark side of human nature. To deny is to drive it underground where it works hiddenly. Today we extol people who have tried to live fully rather than those who have withdrawn from life. Today’s feast is a celebration of the capabilities of human beings, and of what God’s grace can achieve when human cooperation is forthcoming. It is good to be reminded that human beings have such aside, especially in these days when it seems that only in the most brutish side of human beings is displayed in the newspapers and on television. Holiness has been described as loveliness of spirit. In each saint we get a glimpse of our capabilities, our failings, and our need of grace and unconditional love. Cardinal Newman said The lives of the saints is the only true evidence for the existence of God.    David

Services next Sunday 09^th November – Remembrance Sunday

Weston-under-Penyard	Remembrance  Service	10.50 a.m.
The Lea	Remembrance  Service	10.50 a.m.
Hope Mansell	Remembrance  Service	9.30 a.m.
Aston Ingham	Remembrance  Service	10.50 a.m.
Linton	Remembrance  Service	10.50 a.m.
Upton Bishop	Remembrance  Service	10.45 a.m.

Forthcoming Services & Events

WESTON. ALPHA YOUTH GROUP, An informal group to chat, to explore Christianity and to eat cake. Weston Village Hall, 6^th November, 5pm – 6.30pm.

UPTON BISHOP. Murder Mystery Frid 7^th November @ Millenium Hall. An evening of detective work while you eat your Supper, Solve the mystery of The Body in the Library. Actors and chefs as well as diners required! Book your place 07496685960 Entrance and Supper £15. BYOB. Proceeds to Church Heating Fund.

WESTON: “Join us for our Autumn series of Bible studies led by David and Ewan as we explore the Pastoral letters of St John.  We meet at 2.30 pm. On the Thursday dates below at, Penyard Rise, WUP HR9 7PH. You and your contribution will be most welcome. 13^th November   1 John 2 v 3 to 14,    27^th Nov, 1 John 2 v 15 to 29, 

11^th December, 1 John 3 v 1 to10,    Christmas break

Please note if any date changes we’ll let you know. Tony Mary Pitt 07534510614.

UPTON BISHOP have a BCP communion Service at 9.30 am on the first Wednesday of each month. A quiet midweek service. All welcome”                

Please be aware that if you have any events you would like to advertise here, do please contact Debs directly (details below) and she will be pleased to include them.

Please pray for all who are sick, Margaret Minnet (AI)

Please pray for all who have died, Mr William Victor Gardner (WuP)

Rev David Howell:  07903 790049   email:   revdavidhowell@icloud.com

               Rev Ewan Gillings: 07568 515628   email:   revgillings@gmail.com

If you would like to receive this pew sheet via email¸ please email Debs debsparishsecretary@outlook.com

Website: www.ariconium.church