Dear Church Family,
This Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 4: 35-41 gives us an account of Jesus calming the storm. Or rather the account of Jesus sleeping on a boat in a storm while his disciples lose their minds. There are several lessons we might take from this account: have more faith, trust in the Lord, Jesus is all powerful, Jesus is the Word of God able to speak things into being. You get the idea, and if I were preaching this weekend, I would certainly be drawing parallels with the 1st creation account in Genesis where the Word of God speaks and brings order out of chaos. This is certainly what Jesus is doing here – albeit in a localised situation.
Photo by Jean-Pierre Brungs on Unsplash
However, I’d like to share with you the lesson I taught in All Saints School assembly this week as I shared this story with the children. I reminded everyone that we all draw our energy from somewhere. In the same way a mobile phone needs charging each day to power the battery, we as Christians need to commit to regular prayer and Bible reading. These are two simple ways we can “connect” with God and be recharged. Jesus needed to do this too. In the Gospel reading, Jesus is asleep because he is tired from all the travelling and teaching, he has been doing. He isn’t worried about something as trivial as a storm whilst he sleeps on a boat! In fact, we see Jesus retreating from public ministry regularly to recharge and connect with his Father. Jesus knows who he is because he does this – his relationship with his Father is an eternal one and his identity as the Son is also eternal. Jesus’ identity means he has no problem with his authority over creation – no wonder his disciples were terrified when the witnessed these events!
Photo by Onur Binay on Unsplash
As I challenged the children, so I challenge all of you…how will you deepen your relationship with the Lord this week? Through prayer, scripture, a walk in the woods or by the sea? Maybe you can marvel at the storms predicted by the Met Office this weekend! However you do this, I pray you will be refreshed and recharged and that your faith in the Lord may grow.
All Saints Church
There has been some interest in my proposal to ask some people to consider making the 11.15am Sunday service at All Saints their “home” in order to refresh and revitalise the congregation and ministry there. I am grateful to those of you who are considering it and ask that we all keep praying to discern where God might be calling us to be.
Some of you have asked about some of the challenges this may present – things like the service time and parking. Firstly, the service time suits some and not others – this is the case with every service time. If 11.15am doesn’t suit you, then perhaps God isn’t calling you to be there and maybe the 9.30am service is for you! That’s fine!
Secondly, we know the parking isn’t easy, but we have still managed to fill All Saints for weddings, funerals, baptisms, and Christmas services for the last 4 years without the carpark. The winter months present a challenge, but we do have some solutions in mind starting with lift sharing and the church minibus. We would be willing to offer lifts to people on a Sunday if transport and parking are an issue. What we need is for some people to volunteer to drive the minibus on a Sunday – please get in touch if this is something you could do.
So, if a more traditional worship setting is something you engage with and do not want to see vanish from the parish, can I invite you to pray about joining the 11.15am congregation and intentionally playing your part in its development and growth?
Please get in touch with me directly if you wish to discuss this: andy@huttonparish.com 01277 514896
John Patterson
Due to the government’s decision to delay the lifting of lockdown we have had to change the arrangements for John’s last services as a Licensed Lay Minister on Sunday 27th June. John will still preach at both morning Holy Communion services, but we are now unable to gather for a parish lunch. The lunch will be rescheduled for a date later this year when we are all able to gather together. Instead, there will be a drinks reception at All Saints following the 11.15am service which will be invitation only as we must limit the number of people gathering in one place.
If you would like to donate towards a gift for John, please send cash or cheques to the Parish Office by Sunday 20thJune. Bank transfers referenced “John Patterson Gift” are also welcome.
Regular Worship
Aside from the usual Sunday morning services, you join us in church for worship on the following days:
Wednesdays – 9.30am at All Saints for Prayer Book Holy Communion
Contemporary Evening Worship (CEW) on the 1st Sunday of the month at St Peter’s starting at 7pm.
You can also join us on Facebook for our Sunday Eucharist at 9.30am and for Morning Prayer at 9am, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Go to www.facebook.com/huttonparish to join in.
This week's pew-sheet can be downloaded here:
With every blessing,
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