Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday we celebrate St Margaret’s Patronal Festival, which is leading into the week of the Flower Festival this year rather than concluding it. It’s extraordinary to think that people have been worshipping God on the site where the current church now stands for over 1,000 years. And to consider how many people have been baptised in the Norman font down the centuries. The writer to the Hebrews encourages us that we are surrounded by a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ as we in our turn ‘run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ (Hebrews 12.1-2). So we ask God to help us play our part, as we give thanks for all who have gone before. Our 10am morning service will be a joint Mission Community Eucharist at St Margaret’s and at 3pm Jeremy will lead Songs of Praise in the churchyard (weather permitting). Find out the top 8 hymns Topsham voted for and enjoy tea and cake afterwards.

Every blessing

Maggie

Please send all contributions for the newsletter to Gill by the end of Thursday and material for A Church Near You to Tony Raven: [email protected]

Services and calendar for the week

Saturday 20 July - 

 12.00…Wedding…St Margaret’s

Sunday 21 July - 

 8am…Holy Communion…St Margaret’s

10am…Joint Holy Communion…St Margaret’s

3pm…Open Air Songs of Praise…St Margaret’s

Monday 22 July - 

 10am…Take 5…St Margaret’s

7pm…Compline… Zoom

Tuesday 23 July - 

 9am…Morning Prayer…St Margaret’s

10.30am…Coffee and Chat…St Luke’s church rooms

Wednesday 24 July - 

 10am…Morning Worship…Zoom

11am…Summer Study Group…St Margaret’s

2-4pm…Open Church…St Luke’s

All day…Flower Festival preparation…St Margaret’s

Thursday 25 July - 

 10am – 6pm…Flower Festival…St Margaret’s

NO Mini Messy Church…St Margaret’s

3.15-4.15…Summer Study Group…St Luke’s

Friday 26 July - 

 9am…Morning Prayer…St Margaret’s

10am – 6pm…Flower Festival…St Margaret’s

Saturday 27 July - 

 10am – 5pm…Flower Festival…St Margaret’s

Sunday 28 July - 

 10am…Family Communion…St Margaret’s

10am…Morning Worship…St Luke’s

12noon…Baptism…St Luke’s

6.30pm…Evensong… St Margaret’s

The Zoom links and meeting IDs for all the Zoom events are on our pages on ACNY (A Church Near You)

St. Luke’s church is now open on Wednesday afternoons between 2.00 and 4.00.

All are welcome...

To look around

To sit quietly for a while

To light a prayer candle

To pray.

News and Notices

From the end of July, there will no churchwarden, unless someone comes forward! If you would like to know more about what is involved, please contact Gill: [email protected]

Please pray for at least 1 churchwarden for St. Margaret’s.

Bookings - St. Margaret’s bookings has been taken over by Caryll Ingerslev. Contact: [email protected]

Summer Study and Fellowship groups

The book chosen for the summer session is “Holy Habits” by Andrew Roberts. This week we meet in the social area of St Margaret's Church for tea/coffee from 10.40 but will decamp to St Nicholas Methodist Church at 11am to avoid disturbing preparations for the Flower Festival. Our final session on 31st July will be at St Margaret’s as usual.

All are welcome (even if you haven’t been before-each session stands alone). For more information contact Revd Maggie Stirling Troy:[email protected]

St Luke's are reading the same book, starting on Thursdays 3-15 pm - 4-15 pm, meeting in their Church rooms and also serving tea/coffee. All are welcome.

Songs of Praise, Sunday 21st July at 3.00 p.m.

Open-air Songs of Praise 3.00 p.m. Sunday 21st in the churchyard (in church if wet). Please bring your own chair if you can! Followed by tea and cake

Flower Festival at St. Margaret’s – Thursday 25th - 27th July

There are still plenty of gaps to be filled, stewarding, making cakes, helping with refreshments.

As always the success of this major event in our church year depends heavily on volunteers who are happy to smile at visitors!

There are now sign-up lists at the back of the church. Please check you diaries before coming to church on Sunday!

Please ask David Byrne (01392 758557) [email protected] or Gill Yates [email protected] you want to find out more.

Wednesday 7th August, 3 – 5pm – There will be Cream teas in the garden of Ken and Sandra Greedy at 29 Southbrook Road, Countess Wear. Tickets are £5 and can be obtained from Ken, Sandra or Brian Bolt, or phone Ken and Sandra at 01392 271458 or e mail – [email protected]. All proceeds will go to St. Luke’s Church Funds. We are hoping that the weather will be suitable to sit in the garden, not pouring with rain, as happened for the Desserts Alfresco evening.

Please find the August newsletter for St. Margaret’s attached.

Exmouth Food Bank

Supplies We Are Short Of This Month – July 2024

T ins of baked beans & spaghetti hoops

Cereals

Stir in pasta /pasta bake sauces

Tins or packets of soup

Tinned fruit

Peanut butter

Jars of jam

Coffee

Tea bags

Packets of biscuits

Shampoo & conditioner

The Exmouth Foodbank urgently needs bags for life/large plastic bags to enable people to carry their food parcels home. Thank you.

Many thanks for your support. We simply couldn’t do this without you!

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

For further information email: [email protected] 07787758511

Prayers

For those who are ill or in need of our prayers:

Roger Fogwill, Lucy, Pauline, Jill and Adrian, Michael, Kirsten, Chris Whitehead, Fay, Anne, Tony Bradford, Marlene Gardner, Pam Wormald, Mary, Peter, John Heal, Rosemary Henry, Gail Miller

Housebound or in nursing/care homes:

Alfred Wonnacott, Janet Mutter, Georgina Lear

Please pray for Anne Plested supporting the work of Bethlehem Bible College, and Ben and Katy Ray in Tanzania, St. Luke’s CMS mission link.

Anniversaries

Joyce Robinson, Phyllis Gray

Jocelyn Fisher, Mary Godly, Bill Secrett, Winifred Robinson, Joan Drake, Dorothy Eastwood

Recently departed

Pat Lomax

Gospel Readings for the coming week

Sunday 21st July Ephesians 2: 11-end

Monday 22nd July John 20: 1-2, 11-18

Tuesday 23rd July Matthew 12: 46-end

Wednesday 24th July Matthew 13: 1-9

Thursday 25th July Matthew 20: 20-28

Friday 26th July Matthew 13: 18-23

Saturday 27th July Matthew 13: 24-30

Sunday 28th July John 6: 1-21

Collect and reading for Sunday 21st July

Almighty Lord and everlasting God, we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and our bodies in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments; that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spirituallyinto a dwelling-place for God.