Angela our Anna Chaplain and Richard our Authorised Pastoral Assistant hosted our first well attended Anna Gathering in St Peter’s Church hall on 27th March.Jackie’s poem below, which she shared, caused much interest and discussion. Carol shared a poem with us as well. We were inspired to have a go at putting pen to paper, if only one word or phase, as it is cathartic to express what our soul feels. We will share our experience of doing this next time.Our Parish Nurse talked about the ‘Wheel of Wellbeing’ and we enjoyed refreshments together.The next Anna Gathering will be on Thursday 24th April from 2-4pm in the church hall. You are invited to attend if you are interested in exploring spirituality, creativity and wellbeing. Struggling to BelongWhat is it that makes me who I am and why the fear I don’t belongIs it my origins, the culture, the family who gave me lifeOr the place I called homeA struggle, never easyJust a feeling, no one’s faultDid I become a misfit or was I one all along, suffering those silent internal conflicts!What about the schools I attended and the friends I did or did not have?Maintaining distance knowing I was in some ways other or differentHow about my sense of self and my sense of worth, was I ever good enough?Feeling safe behind invisible walls, not confiding, or sharing the things that separateAvoiding social connection, isolating and aloneKnowing the importance of acceptance, of belonging, of being OKBut that’s not meAnd yet a survivor, others would say successful, popular, happy, capableMy stay here transient, my influence temporaryDespite this, known and dearly loved by a God who cares and longs for me to speak, trust and followYes, my days do have meaning, value and worthMy struggles are not in vain and my interactions matterDon’t underestimate the impact of your smile and a few words, that positive contact, a kindness, a vital link to inclusion and community.Your actions and reactions have power, demonstrating God’s loveCan you accept me, respect me without judgement or expectation?Really you can?Then as I ponder, consider and reflect, maybe I can too.Different yes, in fact wonderfully unique
We’re about halfway through Lent and still a week away from Mothering Sunday, or Refreshment Sunday, when the Church used to encourage people working away from home to go back to their families, or to their ‘mother’ church and to take a break from their Lenten abstinences.Taken together, the readings for today urge believers to do the things they know they should do but may have put off, and to stop doing things that don’t matter or that are downright sinful.The prophet Isaiah gives a clarion call to the people not to waste their time, money and attention on things that do not satisfy and ‘feed’ them in their inner beings. ‘Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good.’ Through Isaiah, God is beseeching his people to wake up and seek the Lord ‘while he may be found.’ There is an urgency, an impatience with how people are behaving. ‘Repent’ warns Jesus in the Gospel to the Jewish people listening to him, otherwise, he says, bad things like those that have been happening to others will happen to you! A parable about a barren fig tree seems to imply that, while God is patient, he is getting fed up with his chosen people who are rejecting Jesus’ message and hardening their hearts against him. The Gospel goes on to tell of Jesus healing a woman who had been seriously incapacitated, bent over double for 18 years, only to be criticised by the Pharisees because he healed her on the Sabbath. The people are not understanding what is important in the kingdom of God: loving and obeying God and caring for others is what matters.In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul is distraught at what some of the new believers have been getting up to. They have been behaving as if they had never heard Paul’s teachings on how to live a life pleasing to God. Though exasperated with the people’s wayward behaviour, Paul also tells them that God is with them and will help them to resist temptation, if they trust in God.There is in all three readings a strong sense of urgency: don’t put it off, don’t wait to change and repent and seek after God to another time, because that time may never come. You can’t know what’s around the corner, what’s going to happen in the future, but you can decide to change and you can decide to change right now! Whatever it is that you know you need to do – do it now!Rev’d Christina Rees
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name’. (Psalm 63:3-4)Hymn: I heard the voice of Jesus say...Isaiah 55: 1 - 9; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13The Spirit of the Lord fills the world and knows our every word and deed. Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Luke 13: 1 - 9Please see the Message from the Minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for the light of the Lord to be known to everyone:We pray for the members of St Peter’s Church, that we will grow in faith and service;We pray for our planet, that all people will thrive and work together in peace;We pray for our friends, families and neighbours - that we may build relationships;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, for God’s healing touch to be known;We pray for the departed, that all who mourn will be comforted.Let us pray as Jesus taught us: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.Hymn: Come down, O Love Divine...May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us and guide us on our way at every change and turn; and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
It was a very special and wonderful occasion this morning at St Peter’s Church as Bishop Jane presided and preached at our service as well as licensing Christina as our Associate Priest. A lovely lunch of soup and pud was shared following the service.The service has been recorded and has been posted on our Youtube page:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SF_T9b7liQPlease keep Christina in your prayers as she takes the next steps of her ministry. Thank you.
