This year we will mark the 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. Please join us for a reflective service on Tuesday 25th February at 7:00pm in the church.You are welcome to attend, whoever you are.We are also collecting items for North Norfolk Aid for Ukraine. For more information please see our Ukraine display.The service will include prayers, reflection and music.We will be welcoming Duncan Baker (former MP) to talk about his experience visiting Ukraine to bring aid from the UK. The exhibition in the church can be viewed when we are open to visitors, between 10am and 3pm daily, except for Wednesday mornings. (Please note that we will also be closed to visitors on Monday morning 10th February.)
It’s great to be able to go out for walks again, after a period of ill health which meant I was housebound over Christmas. I usually put pictures of my daily walks on my Facebook page, and describe the experience in words too. I started to do it in lockdown. Lots of people liked it - not only friends in cities who couldn’t go out, but also people who used to do the same walks in the past but who can’t do so any more. The routes are often the same, but there are always differences in the weather, the skies and the seasons.While I couldn’t go out I found myself looking at the pictures of some of the walks I posted earlier. In my mind I was taking those tracks again, feeling the breeze on my face and seeing the sea and the skies and the flowers.Pictures of the past came alive in the present! It was a joy to seek them out.It’s the same with stories we read from the Bible. Those today came alive once again. In the gospel story Jesus was sitting in a boat to teach the crowds, who were pressing on him to hear the word of God. Then he sent Peter out to put the nets into deep water, and both boats returned with vast numbers of fish! After that Jesus called Peter to follow him. We’re familiar with the pictures and description, we’ve probably read this many times before. The story is the same but there are differences in us, in the generation we live in, our life experiences and maturity, as well as in the seasons of time since it was written. Now we’re seeing it afresh on a new day, and so we enjoy it again, and maybe see things in the story which we didn’t notice before.I suggest too that God is speaking to us afresh through those words, showing us new things to ponder upon, as this is one of the ways in which we encounter God.Similarly with the story we heard from Isaiah, who describes his wonderful vision of the Lord with seraphs in attendance - the imagery is fabulous! One of the seraphs touches his lips to cleanse him. Then God says ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ Isaiah replies ‘Here am I. Send me.’ It touches me again every time I read this story. Does it touch you too?And once again the words come alive that we heard in Corinthians. Like Paul, the good news has been passed on to us. We’ve received it and said yes to Jesus. We stand in our faith. We too have been called and we serve, by the grace of God, doing our best to help to build up the body of Christ - Paul’s constant message - which means encouraging one another.God speaks to us today as we read the scriptures prayerfully. That’s why the books of the Bible were repeatedly copied and passed down from generation to generation, over thousands of years. It’s why they were put together by the early Church. It’s why the Bible is considered to be holy.There is so much in it! It’s like a photo album of God’s interaction with human beings since the beginning of time! Pictures of the past which become alive in the present. It’s a joy when we seek them out. Some people find it helpful to join a Bible study group. We’ve got books in our Library of Inspiration if we want to delve more. We can also simply read from the Bible at home and pray. We’re like the crowds who were pressing on Jesus. We too want to hear the word of God for ourselves. We can do so. His voice speaks again and again through the words of the sacred scriptures.And as Andrew reminded us last week, ‘we can encourage people to meet with God in their prayers and in their daily lives … For those of us who are elderly, age does not guarantee wisdom it is only when we allow God to be the centre of our lives and then allow him to guide and change us to be his disciples in this complex world.’Amen.Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister
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.‘I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.’(Psalm 138:1-2)Hymn: As the deer pants for the water...Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11The 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: Lord of the hosts of heaven, our salvation and our strength, without you we are lost: guard us from all that harms or hurts and raise us when we fall; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Luke 5:1-11Please 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: All my hope on God is founded...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.
Congratulations to Angela, our Lay Minister who was commissioned as our Anna Chaplain during this morning’s service! Anna Chaplains offer care to older people in the community. 🙏 With thanks to God for calling Angela into this very valuable ministry.
