Dear friends
A few weeks ago, in the midst of that very hot spell of weather (summer – do you remember it?), and at the end of what had been a typically very busy day of work and family, Michelle and I crawled into bed and just for a few moments enjoyed the silence of the night.
After a minute or so we were both aware of a rushing / hissing sound. Very faint, but the more we were aware of it – the more obvious it was. My initial thought was that it was the central heating – but that was quickly dismissed as we remembered that it hadn’t been on at all recently! Then I thought it was the hot water tank – perhaps the boiler was giving it a blast. But no – checking the airing cupboard proved nothing was happening there. Next suspicion was a tap running somewhere. The whole house was duly checked, and again nothing to find!
Now I was getting a little worried. Perhaps a pipe had burst and we had a leak under the floor somewhere. Given that sometimes it seems the Diocesan plumber is the most frequent visitor to the vicarage, and we have had numerous bursts over the years, this was a fear that had some validity! The plumbing here is definitely not the house’s finest feature…
Thankfully, before embarking on a late-night search of floors and ceilings for emerging floods, we suddenly had a moment of clarity. The kids had used the garden hose that afternoon (not with permission I might add!).
Sure enough – on going outside I found the garden hose very slowly running at a trickle. Hardly noticeable but for the silence of the night enabling the telltale noise of running water to echo up the pipes. Problem solved and a resolve to have a ‘chat’ with the kids the next day…
Yesterday was the feast day of St Benedict; Abbot of Monte Casino in the 6th Century and founder of what is today the Benedictine Monastic Order, which is still going strong today. One of the Benedictine traditions is the practice of ‘Lectio Divina’, or ‘Divine Reading’. It is a practice of hearing God’s wisdom in the present through immersing oneself in a passage of scripture. Like the running water – it is about putting aside ‘busyness’ and hearing and discerning what is going on. Put simply it is to:
• Read
- Slowly read a passage. Just allow the words to be read, heard, taken in.
• Meditate
- Spend time with it. Gaze at it. Allow your mind to simply go where it needs to as you let the words sit.
• Pray
- Respond to your reading and meditation by talking to God. Saint Ambrose said of this; “we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying.”
• Contemplate
- A period of silence to allow whatever needs to come forth to come forth.
At the end of this e-letter I have included a passage of scripture. Why don’t you find a few minutes to sit quietly with those words and see what God may be saying to you today?
SERVICES - Sunday 16th July - Trinity 6
10:30am - Holy Communion; St John's, Tatworth. Rev Philip. PLEASE NOTE THE TIME. Rev Michelle is also running Sunday School at this service - 10:15 in the Church Rooms.
10:30am - Joint service with Winsham URC - meeting at the URC in Fore Street, Winsham
6:30pm - Service of Light; St Mary's, Thorncombe. Lay led.
MIDWEEK:
Prayers in St John's Tatworth - 18th July at 4pm.
Midweek communion on 19th July at 9:30am in St Mary's, Thorncombe, followed by coffee morning.
WILD CHURCH
The next Wild Church is at 3pm on 15th July outside St John's, Tatworth. It is our summer BBQ!! It is also the final one of the term and we will publish 2023 / 24 dates in due course. ALL WELCOME. It would be helpful to have a ballpark idea of numbers coming for catering purposes, and also of any dietary requirements. No cost, donations only.
CRICKET MALHERBIE BBQ & QUIZ
The annual BBQ and Quiz at St Mary Magdalene, Cricket Malherbie is also on 15th July; from 6pm! All Welcome and come and test your knowledge in this renown quiz! Please bring chairs if possible.
EMMAUS
A big thankyou to whoever provided the beautiful table top flowers for the Emmaus service at St John's last month! Thank you.
The next Emmaus service is on 6th August and will be a service of Songs of Praise. Therefore, if you would like to nominate a favourite hymn / song, and would be happy to introduce, then please do get in touch!
PRAYERS
Please hold in your prayers all you know who are struggling in any way, in body, mind or spirit. We are asked to pray by name for:
Dave Boyland; Wendy Cotton; Jan Knott; Mary Marsh; Tony Taylor; Margaret Bandy; Di Nicholls, Hester Down, Stella Hutchison; Oskar Lee; Margaret Shields; Andrew de Pury; Cyril Larcombe; Valerie Palmer, Lynn Ranson, Keith Legge, Margaret Golesworthy.
We remember all those whom we love but see no longer; particularly at this time: Frank Long (funeral 12th July 11am in St John's, Tatworth); Reg Fawcett (funeral 18th July 3pm in St Mary's, Thorncombe); Cynthia (Tup) Gummer.
A prayer for Trinity 6:
God of our pilgrimage,
you have led us to the living water:
refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
SCRIPTURE
The Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-9)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Blessings
Philip
The Reverend Philip Butcher
Rector - Two Shires Benefice (Tatworth, Thorncombe, Winsham, Chaffcombe & Cricket Malherbie)
The Vicarage
3 Home Farm
Tatworth
Chard
TA20 2SH
01460 221286
Rest Days - Mondays (Tuesdays where following a bank holiday)
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