St Nicholas Parish Church, Fleetwood Week beginning 15th August 2021 Please continue to take great care in church. Face coverings are still required. Sunday 15th August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Susan & Christine: Reader - Sandra 12.30 pm Baptism of Ralphi Danson Tuesday 17th August 10.30 am Funeral of Mavis Squires at Carleton 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Sunday 22nd August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – 12.30 pm Baptism of Evelyn Sperrin John Chapter 6 – This is Year B of the Sunday Lectionary, the year that emphasizes the Gospel of Mark; but for a series of five weeks, of which this is week 4 the Sunday Gospels have been taken from the Gospel of John — all excerpts from chapter six, the “Bread of Life discourse.” The author of the fourth Gospel approaches the Eucharist from a unique vantage point. There is no “institution narrative” at the Last Supper in which Jesus blesses bread and wine as in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Instead, there is foot washing. From John’s perspective the real presence of Christ is also found in service, and the Eucharist leads to service. The Eucharist is such a pillar of the Christian faith that John’s Gospel dedicates an entire chapter to it. Over the years I have read and preached from this chapter numerous times, but more than ever this time round I feel God is saying “The time is now!” It may be connected to the restrictions we have endured over the last eighteen months or it may be more to do with our future here as the Parish of St Nicholas. Week 1 – The feeding of the 5k – God provides something out of nothing. Whatever we have, whatever God has already given us is enough if we look at it in the right way. Week 2 - “I am the bread of life” – We who have found the bread of life are commissioned to share what we have found. Week 3 – “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven.” “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” - . As we celebrate what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are physically taking him into our very being. We are nourished and strengthened by the bread of life, to make it through this life and to serve as the people Jesus died to save. Father God, as we hear again these timeless words from John’s gospel, would you speak into our hearts and open our eyes that we may see clearly your will for our lives and for this parish of St Nicholas? And would you place on our hearts how it is that we are each to respond, if the time is now? For we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. 100 Club Winners last week were: Please add to your prayers; - Elsie and Gerald, Nigel, Jane, Margaret, Elliott, Janet, Alison, Nick and Elizabeth, whose needs are known to God. And also, for the families of Mavis Squires, Brian Beavers and Rita Todkill who funerals are due to take place in the coming days.
St Nicholas Parish Church, Fleetwood Week beginning 8th August 2021 Please continue to take great care in church. Face coverings are still required. Sunday 8th August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Margaret & Elizabeth: Reader - Joy 12.30 pm Baptism of Florence Cheetham 1.30 pm Baptism of Indi-Rose Jones Tuesday 10th August 11.30 am Funeral of Howard Robinson in Church 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Sunday 15th August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Susan & Christine: Reader - Sandra 12.30 pm Baptism of Ralphi Danson 1.30 pm Baptism of Axel Starkey From the Vicar – More than once this week someone has said to me, “Your prayers are being answered!” Apart from thanking God, it got me thinking more about the power of prayer and how important it is for us as a church family to be people of prayer. Several years ago, I came across a little book entitled The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Laurence, a 17th century Carmelite monk. Since then, I have read many other books about prayer, but it is Brother Laurence’s advice that has stuck with me. He asserted that “We should establish ourselves in a sense of God’s presence by continually conversing with him.” It may sound simple but that is what prayer really is, “continually conversing” with God. Brother Laurence observes, “God does not ask much of us, merely a thought of him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for his grace, sometimes to offer him our sufferings, at other times to thank him for the graces — past and present — he has bestowed on us, in the midst of our troubles to take solace in him as often as we can. Lift up our hearts to him during our meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to him. We need not cry out very loudly; he is nearer to us than we think.” That’s the key to prayer: recognize God’s presence is “nearer than we think,” always and everywhere, wherever we are, wherever we go, whatever we’re doing, whether we’re busy or bored, whether in a crowd or alone; in the morning when we rise, in the daytime when we are working, in the night when we go to bed, recognize God’s presence. It’s so simple, so plain, so obvious, and so true. If you are not in the habit of praying, this method supported Brother Laurence’s entire prayer life. Try it this week and let me know how you get on. 100 Club Winners last week were: Barbara Quirk (No 3 - £15): Suzanne King (No 33 - £10) and Penny Meekins (No 78 - £5) Please add to your prayers; - Elsie and Gerald, Nigel, Jane, Margaret, Elliott, Janet, Alison and Elizabeth, whose needs are known to God. And also, for the family of Howard Robinson who will be laid to rest on Tuesday.
St Nicholas Parish Church, Fleetwood Week beginning 1st August 2021 Please continue to take great care in church. Face coverings are still required. Sunday 1st August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Dorothy W & Jillian: Reader – Margaret Tuesday 3rd August 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Friday 6th August 12.30 pm Funeral of Claire Parker RIP – Lytham Saturday 7th August 10.00 am Church cleaning and maintenance Sunday 8th August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Margaret & Elizabeth: Reader - Joy 12.30 pm Baptism of Florence Cheetham 1.30 pm Baptism of Indi-Rose Jones Crew needed – to help deep clean church on the first Saturday of every month. Just come this Saturday at 10 am. Crew needed to provide refreshments after 10.45 am service – see Ruth. Crew needed to help keep church open 11.00 am – 12.30 pm once a fortnight – see Karen. Living in Love and Faith - How do questions about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage fit within the bigger picture of the good news of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to live in love and faith together as a Church? For the past three years there has been a working group within the Church of England exploring these very questions. This exploration has resulted in many resources being made available, one of which is the Living in Love and Faith book which sets out to inspire us to think more deeply about what it means to be human and to live in love and faith with one another. It tackles the tough questions and the divisions among Christians about what it means to be holy in a society in which understandings and practices of gender, sexuality and marriage continue to change. The book encourages us to reflect on God’s gifts of life, relationships, marriage and learning and explores how Christians are to understand and respond to these trends in the light of the good news of Jesus Christ. The book is available to purchase via Church House Publishing and is available on the C of E website to read online, along with copious other resources. Poulton Deanery, of which we at St Nicholas are a part, is intending to run a five session course in Lent 2022 to which we are warmly invited to engage with. Whatever the outcome of this time of prayer and discernment, there will be far reaching consequences for the Church of England as we know it. As members of Christ’s church it is important that we commit this undertaking to our prayers. 100 Club Winners last week were Paula Meekins (No 26 - £15), Jeanette Norman (No 38 - £10) and Karen Hay (No 10 - £5). The large summer draw produced the following winners – Gerald Mathias (No 61 - £100), Gillian King (No 45 - £70), Margaret Forshaw (No 34 - £50), June Young (No 25 - £30), Derek Warrington (No 99 - £20) and Paul Meekins (No 23 - £17) Please continue to pray …… for Elsie and Gerald, Nigel, Jane, Margaret, Elliott, Janet and Elizabeth. Also for the family of Claire Parker who will be laid to rest on Friday.
St Nicholas Parish Church, Fleetwood Week beginning 25th July 2021 Please continue to take great care in church. Face coverings are still required. Sunday 25th July 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons - Carole & Sandra: Reader - Karen 12.30 pm Baptism of William James Taylor-Smith 1.30 pm Baptism of Finlee and Frankee O’Malley 2.30 pm Baptism of Lily Reina Hearn Tuesday 27th July 10.00 am Funeral of Karen Doran RIP in Church 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Sunday 1st August 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons – Dorothy W & Ruth: Reader - Margaret Lifting of Covid Restrictions – Last Sunday following the 10.45 am service we held an open discussion regarding the new options available to us as we enter into a climate of personal responsibility. There was a clear desire by most of the congregation to continue with all the restrictions we presently have in place. Track and trace, face coverings, social distancing and hand sanitising will therefore continue in the meantime. Communion in ‘one kind’ will also continue. From this week we will introduce an opening and closing hymn at the 10.45 am service which can be sung by the congregation from behind a face covering. We will also recommence refreshments after the service which will be served in the main hall in the Broadway Rooms. Please continue to take great care. We are in a third wave and infection rates in Wyre are rising dramatically. Refreshments– If we are having tea and coffee after the 10.45 service then we are looking to draw up a rota of volunteers to brew up, serve and clear up. Please see Ruth if you are able to help. Church Sitting- Are you able to offer 90 minutes once a week/fortnight to enable us to keep the church open each weekday for private prayer? We really need more volunteers. Please see Karen. CCTV – Over the past few months the PCC has been discussing the pros and cons of having CCTV installed in church. There have been a couple of incidents of late which may have been avoided had the perpetrator known that we had security cameras in situ. The good news is that this week our new system has been installed. We hope that more than anything it will serve as a deterrent to would be thieves. Sincere thanks to Brain Pendlebury for overseeing the installation. 100 Club Many thanks to Trudie and Phil who have drawn out the winning numbers during lockdown, This week we will resume drawing these during refreshments after the 10.45 service. Winning names will be published on the following Sunday’s news sheet. Please continue to pray …… for Elsie and Gerald, Nigel, Jane, Margaret, Elliott, Janet and Elizabeth. Also for William, Finlee, Frankee, Lily and their families, as the children are baptized this week. And for the family of Karen Doran whose funeral will take place on Tuesday.
