Daily Scripture:“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)Daily Reflection:Jesus is teaching his disciples about the future, the things that will happen, and the signs that they will see. He’s used the example of leaves appearing on a fig-tree; when you start to see the leaves appear you know summer is near. So, look for “the signs”. But then Jesus speaks words which have divided theologians ever since: “This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away… but my words will not.” But isn’t “heaven” eternal?! I certainly cannot explain it in 130 words! What this verse does show though is just how important Jesus viewed his teaching – his “words” - to his disciples. We have his words as our scriptures; maybe we should view them as being incredibly important to our lives?Revd David
Daily Scripture:“In that day you will say: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name, make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” (Isaiah. 12.4)Daily Reflection: ‘Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice’The words of Isaiah go back some 1100 years, while the hymn was composed only in the 1960s, but the writers have in common an overwhelming sense of joy and thankfulness for God’s blessings which simply has to be shared with others. There is no more powerful testimony to faith than the thankfulness that overflows into praise, and shows itself not only in words but in the way we live.Lord, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth thy praise not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy service... (From the General Thanksgiving, BCP) Revd Rosemary
8am BCP Communion at St. Nicholas, Sandhurst10am C/W Communion at St. George's. (Revd David leading; Revd Rosemary preaching.)But it will not be "back to normal"; there are many restrictions:- Everyone must hand sanitise on entry and exit- Everyone must 2m social distance at all times. "Households" can sit together.- Use alternate pews (Marked with "green tick" and "red cross")- A register of names of people attending is being kept for 21 days- If someone is in the "70+" or another "vulnerable, at risk" group, they are advised not to come to church. But it is your choice; you will be very welcome if you do come. (But as part of the Government guidelines we have to advise of the increased risk in an indoor public gathering.)- Organ music, but no hymns, at the 10 o'clock service- Communion distribution (wafer only) standing at the chancel step; plus one-way system to return. The priest will wear a face visor during distribution. (Only the priest to receive the wine.)- Service Booklet to basket when leave. These will be quarantined for at least 48hrs.- No refreshments or fellowship time after the service, in church nor in the churchyard.- Exit: St. George's - north and west doors; St. Nicholas - west door.- Numbers will also be limited. (We estimate that St. George's can seat 60 people in "households" and St. Nicholas 40 at the 2m social distance.)- Next Sunday, 12th: 8am at St. George's, 10am at St. Nicholas- A video recording will be made of the live 10 o'clock service; this will be available on YouTube later in the day.Hopefully we will have some bells rung for 15 minutes before the 10 o'clock service.I will be leading and presiding and Revd Rosemary will be preaching at both services. The Risk Assessment will be available on the website, should you wish to read the detail. This will be reviewed, and if necessary amended, after our first services.I look forward to worshipping God with you tomorrow.Revd David
Daily Scripture“Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.” (Psalm 33:12)Daily Reflection Belonging is a fundamental part of our human nature. When we are cut off from others we feel rejected, left out, cast aside - we lose our sense of self worth and our lives seem empty and pointless. Being given the opportunity to belong, to be part of God’s family, is life changing and transformational. It restores our sense of belonging as we realise that we are part of one big family - we are happy to belong to God’s nation. Belonging gives us a sense of safety, comfort and ease - being cast aside makes us all at sea and at dis-ease. We are all connected together in the love of God - he has chosen us and all we need to do is to accept that love to belong to His nation.Lyn Hayes ALM
