8 am Holy Communion at St George's, Benenden10am Holy Communion & Baptism of Amelie Hubble at St Nicholas Sandhurst 5pm Advent Carol Service at St George's, Benenden
Reflection: Sunday 21st November and for the week ahead:The Collect for today, the last Sunday before Advent, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord.Reflection:The opening words of the Collect have given this Sunday the nickname of ‘Stir up Sunday’, traditionally the time to make the Christmas pudding. I still have the large pudding I made for last Christmas, when Covid restrictions prevented my scattered family from joining us. At least by now it must be well and truly matured! So no need for me to stir this year.But I still pray to be stirred. According to the Collect it’s not unbelievers but God’s faithful people who need to be stirred up, rescued from apathy, energised, renewed. The gift of faith brings with it a call to action. We pray that God will take our will, so that we may come to want what God wants. To be blessed in this way is itself our ‘plenteous reward’.Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
8am Holy Communion at St Nicholas Sandhurst
ScriptureHe told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13 31&32)ReflectionThe parable of the mustard seed is a good example of how God works in the lives of ordinary people -specifically, how He uses us to fulfil His will. He places a tiny, tiny gem of an idea or command in us, and uses us along with His Will to take that tiny item and make it into something bigger and better. Since God always does things in His own time and in His own way, we do not always know how or when that seed will be planted. It could be in the form of a thought, or a dream, or a conversation with a friend or family member. It could be in the form of our job, or our community work. The possibilities are endless, because with God anything is possible. We might not always know when God plants that seed, but when He reveals His plan for our lives at some point in the future, we often have an "AH HAH!" moment. God plants the seed as a way of starting the journey, the road of life that we travel with Him is the growth of the mustard plant, and our arrival in Heaven is the ultimate blossoming of that tiny mustard seed. The road is long and not always easy, but the ultimate destination makes the process of planting and growth worthwhile. Lyn Hayes, ALM
