Thought for the week 24th June 2020 Thankfulness Over the next few weeks we are going to be hearing from one of the church network groups about what they have been learning over the past few month and how they have been learning. Then we shall hear what they would like us to pray for. If you would like to be part of a network then please do get in touch, either by phoning myself or Tim, or through the website or Facebook page. This week we are going to hear from Janet’s group. Janet comments on a number of things that her group have been learningFirstly, to give thanks continually. They have been learning to adapt and to be accepting and have discovered that people are much kinder. One member say that they have been so thankful to be able to cope while another feels blessed and closer to God. Family have been important and again another member says there is so much to be thankful for whilst finally people have found that they are praying more. Many people in this group have mentioned being thankful which is so important our outlook and our growth as Christians. Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. So, where have they been learning this thankfulness and connection with family and with God. When previous methods of face to face communication have had to stop. For some telephone conversations have been useful, but for many the learning has been both practical and spiritual as they have learnt how to use the internet and platforms like zoom and YouTube. This has enabled them to keep in contact with family and also with their church family through the weekly online services. One member has been able to combine these as their son is a clergyman and they have been following his though for the day each morning. The internet has been such a blessing in giving us this opportunity to communicate. If you want to keep in touch with what is happening specifically with Christ church then do like and subscribe to our YouTube account, and watch our weekly online services. You can find links to them through the website or through our Facebook page. So how can we pray for this group this week. There are some specific prayers for a 12 year old grandchild with a brain tumour, for a medical consultation, for a new baby born during lockdown and for other grandchildren. So let’s pray for those requests now, and if you do have any prayer requests of your own then do feel free to add them in the comments so that we can pray for you too. Let’s pray,Lord Jesus, we come to you with thankful hearts for all the good things that you have given us, thank you for the beautiful area we live in, thank you for those who have been generous with their money supporting the food bank and their time in taking thing to those who have been shielding. Thank you for the gift of the internet that has allowed us to keep in contact with our families and to be able to worship with our church family. Lord we bring to you those we know who are suffering or ill, especially at the moment those mentioned by this group. We ask that you will being healing and peace to those in need. Amen.
At the start of lock down we quickly divided the church congregation into network groups each over seen by a member of the PCC, the leadership team in church. We had to work quickly so at first these groups were made up of just those people that we had permission to use contact details for. GDPR works for churches too. However, the groups began to grow as other people were able to join in. the groups are there to provide support for each other in whatever way they can. So, some groups have been able to share shopping slots, collect prescription, meet together for coffee on zoom, deliver print outs of services to those in the group who don’t have access to the internet, and pray for each other. The main thing has to been to be there for each other when contact with people outside the house seemed impossible. If you, or you know someone who would want to join one of these groups then do let us know, you can send a private message to our Facebook page or contact us via the website, christchurchstannington.co.uk. Or give Tim or me a ring, our numbers are available on the website too. Now Joe has moved on we are going to use the midweek thought slot to hear from these groups and see what has been happening in them and how the groups have developed. And a little about what we have learnt through this time. So, not surprisingly we are starting with my group. The core of our network was made from a new house group. We were just getting to know each other. Being part of a network helped us to hold onto those connections. We knew the people who were needing to shield and understood their anxieties and were able to pray for them in an informed way. Initially there were some things that we could do for those who were shielding in the way of a little bit of shopping, though I don’t think we ever did source the brown bread flour. But people soon made adjustments. I think we felt the frustrations for those who were shielding especially when the warm weather brought hay fever complications. So, what have we been learning, we have been caring for each other, learning how to keep connected both spiritually and with each other? The online service videos have been a great source of connection with each other and it has been encouraging to hear how people are making use of personal time with God, using their own resources or looking at the suggestions on the website resources page. Currently some people are beginning to look outside the group making similar connections with others. Prayers for the energy to sustain this and the opportunities to share God’s love tangibly with those in need would be appreciated. And always, always, prayers for the safety of those who are key workers, especially those who work in hospitals and are in direct contact with Covid 19. As I said before, if you would like to know more about these groups do get in Contact with us. We have just published our latest magazine on the website, there is a link to it on the front page under latest news to keep things simple, so if it’s too rainy to go for a walk this afternoon, there are a lot of interesting articles in there to read and some great photos of the Stannington scarecrows to enjoy. If you would like to join us for worship, then our online service is released every Sunday from 8.30 in the morning. They are all available through our website, or on our YouTube account. Thanks for listening , I look forward to telling you more about some of the other networks next week.Take care everyone. God bless
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another thought for the week, my name is Reverend Joe Cooper and I’m one of the Curates here at Christ Church.On Sunday the Church will celebrate Pentecost, that moment when the Apostles, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus were baptized by the Holy Spirit in a truly remarkable scene described in Acts 2. Jesus had promised that He wouldn’t leave His disciples alone to face what was coming in the years ahead. He had promised them the Holy Spirit, a helper who would stay with them forever. And the power of the Holy Spirit changed the lives of the disciples forever. If you’ve never read the book of Acts in its entirety, I recommend you do so in preparation for Pentecost.When we become a disciple of Jesus, we too receive the power of the Holy Spirit. We receive the gifts of the Spirit described in Isaiah 11:2: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord and the spiritual gifts (also known as charisms) described in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12. Verses 4 to 7 ask us to remember: ‘there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good’.The gifts (the charisms of the Spirit): Wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, speaking in tongues, being an interpreter of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills. It is useless and actually quite damaging, to stare at our fellow Christian and compare ourselves to them. For we will have both been gifted differently.So instead of me fixating on how God seems to be moving in their life, I should consider how God is moving in my life. We are very good at saying ‘I’m not like …’ ‘I can’t do …’. When what we should be saying is ‘the Holy Spirit has gifted me with …’ ‘therefore I will continue to be good and to grow and to develop at…’. Our giftings have been given to us to complement each other and for the growth of the Kingdom, not for us to compete with one another, which will ultimately prohibit growth. We can’t do everything alone!As Christ’s disciples, it is essential that we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, our helper who guides and convicts, who nudges us along. To do this, we must recall the presence of the Holy Spirit with us in the here and now. He is not some distant theological concept, but the Spirit and power of God Himself who dwells within us. We must attempt to pause frequently throughout the week, preferably at least once a day, to listen to Him expectantly, what is He saying to me? What is He asking me to do? Where might he be asking me to go? Are you really sure that’s what you want me to say/do/visit? And then we submit to His will just like the early Apostles did time after time in the book of Acts. And if we do that and make a habit of doing it as often as we can; well, be prepared for the Holy Spirit to move through us and flow out into the world in many remarkable ways.May you have a blessed Pentecost this Sunday!
