Author: Worth Parish

From the Curate…

Pewsheets

I preached a couple of weeks ago about a how genuine encounters with God will change us; and that genuine encounters with God only happen when we give Him space in our lives.  Hopefully, as you read this we have successfully arrived as a family in Cornwall – to a flat rented for church workers to have space and time with God away from their ministry.  Space to spend time in reading the scriptures, in prayer and in some (but not guaranteed!) silence.

I have read that Waterloo was won in the classrooms of Eton – meaning that our officers had formed the right habit to lead well. So also, as Christians we must form the right habits in order to live Christ like lives.  Jesus’ response to his three tests in the wilderness shows that he had formed the right habits – for he responds by quoting scripture and awareness of the Spirit.  Jesus’ ministry is defined by this knowledge of scripture and prayer.  Perhaps this Lent we might give God space (maybe start with 15 mins) by reading a short passage and then praying each day – then we might be better equipped to face the trials of life.

Steve

Pewsheet for 7th February 2016

Pewsheets

Click here for the pewsheet for the week beginning Sunday 7th February 2016.

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From the Rector…

Pewsheets

Although the earliest date possible for Easter is 22 March,m that last occurred in 1818 and won’t happen until 2285.  In 2008, Easter was on 23 March, and we’ll see that again (not!) in 2160.  By contrast, another 28 March Easter (as it is this year) is only 11 years away – although that’s just about within the time-frame that Archbishop Justin Welby hopes for an ecumenical agreement on a fixed Easter date.

Disagreements about the date of Easter in the early church led to the Council of Nicea (in 325AD) deciding that Easter should be on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox.  Why?  The full moon is linked to the Jewish festival of Passover – which was the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.  Eastern and Western churches still have different dates for Easter because the former use the Julian calendar to calculate the date, whereas the West moved to the Gregorian calendar following a papal decree in 1582 (although, not being keen to be too slavish to continental Europe – sound familiar? – the UK waited until September 1752 to change).

In England we actually have a (1928) Act of Parliament providing for Easter to be on the first Sunday after the second Saturday of April – but it has never been implemented.  All that is a long-winded way of observing that Easter is early this year so we only have one Sunday of “ordinary time” (green as the liturgical colour) between Candlemas and Lent.

So, from Wednesday, will you take the challenge of doing an act of generosity or kindness each day?  Go to www.40acts.org.uk  and join the movement.

Pewsheet for 24th January 2016

Pewsheets

Click here to see this week’s pewsheet.

Tip: If this, or any other, PDF document opens at too large a size, here’s what you do:

  1. Open Adobe Reader, for example, by opening a *.pdf document you have on your computer.
  2. From the Edit menu, click Preferences.
  3. With Page Display selected in the left hand list of Categories, on the right hand side of the window, choose a Page Layout and Zoom level that suits you, for example Single Page and Fit Page.
  4. Now any time you open a PDF, it will open at this zoom level.

From The Rector…

Clergy

Our New Testament reading today continues St Paul’s exploration of the theme of unity and diversity in a passage that proves remarkably poignant for our common life at this time – and not just because we reach the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  On Wednesday Bishop Mark and Archdeacon Fiona (of Horsham) came to discuss the Crawley (& Horsham) Parish Review with the PCC.  Careful and often profound observations made for a positive and engaged meeting in which your PCC reps did you proud (and, as the Chair of the PCC, I express my thanks to all those who came).  Much of the time was spent exploring the recommendation that we consider whether the church’s mission in this part of Crawley would be better served by splitting the parish into two or remaining as one.  Unity and diversity again.  It was encouraging to see how the needs of the communities we serve were in the foreground – and that the recognition of Jesus’ mission (and ours!) offered in today’s gospel was the starting point rather than any pre-conceived idea of church structures.  Elsewhere in the Review there were concrete recommendations about splitting the other three parishes in Crawley and we were reassured by the visitors that the recommendation had been framed to emphasise that it was for us to consider and work out the best way forward in our context.  Questions of resourcing were also discussed and it was clear that the focus our current Home Groups are giving to identifying and releasing the spiritual gifts of diverse members of our congregations to collaborate in our common mission was an essential first step (ring any bells with the Corinthians reading?).

Every blessing to you all

From the Curate…

Pewsheets

With today’s Gospel reading you could legitimately ask the question; ‘How on earth does turning water into wine reveal to us the Glory of God?’

Obviously, there is the quick answer that it demonstrates Jesus to be the best wedding guest ever and it dispels the arguments that as Christians we are not to party or celebrate. I suppose you could even argue the case to always invite the clergy to the reception in case lightning strikes twice!

Joking aside, today’s reading is one of the critical moments within the Gospel narrative.  One day when he was around thirty years old, Jesus and his friend showed up at a wedding. Weddings in Israel typically lasted seven days.  Families were known to invite large number of people, sometimes – entire villages  (with three daughters – I always thank God that this practice is no longer observed and I have often advocated bringing your own picnic as an alternative to the wedding reception!)  Refusal to come was an insult and there should be leftovers – so running out of wine was a serious faux pas.  When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother asked him to step in. His reply that his hour had not yet come – was ignored – mother’s always know best!  And then came the critical moment. As he acted and turned the water in wine, the host relaxed, the feast resumed, the crowd rejoiced – but a chain of events had been set in motion that would lead to a confrontation with enemies that would change the course of the world.  A clock had started ticking.

Jesus had spent 30 years preparing for this moment – he had prepared for it by always keeping his eyes on God and God’s purpose for his life as well as studying the scripture and praying – so that he was ready at a Wedding in Cana to start the clock ticking. A pattern of preparation we should all follow

Steve