This announcement was made on Sunday 27th September:

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Revd James Grant as the next parish priest for the parishes of Old Shoreham and Kingston Buci.  James is currently associate vicar in the benefice of Worth, Pound Hill, and Maidenbower.  James will be assistant vicar working closely with Canon Ann Waizeneker who will have oversight and the cure of souls for all the parishes in Shoreham, Shoreham Beach and Kingston Buci.  There will be a further announcement soon about the timing for James’ departure.”

Click here to see this week’s pewsheet.

We begin the Alpha Course this coming week and the first session will pose the question – ‘Is there more to life than this?

This question has been asked and dissected throughout the history of the human race. The Bible can be seen as the story of groups of people – Israel in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament – wrestling with this very issue.  Those who reject God in the reading from the Wisdom of Solomon have concluded that there is no remedy when life comes to end.  When you die that is it.  However, even these opponents to God cannot help be engaged and intrigued by people who have faith.

Sometimes churches haven’t been a safe space to ask the big questions of life – my hope is that Tuesday evening at St Barnabas’ Church, in the sharing of a meal and the asking of questions, that Alpha will be such a safe space.  My other hope for Alpha is that it will also demonstrate another aspect of Christian love, the aspect of hospitality.

In the Gospel reading, the greatest will be those with a servant heart who will welcome everyone even the lowest of the low – in the society of Jesus this was children – today it might be the homeless person or migrant.  True hospitality is welcoming everyone in abundant love no matter what baggage they have.  At Alpha, we will all be bringing baggage, but we will all be welcome, just as we are when we gather together, this Sunday, at the Communion rail.  All with our own baggage, but all equally welcomed to share in the Lord’s Supper.  And as Sian and Greta (this week) begin their ministries as Lay Ministers of Communion, may they feel this welcome always.

Steve

The www.worthparish.org/comeandsing page has been updated. We’d forgot to tell singers to bring a pencil !  If you’re not a singer, please come along for the informal concert at 7pm, Saturday 19th September.

Words are powerful – more powerful than we sometimes realise.  Words can tug at the heart-strings: Josephine, a lovely, kind, cultured young lady from the church I led in Damascus wrote this week “last night ISIS tried to attack my village … today was a bad day, we were asked by security to leave the village.”  More ‘internally displaced’; friends not numbers.

Words can build up and encourage: Isaiah has been given the gift of “sustaining the weary with a word”.  Do you offer that kind word to a suffering neighbour? Are you going to look out the refugees to be housed in Crawley to extend a word of “welcome”?

Words can express profound truths: “You are the Messiah” says Peter, barely comprehending the meaning and significance of what he says in response to Jesus’ question.  Words will allow us to convey our experiences, doubts, confusion and understanding when we (OK only about 30 of us signed up so far) meet for the Alpha evenings and find it’s OK to get it wrong sometimes – as Peter does in today’s gospel.

Words can also tear down: they don’t have to be “full of deadly poison” to hurt and undermine others – a sarcastic comment; the hint or insinuation in some ‘harmless gossip’ is enough.  The adage “You are what you eat” is familiar and we try to limit our excesses.  But do we think that “you are what you say” and take as much care over that?  If we are deliberate about holding back angry words, or the temptation to boost our ego by diminishing another but instead look out opportunities to offer a kind, encouraging or welcoming word we (individually and as a Church) will be offering clear, sweet water not a brackish poison.  We can’t offer both.    How will you use the power of your words?  Which are we to be?

Anthony