Author: Worth Parish

Choral Opportunities This September

Events, Families, Special Services

This September, there are lots of opportunities for you to exercise your voice with us with varying levels of commitment.

  • You could simply turn up at 11am on Saturday September 19th and enjoy being part of a choir for the day at our “Come and Sing Musicals” workshop and informal concert.
  • You might want to become part of the Worth Festival Choir, a choir that only forms for 2 events a year.  Our rehearsals start this Sunday 6th September, 2-4pm and continue each Sunday at this time until November 1st, when we will be performing extracts from Mozart’s Requiem as part of an All Souls Memorial Service. We’d be delighted to have you !
  • Finally, you, or someone you know, might want to join Worth Choir.  Currently, this choir is a mixed group of fifteen singers who work hard to maintain the remarkable choral tradition which St Nicholas’ has supported since the 15th century.  No specific musical experience is required to join the choir. More important is the enthusiasm and willingness to commit and to learn.  To see what sort of things we sing, you can view our September music list here.  To find out more, email musicdirector@worthparish.org.uk

 

 

From the Curate…

Clergy

Once again it seems that we have faced a very challenging week.  As we celebrated in fun and laughter in the glorious sun of the last Saturday’s St Nicholas fete, news slowly trickled through of the terrible tragedy at the Shoreham Air Show and then the heart-breaking news of the death of Pam’s granddaughter who was struck by a car.

As I watched the news and spoke to colleagues who were ministering to those affected in Shoreham there has been a tremendous outpouring of grief.  A few people came to Church to find comfort but the focal point has become the floral tribute on Shoreham footbridge near to the crash site.  This has become a familiar scene along our roads with smaller tributes marking the site of fatal car accidents.  One of the things that such sites and the Shoreham Bridge demonstrates is our human need to gather at a place in our grief.  Perhaps in the past this place was the Church but increasingly in today’s society this has not been the case.

One reason could be that just as the Pharisees were more concerned with religious rules of how people should behave rather than what was in people’s heart, churches have become unwelcoming, worrying too much that people should behave and do things in a certain way rather than holding out our arms in all embracing love in order to welcome newcomers and regular attendees in the same way.  As we enter this season of welcome in the Church’s calendar, if we do welcome everyone then Churches may remain a safe place to gather to be comforted by one another and by God in our times of grief as well as joy.

Steve

Raffle Winners

Pewsheets

Here’s a list of our raffle winners. Congratulations ! If you haven’t been phoned about your prize by Wednesday, please call the office.

PRIZE WINNER
Two-course meal for 4 people at the Coaching Halt with a bottle of house wine Liz Burston
Watercolour of St Nicholas’ Church, Worth Sue Walshe
A month’s family membership of Nuffield Health Elizabeth Whyman
Gel Manicure or Pedicure (Bodikind) Chloe
A LEGO set Sian Moulder
Another LEGO set Ann Dent
Goodie bag from “Beautiful Nails & Body Salon” including £25 voucher Gill H
Chiropody Treatment (Bodikind) Hidgkinson
Mounted photograph of St Nicholas’ Church, Worth Jean
A hamper of foods Jacqueline
A bottle of something nice Ann H
Set of 6 individual casserole dishes Kerry
Automatic golf putter Mike C
Ice-watch with Swarovski crystals (worth £100) Bridget
A wine course for 2 people at Majesticwine Bob Sulley
£10 voucher from The Master Fryer, Pound Hill Jane S
Children’s golf set (kindly donated by ASDA) Esther
Children’s badminton set (kindly donated by ASDA) Shirley S
Men’s toiletry gift set Ian Gibb
Ladies’ toiletry gift set (1) Nikki
Ladies’ toiletry gift set (2) Heather
A box of biscuits Joan Tick
Jigsaw Gay Redstone
Set of mystery books Brenda Tredger
Cool bag Alastair Wells
Whisky Coin Smith
Clarins Andrea
Marmalades Peter
Thorntons Chocolates Ann H

Thanks for Coming !

Pewsheets

Thank you to everyone who attended our summer fete at Worth Rectory.  It was very successful, enjoyable and very hot !  Especial thanks go to Steve (formerly of the Coaching Halt) and chef Sam who did a sweltering and fantastic job on the barbecue, giving their time for free, and to Bob who produced marvellous charcoal portraits of visitors.

We will publish details once all expenses are in, but it looks like over £1000 was raised for Parish funds and there is a lot we need to save for – path improvements at St Nicholas’, double-glazing at St Barnabas’, increasing our work with young people, belfry repairs to name just a few, so thank you for supporting us.

Pewsheet for 23rd August 2015

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 as shown here:Preferences
  4. Now any time you open a PDF, it will open at this zoom level.

From the Rector…

Clergy

Whenever I read St Paul’s words in today’s epistle about putting on the whole armour of God I think of the prayer that is popularly known as St Patrick’s breastplate.  The one that concludes:

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name, The strong Name of the Trinity; By invocation of the same. The Three in One, and One in Three, Of Whom all nature hath creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, Salvation is of Christ the Lord

Tradition has it that he wrote it in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity. When writing the prayer he may well have had in mind those parts of St John’s Gospel (including today’s) which speak of Christ abiding in us (and us in Him). We may not feel we need a combat gear to go about our daily lives, (although many do, such as the refugees or “migrants” fleeing conflict zones) but the prayer is a reminder of our constant need for God’s protection and love as we reach out to serve our local communities.

The full version of the prayer can be found in your hymn books (326 at St Barnabas’ and 277 at St Nicholas’).

Anthony


From the Rector…

Pewsheets
Canon Anthony Ball

Canon Anthony Ball

This week’s gospel continues the theme of being fed which, for me, has been quite poignant.  I have spent much of the week on retreat in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at Crawley Down – the home of the Community of the Servants of the Will of God, an enclosed /contemplative community of Anglican monks.  Some of the reading and reflection I did included the question of why people come to church, with the two options of ‘in search of community or a sense of belonging’ and ‘belief or faith’ being offered.  Jesus is to be found in both and it seems to me that the answer is, as so often, likely to be a mixture of both and, in each other of our faith journeys, likely to be mixed in different proportions at different times.

Rather like, in the Eucharist service, we encounter Jesus in both Word and Sacrament but different elements of the service will ‘speak’ to us more at different times. How does Jesus feed you?

We expect our Alpha Course, which starts next month, to offer a chance of exploring or deepening both ‘faith’ and ‘community’ elements of our Christian life.

Might you be part of that?

Invitations are at the back of church.

Anthony