Rector
The Rt Rev Darren McCartney 028 4175 3497
suffragan1@gmail.com
The Magazine of the Church of Ireland Parishes of Clonallon & Warrenpoint with Kilbroney in the Diocese of Down and Dromore
Have you ever looked at a piece of wood, perhaps in furniture, a floor, a ceiling, a staircase, and wondered at the beauty of the wood, the grain in the wood? I used to love working with wood and had the joy and satisfaction of making a bed when we were planning our wedding.
Yet, I think, the most beautiful thing I ever made from wood was a cartridge box for shotgun cartridges when I was around fifteen. The box was made from mahogany, a beautiful red mahogany. The top had tempered glass with the image of a Springer Spaniel raising a bird that I etched on it. Getting back to the grain, and the preparation of the wood to bring out the grain.
A long time has passed since I last worked with wood, 35 since I prepared the mahogany for the box!
when in ministry. Often the grain is hidden and you don’t get to really see the quality of a timber until it is sanded. Often, we can coast along in our Christian walk. We are content, even happy, when things go our way. Then we are confronted with an attitude or thinking that doesn’t fit with our own worldview. Moments like these are like a little rubbing with the sandpaper, begin to reveal more about us. The question I ask myself is what do such moments reveal about myself and my profession of faith in Jesus? Do people see more of Christ and his beauty or something of the old self, the rotten knots and imperfections that are so rough it renders the piece of wood unworkable?
Many of you are now aware that I have accepted the invitation to become the rector of Saint Paul’s Church, Lisburn, in the Diocese of Connor. As I said in church on Pentecost Sunday, it would be so nice to remain in this beautiful part of the world where we are settled and where Liam has his friends, but this ought not to dictate or subvert the calling and leading of God. I wish to assure you that I have done everything to test this calling and truly believe it to be the Lord’s leading. Many of you have become close friends and have supported the work and witness in this place during my time. You will never know how much this has meant to me.
Blessings, +Darren
I remember using different grades of sandpaper from coarse to a very fine paper, steel wool, different wood stains between sanding and I also remember using wax. I listened to the instruction and advice that I was given, even though it required a lot of seemingly labourious work for a fifteen-year-old, but it turned out beautifully, bringing out the beauty of the wood.
The grain in the wood is an image I often reflect on
Communications Competition
The winners of the Central Communications Board’s communications competition were announced at the General Synod, Clayton White’s Hotel, Wexford.
This year’s competition focused on print media in the Church of Ireland and celebrated the work of writers, designers and editors whose consistent and creative work produces our magazines throughout the year.
The competition was kindly sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance and prizes were presented by the Chair of the Central Communications Board, Bishop Pat Storey, and Scott Hayes from Ecclesiastical Insurance.
In the parishes category, first place went to Union Focus –the magazine for Naas Union of Parishes in the Diocese of Meath and Kildare.
The runner–up, The Messenger from Magheralin Parish, in the Diocese of Down and Dromore.
The following magazines were highly commended for their quality:
• The Pointer, Clonallon and Warrenpoint with Kilbroney (Down and Dromore)
• St Patrick’s Press, Greystones (Dublin and Glendalough)
• The Columban, Knock (Down and Dromore)
• Magheragall Parish News (Connor)
Down and Dromore Diocesan Synod
This is the main business meeting of the diocese. The Synod for 2023 will take place on Thursday 15th June in Dromore Cathedral.
What is a synod?
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod.
The word “synod” comes from the Greek “σύνοδος” (synodos) meaning “assembly” or “meeting”, and it is synonymous with the Latin word “concilium” meaning “council”.
A Bell Ringer
A local man John, rang the church bell faithfully for many years. One day a new clergyman was appointed and decided to carry out a full modern style appraisal of all the church activities.
John was invited for an assessment. The minister wanted to know about his bell ringing qualifications. John sadly had none to mention and eventually explained that he was in fact unable to read or write. The minister felt forced therefore to ask poor John to relinquish his position. With great sadness John walked out of the bell tower for the last time.
He felt a strong urge to console himself with a cigarette. After a fruitless search he discovered there were no shops selling cigarettes in his village. Despite his disappointment he suddenly realised that here was a business opportunity. He set up a small stall and soon got a steady trade. His business expanded and he was traipsing to the bank with increasing amounts of cash to deposit.
I was pleased to be able to go to General Synod to receive the prize. Thanks to all of you, parishioners and friends, who contribute articles and photographs without your help the magazine would be poorer. Please keep sending in material poems, recipes, items of interest, memories and much more. Thanks also to Christine Annett who proof reads the copy.
The prize money has enabled us to purchase a number of linen purificators for each of our three churches.
Elizabeth Hanna (Editor)The bank manager noticing all this money languishing in a non-interest bearing current account called John in and tried to explain the benefits of investing the proceeds. John resisted at first then explained once more that he was illiterate and couldn’t deal with such complexities. The kind manager was impressed at John's success despite this constraint.
He asked John "what might you have become if you'd had the chance of a proper education?"
John wistfully replied" I would have been a bell ringer"
Church Services
A guy received a parrot as a gift. The parrot was gorgeous, but it had a bad attitude and a terrible vocabulary. Every word out of its beak was rude, foul, and profane. The guy spent months trying to change the bird's attitude: speaking only polite words, treating the bird gently, playing soft music, etc. Nothing seemed to "clean up" the bird's outlook or vocabulary.
Finally, the guy got fed up and yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. He shook the parrot; it got angrier, louder, and even ruder. In desperation, he grabbed the bird and threw it into the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet.
Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, the guy quickly opened the freezer.
The parrot calmly stepped out and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate behaviour and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my bad attitude and unforgivable vocabulary."
The guy was stunned! Before he could reply, the bird asked carefully, "Might I ask what the chicken did?"
Lectionary Year A
THEORIES OF CAT BEHAVIOUR
LAW
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force, such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
LAW
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.
FIRST LAW OF CAT ENERGY CONSERVATION
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.
LAW OF BAG/BOX OCCUPANCY
All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.
LAW OF FURNITURE REPLACEMENT
A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
LAW OF CAT COMPOSITION
A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-matter + It Doesn't Matter.
LAW OF CAT OBEDIENCE
As yet undiscovered.
Clonallon and Warrenpoint Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/warrenpointcoi/ Sunday Services live streamed at 10.00 am.
Kilbroney Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/KilbroneyParishChurchRostrevor/ Sunday Services live streamed at 11.30 am.
Crafters on Wednesdays
This group continues to welcome all folk with crafts of any kind. We gather between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm in the Parish Room.
Tower Bells and Handbells on Thursdays
Tower bells 6.45 to 7.30 pm
Handbells 7.30 to 9.00 pm
Ladies Guild Outing
Thursday 15th June at 11.00 am
We start with tea, coffee and scones at Murlough House, Keel Point.
Then Seaforde Butterfly House and Gardens
Ending up at French's for dinner.
Karen McCartney 07379749377
Dorothy Major 07720 017371
Deadline for July and August 2023 edition of The Pointer is Friday 23rd June
Please let me know if groups have revised plans for the months of July and August.
Please keep sending in articles and photographs!
Editor: hannamanor15@btinternet.com
A young American tourist goes on a guided tour of a creepy old European castle. At the end of the tour the guide asks her how she enjoyed it. She admits to being a bit worried about seeing a ghost in some of the dark cobwebby rooms and passages.
"Don't worry," says the guide. "I've never seen a ghost all the time I've been here"
"How long is that?" asks the girl.
"About three hundred years ..."
Kilbroney Parish Church Prayer Group
Wednesdays 10.00 am to 11.00 am
Ladies Bible Study
Warrenpoint Vestry
Tuesday 13th June at 10.45 am
Everyone Welcome
Compline on Facebook 9.00 pm
Sundays
Kilbroney
Tuesdays
Clonallon & Warrenpoint
Badminton
Warrenpoint Parish Hall
All new members welcome Mondays and Thursdays beginning at 5.30 pm
Favourite Hymn
For the United Service on 30th July (held in Kilbroney) we want to use a selection of favourite hymns. Please submit your choice in the box provided in each church. These will be collected at the beginning of July. (Your name won’t be used in the service!)
Name Hymn
I like this hymn because
Kilbroney needs an Hon. Treasurer! Dear Fellow Parishioners,
At the Select Vestry (SV), following the Easter General Vestry meeting on 28th March 2023 we were unable to appoint an Hon. Treasurer.
It had been decided to greatly reduce the work load of the treasurer in the following ways:
1. The appointment of a qualified accountant to help, oversee and advise the new office bearer. This person would produce the monthly report for the SV and the end of year report.
2. Electronic banking accounts would be set up.
3. Parishioners would be urged to pay by standing order and reduce the volume of cash taken from free will offerings.
The new responsibilities of the treasurer would be to maintain a spread sheet (already set up) to record incoming and outgoings. To bank any funds, and issue cheques for payment of invoices, stipend, other payments etc.
However there is a further proposal which is likely to be approved:
The proposal with Mike McCann, the proposed account (QA) is that the treasurer would issue and part authorize payments and be 1st signatory of cheques. On receipt of the bank statements the treasurer would mark as to what each item is and send photocopies to QA or email scanned copies. QA can then do all the spreadsheet stuff.
The treasurer would initially check all payment requests to ensure that they are OK to pay.
Analysis: the new treasurer would have much less to do than is currently undertaken by current and previous treasurers.
The long and short of it is that if we cannot appoint someone from the SV, then any parishioner who felt able is eligible for appointment .
We are asking all parishioners to consider whether with the help and support now offered, and a greatly reduced work load, they could undertake this post.
We really need to fill this post as quickly as possible. Thank you all.
Dr. Ken Roberts, Hon. Secretary.A woman meant to call a music store but dialled the wrong number and got a private home instead. "Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme'?" she asked. "Well, no," answered the puzzled homeowner. "But I have a wife and eleven children." "Is that a record?" she inquired.
"I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get."
A Big Boy Now
Charlie dear, please be careful on the road tonight, some of those guys drive far too fast and have absolutely no concern for pedestrians.
Now, I don’t mind you going out to meet up with your friends, I know it’s only normal for a good looking young fellow like you, but do stop , look and listen before you cross that busy road ! If you are in Warrenpoint and getting home late have you thought about walking on the beach instead of the road, (when the tide is out of course). Sure I know you are not a good swimmer and you don’t even like getting wet in the rain never mind salty water!
I hear that there are lots of good-looking girls hanging around the square uummmm I’d rather you looked around the nice residential areas, take a dander up the Well Road, in to Clonallon and down in to Drumsesk. You could walk home that way and you never know who you might meet and have a chat with. You might meet up with some nice wee country girl and I’m sure she’d be happy to meet a handsome, well-mannered fellow like you. You could bring her home here any time for a meal and I’d like to meet her, we could arrange somewhere for you both to live!!
Sorry, sorry, sorry I’m jumping ahead too quickly as usual!
I keep forgetting that you‘re my lovely wee black and white KITTEN, I do love you, and, like any Mummy, I want only the best for you!
Joan ToaseAnswer on page 19
I hate it when I see an old person and then realize we went to high school together.
Sermon from the Day of Pentecost
John
20:19–23 & Acts 2:1-21
The son of a wealthy man expected to receive a sports car for his graduation. Instead, his dad called him into his study told him that he loved him and handed him a wrapped-up present.
When he opened it, he found it to be a box containing leather bound Bible, with his name inscribed on the spine.
Angrily the young man tossed the box on his father’s desk and stormed out saying: with “With all your money, all you can give me is a Bible!”
They never spoke again, despite the fact that the young man’s father tried hard to contact him. Years later, he got a call to say his dad had died, leaving him everything.
As he was going through his father’s belongings, he found that Bible still in its box.
Curious, he took the Bible out of the box and opened it. The page fell open at a passage his father had marked. And as he looked at the page, he noticed that his dad had underlined Matthew 7:11
“If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father give what is good to those who ask him.”
And as he read it, a car key fell from inside the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name on it – for the sports car that he had wanted years earlier.
On the tag beside his graduation date were the words: “Paid in full, love dad.” (Word for Today Saturday, September 7th 2002).
Pentecost is the season when we remember God’s great gift to us following the death of his Son in our place on the Cross. The Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately many Christians reject the gift of the Holy Spirit – for fear often of being “happy clappy” and miss out on a wonderful gift from God that can infuse our lives and our ministry.
The power of the Holy Spirit, given to the Church at Pentecost, is more than simply an emotional form of Worship. It is the power given to the Church to enable her to fulfil the Great Commission from our Lord. Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Today is a day set aside in the Church calendar when we think more particularly of Holy Spirit. We call it Pentecost because it comes fifty days after Easter. Pente is the Greek word for “five,” and pentekostos means “fiftieth.” Fifty days have passed since the Jewish Passover and Easter, and we are now at the Feast of Weeks or First Fruits. This is a day about the Holy Spirit of God coming to us and dwelling within us. It is a day to think of the fire of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
Acts 2:1-4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
We are told the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, is like a wind, like a flame. And our collect for today says the following “… and to draw everyone to the fire of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (2nd Collect of the day.)
Saint Paul tells us the Holy Spirit distributes giftings to the members of the church
1 Corinthians 12: 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, r and to still another the interpretation of tongues
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
The gifts, mentioned above, are to help us to work with God in our own day, and significantly, within the context where we are.
The famous theologian, Karl Barth, after finishing his Church Dogmatics, was interviewed and asked, “After all your scholarly writings, what is the most important thing you have discovered?” Barth reflected on this for a moment – this brilliant man who took thirteen volumes to exposit the Christian faith, and even then he wasn’t done! After a pause, Barth answered the question by reducing his 13 volumes of Church Dogmatics into one simple sentence based on the lyrics of an old Sunday School song: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” .
We celebrate God’s gift of love to us on this Pentecost Sunday.
Christ promised to be with us always, even until the end of time.
In John 20, after giving them the Spirit and expressing the wish that peace would be with them, Jesus said to his disciples, as he says to us today, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
We ought to consider ourselves sent sent out. The early Celtic church missionaries had a connection and faith in God that is quite inspirational. When they left these shores, they had the strong belief that the Holy Spirit was in the wind of their sails. Let us consider ourselves sent to bring the Spirit of Pentecost to the world around us, to a world in need of hope and help. There are times when we are more regular in our “living in the power or under the influence of the Holy Spirit.” Our thinking, the way we practice or exercise our faith is more Christ-like, our decisions are Godly, our speech is Godly, our actions will betray the fact that we are followers of Christ.
You know that if we are not constant in our exercise we will become easily fatigued and it take much more effort than it once used to in accomplish the same tasks.
I firmly believe the same is the case concerning our “Living under the influence of the Holy Spirit.” The more we seek to encourage the Holy Spirit in our lives the easier it will be when we face challenges material and spiritual.
A little later in chapter Acts 2 Luke, describing the life of the early church after receiving the Holy Spirit, uses these words,
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
I would like to use this passage to shape a prayer, please pray with me.
Our Father in heaven -
Help us to devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching.
Help us to continue in fellowship.
To be regular at Holy Communion and Prayer.
Let us see wonders and miraculous signs.
To hold things in common and to help anyone in need.
May we have glad and sincere hearts.
May we sing your praises. Amen.
Pentecost Sunday marks the birth of a 2000 year old, 2 billion strong, revolutionary movement of justice and love, actively engaged on the frontlines of education, the arts, medical provision, and care for the poor, foundational to western civilisation, present in almost every nation on earth. For all our many serious imperfections - and these we must urgently own - I truly believe that the church of Jesus Christ remains the hope for a broken world.
Peter GreigTreat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
First Nations ProverbLadies Guild
Rosie Teggarty very kindly agreed to speak at our Ladies Guild meeting in April. Rosie works as the Volunteer Coordinator with the Southern Area Hospice. She gave us an informative talk about the new services available through the Hospice. I think everyone came away with a greater insight into the work of the Hospice.
Rosie wanted to raise awareness that Hospice Services are available within the Southern Trust. Many people currently refer to it as “Newry” Hospice but the Hospice are trying to raise the profile as the “Southern Area” Hospice.
• The Inpatient Unit has 14 single bedrooms over 2 floors.
• There are family rooms, available for family and carers if needed.
• The beautiful Hospice gardens are located at the back of the building with tranquil surroundings for patients, carers, and families to enjoy.
Patients are referred to the In-Patient Unit for several reasons, such as complex symptom management, rehabilitation following treatment, respite care and end of life care.
Patients can avail of treatment and advice from a multidisciplinary team, made up of a Medical and Nursing Team, Physiotherapists, Social Workers, Chaplains and Therapist.
Community Services
Nursing Support - our nurses can advise on pain medication, and symptom management techniques, as well as helpful coping strategies.
Physiotherapy - Our physiotherapists can recommend treatments to manage fatigue, breathlessness and improve strength and general fitness.
Social Work Support - Our social workers can offer you a confidential place to talk, supporting you as you adapt to life either living with illness or caring for a loved one. We can assist you accessing helpful services including financial support.
Spiritual Support - Our chaplains offer a confidential and safe space to listen to any questions and concerns you may have about family, loss, and faith.
Rosie provided the following information:
Southern Area Hospice Services
The Hospice provides care for patients and their families living primarily in the Southern Trust area, offering specialist palliative and end of life care and has been in operation for over 30 years. The main aim of the hospice is to help patients who have received a palliative diagnosis live well with their condition. We strive to support patients to achieve the best possible quality of life from first receiving a palliative diagnosis, until the end of life, whenever that may be. We also offer ongoing support to patients’ families and carers.
Services have been re-vamped and there are several new programmes available to help patients, families, carers and the bereaved.
Our services include:
In-patient Unit
The Inpatient Unit offers specialist palliative and end of life care, by a multi-disciplinary team for patients living with a palliative or life limiting illness.
Our spiritual support is available to everyone.
Group Programmes
Living Well, Thinking Well: a six-week group programme for patients
Caring Well, Thinking Well: a three-week group programme for carers
Creative workshops, such as art therapy or journalling Memory making workshop
Therapies
While these services are provided free of charge, we had to fundraise £3.2 million last year to allow us to continue. This equates £61,538 per week. We have phenomenal support from our local community. These costs are set to rise this year.
We are only a phone call away 028 3026 7711. Please spread the word to those whom you think could benefit from our help.
Karen McCartneyRosie and the Hospice
My journey into Hospice was purely God’s guidance. The cancer diagnosis and eventual passing of my lifelong best friend had a huge impact on my life. During her illness, she repeatedly used the phrase ‘when the time comes’ prior to her asking me to carry out some of her wishes after she passed away. This was a very hard phrase to hear during this period and I was reminded of Jesus using the same phrase to his disciples prior to his death.
Hospice care coupled with Macmillan nurses were a vital part of the last few months of my friend’s life. Such amazing places and this changed my outlook of what these services really mean to their local communities.
One year after her passing, I was checking job sites for one of our sons who was unemployed at the time. One of the vacancies was that of Co-ordinator of Voluntary Services in Southern Area Hospice. Having looked over the role description I thought it sounded interesting and then discovered the closing date was the next day at 12 noon (less than 24 hours from the time of viewing it). I was just about to dismiss the idea when I could hear the words ‘when the time comes’
The rest is history!
May we all have the patience, wisdom and grace to listen to his voice.
Rosie TeggartyOnce there was a millionaire who collected live alligators. He kept them in the pool in back of his mansion. The millionaire also had a beautiful single daughter.
So one day he decides to throw a huge party, and during the party he announces: "My dear guests, I have a proposition to every man here. I will give one million dollars or my daughter to the man who can swim across this pool full of alligators and emerge unharmed!"
As soon as he finished his last word there was the sound of a large SPLASH! One guy was in the pool, swimming as fast as he could, and the crowd was cheering him on. Finally he made it to the other side, miraculously unharmed.
The millionaire was impressed. "My boy that was incredible! Fantastic! I didn't think it could be done! Well I must keep my end of the bargain. Which do you want: my daughter or the one million dollars?"
The guy says, "Listen, I don't want your money! And I don't want your daughter! I just want the name of the guy who pushed me into that pool!"
Across
1 See 23 Across
Crossword
3 Where the thief on the cross was told he would be, with Jesus (Luke 23:43) (8)
8 Invalid (4)
9 Blasphemed (Ezekiel 36:20) (8)
11 Adhering to the letter of the law rather than its spirit (Philippians 3:6) (10)
14 Shut (Ecclesiastes 12:4) (6)
15 ‘This is how it will be with anyone who up things for himself but is not rich towards God’ (Luke 12:21) (6)
17 Mary on Isis (anag.) (10)
20 Agreement (Hebrews 9:15) (8)
21 Native of, say, Bangkok (4)
22 Deaf fort (anag.) (5-3)
23 and 1 Across ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of to work it and take of it’ (Genesis 2:15) (4,4)
Down
1 Struggle between opposing forces (Habakkuk 1:3) (8)
2 James defined this as ‘looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world’ (James 1:27) (8)
4 ‘The one I kiss is the man; him’ (Matthew 26:48) (6)
5 ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in , faithful in prayer’ (Romans 12:12) (10)
6 St Columba’s burial place (4)
7 Swirling current of water (4)
10 Loyalty (Isaiah 19:18) (10)
12 ‘God was pleased through the foolishness of what was , to save those who believe’ (1 Corinthians 1:21) (8)
13 Camp where the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 men one night (2 Kings 19:35) (8)
16 ‘There is still Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet’(2 Samuel 9:3) (1,3,2)
18 David Livingstone was one (4)
19 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (1,1,1,1)
Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know and don't really care.
… and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6.33b).
It is surely the experience of anyone seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness that they lose out on nothing worthwhile in this life - what is more, as my Franciscan friend Sister Anna Mary would say, “All this, and heaven too!” If you are just starting out on the Christian Way, may you be encouraged by this Scripture.
In 1976, when I made the 35-hour bus journey from Buenos Aires to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, little did I know what good things the Lord had in store for me. I had taken the step, in faith, in response to an invitation to join the English team at Colegio San Andres. A word from the Scriptures, lines from a hymn in Spanish, and the blessing of my church; but in my heart I had some misgivings. It was time to move on, but after 8 wonderful years in the charismatic renewal in Buenos Aires, working in Editorial Logos, a Christian publishing house, it seemed as if I was about to be put in a straight-jacket!
The invitation in 1976 was for one year and the fact that I only left Paraguay in 2005, 30 years later, speaks for itself! They were years of joy and fulfilment, when we enjoyed the Lord’s protection and witnessed many miraculous answers to prayer. Of course, there were also challenges and difficulties - but sure, everyone has these!
In March this year, I again made the long journey to Asunción, this time from Northern Ireland, and by plane, and in response to an invitation delivered to me by an ex-pupil, now head of Pre-primary - to take part in celebrations during the 60th year since the school was founded - What a privilege!
The school was birthed in 1963, when a SAMS missionary, Miss Dorothea Wedgwood, started a preschool for children of English-speaking families. On 18th March, six little 4-year olds gathered in the vestry of the Anglican chaplaincy church, in Asunción, Paraguay, played games on the lawn beside the church
and listened to Bible stories. At the end of the year there were 15. Encouraged by the delight of their parents and the prayers of Thea’s aunt, Miss Anne Wedgwood, herself an educator in London, the children stayed on the following year for Preschool.
A close relative by marriage of one of the mums, happened to be the daughter of General Stroessner, the dictator President. She was impressed by what she saw in her sister-in-law’s children and enrolled her own son in the preschool (two younger brothers followed later). Aunt Anne must have watched on in wonder as her vision for reaching the rich and influential through Christian education (Eton, no less, was the aim she had in mind!) appeared to have started to come true!
By the third year, a headmistress had been appointed, Miss Glenys Williams, and a Montessori-trained teacher, Miss Jocelyn Padbury joined her on the leadership team; a Paraguayan 1st Grade teacher was appointed, and so, Saint Andrew’s College - Colegio San Andres, was launched, with a bilingual programme.
Aunt Anne mortgaged the basement of her London house to pay for the first building. She also donated her library. So, the school progressed year by year until reaching year 6 of the Secondary School, with pupils from 3 to 18 years of age. It gained renown and prestige, and is among the best in Asunción
An Annexe school, for children from the riverside shanty town, was opened in 1972 with a tithe from the fee-paying school.
I had attended the 50th Anniversary - a grand affair with a gala dinner, organised by ex-pupils. For this 60th anniversary the organisers wanted to remember the founder and numerous former SAMS missionaries who had served over the years. They had chosen as their motto, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us”, from 1 Samuel 7:12.
pastor’s words to us were reassuring: “Every 50 years God sends a move of his Spirit, and I believe we are beginning to experience one now, here.” Just as in those early days when the foundations for the school were being laid, we, today, both here and in Paraguay, desperately need the Person and Presence of the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in putting the kingdom of
There was a strong desire, while looking back, to recall and to hold on to the precious principles and values which had helped to shape and guide the school from the start. Christian values, daily Bible studies led by the class teacher, learning English , an un-pretentious lifestyle, were a few of the things we heard ex-pupils say.
P.S. Following recent presidential elections in Paraguay, in which the winning party, strongly by the praying Church, has declared itself to be against legalising abortion, same sex marriage and the teaching of gender ideology in schools, there has come a violent backlash instigated by a politician who is inciting people to massive destruction and It is a critical and dangerous situation and much prayer is called for at this time, Wisdom is needed for the new president, to protect the freedoms they still have, and bring peace and calm in
When asked what, as an ex-pupil, had made the greatest impression on her, Analia replied, “They never tried to urge us to become Anglicans. They simply taught us the Word of God. When you consider that most of us were Roman Catholics, this made a deep impression on me.” Analia is now a member of a vibrant Pentecostal church.
What of the future, in these challenging times? A friend and I were privileged to attend a service in a “Communities” church, where we sensed such a beautiful Presence, it moved us to tears, and the
Ladies Bible Study
Our Group met on Tuesday 9th May and we had another morning of blessing. There were four apologies but six of us gathered round God's word and once again met another woman who met Jesus. This time it was the Canaanite woman.
Her story can be followed in Matthew 15 v 21-28 and Mark 7 v 24-30. The accounts are much the same, but it is good to look at the two.
By now Jesus was beginning to face opposition because of his teaching. So in Matthew 15 and verse 21 we read that Jesus 'withdrew'. Jesus often withdrew to somewhere, to get away from the crowds and just to be alone with his Heavenly Father. So, he withdrew to a different location .... the region of Tyre and Sidon. This was outside the area of his ministry .... into the Canaanite location .... a gentile area. Gentile is another name for people who are not Jews.
A Canaanite woman heard about Jesus and she believed with all her heart that he could help her. But, she was a woman and not usually respected; she was a gentile which made her less respected and a Canaanite made her even less respected. So she really hadn't much going for her.
She had a big problem and she needed a big solution. So she came up screaming to Jesus. She was at her wits end. Lord, Son of David have mercy on me. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession. A mother will do anything for her child, she'd go to any length and she'd put herself at risk.
Jesus seemed to ignore her v23 .... Jesus did not answer a word. She kept crying out. She was persistent. The disciples were impatient .... you can imagine them tut tutting and saying "here she is again". Then they urged Jesus to send her away.
Jesus never ever sends anyone away who calls on him. She had no intention of being stopped. She was certain that Jesus could heal her daughter.
Then he told her that he was sent for the lost in Israel. Well, she was not for giving up. The lady was not for turning. She knelt before Jesus in humility and pleaded "Lord, help me".
Now, the Jews considered themselves to be holy and worthy of God's love and this went back to Old Testament times. They were the chosen ones. The Gentiles or non-jews were considered low. The Canaanites were considered to be even lower because they had practices and beliefs that didn't line up with God's. Many Jews felt that they didn't deserve anything.
Maybe Jesus went there because he mighn't have been as well known, but word got round that Jesus was in the area.
What a strange response in verse 27 of Matthew 15 and in Mark 7 v 27. I looked up some explanations but couldn't grasp them. I guessed it was an expression that only jews and non-jews of the time would understand .... a bit like our 'Norn Ireland' expressions, that only we can understand. What a test for that woman. Yet there was no offence given and no offence was taken. She still wasn't deterred. Then there's the crumbs under the table .... doesn't that remind you of our prayer of humble access in the Communion Service -
Yes, she knew she was a gentile and wasn't part of God's chosen people. She knew she wasn't worthy of anything but what she said in verse 27 of Matthew 15 and in Mark 7 v 28 was awesome. In other words at least the dogs still get fed from the crumbs that fall from the table. They are there and they are available for picking up.
What faith she had! Jesus commended her faith v28. "woman you have great faith". He rewarded her faith and healed her daughter.
Scripture tells us, there is no difference between Jew and gentile when we are one with Jesus. There she
We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table, but you are the same Lord whose nature is always to have mercy.
stood amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene.
Romans 10 v12 for there is no difference between Jew and gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.
Galatians 3 v 28 there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3 v11 here, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Matt Redman's worship song - 'Even still, even so', starts with the line - 'Between the prayer and the miracle'. I was struck by those words. The words were so profound and I really wanted to use them. Then I thought of a bridge. Surely in this story we have that bridge that links the prayer to the miracle. The Canaanite woman's prayer and faith was met by Jesus love, mercy and grace and then there was the miracle of the healing of her daughter.
FAITH: Forsaking All I Trust Him
MERCY: Is not getting what we deserve
GRACE: Is getting what we don't deserve.
God's Riches At Christ's Expense
Some years ago Bishop Harold Millar had a sloganP U S H - Pray Until Something Happens.
Didn't the Canaanite woman PUSH? Didn't she pray until something happened?
1st Thessalonians 5 v 17 we read - pray continually
Romans 12 v 12 we read - be joyful in hope; patient in affliction and faithful in prayer
Sometimes when we have been praying for something, we don't seem to be getting any answer. Jesus seems to be silent. Be assured He is listening. That is the time He is asking us to wait ..... and it is testing. But we PUSH. We can be sure that if we put our faith and trust in him, knowing that he has our best interests at heart, we will get what is best for us. He knows what we need and he promises to provide it.
Prayer changes everything .... so let's PUSH. It is no secret what God can do. Amen
Our next Bible Study is
TUESDAY 13th June at 10.45 am IN THE VESTRY WARRENPOINT CHURCH.
ALL LADIES WILL BE MOST WELCOME
Look forward to seeing you all Love, God Bless and stay safe
Dorothy Xx
[Verse 1]
Even Still, Even So
Between the prayer and the miracle
Between the dusk and the breaking dawn
In all the pain of the unresolved
I will worship You, I will worship You.
[Verse 2]
Between lament and a cry of joy
Between the loss and a victory song
Between each wave in the fiercest storm
I will worship You, I will worship You
Yes, I will worship You, I will worship You.
[Chorus]
Whatever comes, whatever falls
From the highest height to the lowest low God, even still and even so
I'll lift my hands and I will worship You
I’ll lift my hands and I will worship You.
[Verse 3]
And as I stand on this battle ground
My flesh is weak but my faith is strong
I will beliеve for a turnaround
I will worship You, I will worship You
Yes, I will worship You, I will worship You.
Matt RedmanEducation Changed My Life
Before I got into education, I never believed in myself. I lacked self-confidence and my fear of failure led me to avoid the school. But when I built up the courage to go to the school, the teachers were very friendly and eager to help me.
I started slowly, and over time built my confidence and my goals changed. I always felt respected by the other students and teachers, and it felt good to learn. The more I learned the better I felt and to keep busy really s never too late to educate yourself.
Remember: one time in the Bible Elijah was like "God, I'm so mad! I want to die!" so God said "Here's some food. Why don't you have a nap?" So Elijah ate, slept and decided things weren't so bad. Never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack.
Prayers for Trinity Sunday
We come boldly to the throne of grace, praying to the almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for mercy and grace. We plead before your throne in heaven.
Father of heaven, whose love profound a ransom for our souls has found: We pray for the world, created by your love, for its nations and governments …
Extend to them your peace, pardoning love, mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Almighty Son, incarnate Word, our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord: We pray for the Church, created for your glory, for its ministry to reflect those works of yours
Extend to us your salvation, growth, mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Eternal Spirit, by whose breath the soul is raised from sin and death: We pray for families and individuals, created in your image, for the lonely, the bereaved, the sick and the dying …
Breathe on them the breath of life and bring them to your mercy and grace. We plead before your throne in heaven.
Thrice holy! Father, Spirit, Son, Mysterious Godhead, Three in One: We pray for ourselves, for your Church, for all whom we remember before you
Bring us all to bow before your throne in heaven, to receive life and pardon, mercy and grace for all eternity, as we worship you, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
A poor vagabond, traveling a country road in England, tired and hungry, came to a roadside inn with a sign reading: "George and the Dragon."
He knocked gently on the door and the innkeeper's wife stuck her head out a window.
"Could ye spare some victuals?" he asked politely. The woman glanced at his shabby clothes and obviously poor condition. "No!" she said rather sternly. "Could I just have a pint of ale?" "No!" she said again. "Could I at least sleep in your stable?"
"No!" by this time she was fairly shouting. The vagabond said, "Might I please … " "What now?" the woman interrupted impatiently. "D'ye suppose," he asked, "I might have a word with George?"
A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume needed to be turned up. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.
Just to see what would happen, on the twins' birthday their father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure.
That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly.
"Why are you crying?" the father asked.
"Because my friends will be jealous, I'll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I'll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken," answered the pessimist twin.
Passing the optimist twin's room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure.
"What are you so happy about?" he asked.
To which his optimist twin replied, "Look at all this manure! There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"
For The Traveller
by John O'DonohueEvery time you leave home, Another road takes you Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await. New places that have never seen you Will startle a little at your entry. Old places that know you well Will pretend nothing Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself Alone in a different way, More attentive now
To the self you bring along, Your more subtle eye watching You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart That lies low at home:
How you unexpectedly attune To the timbre in some voice, Opening in conversation You want to take in To where your longing Has pressed hard enough Inward, on some unsaid dark, To create a crystal of insight You could not have known You needed To illuminate Your way.
When you travel, A new silence Goes with you, And if you listen, You will hear What your heart would Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing: Make sure, before you go, To take the time
To bless your going forth, To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul Might direct you toward The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life, And the urgencies That deserve to claim you.
May you travel in an awakened way, Gathered wisely into your inner ground; That you may not waste the invitations Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed, And live your time away to its fullest; Return home more enriched, and free To balance the gift of days which call you.
Found by Elizabeth HannaThe Contents Will Spill Out
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?
"Because someone bumped into me!"
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.
Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.
Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out. Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. So we have to ask ourselves ... “what's in my cup?" When life gets tough, what spills over?
Joy, gratitude, peace and humility?
Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting-tendencies?
Life provides the cup, YOU choose how to fill it. Let's work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.
Flowers Quiz
1 What name is given to the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower composed of an anther and filament?
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2 Which small flower, usually with 5 blue or purple petals and has the scientific name Myosotis?
3 What is the common name for any of the plants that fall into the genus Narcissus?
4 What flower did the Victorians call a gillyflower?
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5 Saffron comes from which type of flower?
6 The largest horticultural campaign in the U.K. is called 'RHS Britain in ……....' what?
7 What does the term perennial mean?
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8 Which flower inspired the William Wordsworth poem 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'?
9 Which poisonous, sweetly scented woodland flowering plant with bell-shape florets dangling from a thin stem has the scientific name Convallaria majalis?
10 Dianthus barbatus gets its common name from a story about young lovers separated by the sea; how do we better know this flower?
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11 Which flower is often called the 'winter rose' or 'Christmas rose'?
12 Which flower is sometimes called the sword lily?
13 The anniversary of which prime ministers death is commemorated in the U.K. as Primrose Day?
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14 The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is held in which month of the year?
15 Which blue flower of the genus Veronica is also the name of the ship which was to accompany the Mayflower with the Pilgrim Fathers?
17 Which flower was once more costly than gold and has bulbs which can replace onions in some recipes?
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18 Which daisy like flower, the national flower of Mexico, gets its name from an 18th century Swedish Botanist? ……………………………………………………………………………
19 Which flower according to legend bloomed everywhere that lord Buddha walked; these days its seeds can be eaten raw and its stamens dried to produce fragrant teas?
20 Where is the London venue for the largest flower show in the world? ……………………………………………………………………………
21 Which popular Christmas plant with red flowers gets its common name from the first American Minister to Mexico? ……………………………………………………………………………
22 The fleur-de-lis is what type of flower?
23 Which family of flowering plants, with between 22,000 and 26,000 species, include the variety Lady's Slipper? ……………………………………………………………………………
24 What name is given to the Japanese art of flower arranging?
25 Which flower had been known under various names but was named Galanthus in 1753?
26 Lathyrus odoratus is a flowering plant used in early experiments in genetics, by what name is this flower better known? ……………………………………………………………………………
27 What is the more common name for Helianthus?
28 Azaleas are flowering shrubs in which genus?
29 Which author wrote The Secret Garden
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30 Which author wrote Daisy-Head Mayzie.
Answers on page 19
16 Old Man’s Beard and Traveller’s Joy are names for a variety of which flower?
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During a cleric’s very lengthy sermon, a large plant suddenly fell over right behind the pulpit, crashing to the floor. He smiled sheepishly. “Well, that’s the first time I actually put a plant to sleep!
Saints Peter and Paul etched on the sarcophagus of a 12 year old child. 2nd century. Roman Catacombs.
29th June Feast Day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Saint Peter, ‘the Rock’ Saint Peter (d. c. 64 AD), originally called Simon, was a married fisherman from Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. He met Jesus through his brother, Andrew. Jesus gave him the name of Cephas (Peter) which means rock. Peter is always named first in the list of apostles. He was one of the three apostles who were privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and the Agony in the Garden. When Peter made his famous confession of faith, that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus recognised it as being the result of a revelation from the Father. He in turn told Peter that he would be the rock on which His Church would be built, that the ‘gates of hell’ would never prevail against it. Peter and the apostles would have the power of ‘binding and loosing’, but Peter would be personally given ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven’. Jesus also forewarned Peter of his betrayal and subsequent strengthening of the other apostles. After his Resurrection, Jesus entrusted him with the mission to feed both the lambs and the sheep of Christ’s flock.
Peter played a big part in the early Church, and he is mentioned many times in the Book of Acts, where in the early chapters he organised the choice of Judas’ successor, preached with stirring authority at Pentecost; and was the very first apostle to work a miracle. Peter went on to defend the apostles’ right to teach at the Sanhedrin, and to condemn Ananias and Sapphira. It was Peter who first realised that Christianity was also for the Gentiles, after his meeting with Cornelius. Later he took a prominent part in the council at Jerusalem and went on to clash with Saint Paul at Antioch for hesitating to eat with Gentiles.
Early tradition links Peter with martyrdom at Rome. The New Testament does not tell us either way, but Peter being in Rome would make sense, especially as Peter’s first epistle refers to ‘Babylon’, which was usually identified with Rome. Peter’s presence in Rome is mentioned by early church fathers such as Clement of Rome and Irenaeus. Tradition also tells us
that Peter suffered under Nero and was crucified head-downwards.
Saint Peter was a major influence on Mark when writing his gospel.
Saint Paul, apostle to the Gentiles
Like Peter, Paul (d. c. 65 AD) also started life with another name: Saul. This great apostle to the Gentiles was a Jew born in Tarsus and brought up by Gamaliel as a Pharisee. So keen was he to defend the God of his fathers that he became a persecutor of Christianity, and even took part in the stoning of Stephen. He hunted Christians down and imprisoned them, and it was while on his way to persecute more Christians in Damascus that he was suddenly given his vision of Christ.
It was the decisive moment of his life – Paul realised that Jesus was truly the Messiah, and the Son of God, and that he was calling Paul to bring the Christian faith to the Gentiles. Paul was then healed of his temporary blindness, baptised, and retired to Arabia for about three years of prayer and solitude, before returning to Damascus.
From then on Paul seems to have lived a life full of hazards and hardships. He made many Jewish enemies, who stoned him, and wanted to kill him. Nevertheless, Paul made three great missionary journeys, first to Cyprus, then to Asia Minor and eastern Greece, and lastly to Ephesus.
After being stoned, beaten and imprisoned in Jerusalem, he was sent to Rome for trial as a Roman citizen. On the way he was shipwrecked at Malta; when he finally reached Rome he was put under house-arrest for two years. Tradition tells he was eventually martyred at Rome during the persecution of Nero, being beheaded (as a Roman citizen) and possibly buried where the basilica of Saint Paul ‘outside the walls’ now stands.
The belief that Peter and Paul died on the same day was caused by their sharing the same feast day.
Paul was not only a tireless missionary, but a great thinker. His epistles played a major part in the later development of Christian theology. Paul’s key ideas include that Redemption is only through faith in Christ, who abrogated the old Law and began the era of the Spirit; that Christ is not just the Messiah, but the eternal, pre-existent Son of God, exalted after the Resurrection to God’s right-hand; that the Church is the (mystical) body of Christ; that the believers live in Christ and will eventually be transformed by the final resurrection.
It is difficult to overemphasise the influence of Paul on Christian thought and history: he had a major effect on Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Luther, Calvin and others.
Lord, for the years
Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way, sought us and saved us, pardoned and provided, Lord of the years, we bring our thanks today.
Lord, for that word, the word of life which fires us, speaks to our hearts and sets our souls ablaze, teaches and trains, rebukes us and inspires us; Lord of the word, receive your people’s praise.
Lord, for our land in this our generation, spirits oppressed by pleasure, wealth and care; for young and old, for commonwealth and nation, Lord of our land, be pleased to hear our prayer.
Lord, for our world, when we disown and doubt him, loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain; hungry and helpless, lost indeed without him; Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.
Lord, for ourselves, in living power remake usself on the cross and Christ upon the throne, past put behind us, for the future take us, Lord of our lives, to live for Christ alone.
Timothy Dudley SmithThis well-loved hymn was written in 1967 by the Revd Timothy Dudley Smith, who became Bishop of Thetford. He later confessed: “I wrote it on a train when I was very pressed for time. I’m thankful if something I write gets picked up, but I suspect anyone who does something in a rush later regrets that they didn’t find time to apply the sandpaper a bit more!”
Dudley Smith had been asked to write a hymn for the centenary service of the Children’s Special Service Mission, now Scripture Union, in Saint Paul’s Cathedral. His commission was to write words that could be fitted to Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia, as it was to be accompanied by an orchestra with this tune in their repertoire. And so –‘Lord for the years’ was written.
Dudley Smith need not have worried about lack of time – his lyrics were a ‘hit’ in the cathedral on the day, and went on to become so well-loved that George Carey chose the hymn to be sung at his consecration as Bishop of Bath and Wells, and then again later, in 1991, at his consecration as Archbishop in Canterbury Cathedral.
The hymn continued to be widely sung and loved, until in 2002 Timothy Dudley Smith was asked to write an extra verse for it so that it could even be sung around the time of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Many of the words in the hymn were true for the Queen herself. She did indeed thank God ‘for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and
inspired us, cheered us on our way’…
The ‘extra’ verse, added for the Queen, can now become our prayer and hope for King Charles.
Lord for our hopes, the dreams of all our living, Christ and his kingdom one united aim, rulers and peoples bound in high thanksgiving, Lord of our hopes, our trust is in your Name.
The Rt Rev Timothy Dudley Smith OBE
Timothy was born in Manchester in 1926, was made deacon in 1950, and in the following year he was ordained priest.
He is part of the “hymn explosion that occurred since WWII and he has composed over 400 hymns. Among the most famous are, “Tell out my soul … “ and “Name of all majesty …”.
Much of his hymn writing was done during summer holidays in Cornwall.
Parish Magazine Mistakes
• The Revd John Adams spoke briefly, much to the delight of his audience.
• The Drama Club will present Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ in the church on Friday at 7.00 pm. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
• The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
• The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.
Reasons for marriage
Studying a wedding photo, the cleric’s six-year-old asked his Mum, “Did you marry Dad because he was a vicar?”
“Not at all,” She replied.
“Did you marry him because he was good-looking?”
“No, not that either,” She said.
“Did you marry him for his money?”
“Definitely not,” She laughed. “He didn’t have any.”
“So,” he concluded sadly, “you just felt sorry for him.”
I had a job interview this morning and the manager said: "I'II start you at £150 an hour, and in 6 months I'll increase it to £300 an hour ... when can you start?
"In 6 months, says I”
The Little Things
Sometimes in life it’s the little things that matter most at that time, like the car keys or the bank cards that are just not where you left them. I could land a star role in a modern parable. I was the demented wee woman searching every likely and unlikely place for the pliers borrowed for a minute a week earlier from the husband’s tool box, not returned to it and he needed them right now! Checking every old purse, jacket pocket, and handbag for that important receipt that you knew you had; proof that the goods were still in warranty. It must be somewhere, could I have thrown it out by mistake?
Oooooh the relief when it turns up days later when looking for something else totally unrelated!
The spare house key that ALWAYS hangs hidden on a nail in the outhouse but not there when you get locked out and need it. I could go on, but you get the gist, and if it’s any solace, things don’t improve with age!
Have faith, prayers are answered!
Flowers Quiz Answers
1. Stamen
2. Forget-me-nots 3. Daffodils
Joan ToaseThe person who did the laundry for church decided to do the altar cloth with a lavender-scented detergent. When the rector walked past the altar, he sniffed in bewilderment. “What s this?” he asked.
“Guess,” she replied.
“I have no idea,” he said. “It smells like the stuff my son uses to line the hamster’s cage.”
Crossword Answers
Across
1 care; 3 paradise; 8 null; 9 profaned; 11 legalistic; 14 closed; 15 stores; 17 missionary; 20 covenant; 21 Thai; 22 trade-off; 23 Eden
Down
1 conflict; 2 religion; 4 arrest; 5 affliction; 6 Iona; 7 Eddy; 10 allegiance; 12 preached; 13 Assyrian; 16 a son of; 18 Scot; 19 DVLA
Christ at the Sea of Galilee
This month’s painting is ‘Christ at the Sea of Galilee’ by Tintoretto. He was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period who worked in Venice until his death in 1594. All his paintings are marked by intensity and drama, whether it is the Last Supper, the Conversion of Saint Paul, or this canvas. Tintoretto worked so quickly and so single-mindedly that he was nicknamed ‘Il Furioso.’ And it is the fury of the sea that is captured here. Not the lazy waters of Venice nor the calm seas. Now the sea and the sky above are in torment and revolt, and the world is dominated by the violence of this storm.
The Sea of Galilee is like that. One moment, the sky is clear and windless, the next, a gust can whip up the waters into anger. In Scripture the sea is always an element to fear. For the psalmist the sea contains creeping things innumerable and even monsters. For John in the book Revelation, the sea ceases to exist when the new heaven and the new earth appear. The threat of that element is pervasive in this painting. The sail of the boat bends with the raging of the wind, and the vessel is tossed up and down – so near the shore, and yet so far. Above, the clouds frown.
But enfolding the scene are two signs of hope and life. To one side we see a tall tree in leaf and growing. At the other side is the tall figure of Jesus: a sign of safety and hope to the disciples, floundering in the boat. His feet are just vague outlines in the water, but his hand is firm as he beckons to his followers. Peter, brave and headstrong as ever, begins to climb out of the boat with no immediate sense of danger. This month of June ends with his feast day when we celebrate a saint who was so much like us. Wanting to follow Jesus, but finding himself weak; eager to serve, but unable to back words up with deeds. And yet, through all that, God’s grace triumphed in Peter’s life. We know that he will be saved here as he steps onto the wild water to reach Jesus.
This raging element is a parable of life with its storms and challenges for Peter and for all of us. Just as the sea threatens to swallow the boat and the disciples in it, so we know how the world threatens to swallow us up. Each of us, in our discipleship, faces concerns and challenges, anxieties about the present, even despair about the future. Tintoretto is saying to us from this
canvas, Reach out and take hold of the sure hand of our Lord. That will be an anchor for you when the sea of life is calm and when the storm rages. ‘Will your anchor hold?’ asks the hymn, and we can reply
‘We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll; fastened to the rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.’
Rev Michael BurgessThe Legend of the Pussy Willow
According to an old Polish legend, many springs ago a mother cat was weeping at the bank of the river in which her kittens were drowning. The willows at the river’s edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens who had fallen into the river while chasing butterflies. The kittens gripped on tightly to their branches and were safely brought to shore. Each springtime since, goes the legend, the willow branches sprout tiny fur-like buds at their tips where the tiny kittens once clung.
Can Science Prove that God Exists?
To risk sounding like a smart aleck seven-year-old, technically speaking you can only prove things mathematically. If you need to know that one plus one equals two, don’t go to a chemistry lab. The natural sciences only deal with things that can be observed and measured. Science has been so successful that it’s tempting to get carried away, valuing science above any other kind of knowledge, but there are other ways of knowing that are equally important. For example, art conveys ideas, experiences or emotions that provoke us to think or do something in response.
In fact, to find answers to any of the really important questions about meaning and purpose that affect us throughout our lives, we always have to go beyond science. Some scientific data might help define the question, for example a farmer facing a drought would probably like to know some details about the current weather patterns and the availability of seeds for more hardy crops before he or she can start asking “What is the point of trying to grow anything at all?” But in the end, he or she is asking a deeper question – and so are the rest of us when we go through any significant experience in life.
So rather than asking “Can science prove God exists?” what about: “Are the findings of science compatible with the existence of a purposeful Creator?” For many scientists today, the answer to the second question is yes. They have investigated the Bible’s descriptions of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and found that they make sense. They have discovered that they can interact with God – especially in prayer – and that this faith has changed their lives.
Professor Christine Done, an Astrophysicist at Durham University, writes, “for me the more we know about the vast, yet intricate and beautiful Universe we live in, the bigger and more awe-inspiring is the God who made it all.”
Some go even further, making statements like this: “the way the universe exhibits an ordered structure, which is open to science to investigate, points to a mind behind it.” (Revd Dr Rodney Holder, Astrophysicist, in Longing, Waiting, Believing.)
The question “Can Science Prove God Exists?” turns out to be a category error – trying to use science to answer a non-scientific question. On the other hand, many scientists think there is enough evidence from a wide range of sources to warrant belief in God.
The average human walks 900 miles per year and drinks 22 gallons of coffee.
This means that the average human gets 41 miles per gallon.
