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Scripture readings for Sunday
Heritage Open Day at the Priory Church
Most of our life together is disrupted during August. So many people are away for so much of the time that many of our regular things are held in abeyance to await the big rush of pent-up agenda items in the autumn, before the headlong rush into Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.
There is so much to which to look forward with eager anticipation from September to December this year, not least the re-commencement of our children's work following the summer holiday. More people are now being involved in the leadership of the children's work, and the Pathfinder group, begun as a trial last half-term, is set to move forward our ministry with the 11-14 age group. We look forward to seeing what each of the groups will be achieving during the rest of the year.
Our Harvest Thanksgiving has been brough forward this year to coincide with the Lincolnshire Heritage Open Days, 16th and 17th September, so that many may enjoy our decorated church building and that we may conclude the Open Days with a Choral Evensong with a harvest theme.
There will be confirmation preparation taking place both for adults and for young people this term, with the confirmation to take place here in Deeping St James by the Bishop of Grantham on the evening of Thursday 7th December. If you are interested in exploring the possiblity of being confirmed and are aged over 11 (no upper limit!), please contact me as soon as possible.
Another exciting event of the autumn is a gathering at Lincoln to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St Hugh in November 1200. Details are elsewhere in this issue of Priory News, and if you wish to take part, please let me know so that I can make the arrangements with the Cathedral.
While all this activity is taking place, the Worship Committee will be making the final preparations for introducing the Common Worship Services when their authorisation begins on 3rd December. There are still some copies of the contemporary-language Eucharist at the back of church if you wish to see it, and if you have internet access all the main-book texts are now available there, and there is a link to the Common Worship site from www.dsj.org.uk
The year is rounded off, of course, with the celebration of the 2000th Christmas, and we can expect to move forward into the 21st Century with a bigger and more confident congregation, better pastoral care for our village, and forms of worship well-suited for the praise of him from whose birth we have counted the years for two millennia.
3rd September, 11th Sunday after Trinity:
10th September, 12th Sunday after Trinity:
17th September, Harvest Thanksgiving:
24th September, 14th Sunday after Trinity:
1st October, 15th after Trinity:
The Church has been selected to take part in The Lincolnshire Heritage open days during our own Harvest Festival weekend. The Church will be open to the public 10:30 to 4:30 on Saturday, and 11:30 to 4:30 on Sunday. On both days refreshments will be available in the Church Hall.
If you are interested in helping as a guide please contact Sonia who is organising a briefing for those assisting.
On Monday evening at 7:30pm a HARVEST SUPPER will be served, a list will be found at the back of church for names. After the supper there will be an AUCTION of PRODUCE.
Sooner or later the person of Jesus Christ challenges any of us who have anything to do with him or with his Church. He has given us much teaching, some of it recorded for us in scripture and much of it only half-heard and misunderstood in the world at large. He has demonstrated the nature and the cost of love, and his apostles (especially St Paul) have left us with great descriptions of the way we should follow Jesus' example of self-giving love.
But just like the people of the first century, we who stand on the threshold of the twenty-first will, if we are prepared to take all this seriously, find ourselves wondering, "Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?", "No other teachers speak with this kind of authority,", "Where did he get all this teaching?", and in faith we may join St Peter and St Thomas in declaring, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" and "My Lord and my God!"
The steps of Baptism and Confirmation express that faith in Jesus: it need not be in us a faith like that of those who were there and saw the miracles with own eyes, but it is a step taken in trust.
If you feel that you are ready to consider whether to take that step, the the confirmation preparation group will help you to decide. We shall look at what Jesus did and taught, and what the Church, over the years, has come to understand about him and about the world he came to save. We shall look at what is required of us as response, and ways in which our response may be made.
Groups for adults and young people over 14 years old will meet on Tuesday evenings at 7.30, first meeting on 12th September. If you think you may be interested, please let me know as soon as possible and I'll make sure you get the information you need concerning the course.
Young people aged between 11 and 14 will not have a separate group this year, but the activities of the Sunday evening "Pathfinders" group are devised to give all the preparation that is needed for confirmation, so if you are aged 11-14 and are not already a Pathfinder, then you can come along for this term to explore confirmation. The first session for this age group is Sunday 10th September at 7.30pm, at the Vicarage.
There is no obligation to go on to be confirmed, so do feel free to join the appropriate group how ever flabby your faith may be! For those who do go on the confirmation, the service is on Thursday 7th December at 7.30pm here at Deeping St James. All are welcome to come along both to support those making their commitment to Christ and to celebrate the faith of the Church.
Mark Warrick
Vicar
The Dean and Chapter of Lincoln invite churches and parishes to bring pilgrimage groups to Lincoln Cathedral. individual Christians are equally welcome.
St Hugh of Lincoln died on 17 November 1200. He is honoured by all the churches, and all the churches are invited to participate in this pilgrimage
If you are interested in joining this pilgrimage, please speak to the Vicar before October 1st.
Dear Friends and Children,
I would like to thank you all for the gifts presented to me at the Sunday School prize giving.
I was touched by the lovely presents made by the children who must have given them a great deal of thought.
The pasta bowl presented on behalf of the members of the church will, I am sure, get plenty of use.
Working with the children for the last nine years has been very enjoyable
and I hope to keep in touch with the children's work in the future. Thank
you all
Jane
It has come round to that time of year again, "Oh No" I hear you cry. Take heart we raised £4,287.00 gross last year, which was £350 down on last year, but this Deanery was top of the league again in Lincolnshire where £38,610.67 gross was raised. Over the country as a whole, £12,840,000 has been raised so far since 1982 of which Lincolnshire has raised £531,000, and of that Aveland and Ness with Stamford has raised just under £53,000. This means that Lincolnshire finally broke the half million mark since we started in 1984. Last year 31 counties took part in the ride with 11,114 churches participating; and in Lincolnshire we had 725 churches open. Only Kent with 745 churches open, Suffolk with 753 and Norfolk with 903, has more churches open than Lincolnshire. Of the counties that raised more than Lincolnshire last year were, Leicestershire £39,000, Bed's and Hert's £68,000, Essex £70,000, Norfolk £103,000 and Suffolk £136,000.
I know that to achieve £136,000 is an exceptional amount but it is achieved by lots of riders each raising a little bit. I do hope that you will continue to encourage riders (or walkers) to each do their little bit to swell the coffers. Do remember that half of all money raised is retained by the parish and that the other half is returned back to the churches in the form of grants, so every little bit of money raised is beneficial. May I also ask you to consider the riders when you man the church. If manning cannot be maintained all day then please leave a welcoming note and stickers for the riders to put in their sponsor forms. I find that many riders are very concerned when they cannot prove that they have visited a particular church. It has been assumed as before that your church is manned or participating, if you want your church removed from the list of churches open then please let me know, otherwise it will automatically be included next year. Likewise if there are any corrections to the list of local organisers then please let me know.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work and dedication that you put into this ride and hope that you will continue to give your best.
Yours sincerely.
Bill Reid
Deanery organiser for Aveland and Ness with Stamford.
I've been out here for about six weeks now and started work in Shah Alam, about 15 miles from Kuala Lumpur. The hotel serves both as temporary home and exam studio in Malaysia so I didn't get around very much apart from going into KL on a couple of Saturdays to see a few landmarks such as the Petronas Towers and the Central Market. It was a bit difficult to see very much as I went with a colleague whose sole intent ws to visit the one decent CD shop in Malaysia and also to buy a laptop computer (a very nice all singing, all dancing Acer). We did visit the Cathedral but there was no way I could get in from Shah Alam on the Sundays. Shah Alam itself doesn't appear to have any Christian church, at least not that I could find, but it does have the largest Mosque in S. E. Asia! I didn't actually visit it as infidels like myself are not allowed inside most of it! However, there were one or two very good eating places which at least kept the physical man fed!
I think that of the three countries I've visited out here, Malaysia is by far the most friendly. The people are lovely and so helpful and talkative although, in spite of the fact the English is the 'common' language, it is rather difficult to understand them sometimes! There are three main groups of people, the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians and they appear to integrate very well although I gather that has not always been the case. There are still a few remnants of the old colonial days to be seen in the architecture and some of the customs but one has to be careful not to hold out money with the left hand alone - after all that hand to a Muslim is used for, shall we say, other things! I've also had to get used to some rather different types of meat - 'turkey ham' and 'beef bacon' both of which taste incredibly like the real thing! But at the moment I think Thai food is highest in my ratings!
I hope all is well at the Priory, I think of you all every day in my prayers and it will be good to see you for a few weeks in September. It still seems odd that I've been to church, will have had my lunch and will be half way through the afternoon before your day really gets under way! I shall be thinking about you around teatime as you meet for worship, and I shall be thinking about you especially on the 25th. Victoria didn't actually tell me how the Rose and Sweet Pea went. Incidentally, the vicar here, the Ven. Canon Dr. S. Batumalai, B.D., M, Min., M.Phil.(Islam) Ph.D. (Theology), trained in Birmingham! Several people had heard of Lincoln Diocese. One thing left me puzzled after coffee: why were they having an 'Emergency Meeting of the PCC' in the Conference Room?
John Worthington
Blanch broccoli in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain. Place flour, butter and milk in saucepan. Heat, stirring, until sauce boils. Cook for 2 minutes. Season. Remove pan from heat. Add 3oz cheese, 1½oz almonds, garlic, turkey and broccoli. Transfer to ovenproof dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese and almonds. Bake at 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 for 15-20 minutes.
We welcome to the Lord's family:
9th:
We congratulate:
1st:
29th:
We commend to God's keeping:
At Peterborough Crematorium:
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Copyright © 2000 Deeping St James PCC
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