"All things come from you, and of your own do we give you"
Those of us who attend the 10am Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings will be familiar with the words used at the offertory, when the collection plate is presented at the Lord's Table. As the bread and wine are presented for return to us in Holy Communion, so the money given by the Lord's people is presented, for return to us in the mission and ministry of the Church. In the words we express the truth that we rely on God for everything we have, and by way of thanksgiving we give to him a token of what he has granted to us.
In our modern world we have come to accept that we have to earn all that we have. Laying aside for a moment that many are incapable of earning much if anything for one reason or another, even where we do work very hard and very intelligently, we have God to thank for the strength and intellect we use. Whether the good things we enjoy are ours through hard work, through inheritance or through being in the right place at the right time, they are always ours by the grace of God, and not even truly ours but ours to look after as stewards. A Christian will seek to give thanks for his blessings, and to use what has been granted to him for the good of others. As a token of this "attitude of gratitude" and generosity of spirit, he will participate in the ritual of giving to God through the church of a proportion of his wealth - whether that be a large sum or a small one.
The Parochial Church Council and the Diocesan Board of Finance each then become stewards of what has been given and will use it to the glory of God and for the work of his Church.
This autumn those of us who already participate in the planned giving scheme of the parish will have an opportunity to review our giving: is it an effective token of the gratitude we have to God who has given us life itself - and eternal life in Christ? If you are not already in the planned giving scheme, may I urge you to consider joining? It enables each of us to be good stewards by thinking about and deliberately setting aside part of our income for God's purposes, and it enables the PCC to be better stewards in turn because they have a more predictable sum to look after.
In mid-October each of us should receive an invitation to a social event at which a visiting speaker will talk to us about the financial aspects of our work as the Church and at which details of the planned giving scheme will be given. Please think and pray about your own participation in this aspect of the Church's life, and be ready to respond as you find appropriate to your circumstances.
6th September, 13th after Trinity
10am: Philemon: 1-21; Luke 14: 25-33
6pm: Jonah 3: 10 - 4: 11; Revelation 8: 1-5
13th September, 14th Sunday after Trinity
10am: 1 Timothy 1: 12-17; Luke 15: 1-10
20th September, 15th Sunday after Trinity
10am: 1 Timothy 2: 1-7; Luke 16: 1-13
27th September, 16th Sunday after Trinity
10am: 1 Timothy 6: 6-19; Luke 16: 19-31
A DATE FOR
YOUR DIARY:
Saturday October 3rd
Here is a must for every music lover!
The unique and popular All Souls Orchestra is visiting Peterborough to present PROM PRAISE, a joyous mixed programme of orchestral concert music, vocal solos and audience participation in Christian hymns and songs in the spirit of the 'last night of the Proms'.
The concert will be held in Peterborough Cathedral on 3rd
October. Tickets are now available from the PP Box Office
Co-ordinator,
c/o 5 Woburn Close, Longthorpe, Peterborough, PE3 6XP.
Tel: 01733 265739
The next Coffee Morning will be held on Thursday morning 10th September from 10am to 12 noon
There will be various stalls and a raffle
We look forward to seeing you.
During the holiday period the planning group has not been meeting, but work has been progressing behind the scenes. Members of the group have been working to ensure that to the best of our ability everyone who is likely to wish to be invited to take part in funding the mission and ministry of the parish will receive an invitation to the social events, and the Vicar, in conjunction with Keith Bourne, our diocesan advisor, is preparing the letters which will be sent to all those who are to be invited.
A broad budget for the next four years has been produced so that the funding needs can be established, and this, together with our vision for where the Church needs to be aiming as we enter the new century will be put together in a brochure to be available at the two social events which will form the focus of our programme in late October - early November.
To Vicar's Letter for September
Sponsor forms will be available from the back of the church or the Vicar. Please get as many of your friends to Sponsor you for this annual event.
If you are unable to ride but would be willing to man our checkpoint please put your name on the list at the back of church.
An appeal is currently being launched to fund a Parishes' Choristership at Lincoln Cathedral, a move which it is hoped will provide a lasting link between the Diocese and the Cathedral and provide for the Cathedral's music for generations to come.
The choristership is being financed by means of a prize draw, the prize being an all expenses paid trip to the Holy Land. Parishes too will benefit from the fund raising as half of the monies rasied will be retained for parish funds.
Tickets are now available price œ1 each from choir members. The prize draw will take place on Saturday, November 21st at a concert in the Cathedral when it is hoped that a presentation will also be made to the boy chosen for the choristership.
I was on a retreat in July at Launde Abbey at which The Rev Canon W.H.Vanstone was the conductor, and I was at the time half way through this little book, the latest of his three excellent writings on Christian life and belief. To complete the book while listening to this great man's thoughts in his addresses was an interesting experience. "Fare Well in Christ" stands on its own, though: it needs support neither from Canon Vanstone's presence nor from his earlier works, "Love's Endeavour, Love's Expense" and "The Stature of Waiting". It is a short book and a simple one to follow and gives a very clear account of what the Good News of Christ is about. Canon Vanstone puts so clearly some thoughts which I have struggled for years to put into sermons, and this book is one of those which has had me saying, almost audibly, "Now why didn't I think of putting it like that?!"
The foundation of the work is an exploration of what it means when we assert with St John that "Grace ... came through Jesus Christ" or with St Paul that "The Grace of God has dawned". The word "grace" is one we use all too readily in church without having thought much about its meaning, and Canon Vanstone looks into this in some detail and the Good News looks all the better as the real meaning of these assertions becomes clear.
Illustrated with anecdotes from a long and effective ministry in the Church of England, mostly in the urban north-west, "Fare Well in Christ" gives a boost of morale to any Christian who feels that things are not looking good in today's world, reminding us of the immense and unfathomable depth of the love of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, a love from which nothing in this world or the next can separate us. It is published by Darton, Longman and Todd and available at £8.95 from Peterborough Christian Bookshop or any other good bookseller, and I would recommend it for anyone who wishes to know better what God has done for us in Christ, particularly, perhaps, a very new Christian or someone who is looking for a more effective way of looking at the gospel in the confusion of modern life.
Proceeds from Lent Savings Boxes totalled £100.88 this year.
We have now received from the Church Missionary Society a letter of acknowledgement and thanks for your contributions to the work of Overseas Mission which has in recent months suffered the knock-on effects of financial of churches in the United Kingdom.
The full text of the letter may be found on the notice board.