Dear Brothers and Sisters
This week’s bulletin is a bit different. Some of us will be reading this on Friday or Saturday or Sunday at home, others in church on Sunday, hopefully not while I am preaching! There will also be copies available in church on Sunday if you would like to follow the readings.
You might be waiting till we have a service in your church or you might not feel ready to come back to church. If that is the case keep us all in your prayers, and know that we will be praying for you at each of the services on Sunday. For the next few week’s all our services will be Holy Communion. Many of us will be wanting to make our Communion, so it is important to give as many of us as would like to the opportunity to do so. There will be lots of safety precautions in place and we will be able to receive Communion in the form of bread only. But please do not feel pressured into receiving Communion if you don’t want to or don’t feel safe. Similarly, though it will be wonderful to see you all again in person please don’t come to church if you are unwell, or if you feel anxious about coming. None of us needs to rush. The service will be shorter than usual and may feel a bit strange but we are all getting used to so many things feeling strange these days.
Today’s Readings
A Reading from the Letter to the Romans
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (7:15-25a)
The Gospel according to Matthew
Jesus said to the crowds, ‘To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’ At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (11:16-19, 25-30)
Services next Sunday (12th July)
- Farnley 9.30am
- Denton 11am
- Blubberhouses 2.30pm
72 years ago today something wonderful happened to our country. The NHS was born. We hear so often that it is the envy of the world that we forget how unique it is. I remember hearing from a family who had been caught up in the Boston Marathon terror attack in 2013. They talked about the trauma of dealing with a family member who had suffered life changing injuries and having to work out how they could pay for the treatment he had received. We can often forget how lucky we are. But the NHS isn’t just about healthcare freely available to all, it’s about a group of people working heroically to help others. Though I never felt too heroic on the early shift on Ward 3 Glasgow Royal Infirmary where as a first year student nurse my first job was to deal with the patient’s overnight sputum cartons! Every single person who works in the NHS makes a difference, never more so that in the past months. We should give thanks for them and for the wonderful institution that cares for us all not just today but always.
Finance
A reminder that we won’t be taking up an offertory collection during services for the foreseeable future. This doesn’t mean that we are flush and don’t need the money. It is completely the opposite. Like all charities, we are struggling. It is hard to know when the fundraising activities that we rely on will be able to happen again. So please do put something in the plate at the back of church if you can. If you can gift aid it, even better. If you can make a regular contribution to the church you attend through your bank that would be even better; it takes the pressure of you having to remember to get cash and it helps our Treasurers to plan our finances better.
Please remember in your prayers: The National Health Service and all who work or have worked in it. For those considering a profession in the caring or healing professions. For Deacons waiting to be priested and for all those priests and bishops who are celebrating the anniversaries of their ordinations about now. For all those working hard to be ready to open for business next weekend in so many walks of our social life. For those who have lost their jobs or are facing redundancy, for those who are struggling to deal with what the future might bring. For those who continue to work for our safety and security. For the sick and ill and all who care for them. For the dying and the dead and for their families and all who mourn them.
God bless you all.
Stephen