The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, July 1997 - Part 3
ST PAUL
From PAUL BROOKS Minister
IN June we had a week of prayer for revival. In some ways it seems so inadequate to have only a week, when it is something that God desires. We pray daily, "Thy will be done." God's will is clear from scripture that all people should come to a saving knowledge of Him, through Jesus. Nevertheless we are seeing fruit in the life of the Church as people come to know Him — the visit of Daniel. Cozens was a great encouragement, both for those who know Daniel from of old as well as for those who met him for the first time — his ministry on 11th June led to five people making a Christian commitment.
But revival is not about getting people in. It’s about God's Kingdom being proclaimed in His world by word and deed; it’s about the world discovering God's heart of love — Christians as well as non-Christians.
As The PILOT comes out we will be in the middle of the Island Games. A team — called "Mouth Peace" — from England will be based at St Paul's Centre sharing the Gospel in the streets of St Helier during the week of the games. An opportunity to learn and to share our faith in Jesus with some of the visitors to our Island as well as with some of the local people who wouldn't normally go near a church. There will also be a special Island Games Celebration on Wednesday 2nd July at 8 pm at St Paul's Church. Everyone is welcome as the "Mouth Peace" team lead an evening of worship, music, drama and dance, with the Christian Gospel at the heart of it.
At the end of July a team of young people from St Paul's will be going to Toxteth in Liverpool to share in the ministry of the Toxteth Tabernacle Baptist Church for a week, before some members of that church come to Jersey for a holiday. The Toxteth exchange presents another opportunity to proclaim God's Kingdom and to see God at work in a difficult part of Britain.
In addition to all this we are learning more about the gift of prophecy. These are exciting, but also very challenging times as God invites us to re-evaluate where we are with Him. He asks of all of us: Are we willing to stand up and stand out for Him? Are we willing to be publicly counted as among His people? Arc we available to Him so that he can use us in what-ever ministry He chooses — however public or however private? Or do we say to God — "This far and no further?"
Jesus said, "If anyone would' come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
From PAUL BROOKS Minister
IN June we had a week of prayer for revival. In some ways it seems so inadequate to have only a week, when it is something that God desires. We pray daily, "Thy will be done." God's will is clear from scripture that all people should come to a saving knowledge of Him, through Jesus. Nevertheless we are seeing fruit in the life of the Church as people come to know Him — the visit of Daniel. Cozens was a great encouragement, both for those who know Daniel from of old as well as for those who met him for the first time — his ministry on 11th June led to five people making a Christian commitment.
But revival is not about getting people in. It’s about God's Kingdom being proclaimed in His world by word and deed; it’s about the world discovering God's heart of love — Christians as well as non-Christians.
As The PILOT comes out we will be in the middle of the Island Games. A team — called "Mouth Peace" — from England will be based at St Paul's Centre sharing the Gospel in the streets of St Helier during the week of the games. An opportunity to learn and to share our faith in Jesus with some of the visitors to our Island as well as with some of the local people who wouldn't normally go near a church. There will also be a special Island Games Celebration on Wednesday 2nd July at 8 pm at St Paul's Church. Everyone is welcome as the "Mouth Peace" team lead an evening of worship, music, drama and dance, with the Christian Gospel at the heart of it.
At the end of July a team of young people from St Paul's will be going to Toxteth in Liverpool to share in the ministry of the Toxteth Tabernacle Baptist Church for a week, before some members of that church come to Jersey for a holiday. The Toxteth exchange presents another opportunity to proclaim God's Kingdom and to see God at work in a difficult part of Britain.
In addition to all this we are learning more about the gift of prophecy. These are exciting, but also very challenging times as God invites us to re-evaluate where we are with Him. He asks of all of us: Are we willing to stand up and stand out for Him? Are we willing to be publicly counted as among His people? Arc we available to Him so that he can use us in what-ever ministry He chooses — however public or however private? Or do we say to God — "This far and no further?"
Jesus said, "If anyone would' come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
HOLY TRINITY
From
TONY KEOGH Rector
Dear Friends,
I make it a matter of principle, when writing for this august journal, to spend little time and space on the past; however, I cannot let pass the visit of John Osmers, the Bishop of Eastern Zambia. Bishop John was here at the invitation of the Overseas Aid Committee and its president, Senator Ann Bailhache. He attended the Ecclesiastical Court for the Swearing-in of the Church Officers and preached at the Service of Dedication. His sermon, in which he thanked the people of Jersey for their support and described the problems of poverty which his people endure, was awesome in its power and gentle dignity.
On Sunday 8th June we were delighted to welcome at our Family Service Bishop John, Senator Ann Bailhache and members of the Overseas Aid group who will be going to Zambia in August under the leadership of Rowland Heaven, our local headmaster. The group will be working in Msoro which is in Bishop John's diocese. His talk enthralled us all, especially the children, as he described the animals — crocodiles, hippopotami, lions —which live all around him and the people he lives amongst.
Zambia is three times the size of the United Kingdom and is divided into four dioceses. In Bishop John's diocese, he has six priests; that certainly puts our manning levels into their true perspective! We gave him, out of love and respect and in a spirit of family partnership, a cheque for £500. However, there were two other episodes which stood out. One was when he signed the register and saw our weekly collections. He could not help but reflect that one week's collection in Trinity Parish Church constituted the total income for two of his families in Zambia for a WHOLE YEAR. However, this did not prevent him from making his own contribution in our collection plate.
I have spoken to a number of leading figures in the Church to try to persuade the people organising the Lambeth Conference next year that we might have a visit from Bishop John and other bishops with whom we have an ongoing contact.
Bishop John is a great friend of Nelson Mandela; he has suffered for his faith, including the loss of his right hand. It was injured in a letter bomb attack made by agents of the then South African government. Like Nelson Mandela, he has refused to turn his suffering into bitterness and hatred; you only have to be in his company for a few minutes to know that you are in the presence of one of God's special people.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS. The Annual Presentation and Sunday School Festival will take place on Sunday 6th July, at 10.30 am. Please make every effort to support the children and their teachers as this is a way of showing our appreciation for the marvellous work undertaken by our Sunday School Teachers week by week. The offertory on this day is for the work of the Sunday School so please give generously.
SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTING. This will take place on Saturday 19th July. More details will be given on the weekly newssheet.
CHRISTIAN AID. The amount raised in the parish this year was £1,052. This is approximately £200 less than last year but only nine people were able to do their collections so many thanks to them for their "stickability" and willingness to collect for what is not the easiest charity to collect for. Thanks also to everyone who gave so generously.
PAT MILLER, RIP. It is with tremendous sadness that we record the death of Pat Miller. Pat was not only a fine and significant artist and teacher, but also a great friend. I carry in my imagination a book in which I enter the names of those who have had a special influence on me and among those names are Dr Glyn Simon, sometime Archbishop of Wales, Tom Jefferies Jones, the warden of Coleg Harlech when Jill and I were students there more than thirty years ago, George Thomas, now Lord Tonypandy, and John Dorey Richardson, late 'Connétable' of Trinity. Now, Pat joins that list. Her great influence was to make you look at the world in a new way and from a new standpoint and it came out in her work and in her life. She was the best of friends because she told you the truth about yourself; no matter how feisty or terse she sounded, you knew that it was said in love. We send our love and our prayers to Micky, to Frances and to Pat's family in Yorkshire. God bless you, Pat, and thank you.
FUNERALS. 20th May, Pat Miller; 23rd, Giles Evered; 29th, Laura Patterson Mathieson, née Black; 9th June, Joan Mary Starck, née Pallot.
From
TONY KEOGH Rector
Dear Friends,
I make it a matter of principle, when writing for this august journal, to spend little time and space on the past; however, I cannot let pass the visit of John Osmers, the Bishop of Eastern Zambia. Bishop John was here at the invitation of the Overseas Aid Committee and its president, Senator Ann Bailhache. He attended the Ecclesiastical Court for the Swearing-in of the Church Officers and preached at the Service of Dedication. His sermon, in which he thanked the people of Jersey for their support and described the problems of poverty which his people endure, was awesome in its power and gentle dignity.
On Sunday 8th June we were delighted to welcome at our Family Service Bishop John, Senator Ann Bailhache and members of the Overseas Aid group who will be going to Zambia in August under the leadership of Rowland Heaven, our local headmaster. The group will be working in Msoro which is in Bishop John's diocese. His talk enthralled us all, especially the children, as he described the animals — crocodiles, hippopotami, lions —which live all around him and the people he lives amongst.
Zambia is three times the size of the United Kingdom and is divided into four dioceses. In Bishop John's diocese, he has six priests; that certainly puts our manning levels into their true perspective! We gave him, out of love and respect and in a spirit of family partnership, a cheque for £500. However, there were two other episodes which stood out. One was when he signed the register and saw our weekly collections. He could not help but reflect that one week's collection in Trinity Parish Church constituted the total income for two of his families in Zambia for a WHOLE YEAR. However, this did not prevent him from making his own contribution in our collection plate.
I have spoken to a number of leading figures in the Church to try to persuade the people organising the Lambeth Conference next year that we might have a visit from Bishop John and other bishops with whom we have an ongoing contact.
Bishop John is a great friend of Nelson Mandela; he has suffered for his faith, including the loss of his right hand. It was injured in a letter bomb attack made by agents of the then South African government. Like Nelson Mandela, he has refused to turn his suffering into bitterness and hatred; you only have to be in his company for a few minutes to know that you are in the presence of one of God's special people.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS. The Annual Presentation and Sunday School Festival will take place on Sunday 6th July, at 10.30 am. Please make every effort to support the children and their teachers as this is a way of showing our appreciation for the marvellous work undertaken by our Sunday School Teachers week by week. The offertory on this day is for the work of the Sunday School so please give generously.
SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTING. This will take place on Saturday 19th July. More details will be given on the weekly newssheet.
CHRISTIAN AID. The amount raised in the parish this year was £1,052. This is approximately £200 less than last year but only nine people were able to do their collections so many thanks to them for their "stickability" and willingness to collect for what is not the easiest charity to collect for. Thanks also to everyone who gave so generously.
PAT MILLER, RIP. It is with tremendous sadness that we record the death of Pat Miller. Pat was not only a fine and significant artist and teacher, but also a great friend. I carry in my imagination a book in which I enter the names of those who have had a special influence on me and among those names are Dr Glyn Simon, sometime Archbishop of Wales, Tom Jefferies Jones, the warden of Coleg Harlech when Jill and I were students there more than thirty years ago, George Thomas, now Lord Tonypandy, and John Dorey Richardson, late 'Connétable' of Trinity. Now, Pat joins that list. Her great influence was to make you look at the world in a new way and from a new standpoint and it came out in her work and in her life. She was the best of friends because she told you the truth about yourself; no matter how feisty or terse she sounded, you knew that it was said in love. We send our love and our prayers to Micky, to Frances and to Pat's family in Yorkshire. God bless you, Pat, and thank you.
FUNERALS. 20th May, Pat Miller; 23rd, Giles Evered; 29th, Laura Patterson Mathieson, née Black; 9th June, Joan Mary Starck, née Pallot.
ST PETER
From
BARRY GILES Rector
IN a holiday island holidays could be taken for granted. The fact of the matter is that they are essential. It goes back to the origin of the name. A holy day was a day for reviving one's whole being. Holidays are not simply to get away. There is a reality in that, for those of us who live on a small island, in a large world. They are a time for re-creation. We need that. We need time to do things other than what we do daily. We need time for seeing things other than we see daily. We need time to widen our horizons, culturally, geographically, even gastronomically! Some will do this trekking through deserts or up mountains; others will laze on a beach or by a pool.
Those of us who profess and call ourselves practising Christians have an added opportunity. We may well be on holiday in places which are somewhat different to our own. The church where we are on holiday may not be in the same tradition as we are at St Peter's. This gives us an opportunity. It gives us a chance to widen our experience of the Church. It gives us an opportunity to experience ways of worship very different, sometimes, to our own. It helps us to widen our horizons of the way in which God mediates His Love, and how Christians reflect that in their worship and witness.
There are no holidays from Sundays! Indeed, Sundays are for Christians the holy-day par excellence! It is because of That First Day of the week that we hold the first day to be our holiest of days, every week. There should be for Christians no escaping from, no bypassing of, every Sunday, at home or on holiday. Even in many airports there are chapels for the travellers.
If you are unsure what you may find in the place to which you are to go this year, please ask. Across Europe, the Diocese of Gibraltar¬in-Europe ministers to Anglicans. Further afield, the Anglican Church is in many areas. However, it may be that worship in another church's tradition could be a good thing, developing our understanding of other forms of Christian worship. Presuppositions from our past history are often found to be unfounded, these days.
Whether you are to take advantage of the school holidays for your holidays, or when-ever, and wherever you holiday this year, return refreshed in body, mind and spirit.
Just one little plea: to those who will not be away in July and August — do please remember that some holidaymakers in our Island worship with us every Sunday, and it is good that you are there to welcome them to worship with us! For wherever we are, every Sunday is the day of worship for everyone who professes and calls him or herself, a practising Christian.
CONGRATULATIONS to Jonathan Job and Les Vibert, and to Wendy Banks and Victor Le Riche, on their re-election to serve our church and parish as Churchwardens and Almoners respectively. I am sure that you do support them by your prayers in their work for God's Church and people.
OUR THANKS to the children and teachers of our Sunday School for their sponsored walk at Val de la Mare reservoir on Sunday 8th June. On a rather April-like day of sunshine and heavy showers, they walked and raised £360 for their church. Thank you for your support for them.
From
BARRY GILES Rector
IN a holiday island holidays could be taken for granted. The fact of the matter is that they are essential. It goes back to the origin of the name. A holy day was a day for reviving one's whole being. Holidays are not simply to get away. There is a reality in that, for those of us who live on a small island, in a large world. They are a time for re-creation. We need that. We need time to do things other than what we do daily. We need time for seeing things other than we see daily. We need time to widen our horizons, culturally, geographically, even gastronomically! Some will do this trekking through deserts or up mountains; others will laze on a beach or by a pool.
Those of us who profess and call ourselves practising Christians have an added opportunity. We may well be on holiday in places which are somewhat different to our own. The church where we are on holiday may not be in the same tradition as we are at St Peter's. This gives us an opportunity. It gives us a chance to widen our experience of the Church. It gives us an opportunity to experience ways of worship very different, sometimes, to our own. It helps us to widen our horizons of the way in which God mediates His Love, and how Christians reflect that in their worship and witness.
There are no holidays from Sundays! Indeed, Sundays are for Christians the holy-day par excellence! It is because of That First Day of the week that we hold the first day to be our holiest of days, every week. There should be for Christians no escaping from, no bypassing of, every Sunday, at home or on holiday. Even in many airports there are chapels for the travellers.
If you are unsure what you may find in the place to which you are to go this year, please ask. Across Europe, the Diocese of Gibraltar¬in-Europe ministers to Anglicans. Further afield, the Anglican Church is in many areas. However, it may be that worship in another church's tradition could be a good thing, developing our understanding of other forms of Christian worship. Presuppositions from our past history are often found to be unfounded, these days.
Whether you are to take advantage of the school holidays for your holidays, or when-ever, and wherever you holiday this year, return refreshed in body, mind and spirit.
Just one little plea: to those who will not be away in July and August — do please remember that some holidaymakers in our Island worship with us every Sunday, and it is good that you are there to welcome them to worship with us! For wherever we are, every Sunday is the day of worship for everyone who professes and calls him or herself, a practising Christian.
CONGRATULATIONS to Jonathan Job and Les Vibert, and to Wendy Banks and Victor Le Riche, on their re-election to serve our church and parish as Churchwardens and Almoners respectively. I am sure that you do support them by your prayers in their work for God's Church and people.
OUR THANKS to the children and teachers of our Sunday School for their sponsored walk at Val de la Mare reservoir on Sunday 8th June. On a rather April-like day of sunshine and heavy showers, they walked and raised £360 for their church. Thank you for your support for them.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment