Weekly Bulletin for St Mary's and the Villages

Collect

Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through 

Additional Collect

Creator God, you made us all in your image:
may we discern you in all that we see, and serve you in all that we do; through …

This Sunday: The SixthSunday after Trinity
Principal Readings 

Isaiah 55.10-13 Psalm 65.[1-7] 8-13* Romans 8.1-11 Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23  

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist
11.00 Together@11
6.00 Choral Evensong (see below)

Villages

9.30 Morning Worship at Worlaby

11.00 Holy Communion at Horkstow (BCP)

Monday

9.30-11.30 Toddler Time (St Mary's Hall)

Tuesday

2.00-4.00 Bereavement Group (St Mary's Hall)

Wednesday

9.30 Eucharist (St Mary's)
2.00 MU Meeting   (St Mary's Hall)
Thursday

2-4 Sewing Bee (St Mary's Hall)

Friday

9-12 St Peter’s School in St Mary's
12.30 Joan Shepherd’s Funeral  (St Mary's)

2.00 Norma Metcalfe's Funeral (Worlaby)

Next Sunday: The Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Principal Readings 

Wisdom of Solomon 12.13, 16-19 ,  Romans 8.12-25 Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43  

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist
6.00 Evening Prayer  

Villages

11.00 Holy Communion at Worlaby

Reflection: Fleshy, fleshy, fleshy

Here we go again with another lecture from Paul about the eternal battle between Spirit (=’good’) and ‘flesh’ (= ‘bad’). It’s a foundational bit of his thinking is Romans 8, and so it won’t go away no matter how hard we try – what’s to be done with it?

It’s not surprising that in some circles Paul’s become a bit of a killjoy figure  - ‘take a little wine for your stomach’s sake’  is a long way from the Jewish tradition in which he was raised, where (as the Psalms remind us) wine is gift of God to be enjoyed and celebrated. Add to that his observations on sexuality, marriage, female subservience, and punishing the body and you can’t help but feel that at a party Paul would be the bloke in the corner with a glass of Perrier water, a stick of celery, and a facial expression which suggests the family dog’s just done something unmentionable directly under his nose.  

It’s probably an unfair judgement, for all sorts of reasons – most of his disapproving comments are aimed at that lot in Corinth, who have some very odd ideas about how to behave. However, we can’t pretend he didn’t talk about ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’ as being at odds with one another, so what are we going to make of it? Is the glass of water and celery stick approach to life the only way for a Christian to live?

We know that the Greek world in which Paul lived and moved had a very strange attitude to creation (and procreation, for that matter). The stuff of which we (and everything else) is made was seen as crude, worthless and inferior. We blunder around in a world which is really a cross between a hall of mirrors and a waste of space – that’s the Greek way of looking at things. And it means you can jump one of two ways – because it doesn’t matter, you can be as dissolute as you like Corinth rides again), or you can despise it all and look down the nose at everyone else who can’t stick to your high standards. It infected some bits of early Christianity, and certainly was part and parcel of some odd religious groups which sprang up in the Roman Empire.

The trouble is, of course, ‘Flesh = bad, Spirit =Good’ just doesn’t fit in with the Bible, nor with our basic understanding of God. If God’s creator (which I guess we all believe), can he really create something worthless? It doesn’t add up, does it? Surely in our physical world there are signs of God’s handiwork, whether it’s in human love or human compassion.  

And what’s this about ‘Spirit’ always being good? According to Christian tradition, the thing which cast Satan out of heaven wasn’t him being found enjoying a good meal – it was the spiritual sin of rebellion and pride which caused his downfall. The ‘spiritual’ superiority of some of the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time is condemned as arrogance, hypocrisy and self-satisfaction. They don’t seem to have much to do with ‘the flesh’ do they? Bear in mind that the Church uses bread, wine and water to speak of the things of God, and that the Kingdom is compared with a great feast, and the simple, obvious meaning of ‘flesh versus spirit’ starts to fall apart.

Paul is using shorthand, here, and it’s confused us. What he means isn’t anything to do with bodies, since he’s very aware that things like pride and avarice and all the rest start in the head, in the attitude to others. He means something far more radical and life-changing.

‘Flesh’ is shorthand (used elsewhere in the NT too) for a life closed off to the call of God. It describes a life wrapped up in itself, not able to look beyond itself, wrapped up in itself. Nothing can be allowed in which might unsettle that self-serving and self-satisfaction, It’s the world of ‘I’m a self-made man, and I worship my creator.’ It’s the mindset which expects the world to revolve around me and my demands and whims.

‘Spirit’ stands for openness to being disturbed, living a life centred not around self but around something beyond Me. It’s the chink in our self-serving armour which lets God get in and start work. It’s admitting the possibility that maybe I don’t have all the answers, that perhaps someone else has a valid point of view, that truth isn’t what I demand it to be. The life of the spirit is one which gives room for other people.

CS Lewis describes it thus: ‘A damned soul is nearly nothing. Good beats upon the damned incessantly… but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First they will not, then they cannot open their hands for gifts, or their eyes for food, or their eyes to see.’  

We’ve probably all found ourselves at some point dangerously near to being too wrapped up in ourselves, but someone came to drag us out of it. Rejoice – for they were the Spirit breaking in.

For our prayers

Church:

The Church in South Sudan; 

The General Synod of the CofE, meeting in York. 

On Sea Sunday, we pray for chaplains to Seafarers, especially for the Mission to Seafarers 

and Fr David Truby and his fellow Humber Ports chaplains,

World: 

Those in authority. 

Those who seek to sow division and mistrust.  

Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Israel and all the lands of the Middle East. 

Ukraine. Sudan. 

Our Community: 

Parish cycle of prayer: Trinity Methodist Church, St Augustine’s, the Salvation Army,  Barton Evangelical Church. 

Our partner dioceses: Brugge, Harnosand & Tirunelveli.
Diocesan cycle of prayer: Construction Industry

Those in need.
Especially, please pray for:
The people of Venezuela

All who are fleeing war, poverty or climate change. 

People living under the shadow of fear, deprivation or illness; 

the anxious, the lonely and mourners. 

Those struggling to make ends meet. The homeless. 

Those in hospital or who watch with them. 

The Departed. 

Notices.

Alan Wright’s Swan[Even]Song. tonight6.00

As you all know, Alan’’s finally hanging up his choirmaster’s gown after fifty-some years in the job. We’ve been hugely blessed at St Mary;s for his enthusiasm and hard work over the decades, and it’s right and proper that he goes out with a bang, so to speak.

The evening service this Sunday will be a full-blown choral evensong (music of Alan’s choosing (and, in part, composing)), which will be followed by refreshments in the hall. Do come along and express our appreciation and gratitude to him for the huge amount of time, effort and love he’s put into St Mary’s musical tradition over the decades.

From the Priest-in-Charge Designate….
I'm delighted to be able to tell you that my licensing as priest-in-charge of Barton and the Low Villages will take place in St Mary's on 20th July at 7pm. The service will be led by our Archdeacon, Ven. Eleanor Robertshaw, and will be followed by refreshments.

I know I've been around for a while now, but it's important to mark this next stage in our journey together.  Over the past few months I've been very touched by the welcome I've received from all the parishes, and I feel very privileged to serve in this benefice and with Barrow and Goxhill. It will be lovely to have the chance to share a celebration with the whole new group. Please do come if you can.
Canon Liz

Joan Shepherd’s funeral is this Friday at 12.30 at Barton

Norma Metcalfe's funeral is at Worlaby this Friday at 2

Auriol Trubshaw’s funeral will be in St Mary's at 11.30 on Monday 20th

Fletcher DuBois RIP

As most people will know, Amy Dubois' brother, Fletcher, died earlier this year.

Fletcher lived and worked in Heidelberg, which is where his funeral was held. Amy was unable to attend the funeral, but we will be holding a requiem for Fletcher on Tuesday 21st July at 12.30pm, and there will be coffee and cake afterwards. Dress code (at Amy’s request|) is ‘informal/comfortable’ and a special plea to avoid black if at all possible.

It would mean a great deal to Amy if as many people as possible could attend this service and the gathering afterwards. Fletcher had a great fondness for St Mary's and for Wilderspin School, of which he was a patron. He would doubtless be both pleased and, as a very modest person, possibly surprised that he is being remembered here, as well as in the city he called home. Please do keep the date in your diary and come along if you can.

Receiving Communion – a reminder.
At Communion, please remember that wafers should not be dipped in the chalice in order to protect those with a gluten allergy. If you do not wish to receive the chalice, please receive the wafer only.