Weekly Bulletin for St Mary's and the Villages

Collect

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues, 

without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. 

Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake, who …

Additional Collect

Faithful Creator, whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you and to your living Word, 

Jesus Christ our Lord.  

Today: Second Sunday after Trinity

Principal Readings 

Exodus 19.2-8a Psalm 100 Romans 5.1-8 Matthew 9.35 - 10.8 [9-23]  

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist 

11.00 Together@11

6.00  Evening Prayer

Villages

9.30 Morning Worship at Worlaby

11.00 Holy Communion at Ferriby

Monday

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

Tuesday

10.30-12.30 Cathedrals Group visit to St Mary's Church
Wednesday

9.30 Eucharist (St Mary's)

2.00 MU Meeting   (St Mary's Hall)
7.30 Ladies’ Group (St Mary's Hall)
Thursday

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

Next Sunday: The Third Sunday after Trinity
Principal Readings 

Jeremiah 20.7-13 Ps 69.8-17 18-20* Romans 6.1b-11 Matthew 10.24-39

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist
6.00  Evening Prayer

Villages

9.30 Morning Worship at Bonby

11.00 Holy Communion at Horkstow (BCP)

Reflection: Your starter for Twelve

I learned years ago that, even the best quiz shows, the heavyweights like ‘Mastermind’ and ‘University Challenge’ could only ask a particular sort of question– dates, authors, how to spell Ozymandias, that sort of thing. Neither ‘What’s the best ever pop song/play/goal? nor ‘How did they worship at Stonehenge?’ fits the format¶. They’re fun, and nuance isn’t the name of the game. 

Every now and again, though, someone slips up, and puts in a question with no ‘right answer’. So it was when Bamber Gascoigne (remember him?) one asked ‘Name the Twelve Apostles’. Had he asked for the ones on the teaspoons, he’d have been OK, but, as we all know, there’s a few lists in the NT, and they don’t quite agree - is Thaddeus in and Judas son of James out? Moral – Biblical Studies has edges just as sharp as Physics or History. Yes/no answers aren’t always available (not even to ‘who killed Goliath?’– look at 2 Sam 21.19).

This isn’t about Scripture being ‘unreliable’ – it’s about understanding how it was written in the first place, and what this probably tells us is that the further we go from the ‘core group’ the less sure writers were of which of these more obscure apostles were ‘in’ or ‘out’ at any one time.  

Since the quiz format can’t handle the ‘why?’ questions (which make up most of the ones which really interest the average human being) we can start to think only ‘yes/no questions are worth attention. So although it’s tempting to try and memorise Matthew’s list of the Top Twelve, the real meat of the story lies elsewhere – for it contains the seed of why we’re actually caught up in this thing called Christianity in the first place.

We’re all fully aware that ‘Mission’ is the current buzzword within the Church, and that’s right and proper. All the same, we’ve all seen examples of ‘Mission’ which make us  uncomfortable: the preacher in the market place promising unending torment to those who won’t listen to him*, or the assumption that ‘Christian values’ must be the ones already we hold, and that gives us the right to shout others down. So can Matthew help us out here?

There’s perhaps three things to note about this bit of evangelism in Matthew – its motive, its  beneficiaries and beneficiaries -maybe surprisingly – its limitations.

First, the motive behind the sending-out isn’t to buff up Jesus’ reputation. Instead it’s compassion compassion: Jesus sees the folk confused and helpless, and it moves him to pity. It would have been so easy to build a fan club among the influential, but instead Jesus moves towards the people are suffering. 

This leads us on to the second point – that those who will benefit from this ‘outreach’ aren’t the Twelve, but those to whom the Twelve go. The Apostles are challenged to leave their comfort zone and be vulnerable to attacks from all sides. They’re not being told to sit and bask in the reflected glory of a guru-leader, but to get out there and to be Good News to those they meet. Proclaim the Kingdom. Heal the Sick. Cast out Demons. No questions asked, no payment demanded. The Apostles aren’t salesmen, they’re bearers of the love of God - and it’s risky.

And thirdly, it’s not perfect – it’s flawed. We know that Jesus struggles with where the boundaries of his work lie. What about the pagans? The Samaritans? The Romans? Every now and then we read of Jesus being forced by a strong-minded woman, or the undeniable faith of a Roman soldier to re-think whether his work is only within the tiny circle of the Jewish people, already at least half-way to God.

Today he orders them not to go beyond the boundaries of the Temple and synagogue, and we know how this would tear the Church apart in Paul’s time. Powerful voices would argue that since Jesus didn’t reach out beyond fellow-Jews, neither should his followers – a bit like how folk argued that women shouldn’t be ordained because Jesus didn’t appoint female Apostles.

Matthew pictures an outgoing church, acting out of compassion in the interests of those outside its bounds, a  church which exists for the good of those who are not its members. It’s not perfect – it has limited vision which will demand painful correction later, but it still tries to carry Good News, no matter how ineptly.

However we ‘do ‘mission – which means ‘sending out’ -Matthew’s story today gives us a bit of steer. Why are we doing it? For whose benefit is it? Does it cost us? If our answers square with Matthew’s pointed, quiz-unfriendly questions, then, though we know it won’t be perfect, we go out as Good News to those to whom God leads us.

*It’s almost always a ‘him’, have you noticed?

¶ Or, dare I suggest, ‘How many angels can dance on the point of a pin?’ Answers on a parchment...

For our prayers

Church:

The Church in South East Asia; 

Christians in the Middle East.

Those preparing for ordination.

World: 

Those in authority.
Those who seek to sow division and mistrust.

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

Ukraine, Sudan. 

Peacekeepers and Peacemakers. 

Those leading in the protection of our planet 

and the resolution of the issues surrounding migrancy.

Our Community: 

Those taking important examinations.
Parish cycle of prayer: Nurseries, out-of-school clubs & childminders. 

Those who work to support families in difficulty. 

The Children’s Society.

Diocesan cycle of prayer: Hospices

The world’s half-forgotten troubled lands:

Afghanistan, Myanmar.

Those in need. 

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. 

Especially, please pray for: 

Those on our Parish prayer boards

The Departed. 

Notices.

Afternoon Tea at St Mary's, July 4th 2.00
Fuller details on the poster on the 'landing page', tickets £15.

Thankyou!

A huge thank you to everybody for your generosity in making donations towards the new hymn books.  Amazingly, we have more than covered the cost of them, and they have been  ordered, ready for our "new term" in September.

As you know, Kathy has been receiving the pledges/donations, which means she has a very long list! In order to make her job a bit easier, when you give Kathy the money, could you also make clear who it's actually from, rather than just putting it in an envelope, so that she can tick them off on her list. If you're able to Gift Aid, please use one of the Gift Aid envelopes at the back of church, which will make the donation considerably larger at no extra cost to the giver. Once again, thank you all so much. Many of the new books have been given in memory of a loved one, and these will all have  bookplates with those details inside.

Canon Liz

Barton and District Foodbank -Tesco Collection–  25-27 June

Important notice regarding receiving the chalice

We have received clear instructions from Lincoln that we must not "dip" the wafer into the chalice if we feel unable to drink from the common cup. The reason for this is to protect anybody who has a strong reaction to gluten, and who could suffer an allergic reaction if they drink wine which has been in contact with the wafer.

We recognise that there are a variety of reasons why some people feel they can't drink from the chalice, but if this applies to you, please just receive the wafer and don't attempt to dip it in the chalice. There are certain medical conditions  which mean that some people are unable to receive the wafer or the wine, and who therefore only receive one or the other. In that case you have still received Holy Communion fully. It's acceptable to receive just the wine, just the wafer, or both, so please don't feel you've been "short changed" or excluded.

When we come to the altar, we do so as guests at God's table, so please help us to make sure that all our brothers and sisters can share in this sacrament safely. If you have any worries about this, please speak to me or one of the other clergy, who will be happy to help.

Canon Liz

Auriol Trubshaw died peacefully on Sunday morning after a fall which left her very poorly. Funeral details will follow, and we offer our sympathies to her family as we give thanks for her long contribution to the life of St Mary’s in particular and Barton in general. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.