Weekly Bulletin for St Mary's and the Villages

Collect

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; through….

Additional Collect

Generous God, you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed, make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

This 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

9.30 Morning Worship at Bonby

11.00 Holy Communion at Horkstow (BCP)

Monday

12.00 Auriol Trubshaw’s funeral  (St Mary's)
7.00 Licensing of Liz Brown as Priest-in-Charge of the Barton Group  (St Mary's)

Tuesday

12.30 Requiem for Fletcher DuBois  (St Mary's) (see below)

Wednesday

9.30 Eucharist (St Mary's)
Thursday

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

Saturday
10-12 Coffee Morning (St Mary's Hall)

Next Sunday: The Eighth Sunday after Trinity
Principal Readings 

1 Kings 3.5-12 Psalm 119.129-136 Romans 8.26-end Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52  

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist
6.00 Evening Eucharist  

Villages

11.00 Holy Communion at Worlaby

Reflection: Nobody’s perfect

My maternal grandfather was a pretty reasonable gardener, and his great talent was his ability immediately to tell what was a weed and what wasn’t. No weed could long stand against his vigilance, and it would be out within moments, so he could lavish his skills on the plants he wanted to nurture.

The only problem was that he always got it wrong way round – he had a genius for it, never, ever doubting his ability to distinguish between one and the other, but, unfortunately, perpetually slinging the wrong one in the bin. I remember one fine specimen on which he poured out love, time and care, only to discover he’d grown Lincoln’s first-ever six-foot thistle.

The first half of today’s Gospel reading could have been written for him, or perhaps for my granny, perpetually retrieving her sweet peas from the rubbish heap. Certainty about what’s worthless and what’s precious is a pathway to disaster for all but the all-knowing. In gardening terms, perhaps the Royal Horticultural Society, or at least the bloke next door who could tell a rose from a dandelion. In terms of eternity, well, quite literally, God only knows.

Today’s Gospel is a shot across the bows to anyone who thinks they know everyone’s place in the divine pecking order. Certainly it’s penicillin to that puritanical infection of the spirit, the insistence that The Minister, or The Elders have an unerring knowledge of whom God likes and whom he doesn’t. In place of smug certainty Jesus offers a story of holding back, of waiting to see, of being open to having made a hasty judgement. We might think it’s a weed, but that could say more about us than it does about the thing in front of us.

As the explanation of the parable informs us and those dim-witted disciples,, only at the end of time will God pick out the blameless and virtuous from among the wastrels and the scoundrels, and admit the former to heaven while turning up the oven for the latter. We can still form our opinions about the evil-doers, but safely leave it to God to sort out (while nevertheless making our own feelings known).

I’m not sure that really gets us anywhere, you know. It still encourages us to split the world into Us and Them, and (usually) put ourselves in the role of the wheat, and those we don’t like as the weeds. We ight not do anything about it, but, well, we know, don’t we?

This is where the ‘explanation’ of the parable’s so unhelpful, For at least a couple of centuries it’s been pointed out that Jesus’ parables don’t usually require this sort of long-winded unpacking where this stands for that, and that stand for something else, and so on and so forth, a sort of unsubtle decoding of a hidden message. We don’t ‘unpack’ the parable of the Good Samaritan, do we? And so maybe we need to be a bit careful in ‘treating as Gospel’  these unpackings of Gospel parables.

Alongside the journey through Matthew’s Gospel we’re reading quite a bit of Paul’s letter to the Romans. It’s notable how often Paul speaks of his own distress, not at the sinfulness of others (though he does that as well) but at the constant battle going on within him. Paul talks about doing what he doesn’t want to do and not doing the things he does want to do, and – though we may think him a bit of a neurotic at times, he knows that his own self is something of a battlefield of conflicting and unresolved emotions, impulses and longings. He’s probably a bit of a hypochondriac, too, with a slight persecution complex and an ego the size of the Matterhorn.

Now how does that fit with the explanation of the parable, which encourages us still to see the weeds and wheat as two groups of people, the saved and the  lost? In the end, it doesn’t. So what if we put brackets round the explanation and ask instead what if the wheat and weeds are talking about each of us in our muddled, conflicted lives?

We all know we’re mixtures of good and not-so-good, with weaknesses and strengths and vulnerabilities. What if what we see as strengths aren’t so good after all – it might look to us like zeal for the Gospel, but what if it’s just ambition and a longing for control of others? Or our weaknesses, what if, instead of being banished, they’re a way we connect with other damaged folk, and offer them hope? What if, in our own hearts, we can no more tell for sure what’s wheat and what’s weed than my granddad could in the back garden of his council house 60 years ago?

It’s always tempting to point the finger elsewhere, even if – grudgingly – we admit it’s God’s decision, not ours. But perhaps we should be reading it as a lesson to ourselves, admitting we’re a mixed bag and can’t even be sure what the mix is. Wheat or weed? Sometimes only time will tell, and praise be, God is patient with us.

For our prayers

Church:

The Church in Sudan; 

For Canon Liz, for ourselves and for the people of the parishes of our benefice, and of Barrow and Goxhill.

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:  Residential/nursing homes & those in sheltered accommodation.
Diocesan cycle of prayer: Local authorities.

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.

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 tomorrow, 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

St Mary's Coffee Morning:
The next of our monthly coffee mornings will be next Saturday, 25thJuly, 10-12.

A message from Alan:

Thank you so much to those who were able to attend my farewell Choral Evensong, and to those who contributed to an amazing gift. I shall have to seek out something meaningful to purchase, rather than just buy an awful lot of Baked Beans from Tesco (other supermarkets are available!). I shall, of course, still be around taking services when needed, so you can't get rid of me that easily. I wish the choir, and Fiona, all the best for their future."

Barton Parish Communions during August:
Please note that during the choir ‘holiday’ our Sunday 9.30’s will be at Trinity Altar, and we’ll be using the hymn-tune setting of the Creed and Gloria printed at the back of the services books,

Sunday Evening Worship in August
Please note that during August the only 6.00 Sunday evening service will be Barton 4th Sunday Eucharist with hymns.

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.