Weekly Bulletin for St Mary's and the Villages

Collect

Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through…

Additional Collect

God our saviour, look on this wounded world in pity and in power;
hold us fast to your promises of peace won for us by your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Today: 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)

Monday

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

Tuesday

12.00 Funeral of Brian Eayres  (St Mary's)
Wednesday

9.30 Eucharist (St Mary's)

10.30 Funeral of Sheila Blackburn  (St Mary's)
7.00 Ladies’ Singing Group (St Mary's Hall)
Thursday

9.30-12.00 Group visit to St Mary's
2-4 Sewing Bee (St Mary's Hall)

Next Sunday: The Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Principal Readings 

Jeremiah 28.5-9 Psalm 89.1-4,15-18* Romans 6.12-end Matthew 10.40-end  

Barton

8.00 Said Eucharist
9.30 Parish Eucharist
6.00  Said Eucharist with hymns

Villages

11.00 Holy Communion at Worlably

Reflection:

On the face of it, today’s Gospel reading is uncomfortable. It divides the world confidently into two, with no middle ground, talks unflinchingly about splitting families, and speaks of Christ bringing, not peace, but conflict. The trouble is, that it still says that when we start to scratch the surface. So what’s become of Christ the reconciler?

Matthew’s Gospel this morning seems to give the green light to just the sort of polarised, entrenched humanity which we’re all so worried about, and which is preached about by so many at one time or another, and there’s no point in us pretending that Matthew says something other than what we’ve had read this morning. So what are we going to do?

Luke has a very similar passage but there are subtle, important differences. Only Matthew has the reference to Beelzebul* , which reminds us that he’s talking to folk who’d recognise the name, that is people with a Jewish background. Luke’s pagan audience would just be baffled by it. So where might knowing Matthew’s audience take us?

Where it takes us is to the split between the Jewish faith and  Christianity, when, around AD 85, the tensions we see in Paul’s writings come to a head. ‘Christians’ are barred from Jewish worship, and what legal shelterChristians had evaporates. The Jewish Temple’s been destroyed by Rome. Nationalism’s on the rise. The spectre of the End of the World is very present. It’s all happening around the time Matthew is being written, and feelings are running high.  

Our Gospel reading this morning is skewed by the bitterness of what became a centuries-long conflict between Judaism and Christianity When Luke talks about hating close family, he also says a follower has to hate their own life - what comes across is the absolute claim of Christ on the disciple’s life. Matthew doesn’t mention ‘hating one’s own life,’ so his passage is  about splitting the household - which takes a wrecking ball to the Jewish tradition of the home as the foundation of worship and religious life, far more than Temple or synagogue.  And if we’re embarrassed by some of what we read today, it’s because it’s like witnessing a rather nasty family argument.

Even so, once we’ve understood the brick-throwing going on, it’s still a bit stark. We know that being called to be part of God’s work on earth isn’t necessarily a bed of roses – just look at what Jeremiah has to say about it in today’s OT reading – but we still seem to have to divide the world into ‘Jesus followers’ and ‘the rest,’ with ‘the rest’ being dubbed ‘enemies of God’ – not a particularly helpful mind-set in a world which is already quite divided enough without us joining in.

I wonder whether we may be missing something  important. We all know how in John’s Gospel there are times when we need to understand that Jesus is speaking, not as the Jewish religious teacher, but as the Eternal creative Word of God, so ‘denying me’ might have an extra edge to it.

The parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Mt 25 is well-known to all, and it’s the failure of the ones on the Son of Man’s left to recognise him in the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful and the rest which is the cause of their downfall. Their denial of Jesus isn’t about not going to Church – it’s they have denied Christ’s presence in those in the deepest need. Yes, there are those who recognise Christ as God and hold the name ‘Christian’, but there are countless others who recognise him in their service –‘When did we see you sick, or in prison, or hungry, or naked…?’‘

With it being Midsummer, it might seem a bit early for a quote from ‘A Christmas Carol’, but do you remember Scrooge seeing two starved, ragged children beneath the second Spirit’s robe?:

“They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish. Scrooge started back, appalled. "Spirit! are they yours?'' Scrooge could say no more.

"They are Man's,'' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!'' cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! And bide the end!''”

If the Gospels are right, and the world  is divided   into Christ-recognisers and Christ-deniers, maybe there’s much more to Denying Christ than simply ‘not going to Church’?

*An ancient Hebrew insult,‘Ba’al-zebel’‘Lord of Dung’ for the Canaanite deity ‘Ba’al-zebun’, ‘Lord of the Home.’ 

Hebrew slapstick also offers ‘Ba’al-zebub’ ‘Lord of Flies,’ at which point enter William Golding (and also the TV series ‘Good Omens’ in which the demon Beelzebub always appears surrounded by bluebottles).

For our prayers

Church:

The Church in South India

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.
Health centres and clinics.
Our hospitals: Scunthorpe General, Hull Royal, Castle Hill. 

Diocesan cycle of prayer: Musicians and those in the Arts

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.

Clarissa the Church Clock July 9th 7 pm at Worlaby Parish Church

A chance to learn about the intricacies and history of Worlaby's magnificent church clock, with a spot of (sometimes hair-raising) video, all accompanied by cheese and wine. Tickets £5 in advance, £6 on the door, more details on the landing page poster

Thankyou!

A huge thank you to everybody for your generosity in making donations towards St Mary's 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.

Fletcher DuBois RIP

As most people at St Mary's 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.

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.