July / August E-Magazine 2021
In this edition of E-Magazine we have:
Reflection by Norma Felstead
Westerleigh Village Day
Reverend Wanda Morris
Living in Love and Faith
630 Praise
Pilgrimage Walk to Tintern Abbey
Prayer
Coffee Morning at St James
Messy Church
Westerleigh Village Breakfast details
Services Throughout the Parish
Morning Prayer in Yate
Compline at 8pm
DailyHope Phone Line details
For a full printable magazine click the file below
July reflection by Norma Felstead
Here we are, 18 months since we first became aware of Corona Virus, hoping that the vaccination programme will be successful so that we can visit friends and family and start making plans for celebrations of all kinds. It has certainly been a testing time, and those of us who have survived must be mindful of those who are still grieving the loss of loved ones, and thankful to those who have kept us safe.
It will be so easy, when the majority of restrictions are lifted, to slip back into our old ways, caught up in the desires and anxieties of daily life and forget the lessons that the pandemic has taught us. Isolation has taught us how precious human contact is. Even though many of us have been able to use Zoom as a form of visual communication, we have to admit it is not the same as face-to-face contact. We need each other; let us treasure this gift of relationships. It would be easy to forget how much we rely on frontline workers. In our NHS society we take for granted the services we enjoy and Complain if attention isn’t immediate. Other services, that make our lives so much easier than our predecessors, are taken for granted.
One of the things that I have become very much aware of is how easily our plans can be thwarted. In recent years we have become more and more self-assured that we are in control of our own lives. We make plans as though they are set in stone, unlike years ago when we always added ‘god willing’ or ‘all being well’.
Perhaps we should reflect on this old poem:
My life is but a weaving, between my God and me.
I cannot see the colours, he weaveth steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow; and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not ‘til the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, Will God unroll the canvass, and reveal the
reason why.
The dark threads are as needful, in the weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern he has planned.
He knows, He loves, He cares; nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those, who leave the choice to him.
May all our post virus plans be made ‘God willing’.
Westerleigh Village Day
Saturday 24 July,
12pm – 4:30pm
Family activities on the field
including races, bouncy castle,
face painting.
Church tower open 1-3pm.
Refreshments and cake stall
in the village hall.
Reverend Wanda Morris
We welcome Reverend Wanda Morris into the parish of Yate as she begins her new ministry with us.
Wanda will be familiar to many of you as she has been worshipping with us over the past few years and has been part of the wider family of faith in Yate over many years.
Can you give a brief summary of how you sensed God’s calling to ordained ministry in the Church of England?
I prayed that prayer ‘Let your will and not mine be done Lord.’ #Risky prayer! Little did I know, at that time, that prayer was to be a significant turning point in my journey of faith. I had a call to ordination specifically to the Anglican Church, of which I was not a member! I had to leave my home church to pursue what God had called me to, a journey that has felt sacrificial at times, but through it all an acknowledgment of a faithful God.
What has your time at Trinity College, Bristol been like?
It has been a joy and a privilege to train at Trinity; I have loved my 3 years, and have learnt such a lot. It has allowed me to seek more of an understanding for my faith, going deeper into subjects I might normally just skim over. My husband Alan, who works full time, has studied alongside me, as an independent student. This has enabled us to have some interesting conversations over the dinner table and for us, as a couple, to grow together in faith.
There have been some difficult times along the way, but with the support of my family, and a prayer triplet (outside college) and prayer quad (in college) we have helped each other through.
You have been on placement in Fromeside Benefice this past year, in what way (in spite of lockdown) has this helped you in developing your skills and
understanding of parish ministry?
Being in Fromeside has helped me tremendously. I am very grateful for the gentle guidance Malcolm and his team have shown me. Each church in the benefice does things slightly differently, and I have learnt to be adaptable wherever I go.
You are going to be a non-stipendiary curate. What does this mean?
To be a non-stipendiary curate means I do not receive a salary. This means I have a job outside the church to earn money!
What are you looking forward to as you settle back into Yate parish?
I am excited to be back in the parish and to see everyone again. I am looking forward to seeing what ministries God is calling me to, especially working in community engagement within Ladden Garden Village, where I now live.
On which days will you be available in the parish?
As I am also working part time, I will only be available in the parish on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
How can we pray for you in the coming months?
Thank you, I would ask for me to know God’s guidance in all I do, to be open to new challenges whatever that may mean and for my family as they adjust to my new role.
Living in Love and Faith
A male vicar in his fifties was in conversation with two women aged around thirty about the changing attitudes to sex and relationships in our society. He said to one of them “I’m heterosexual. And you?”. Surprisingly, she answered: “I don’t know what I am.” Not because she was lost and confused, but because the question really didn’t mean anything to her. Like many younger people today, she saw her sexuality as very fluid. How attitudes have changed in a generation!
The Church of England is currently engaged in a process called “Living in Love and Faith” exploring differing opinions about sex and relationships within the church, about the Bible and our inherited understanding and the way people are living their relationships in the twenty-first century. In our parish we began the process in 2019 with a PCC discussion. In May this year many of the ministry team attended an on-line diocesan conference which has prompted our sermon series on the ‘pastoral
principles’. We are all invited to take part in discussion groups this autumn and to feed back to the diocese, which will in turn feed grassroots understanding to
General Synod next year.
This conversation won’t be easy – there are deeply-held and differing beliefs with hurt and misunderstanding on all sides. At the May conference we saw an interview with two gay men, one a bishop in the Church of England who believes that the church should embrace same-sex
relationships as something positive, the other a pastor in a Bristol church who has chosen to remain celibate
because he does not believe that a same-sex relationship is compatible with his faith. Despite their strongly-held beliefs, their conversations brought them together as friends. This demonstrates how hard it is to discern the will of God for our time, but also that we can do this together in a spirit of friendship and Christian love.
The Church has identified six evils which spoil our relationships, and has formulated six pastoral principles to address these.
They are:
1 Acknowledge prejudice The church and wider society have treated people disgracefully if they don’t fit the contemporary norm. Yet our Creator God loves difference. We need to acknowledge that, repent, and change.
2 Speak into silence It’s been easier not to talk about these matters because it’s painful. But silence has perpetuated the wrongs and damage to our relationships. Justice and doing what is right means giving people opportunities to speak into the silence.
3 Address ignorance We need to understand the Bible and our traditions as well as the lives lived by people today, to inform our discussion and our decisions for the church.
4 Cast out fear The Bible says “perfect love casts out fear”, yet we have lived in fear of one another in the church: we need to address this.
5 Admit hypocrisy
We say that God loves everyone, but we behave as if he loves some but abhors others. Acknowledging this is part of our repentance.
6 Pay attention to power Jesus taught us to wash each other’s feet and that the greatest among us will be servants of all, but when we fail to do this, power can be a tool for injustice, including in the realm of sex and relationships. We need to talk about this, and pay attention to power.
There is a challenge here for each one of us. Will you take part in this difficult but essential process? Will you pray for it? Will you think about the different arguments, particularly those you disagree with? Will you enter into the discussions in love? Will you choose to live in love and faith?
Rev Iain Macfarlane
630 Praise
Because of the delay in lifting the lockdown we plan to continue with 630 Praise online until 25th July. We will be starting a new series on Paul's first letter to Timothy. To give the technicians a break we will not be broadcasting 630 Praise during August, but instead will get together socially in one another's gardens during the month - more details will be published nearer the time. We will restart 630 Praise in St. Mary's on Sunday 5th September and hope to live-stream it at the same time.
Pilgrimage to Tintern Abbey
Lockdown has been tough on everyone; it's been like walking through a dark tunnel with no light at the end. Now we are coming to the end of it we can finally glimpse that light. To reflect on our lockdown experience a group of 18 people from across the parish went on a Pilgrimage walk to Tintern Abbey. We walked through a half-mile long tunnel, then came out into the light. When we reached Tintern Abbey we enjoyed a picnic together before climbing up to Devil's Pulpit and setting off home.
It was a fantastic day where people came together for either a long or a short walk or just for the picnic. Walking and eating together helped us all to reconnect with God, nature and each other.
We will be holding another Pilgrimage in the autumn: watch out for further details.
Rev Hywel Snook
Living in Love and Faith
A prayer to help us
Lord of the Church,
forgive our failure to acknowledge and address our prejudices: open our hearts and minds to value those with whom we disagree;
forgive the way we collude with silence and imprison others in it: give us courage to speak words that liberate and heal;
forgive our reluctance to address our ignorance: lead us into the truth that will set us free;
forgive the cycles of negativity that trap us in fear: cast out our fear with your perfect love;
forgive our failure to admit our hypocrisy: give us grace to grow in self-awareness and personal integrity;
forgive us when disparities of power undermine trust: shape our conversations with humility and mutual respect;
that we may live well together and rejoice to be disciples of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
Coffee morning at St James
Since February we have been enjoying zoom fellowship on a Wednesday morning, bringing together many of the regulars from Westerleigh with some welcome participants from elsewhere in the parish. After an opening prayer we have tackled a short quiz set by someone in the group. We all believe we’ve set an easy one, because we know the answers! However, our wide range of interests and random dips into Wikipedia have often proved hilariously challenging and have provoked lively discussion.
With lockdown ending we plan to revert to meeting in St James, every Wednesday from 10 am. This should start on Wednesday 21 July, or the first Wednesday following the end of lockdown if we face a further extension. There is a friendly welcome for all comers, old friends and new.
Zoom Coffee Morning
All Welcome—Wednesday 7 & 14 July at 10am
Get yourself a cup of coffee and join us at 10 every Wednesday morning.
The zoom link is the same every week (bookmark it):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85661948674?
pwd=ZWVJREdpdFNlb2pNN1NTTzJTQVU5Zz09
Meeting ID: 856 6194 8674 Passcode: 072078
Messy Church at St Nix, Yate
Messy Church is a fresh expression church that welcomes adults and their children (parents, step parents, grandparents and their children, step children, grandchildren) to come and join our Messy Church community. A typical Messy Church will be Christ centred and all age, with an opportunity to experience creativity, hospitality and celebration. It is usually in the format of learning on a particular theme or bible story through crafts and experiments leading into a celebration with a bible story, songs and prayer and then we share a meal together. Messy church runs on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 16:15 until 18:30, every month apart from August.
Due to Covid Messy Church is currently online. You can request a resource bag to be delivered on the day or just follow the video and gather your own items for the crafts. All of the videos are available to watch via the Yate Parish YouTube channel.
We are tentatively making plans to welcome families back to St Nix when we restart Messy Church face to face on 18 September 8and, of course, we shall follow government and Church of England guidelines. We are expecting to have to limit numbers so it’s likely we will ask families to book in advance - more details to follow once we are a little more clear on how the Covid restrictions will affect us.
We are looking for new team members to help with Messy Church, this could be through crafts, prayer, music, catering team, dining team or general logistical help. all volunteers will need to follow the safer recruitment process and any training will be provided.
For any information about Messy Church or to be added to the mailing lists please contact Charlie on Messychurch@yateparish.org.uk or 07471186117; there is also a Facebook page ‘Messy Church at St Nix Yate’.
Charlie Blackett
Westerleigh Village Breakfast at
St James on Saturday
14 August, 11 September 9am – 11am
The Friends of St James will again be offering an opportunity to enjoy breakfast in the company of old friends and new in church, on Saturday 14 August and Saturday 11 September any time between 9 and 11, followed by an optional guided walk.
Full English or lighter options freshly cooked to order. Table service and open doors ensure continued precautions even after the end of lockdown.
No booking required. We look forward to welcoming you back.
Services throughout the Parish
Sunday 4 July
Trinity 5—Green
Ezekial 2:1-5 Colossians 2:1-5 Mark 6:1-13
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Morning Worship - live stream
6.30pm 630Praise—follow link on website
St Nix
10.30am Communion
St James
10.30am Communion
St Peter
6.30pm Evening Worship
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 11 July
Trinity 6—Green
Amos 7:7-15 1 John 4:16b-21 Mark 6:14-29
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Communion - live stream
6.30pm 630Praise—follow link on website
St Nix
10.00am Morning Worship
St James
10.30am Morning Worship
St Peter
6.30pm Communion
(Book of Common Prayer)
Mid Week Communion services will be held
at 10am on a Thursday in St Mary’s Church.
Sunday 18 July
Trinity 7—Green
Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalm 101 Luke 12:1-3
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Morning Worship - live stream
6.30pm 630Praise—follow link on website
St Nix
10.30am Communion
St James
10.30am Communion
St Peter
6.30pm Evening Worship
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 25 July
Trinity 8—Green
2 Kings 4:42-44 Philippians 2:1-11 John 6:1-21
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Communion - live stream
6.30pm 630Praise—follow link on website
St Nix
10.30am Morning Worship
St James
10.30am Morning Worship
St Peter
6.30pm Communion
(Book of Common Prayer)
Services throughout the Parish
Sunday 1 August
Trinity —Green
Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35
St Mary
8.15am Morning Worship
10.30am Communion - live stream
St Nix
10.30am Communion
St James
10.30am Communion
St Peter
6.30pm Evening Worship
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 8 August
Trinity —Green
1 Kings 19:4-8 Ephesians 4:25—5:2 John 6:35,41-51
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Communion - live stream
St Nix
10.00am Morning Worship
St James
10.30am Morning Worship
St Peter
6.30pm Communion
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 15 August
Trinity —Green
Proverbs 9:1-6 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Morning Worship - live stream
St Nix
10.30am Communion
St James
10.30am Communion St Peter
6.30pm Evening Worship
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 22 August
Trinity —Green
Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69
St Mary
8.15am Communion
10.30am Communion - live stream
St Nix
10.30am Morning Worship
St James
10.30am Morning Worship
St Peter
6.30pm Communion
(Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 29 August
Trinity - Green
Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-9 James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8,14,15,21-23
St Mary
10.30am Parish Communion - live stream
Morning prayer in Yate Parish
Do you find prayer a little difficult? Would you like some inspiration? Go to the Yate Parish Facebook page to join in Morning Prayer led by our ministry team. You can watch live at 7.30am Monday to Saturday, or watch at any time later in the day. Many people have found it a great start to their day.
At St Mary’s—each week
Thursday Communion at 10.00am
Compline @8pm
Before the lockdown happened, we had recorded the saying of Compline. We ask that each evening at 8pm we light a candle in our window and pray together for our nation using the words of the Compline service - it takes just over 5 minutes.
Visit the parish website and click on the recordings to listen; you will find the words of the service there too.
DailyHope phone line
DailyHope, a free national telephone line, offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of the phone. A Church of England initiative in partnership with CONNECTIONS at Holy Trinity Claygate, and Faith in Later Life. The line – which is available
24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up
particularly with those unable to join online church
services during the period of restrictions in mind; to
provide comfort and spiritual nourishment to the most isolated in our society.
Comments