Sunday Celebration A YEAR OF LEARNING

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1 So, what is and why do we have it? is held on the first Sunday of each month and is designed to engage people of all ages. The main elements of the Eucharistic service are still included but the presentation is sometimes changed to make it more accessible to children, visitors, spiritual seekers and those still learning about Christianity. This may include any of the following: The music provided by a band of musicians The sermon replaced by a talk or presentation The prayers use congregation participation The readings are dramatised Why do we need an All Age service? The book How to Plan and Lead All-Age Worship by Chris & John Leach (from the Grove Worship Series) says this: There are two reasons. The first is because of a theology which says that we ought to worship together. If we really are pilgrims together, walking in the way of Christ, we need to learn the give and take involved in worshipping together. The second reason has more to do with mission. Churches which try All Age Worship generally find that it is much more accessible for visitors, newcomers and particularly young families in fact those who are most notably missing from our churches. What is not? is not a family service or a children s service. The term family often provokes the image of mother, father and 2.4 children so anyone falling outside of that scenario may feel this is not the service for them. This doesn t just apply to lone parents but also to singles looking for a place to worship and those whose families have flown the nest. There will be elements designed to capture the attention of children but not exclusively for the children: memory verses help us all to recall God s word, colouring can help us all to meditate on God s word and action songs help us all to focus on the words being sung (especially at either end of the service when the mind can be distracted). Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 7

2 What is in store for services in 2017? services are taking on the task of providing a Year of Learning. Each month a different aspect of our services will be explored. This will provide new and seeking members with a trove of information while helping the more mature Christian to rediscover the reasons for our rituals, and hopefully even they might learn something new! A small team headed up by Rev Lucy looked through the set readings for 2017 and found that this Year of Learning idea was already in God s plan: 1st January - Luke 2:15-21 Worship 5th February - Luke 2: Why the Bible? 5th March - Matthew Confession 2nd April - John 11: Absolution 7th May - John 10: Communion 4th June - Acts 2:1-21 The Peace 2nd July - Psalm 89 - Music in Worship 6th August - Matthew 14: Blessing 3rd September - Romans 12.9-end - Prayer 1st October - Matthew 21:12-16 Offering (Harvest Festival) 5th November - Matthew 5:1-12 (All Saints) or The Church Year 3rd December Christingle So we pray that each one of you reading this now will support the Sunday Celebration Services with your attendance and help nurture our newest members as we grow our Church in Flitwick. God Bless. Sophie is currently training as a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group. Little Fishes This Monday morning group for mums, dads, grandparents, and carers with little children meets from 10.00am to 11.30am in the Chapter House attached to the church. Babies are welcome too. For further information, please contact Enid Clark on or Lesley Coglan on Page 8 Flitwick Parish Magazine

3 In Review - 5th February - Luke 2: Why the Bible? We heard how Sophie is not a very good cook because she prefers to look at the pretty pictures rather than practice the techniques in her favourite recipe books. And isn t that how we can be with the Bible at times. We read it on a Sunday or in our quiet times but do we really practice what it says, I mean really practice all of what it says! How wonderful it was to hear that in Children s Church, just the Sunday before, Alison demonstrated how she had been constantly checking her recipe while making a very tasty Victoria Sponge and in the same way we should be constantly checking ourselves against the word of God. This was not a great church-wide planning idea but a very happy coincidence, no doubt planned by the Lord himself, that reinforces the importance of the Bible in our everyday lives. We then handed over to our newly formed Open the Book team, who did a wonderful job acting out the story of Jesus s presentation at the Temple. The congregation had fun copying the signing which allowed for a repeat of the story and helped everyone to remember the message: Trust God s word. Lucy then explained why we link candles with the story of Jesus s presentation at the temple. We celebrated this with a candle procession for the intercessions with a sung response and by handing out candles at the end of the service with a verse from today s reading a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of God's people Israel (Luke 2:32). The idea being to put the candle somewhere you will see it regularly (by the biscuit tin or kettle) and be reminded to take time out to read the Bible whenever you see it. Wow, what a packed service! Sophie is currently training as a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group. Page 8 Flitwick Parish Magazine

4 In Review - 5th March - Matthew Confession Lent is a season where we traditionally give things up or challenge ourselves for 40 days in order to focus on God. But this comes with its own problems. Just 5 days in and already some of us have stumbled with our Lent promises. So, it seems only fitting that this month we talk about confession, saying sorry to God. Ian, our wonderful Ordinand in training, explained what confession is and why just saying sorry isn t enough. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by a member of the congregation (Lucy Davis!) with a coat full of sin. Well, stones actually. But they have the same affect They weigh a person down, they make us tired, they distract us from what we should be doing. Ian then explained what we need to do when we realise we have sinned. People around us will hear our words and see our actions but it is God who knows our hearts and our motivations so it is God who we need to confess to. Ian reminded us that we should confess because we love God and others and not to escape or reduce any punishment. Some very helpful children then helped remove the stones from Lucy s coat and placed them at the foot of a cross. Lucy no longer had to carry that extra weight and was able to skip down the aisle Ian then challenged us to think who is better at confessing; children or adults? Children are made to say sorry on a regular basis while adults tend to develop a habit of justifying their actions with laws, rules and logic. We heard how we don t have to be in church to confess we each have a relationship with God, it s not only the church as a group that is special to Him, it is each and every one of us. Ian then handed out some small stones to the congregation. He asked everyone to carry a stone around in their pocket and each time they notice it think if they have anything else they are carrying around that they could hand over to God. I ve certainly been noticing my stone. Great work, Ian! (Sophie is currently training as a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group) Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 17

5 In Review - 2nd April - John 11: Absolution This month s s was directed by the Flitwick Church Youth Group and, with just the aid of a massive zit (imaginary), a mirror (real) and two Bible readings, they explained a very powerful message: A young lady is looking in the mirror, obsessing over a spot! A voice asks what she is doing to which the young lady devolves into a monosyllabic teenager who duh! s the voice and points to the spot. The conversation continues and after a short while Genesis 1:26-27 is quoted God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. The voice explained, when we look at ourselves we see the face of God reflecting back at us. Unfortunately, all the young lady could see was the zit. She continued to focus on how she was not like God! The voice replied with Luke 18: Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has saved you. The congregation was invited to come to the front to write or draw in the mirror any thoughts, words or deeds that might stop them from being able to see God in their reflection. The voice explained that when we trust in Jesus and confess our sins, he takes away these imperfections. He cleans the mirror of all marks and smears, this is the gift of Absolution. The mirror was then cleaned and used to shine light around the church. The voice explained that when we confess our sins not only do we see God more clearly but we reflect God s image for others to see! Flitwick Church youth group is a relaxed and informal group for young people aged 11+ meeting once a month with all the usual silliness! If you would like to join us or know someone who might, please do not hesitate to contact Lucy, our vicar, for more details on (Sophie is currently training as a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group) Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 17

6 In Review - 7th May - John 10:1-10/Acts 1: Communion As we entered church for this month s, we noticed that the front pews had been removed and a table with just a simple white tablecloth had been set up in their place. Rev Lucy Davis explained that this humble, plain table was what would have been used when Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper, which is what we celebrate each week when we take Communion. Lucy explained however, that she doesn t see herself as being like Jesus when she blesses the bread and wine but that she sees herself as Mum at the Sunday table, taking care of her family. During the prayers the children were asked to find items around the church, as they did that we would think and pray about how these items affect us and others such as candles bringing light into darkness, bread feeding the hungry, napkins wiping away the mess of life. Instead of a sermon in the usual sermon slot Lucy walked us through the Eucharistic Prayer that we read each Sunday during Communion. She started with a question: What does Eucharist mean? Well, it means Thanksgiving. The whole Eucharistic Prayer is us thanking God the Father and God the Son for what they did for us on the cross. After Lucy had blessed the bread, the wine and the children, we administered Communion to each other, passing along the plates of bread and single serving cups of wine. What a wonderful way to share Communion as God s Growing Family! (Sophie is a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group) Quote for the Month Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow. Benjamin Franklin Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 17

7 In Review 4th June Acts 2:1-21 The Peace In June s, we looked at the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the trinity, a gift from God the father as promised by God the Son (Jesus) before he ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit came to the Disciples on the 50 th day after Easter, at Pentecost. Whether He is blowing like a rushing wind or whispering as a single breath, the Holy Spirit has the power to guide us and influence the people around us, through us. Confused? Well luckily Dr Pnuema a.k.a. Amy Rabjohn was on hand to explain with the help of a battery, a lightbulb and the rest of our Confirmation Group. The Confirmation group made a circuit by holding hands, well most of them unfortunately one of the group was upset with someone else and didn t want to hold hands. This meant the circuit was not complete and the light would not come on! This member of the group was encouraged to make peace and when they did and held hands with the rest of the group the light shone brightly. This showed us that if we hold on to grudges or regrets our hands aren t free to take hold of the Holy Spirit. If, however, each one of us could let go of the feelings that hold us back and instead take hold of the Holy Spirit, peace would flow through the whole world. As we look at the news today, this sounds like such a far-off concept but if we can harness that thinking here in Flitwick, we can make a difference. To help with this, clothes pegs with the word Peace written on them were handed out. The congregation was encouraged to take a Peg of Peace and clip it on someone without them feeling it. We would then pray for that person so that hopefully by the time they find the peg they would already have a renewed sense of peace. (Sophie is a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group) Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 17

8 Page 20 In Review 2nd July Psalm 89 - Music in Worship July s went with a bang, and a rattle, and a jingle as we thought about why we have music in church. And who better to facilitate this service than our very own music group, led by Richard Luscombe. During the talk, Richard highlighted some important points about playing, singing or working with others. Firstly, we need to keep in time. The congregation were encouraged to take a percussion instrument and repeat the beat that Richard played. It started off easy but then grew into a samba beat and as we started to lose our timing the rhythm became confused and hard to follow. So how do we stay together? We listen. In music, we listen to the organist, or the choir, or the music group to get direction. So many things go wrong between people when they don t listen but listening to each other doesn t mean we ll always stay together Richard then showed the congregation a tuning fork and explained how this simple piece of metal plays a perfect note which all musicians can tune their instruments against. This is what we need to do in church too. When we find that we are unable to work together, we should tune ourselves to the one who led a perfect life. Next Richard let the children arrange some music notes onto a set of staves. The children placed them where they thought they should go. The music group then played the tune. It was ok, a little clumsy and not very easy to sing along to. Then another member of the music group rearranged the music notes. The music group played the new tune and everyone instantly recognised it and sang along. When we let God arrange our lives, our relationships, our church we can be confident that the outcome will be music to His ears. The final thing is to remember that we re singing for God, showing Him how much we love Him. Richard used a magnifying glass to show that we magnify God through our worship. This is not a performance but a way to focus ourselves and others on God. God delights in our worship not because of its quality but because of its origin, a thankful heart. When we put God in charge of our garbled music (and messy lives), he makes a perfect tune out of them. Flitwick Parish Magazine

9 In Review 6th August Matthew 14:13-21 The Blessing Despite numerous reminders (knot in hankie, string on finger, post-it notes and alarms) the change of routine over the holidays meant Sophie kept forgetting that she was supposed to be helping the Healing team run the August Sunday Celebration Thankfully, she was only a minute late so once she had explained herself the service could start. Rachel explained to the congregation that when God blesses something ordinary it becomes special. This could be a wedding ring, a piece of bread or us. That s right, when God gives us His blessing He is making us special. He gives us His power and purpose to then bless the world. There is one slight problem though, we are human and sometimes we forget how special we are so He gives us lots of reminders all through the service At the beginning of each service we are told The Lord be with you In the Creed we say We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. and We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. Lucy blesses the children during Communion In the Peace, we hear The peace of the Lord be always with you. And as if that s not enough we have a special Blessing after communion before we leave So no forgetting YOU ARE BLESSED! (Sophie is a Lay Leader of Worship and is part of the planning group) Quote for the Month Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. George Carlin Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 21

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11 In Review 1st October Matthew 21:12-16 Beavers, Rainbows, Cubs, Brownies and Scouts all joined our congregation for a wonderful Harvest organised by Children s Church. While Wendy (Children s Church organiser) talked about what Harvest means to different people, the children held up cards with the letters H-A-R-V-E-S-T on them and two of the CC leaders used their marshalling skills to do the Harvest Shuffle. That is, shuffling the children around to spell certain words: Because of our harvest we HAVE food to EAT for our TEA (and all our other meals!). From EAST to VEST (!!!) over all the EARTH, people s HARVESTs come at different times of the year... Unfortunately, harvests are not always good. Sometimes they fail. Maybe too much HEAT or too many TARES - an old word for weeds. When this happens, it ends in TEARS and people can even STARVE. Some people have more than they need, while others do not have enough to EAT. There is a word which can help with this. SHARE! After the excursion of the Harvest Shuffle, Children s Church asked the congregation to take over and suggest practical ways in which they could help. The congregation were then told about the Bishop s Full of beans Appeal which is supporting the development of community projects which transform the loves of people in remote rural villages of the Philippines where they have discovered their soil is perfect for growing high quality beans. With our support to this year s Harvest Appeal, Full of Beans, the Bishop hopes that many families can become selfreliant, filled with dignity and hopeful for their future. At the end, everyone was encouraged to take home a surprise packet it contained a bean for growing and a challenge to donate their beanstalk s height in coins to the Full of Beans Appeal at Novembers. Page 12 Flitwick Parish Magazine

12 In Review 5th November Matthew 5:1-12 What does it mean to be a family? Lucy asked us to define what makes a family because they come in so many shapes and sizes, there are no set requirements and many families actually pride themselves on being different from every other family. Some even eat cheese with their Christmas Cake!!! It was decided, there needs to be people who love each other with a joint past, from sharing stories and time, and quite often food. There is a member of the family who guides, nurtures and protects. At St Peter and St Paul s we think of ourselves as a family it s even part of our vision statement: we call ourselves God s growing family. So why do we think of ourselves as a family rather than a club or organisation or establishment? Well, we are people who love each other, with a joint past from sharing the Bible, spending time together and quite often (every week) having a special meal together as we celebrate Holy Communion. And we have God who, as the head of our family, guides, nurtures and protects us. And like a biological family, we don t get to choose who is in God s family. We are all different and bring different blessings and hardships, experiences and naïvetés, charms and irritations with us. Next Lucy used the words of the Gospel reading - often called the Beatitudes - to guide us through prayer. We were invited to raise our hands each time a Beatitude called to mind someone (including ourselves) that we should pray for. This meant that we were able to pray for each other as a loving family. As we do at most s, we were able to congratulate children who had been Christened during the previous month and welcomed them into our family, a family that goes back in time 2,000 years, spreads to every country in the world today and even joins us with our family in heaven. How wonderful is that? Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 23