Newsletter. Large print service books are available. Please ask at the door. There is an induction loop for those using a hearing aid.

Transcription

1 The United Benefice of Old Shoreham and Kingston Buci The Churches of St Nicolas, St Julian and St Giles Newsletter For Sunday 18 September 2016 Trinity XVI1 Welcome to our worship where we celebrate the 17 th Sunday after Trinity Children: Sunday School in the Parish of Kingston Buci meets on the 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th Sunday of the month in the church hall at the beginning of the service and returns for communion. Toy bags are available in all churches as you come in at the door. Please feel free to make use of these facilities for your children. Need a lift to Church? Please let us know Large print service books are available. Please ask at the door. There is an induction loop for those using a hearing aid.

2 From the Vicar There are weeks when you look at the readings and think: What did I just read there? Are they serious? Whoever they maybe. This is one of these weeks. A manager is fired and he makes sure that he builds himself a nice little network by giving out favours that aren t his to give. And Jesus commends him. One commentator suggests that Luke might not even been sure himself what to do about this material that had been passed down to him. It certainly seems that way when you look at the somewhat disjointed string of sayings all bundled up together in these verses. There are some who have tried to explain the issues away. The most sensible one of these recalls the practice of debt collectors to add their own fees, so the shrewd manager might have finally figured out that it was worth not charging his fees and reducing the overall level of debt. This certainly is reminiscent of tax collector Zacchaeus reaction to Jesus coming into his life and returning the extortionate fees he had charged his debtors. But overall it still leaves the question what Jesus was trying to do with this story. I have to say I m not quite sure and the attempts to explain don t satisfy me. That said there are a couple of things we might want to take out of this. Firstly Jesus did not hesitate to talk about money. This might be worth reminding ourselves about, when we look at stewardship in our parishes and having to address these issues at some point. Secondly, it reminds us that our goal is not to be set apart from this world, as some occult sects even within Christianity want to make us believe, but as Jesus became fully human, we are called to fully engage with this world. Sometimes this becomes messy and oblique, and there is no clear soundbite that might encapsulate the message for the day. It calls us to reflection, to wrestle with the text with an open mind. This is also the Sunday we have designated as the beginning of the Season of Invitation. We are taking part in the national project which started out as Back to Church Sunday in From this week onwards we will begin use the opportunities this season offers to invite people who might only be loosely connected to church. The first opportunity in October will be Harvest Sunday which we will celebrate on the 2 nd and 16 th October in our two parishes. We will be inviting those who have been baptised this year to this occasion. This will be followed All Souls, Remembrance Sunday in November and the Christmas Season which will give us further opportunities to invite people to specific events and services. Please take one of the postcards which will (hopefully) be available in church from this Sunday onwards, and take them to invite a friend or a neighbour to one of the special services in the coming months. By next Sunday there will be little cards with 2

3 all the information about the coming seasonal services which you can take home with you. Please pray for our communities as we try to build a culture of welcome in our parishes. Let us remember that although we have a radical message we do not see ourselves as set apart from the rest of the community, but that we are an integral part of our community in Shoreham. Selamünaleyküm, Fr James Collect Today s Worship Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself, and so bring us at last to your heavenly city where we shall see you face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Readings First Reading: Amos 8:4-7 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat. The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds Second Reading: I Timothy 2:1-7 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one 3

4 mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all - this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Gospel: Luke 16:1-13 Then Jesus said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer. Then the manager said to himself, What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes. So, summoning his master s debtors one by one, he asked the first, How much do you owe my master? He answered, A hundred jugs of olive oil. He said to him, Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty. Then he asked another, And how much do you owe? He replied, A hundred containers of wheat. He said to him, Take your bill and make it eighty. And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Post Communion Prayer Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Readings Next Sunday First Reading Amos 6:1a4-7 Second Reading I Timothy 6:6-19 Gospel Luke 16:

5 For your Prayers In the Anglican Communion we pray for The Episcopal Church The Most Revd Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of TEC In our Diocese we pray for the Diocesan Accounts Team: Diocesan Accountant, John Kemp, Peter Lovatt and Shereen Smith Within our local community we pray for the Shoreham & Southwick Bereavement Group and the First Thursday Group, as well as the residents of Clarendon Road, Stoney Lane, Kingston Close and Julian Court. Those with long term health problems or other difficulties: Ella Hutt Those in need of our prayers specifically at this time: John Baldwin, Simon Phillips, James Wickett, Mary Oliver, Pauline Packham, Hengyi Wang. Notices Service Time Change at St Nicolas : After consultation in Spring 2016 the PCC decided to change the service time for the sung Parish Eucharist from 9.30am to 9.45am. Sunday School: Sunday School begins again after the school holidays at 10.00am on 18 September at St Giles hall. The Benefice Harvest Supper: This will be held on Saturday 1st October at 6.30 for 7pm, in St Julian s Church Hall and will be a buffet of hot and cold food, with wine. Tickets are now available in our churches at a cost of 7 per head. The Kingston Buci Harvest Festival service will be held on Sunday 2 nd October at St. Giles church, where we will be collecting gifts for Family Support Work, along with socks for Off the Fence. A retiring collection will be made in support of The Diocesan Harvest Appeal for 2016/17(please see below for more information). Prayers for Healing: There will be no Prayers for Healing in September. The next meeting is on 3 October at 8.30am at St Nicolas. 5

6 St Nicolas Church - Help wanted please! Would you like to be part of the team at St Nicolas' to meet and greet people coming to the services? If so we would love you to volunteer to act as a sides-person at either the 8.30 or 9.45am Sunday services, greeting people and handing out the orders of service and hymn books, as well as helping to set the Church up for the service. We also require people to help during the service with the Readings and the Intercessions. If you would be willing to help in any of these roles, or maybe find out a bit more about them, please speak to Len Batten, Fr. James or Dennis Wears, we would love to have you help and be part of our team. Diocesan Harvest Appeal 2016/17 Rebuilding Lives: Encouraging Community A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to last year s Harvest Appeal. The donations were in excess of 30,000 and this was a big increase from previous years. This year we are hoping to match that figure to be able to continue with the good work. For example the Diocesan Overseas Council was able to send 7,000 to Bo Sierra Leone to help buy seeds and tools to support agricultural community projects and help to rebuild lives. Please support our Harvest Appeal this year. Bishop Mark writes: The heart-rending scenes of Ebola-stricken towns and villages have left our television screens. The struggle for children and families, traumatised by bereavement and loss of security, does not make headline news but it remains the daily reality for many of the people with whom the Diocese of Chichester is linked. Families, some of whom have lost their bread-winners, or their children and their livelihood need to rebuild their lives. Schools, businesses, clinics and other facilities have all to be re-established after forced closure and local economies need to be reconstructed. This year our Harvest Appeal is directed at enabling people to rebuild their future so as to bring new hope not simply to their families, but to the communities and networks of which they are members. Please support this year's Harvest Appeal and help individuals and their communities not to be overcome by the crushing blows of personal and material loss, but to find new hope, not least through the generous support of the Church in Sussex. +Mark Horsham. The original article can be found on the diocesan website: 6

7 Sunday 18 September 2016 Trinity 17 The Season of Invitation begins. Monday am This Week 8.30am St Nicolas Eucharist 9.45am St Nicolas Family Eucharist 10am St Giles Parish Eucharist Sunday School St Nicolas Toddler Drop-In (0-5years) Tuesday 8am St Giles Morning Prayer Wednesday 8am St Julian s Morning Prayer 9.30am St Nicolas Eucharist Thursday 8am St Nicolas Morning Prayer 10am St Julian s Holy Communion Friday 8am St Julian s Morning Prayer pm St Nicolas pm St Nicolas Junior Choir St Nicolas Choir Saturday 9am St Nicolas Morning Prayer Next Sunday 25 September 2016 Trinity am St Nicolas Eucharist 9.45am St Nicolas Parish Eucharist 10am St Julian s Parish Eucharist Sunday School 12noon St Julian s Holy Baptism 7

8 Contact Details Fr James Grant Associate Vicar or Rev d Barbara Wilson Deacon barbara.a.wilson@btinternet.com Rev d Pat Alden Hon. Assistant Priest pat@looksouth.net Mr Len Batten Church Warden, St Nicolas len.batten1@gmail.com Miss Ann Burton Church Warden, St Julian southwickann@gmail.com Mrs Penny Jospeh Church Warden, St Giles penejos@gmail.com Kingston Buci Church Office office@parishofkingstonbuci.org.uk For Hall bookings: St Giles Hall: Mrs Sarah Ringshaw sarahelaine70@hotmail.com St Julian s Hall: Mrs Nancy Knill Notices for the Weekly Newsletter Mrs Tina Robertson tinarobertson99@yahoo.co.uk (deadline 6pm) More information can be found on our websites:,, & OR visit us on Facebook 8