FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 18 February 2018

Transcription

1 ANGLICAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA ST. ANDREW S ABERFELDIE 27 & 29 St Kinnord Street, Aberfeldie Office: Parish Priest Fr. Michael Danaher Mobile: aberfeldieanglican@gmail.com FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 18 February 2018 Mark 1:9-15 1

2 Welcome to St Andrew s As a congregation we acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation the traditional custodians of the land on which St Andrew s is built. We are committed to being a Child Safe Church Today s Services Service Welcomers Readers Intercession Chalice Offertory & Counting 8am G. Dodgshun H. Anders D. Hartshorne D. Hartshorne D Konzag D. Konzag R. Hallo 10am L. Buchanan K. McLean J. McLean V. Brown B. Wilson J. Clemie K. McLean L. Buchanan Today s Hymns Be Still, Tis 591, Tis 580, Tis 754, Tis 276 Sentence from Scripture The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. Mark 1:15 Collect of the Day God of the new and eternal covenant, as the forty days of the great flood swept away the world s corruption and watered new beginnings of righteousness and life: grant to us, who are washed clean and born again in the saving flood of baptism, the wellspring of your grace, that your gift of new life may flourish once again; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 2

3 Today s Readings A reading from the Book of Genesis: chapter 9, beginning at the 8 th verse. 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 17 God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth. Genesis 9:8-17 Hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Psalm 25: In you, O Lord my God, have I put my hope: in you have I trusted, let me not be ashamed, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 2 Let none who wait for you be put to shame: but let those that break faith be confounded and gain nothing. 3 Show me your ways, O Lord: and teach me your paths. 3

4 4 Lead me in the ways of your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation. 5 In you have I hoped all the day long: because of your goodness, O Lord. 6 Call to mind your compassion and your loving-kindness: for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: but according to your mercy think on me. 8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he direct sinners in the way. 9 The meek he will guide in the path of justice: and teach the humble his ways. 10 All the paths of the Lord are faithful and true: for those who keep his covenant and his commandments. A reading from the First Letter of Peter, chapter 3, beginning at the 18 th verse. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. 21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. 1 Peter 3:18-22 Hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 4

5 The Lord be with you. And also with you. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Mark. Chapter 1, beginning at the 9 th verse. Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ. 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news. Mark 1:9-15 For the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. 5

6 Pray for those in need. Dot Taylor, Dianna Scrivenor, Alexandra & Nicholas & Leah, Roslyn, David Gibbs, James and Bev Stephenson, Sally, David, Judy Ferguson, Roger & Melva Wilson, Wendy Alley, Di Chenoweth, Brenda Mattichak, Judy Steele, Cliff & June Allison, Michael Saundry, Helen Hilton, Trish Randall, Jean Jolley, John Chenoweth, Carolyn, Michaela Engeler, Nicholas Hallo, & the residents of Arcadia. To add your name or someone else s name to the prayer list please complete one of the forms located in the porch or speak with Fr. Michael Remember the faithful departed. Laurienne WARNOCK (1977), Olive Muriel FOGARTY (1978), Abigail DANIEL (1982), Edna GOWLER (1994), Charles Thomas EARL (2009), Edward TORNEY (2009), Richard STEPHENS (2016) Next Week: Second Sunday in Lent Readings: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Psalm 22:24-32, Romans 4:13-25 & Mark 8:31-38 Service Welcome Readers Intercession Chalice Offertory & Counting 8am R. Hallo T. Randall G. Dodgshun G. Dodgshun G. Dodgshun R. Hallo D. Konzag 10am J. Alley K. Harrison W. Alley K. Harrison V. Brown K. Harrison J. Clemie V. Brown 6

7 This Week in the Parish Sunday 18 February 9am Pastoral Care Group Sunday 18 February 11.30am Warden s Meeting Monday 19 February 8.30am Morning Prayer Monday 19 February 9.30am Spiritual Café North & Eight Monday 19 February 5pm Evening Prayer Wednesday 21 February 8.30am Morning Prayer Wednesday 21 February 9.30am Mainly Music Wednesday 21 February 5pm Evening Prayer Thursday 22 February 8.30am Morning Prayer Thursday 22 February 10am Playgroup Thursday 22 February 10.30am Lenten Studies (Vicarage) Thursday 15 February 5pm Evening Prayer Thursday 22 February 7pm Lenten Studies (John Steele Room) Friday 23 February 8.30am Morning Prayer Friday 23 February 11am Weekly Eucharist at Arcadia Friday 23 February 5pm Evening Prayer Coming Soon Wednesday 28 February 9.30am Coffee Morning Wednesday 28 February 7.15pm Parish Council Meeting 7

8 The Season of Lent Lent is a time of preparation for Easter: forty days of preparation for fifty days of celebration. Lent means waiting: for the cross, the water and the fire. God does not need Lent, but we do. The rhythm of fast and feast taps into some elemental need of ours, where denial creates longings to be satisfied so that we come to deeper appreciation of God s great gifts. Lent is a time for preparing catechumens (baptismal candidates) for Easter baptism. It has its origins in the fact that preparation of catechumens is a process by which the whole Christian community is renewed. Lenten Studies Our study commences on Thursday 22 February. In preparation, could I please ask those of you taking part in the study to read Session One: Embracing Comfort (starting on page 13) of our Lenten book A Way Through the Wilderness. Anglican Board of Mission: Lent and Easter Appeals Giving envelopes are available on the table at the back of the church for four different appeals sponsored by the Anglican Board of Mission. Two are for Lent: Leadership Formation and Training, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mission Fund, and two are for Easter (with one being for Good Friday): Educating our Partners for a brighter future. All are worthy causes which would benefit from any support you are able to give. Donations can be made directly to the Anglican Board of Mission with these envelopes. 8

9 Fete Meeting Geoff Dodgshun has advised there will be a meeting on Sunday 4 March at 9am in the John Steele Room to begin planning for the Church Fete in October. All stallholders and interested parties are encouraged to attend. 48 th Annual Inter-Denominational Thanksgiving Breakfast This year s breakfast is to be held on Saturday 24 March at 7.30am at the Essendon Football Club s Windy Hill Venue in Napier Street Essendon. The cost is $32.00 per person. The guest speaker will be Trevor Sobey, who is the Victorian representative for the Barnabus Fund, an international aid agency that supports persecuted minority Christians who face discrimination or persecution because of their faith. If you would like to attend then please put your name on the list on the table at the back of the church. It would be nice to have a table of 10 representing St Andrew s. Spiritual Development Program For over fifty years the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne offered at the Retreat House in Cheltenham a ministry of spirituality, direction and retreats. At the end of 2000 Retreat House was closed. After a period of discernment the ministry was transferred to a new base in the context of an inner city parish, Holy Trinity East Melbourne, and in 2011, moved to St George s Anglican Church in Malvern, where it now operates as the Living Well Centre. The centre offers spiritual direction for all who seek it as a means of enriching their life s journey. It also offers training and supervision for directors, including a four-year part time formation Program. In addition, it runs regular seminars, quiet days and retreats. The image of the Living Well is a familiar one from John s Gospel where Jesus encounters a foreign woman at the well. They have a discussion about human thirst, longing, meaning and direction in life. This centre 9

10 seeks to offer a place where people might still meet Jesus and share with him the deepest places of their lives. The Centre is announcing a new program they will be offering from next year one which we believe will meet a very real need with many of God s people. It is called Personal Spiritual Growth and Formation. It is designed for people who want to do some intentional work on their relationship with God and their place in God s world. Further information is available on the noticeboard at the back of the church. Spiritual Reflection In the reflection in last week's pew sheet I wrote that to become the true self is to become the person God intended us to be. And that knowing who God intended us to be requires discernment. I also wrote that discernment is a spiritual understanding and an experiential knowledge of how God is active in daily life that is acquired through disciplined spiritual practice. Discernment is faithful living and listening to God s love and direction so that we can fulfil our individual calling and shared mission. This week I want to build on that by including the following extract from the book Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by noted spiritual writer Henri Nouwen which talks about discernment as being seen. I struck by the way Jesus saw Nathanael under the tree in the Gospel of John. Even before meeting him, Jesus said of Nathanael: Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit! When the two men met on the road, Nathanael asked Jesus with amazement: How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Jesus s seeing through Nathanael under the fig tree was such a powerful act of discerning what was in his heart that it caused Nathanael to proclaim: Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel! To which Jesus remarked, You believe this because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these. 10

11 You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (John 1: 47 51). This wonderful story about seeing through to the heart of things raises a deeper question: Do I want to be fully seen by Jesus? Do I want to be known by him? If I do, then a faith can grow that will open my eyes to heaven and reveal Jesus as the Son of God. I will see great things when I am willing to be seen. I will receive new eyes that can see the mysteries of God s own life, but only when I allow God to see me, all of me, even those parts that I myself do not want to see. Once we are willing to see and be seen by God, we can look for signs of God s presence and guidance in every appearance presented to our senses. Discernment becomes a new way of seeing (and being seen) that results in divine revelation and direction. This heart knowledge enables us to lead a life worthy of the calling (Eph. 4: 1). The purpose of discernment is to know God s will, that is, to find, accept, and affirm the unique way in which God s love is manifest in our life. To know God s will is to actively claim an intimate relationship with God, in the context of which we discover our deepest vocation and the desire to live that vocation to the fullest. It has nothing to do with passive submission to an external divine power that imposes itself on us. It has everything to do with active waiting on a God who waits for us. Finding ourselves in a relationship with God is prerequisite to discernment of God s will and direction. As in any relationship, there will be feelings of rejection as well as attraction, resentment as well as gratitude, fear as well as love. There will be ups and downs in faithfulness as we discover new things about ourselves and God. In our dynamic relationship with God, we can be sure of one thing: If we are faithless, God is faithful still, for God cannot disown his own (2 Tim. 2: 13). The Lord be with you. Fr. Michael. 11