The weekly newsletter for the Benefice of Laleston and Merthyr Mawr with Pen-y-Fai The LaMMP WELCOME TO OUR CHURCHES If you are new to church or visiting, or if you would like communion to be brought to you in your seat, please make yourself known to the sidesperson 5 th August 2018 10 th Sunday after Trinity (11 th of Pentecost) THE WEEK AHEAD Monday 6 th Transfiguration of our Lord 0800 St Teilo s, Merthyr Mawr Morning Prayer Tuesday 7 th 0800 All Saints, Pen-y-Fai Morning Prayer Wednesday 8 th Dominic (Preacher) 0930 St David s, Laleston Holy Eucharist (HE 1984) Thursday 9 th Mary Sumner (Founder of the Mother s Union) Friday 10 th Lawrence (Deacon & Martyr) 0800 St David s, Laleston Morning Prayer 1700 All Saints, Pen-y-Fai Baptism Rehearsal Saturday 11 th Clare of Assissi (Mendicant) 1330 All Saints, Pen-y-Fai Baptism Sunday 12 th 11 th after Trinity (Pentecost XII) 1030 All Saints, Pen-y-Fai Benefice Holy Eucharist Find us online at http://parish.churchinwales.org.uk/l545/ or on Facebook at merthyr mawr, st teilo s church penyfai all saints church penyfai Laleston st david s church
Collect Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please you; through Jesus Christ you Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. A reading from the Book of Exodus (16: 2-4, 9-15) The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then the Lord said to Moses, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. Then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining. And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God. In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, What is it? For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. Psalm 78 (23-29) Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance. He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings. And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. A reading from St Paul s letter to the Ephesians (4: 1-16) I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ s gift. Therefore it is said, When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people. (When it says, He ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body s growth in building itself up in love. A reading from the Gospel according to St John (6: 24-35) So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them, Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, What must we do to perform the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. (cont d overleaf)
(cont d) For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Post Communion God of our pilgrimage, you have willed that the gate of mercy should stand open for those who trust in you: look upon us with your favour that we who follow the path of your will may never wander from the way of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Shared Worship for August & Foodbank Sunday Our monthly Benefice Eucharist takes place next Sunday (12th August) and this month we re at All Saints Church in Pen-y-Fai. The service begins at 1030 and will be followed by refreshments. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday. Next Sunday will also be the first of our designated Foodbank Sundays, where those coming together to worship are also invited (encouraged) to bring a donation for the local Foodbank. Donations will be collected on Sunday and we will then make arrangements for them handed over and distributed to those in our own communities who don t have food for their tables. Please contact Anthony if you would like a name to be added to our Benefice-wide, prayer lists. It will remain for four weeks only, after which Anthony should be contacted again if the need remains Ministry of healing (for your prayers) Recently Departed (for the families of) Helen Waters Baby Jack Baby Ben Richie Mountjoy Trevor Willis Paul Marshall John Downing Betty Headon Mary Howells Wilfred Turner Gareth Micallef Brinley Davies Matthew Walker Karen David Macham Margaret Hulbert Readings for: August 12 th 11 th after Trinity (Pentecost XII) 1 Kings 19: 4-8 Psalm 34 (1-8) Ephesians 4:25 5:2 John 6: 35, 41-51 Clergy Contact Details Anthony Beer, The Vicarage, Rogers Lane, Laleston CF32 0LB Tel : 01656 859 487 e-mail : blammp2013@gmail.com
Thought for the week Welcome / W. I. Tea Towels / Llangasty Thought for the week Welcome To young Henry who was baptised in a vibrant St Teilo s Church last Sunday afternoon. In a delightful ceremony where there were more than 20 other young children in church, Henry was beautifully behaved and delightfully lively and he sets off on his jounrey of faith with our love n prayers to guide and accompany him. Da Iawn Henry : a croeso. Women s Institute Tea Towels The WI are planning to reprint their Pen-y-Fai tea towels with all proceeds going to All Saints Church to help support the Remembrance Week Celebrations (Festival of Remembrance). There are lists at the back of each church for anyone who would like to order, but if you want to know more before placing your order, please contact Delyth Parry on 01656 724 994. with thanks to Facebook s Mindful Christianity page (MindfulChristianityToday.com Rotary Club of Bridgend The Rotary Club of Bridgend are hosting an Autumn Lunch on Sunday 23rd September in Fairfield Court, Laleston starting at 1230. The lunch is to raise funds for Tenovus to be able to purchase a new mobile chemotherapy unit and will feature music by Athena. Tickets are 25 and are available from Hopkin Joseph on 07778 258 444 or on josales@aol.com
Upcoming events St David s Church Hall Bank Holiday Benefice BBQ & Boules afternoon A Benefice BBQ and Boules afternoon is being planned for August Bank Holiday afternoon Monday 27th August at the Blandy Hall/Gardening Club in Laleston. If you are interested in attending (or forming a Boules team) please speak to Jenny Morgan (All Saints 01656 722 953), Jane Lewis or Liz Thomas (St David s 01656 660 648 or 652 845) or Tom Green (St Teilo s 01656 659 288) Pen-y-Fai Village Fun Day Pen-y-Fai s village fun day takes place on Saturday September 1st and contributions towards the bottle stall would be warmly welcomed. Any full bottles with a value of more than 1 would be gratefully received and further information about the bottle stall and other activities involving Benefice members are available from Delyth Parry (01656724 994) Llangasty Drop-In Day A second Llangasty drop-in day is being arranged for Monday September 10 th. Llangasty Retreat House is located on the shoes of Langorse Lake in the Brecon Beacons and the day-long trip allows people to sample the quietness and tranquility of Llangasty without having to engage in a full-on retreat. Anyone wishing to join the trip should contact Jenny Morgan (01656 722 953). Packed lunches will be required St David s Church Hall some big Thank You s A huge amount has been accomplished during the last 18 months in the ongoing refurbishment work with St David s Church Hall but none of it would have been possible were it not for the fact that the Hall is well-used and looked after and thus generates vital funds for the whole of the St David s community. On September 3rd 2018, however, we will come to something of the end of an era as Ivan and Joyce Hughes (who have taken bookings and looked after the day-to-day running of the Hall) will finally be able to step down from their duties, having indicated a little while ago that they wished to do this. I think that Ivan and Joyce were first encouraged to help with the Hall some 15 years ago (it might even be more!) and I would like to offer them an enormous thank you both for all the work they ve put in and for the inconvenience they have put up with, in continuing to fulfill this function for such an extended period of time. I am also delighted to announce that with effect from September 3rd, James and Tiffany Morgan (who currently run the Beavers and Scouts Groups which use the Hall as their base) have agreed to take on the role looking after the booking of the hall. Further details (including contact details) will be announced later in the month but for now, let s all just say a huge thank you to Ivan and Joyce (and to James and Tiffany too) and at the same time, pause for just a moment to give thanks for them and for all our members who voluntarily fulfill roles and give so freely of their time and gifts (and frequently their other resources too). Diolch yn Fawr.Thank you very much Anthony, Priest in Charge 5th August 2018