Hello everyone

The Shape of things to come      –      The Potter and the Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-6

 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴ The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. ⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁶ Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 

As a child, our family did not own a television set.  So, on Saturdays we visited my aunt and uncle along with some of their friends for our entertainment watching TV.  Supper was made and served during the Interlude.  No Social distancing!  During the interlude there were large Angel fish swimming back and forth, or a potter’s hands shaping the clay.

To watch a potter at work, it can look almost like magic.  A lump of wet clay turns swiftly into a shapely vessel.  In your mind’s eye take a moment to watch that happening.                                                                    

But if the clay if off-centre, the vessel will quickly collapse. The potter can only start again.

Watch that happening too, in your imagination.

This, Jeremiah is told, is how God works with us.  Each of us is moulded and re-shaped by God. Where do you recognise that pattern in your own life?

Read the Jeremiah passage slowly a couple of times and ask yourself what God is saying to you by showing Jeremiah the Potter at work.                                                                                                                                                                      

Respond in your own words to the Lord who is shaping your own life into something beautiful for God.

Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola

A wonderful Prayer of surrender to God

You have given all to me. 

To you Lord, I return it.  

Everything is yours, do with it what you will. 

Give me only your love and your grace,

that is enough for me.    Amen

The Prophet Jeremiah was aware of Gods design to reshape the house of Israel, they were to be like clay in His hands.  St Augustine, in his Prayer, is responding to the love, mercy and grace of God after living a wildlife.  As an individual he was placing himself into the hands of God to be reshaped.

In the case of Jeremiah and the house of Israel, God is seen taking the initiative.  St Augustine on the other hand was responding to God and was willing to be reshaped by placing himself into the hands of God.

On a worldwide scale, humanity has had a wake-up call due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  2020 will be recorded in world History in every language and has been dubbed as the “New Norm”.   As Christians we would hope for more than that as our Creator God takes us in His hands and reworks us like the clay that is off centre and collapsed on the wheel.

We look to and pray to the One who can re-centre and re-shape us as individuals and as nations.

KEEP SAFE – KEEP PRAYING      

Peter                                                                                        

Today’s online service of Holy Communion is available to view here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kmVfvyFWJ0

Topic: Service of the word

Time: Sep 6, 2020 11:00 AM London

Link to Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81248166339?pwd=WnBNWkN6cEJ2bVhGczdtb0EvOWZzdz09

Meeting ID: 812 4816 6339 Passcode: 231502

Hello Everyone,

‘Creation is the forum through which humanity can find proportion and wonder                                                          

 This is best articulated by Psalm 8, in which the author is overawed by the splendour of creation around him and is amazed that God should allow fallible humanity to have guardianship of the planet.’           J Bell    LIVING WITH THE PSALMS

Psalm 8.3–5 When I look up at your heavens, the work of your fingers, at the moon and the stars you have set in place, what is a frail mortal, that you should be mindful of him, a human being, that you should take notice of him? Yet you have made him a little less than a god, crowning his head with glory and honour.                                                                                                                                        ‘We are not the masters of the universe, nor are our human minds and bodies the only objects of fascination. All around us creation in its beauty and terror calls us to have a sense of proportion.’

Psalm 65.8 The dwellers at the ends of the earth are overawed by your signs.                                                                                                ‘Awe and wonder are evoked when we take long enough to be addressed by that which we are admiring. There is a poem, which used to be committed to memory by children, that begins; What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.’     We along with all the other nations of our world have had more time to observe, reflect and to be aware of those around us as we entered the Coronavirus Pandemic at the start of the new year.

‘To see the natural order as a potentially hostile or a limiting entity that we have to dominate until it bends to our will is not living in harmony with creation; it is living in enmity. But the Psalms also give a clue as to how that sense of proportion can be secured and maintained. It is by continually being drawn into wonder at the world that surrounds us, such that we behave in ways that will show we respect the integrity of the world God has made.’

‘The simplicity of the language of Psalms should impress the truth upon us that when we are solely concerned with what we do, what we own, who we are and how we feel, this self-absorption will be detrimental to our life. We need, from time to time, to be taken out of ourselves, confronted and blessed by being fascinated by the natural world of which we are not in control. For some people this experience is what they find through hill walking or mountain climbing; for others it is in rearing a pet that has its own individuality; for yet others it is in tending to a garden, admiring wildlife, stargazing or standing on the shore and watching the sea.  These are not romantic pursuits for those with time on their hands: they are the means by which we affirm our connectedness with all living things and are nurtured and even moved by a beauty not of our making’.  Never has there been such need for our connectedness with people and the natural world around us due to the pandemic lockdown.

Let us continue to use the psalms as a real resource for our prayers and let us spend time reflecting on how we and the those around us have been seeking our connectedness within our community.                                                                                                                                                                               

Psalm 145.10 All your creatures praise you, Lord, and your loyal servants bless you

Also this week let us focus our prayers on the return of our children to school and all that entails especially their safety and the safety of teachers and all ancillary staff.

KEEP SAFE – KEEP PRAYING       Peter                                                                                        

Welcome to the September edition of the #Meltham Parish Magazine. Enjoy reading all the latest news/updates and about all the hard work people have been doing across our Parish. The Church buildings are now open on Sunday mornings and services are taking place! You can read about various peoples’ experiences and thoughts/ideas about it. We intend to have the magazines printed again starting this month, so that those unable to view it online can have their copy delivered like it used to be. Whoop!

Whether you are near or far from #Meltham, join us for our online service of Holy Communion led by Rev’d Dennis Shields for Sunday 30th August. As usual you can join at 10:30am or any other convenient time.

The link to the service via YouTube can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DMBu9oOkcE

Please find the link below if you are joining via zoom.

If you want to join in with the activity you will need: a cup with an inch or so of water in it, a sheet of kitchen towel cut into 1.5 inch strips & a couple of felt pens (red & black if possible).

See you in the morning 😊

Topic: Family service

Time: Aug 30, 2020 11:00 AM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82229637301?pwd=b1hheS8xNWlEejlqUGVzcTNWaHI3Zz09

Meeting ID: 822 2963 7301

Passcode: 598149

Join us for our online Parish Communion service. Whether you are at home in not so sunny #Meltham or away on holiday, we can still worship together.

You can view the service here at 10:30am or at any time convenient:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBLV3RdClcQ

Join us in church or on zoom

Topic: Morning Service

Time: Aug 23, 2020 11:00 AM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88163395328?pwd=SHBpdHZiVFZlTWRmNU9ZZHo3MzhDQT09

Meeting ID: 881 6339 5328 Passcode: 700756

GO PRAY 17^th August

Hello Everyone

In their worship, the community of Taizé, in France, regularly sing Veni Creator Spiritus: Come, Creator Spirit.

We should also regularly request the Holy Spirit to Come amongst us and help us in our worship whether together or in our own prayer times.

As we begin to pray during this week we need to pause for a few moments to invite the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to come into our lives, into our minds and into our hearts. And when we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit will pray for us.

Our reading is from St Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

St Paul knows how hard it can be to pray at times. He encourages the young church at Rome by reminding them and us, of the work of the Spirit deep within our hearts.

Is there a particular type of prayer that brings you closest to God?

The Spirit communicates to God on our behalf, bringing to God our deepest hurts and longings – the things we struggle to say.

What current issues in our world make you groan or sigh?

What issues do you struggle to pray about?

Lift them to God now. God who searches the heart.

Read Romans 8:26-27 again.  As you read Paul’s words again open your heart to God.   Allow Jesus to pour his love and healing into anything you are keeping hidden, trying to run away from, or causing you pain.

Leave some time at the end of your prayer time in the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Be still, and clear your mind, be still and let the Spirit work deep within you.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

KEEP SAFE   KEEP PRAYING

Peter