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MCT 11 am PRAYERS (or any alternative time)

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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                                                                                        

Parish Magazine for September 2020

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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!

ParishMagazineSeptember2020 Download

Family service: in church or on zoom 30th Aug 11.15am start

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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

MCT 11am (or any alternative time) PRAYERS

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GO PRAY 17th 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