Hallelujah, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Hallelujah!
Join us for our on-line Parish Communion at 4:00pm for the 4th Sunday of Easter – Sunday 3rd May. The service featuring our newly formed Virtual Parish Choir (who have recorded themselves individually at home) can be viewed at any time but Rev’d John will conduct the service at the vicarage at this time to make the worship spiritually live. The service words will appear on the video to enable you to join in easily.
Sunday 3rd May – Parish Communion delayed due to technical issues. We hope to have it available by 1pm – Rev John will conduct the service at 4pm. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Welcome to the May edition of the #Meltham Parish Magazine. We hope and pray that you are all keeping well. Speaking of which, this month, we’re launching a #melthamprays prayer campaign which you can join in both at home and on social media – (see page 15). Don’t forget VE day (pg 9) and find out how our Crossroads Centre and Foodbank has been getting on in these difficult times.
As ‘social distancing’ continues, we are still unable to get this edition distributed in hard copy so please feel free to share/forward this around to those who (under the current circumstances) may not receive this, obviously keeping to social distancing guidelines.
On Sunday 3rd May at 11.15am will be an All AGE Worship service & we have LOTS of fun planned for this one!
We will have active challenges (so please leave some space
around your computer as you will NOT be sitting down for the whole of this service!),
games, dancing and a talk from a BIG popstar!
We also have a CRAFT for you to do this week at home! The instructions can be found here:
Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to make the craft idea (in the next email) and take pictures of the finished ‘craft’ around your home! Then please email your pictures to me (jacqueline.france@interface.com) & I will show them during the service on Sunday. They may even appear in the next Parish magazine!!!!
EVERY-ONE can have at go at this (even if you don’t make it
to the service). BUT it would be lovely to have all the children and young
people join in & come & have a bit of fun on Sunday.
Christine and I went into voluntary isolation on the 16th March. This past weekend took us over 40 days and nights.
Jesus faced his 40 days and nights wilderness period alone and overcame by giving every trial he faced to his Father in Heaven.
We still can’t believe it, that our world turned on its head so quickly, so unexpectedly.
One moment, everything normal, proceeding much as it had always done before, and the next, chaos and confusion, everything overturned in an instant – institutions teetering on the brink, certainties crumbling into dust, lives descending into mayhem.
People have reached the stage where they are asking when will it end, when will this nightmare be over?
We were told things would get worse before they could get better; that the death toll would rise and the number of those infected continue to climb, despite every measure being taken to prevent it. We are promised also that, eventually, this disease will peak, and that we can then slowly start picking up the pieces of our lives again.
As Christians we have been praying and showing compassion both in word and deed for family, friends and neighbours. We give thanks to God for the support Christine and I have received.
We thank God for the number of you joining with us at 11.00am each day. (or anytime for those who find 11am not possible.) The temptation is to feel that our prayers are inadequate. So we share with you another prayer for the coming week. You might like to add this prayer to the others you received.
When our prayers feel so inadequate
They feel so inadequate, our prayers, Lord, so small a response to so great a crisis. Even if we could find the words we seek to sum up our concern, express our fears, articulate our needs and entrust into your care the many we know to be at risk, even then, our efforts would seem lacking.
But we can’t get anywhere near that, our entreaties to you being muddled, halting, confused, disjointed. We do not know what to say or how to say it; what to pray or how to pray it, and we are left feeling we have failed ourselves, you and others.
Do not let that deter us, Lord. Teach us that you heed not only the words of our lips but also the thoughts of the heart, prayer not being an exam we must pass but an opportunity to embrace.
Help us, then, simply to share with you, as best we can, what we are feeling, so committing ourselves, our loved ones, and the world beyond, sincerely into your keeping. Amen.
Keep Safe. Keep praying and like Jesus taking all your requests to God our Father.
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
Luke 24:13-16a (NIV)
Why didn’t the two people in todays gospel reading recognise Jesus? Why is it that we often do not see Jesus walking alongside of us in our own lives until we look back?
Perhaps sometimes it could be that we aren’t really looking but it can’t be God’s inability to make himself known. In many ways it would be much easier, for both us and God, if he always made us know he was there and what he was doing. So, why not? Our God is almighty, but he is also loving and gentle. He is always there and always calling us, but he doesn’t force us, he doesn’t use his power to make us follow him. He allows us to choose to have faith in him so that our faith can be based on our love for him which is our response to his love for us. He is gentle and patient, he lets us ask questions and forgives our mistakes, and we can trust that he is always there whether we see him or not.
Reverend John (Vicar)
Following recent guidelines from the Church of England and the government.
All churches will be closed for public worship until further notice. This now includes private prayer and funerals. Funerals can still be held at the crematorium and at the grave side with a maximum of ten mourners.
All weddings are postponed until further notice.
Website
Our parish communion will be posted on our website www.melthamparish.co.uk this will be pre-recorded but Rev John will be repeating the service at 10:30am so that it may be considered spiritually live. Please join in if you are able.
Evening service 6:00pm Sunday 26th April
This service will be delivered live through Zoom.
Zoom is an easy to install and easy to use app that is free to download and can by used by any type of computer. Just google Zoom and you should find instructions. You will then need to check our website for the details to join the service.
Hallelujah, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Hallelujah!
Join us for our on-line Parish Communion at 10:30am for the 3rd Sunday of Easter – Sunday 26th April. This can be viewed at any time but Rev’d John will conduct the service at the vicarage at this time to make the worship spiritually live. The service words will appear on the video to enable you to join in easily.
