A very warm welcome to all
Psalm 85: “Show us your mercy, O Lord.”
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Readings: Amos 7: 7-15; Ephesians 1: 3-14
Gospel: Mark 6: 14-29
In our Gospel today
Fairytales and happy endings play a significant role in shaping us and our expectations about life. We are inundated from birth by themes and images of the way life “should” play out by the storylines provided for us in books, films and on TV.
But real life rarely resembles fairytales and there is never any guarantee of a happy ending. Our gospel passage reads more like a horror story than a fairytale. We read about the presentation of John’s head on a platter. King Herod would rather commit murder than appear to be a fool in front of his guests. And John the Baptist’s life seems rather tragic; John lived a challenging life, was imprisoned unjustly, and then killed horribly and unexpectedly. There are no fairytale endings in the Bible, even for God’s chosen.
Our epistle reading sets our lives in the midst of God’s purposes and plans for us. When we find meaning and purpose within God’s storyline, we start to see our lives very differently and we have different expectations.
A date for your diary
Here at St Mary’s we have a special birthday to celebrate as the church is 160 years old this year! The Vestry plan to celebrate the occasion with a special service on our patronal festival day (Sunday 18th August) followed by a celebratory bring and share lunch. This will also coincide with our annual St Mary’s Gift Day. Please make a point of putting this date in your diary.
Thursdays @ 7
Would you like to meet mid-week for bible-study, prayer, and encouragement? Thursdays @ 7 will be held in the Crypt and the second session will start on 18th July. You’d be very welcome wherever you feel you are in your faith journey. Bring a friend if you wish. We’ll aim to be an hour – longer if you stay for refreshments.
Church Garden Tidy Up (Saturday 20th July)
Heavy rain stopped our first attempt at a group tidy-up of the church grounds last weekend. So, we have scheduled another Saturday later in the month to try again. Please sign up on the sheet at the back of church if you’re available to help between 10am and 12 noon. Thank you!
Bake Sale
Thank you very much again to the bakers for the fine pieces that were on offer last Sunday!
Soup Sunday 28th July
So, we’ve just had a successful Soap Sunday and now with a change of one letter we are about to collect tins of soup again to help those in need. Please think about donating a few tins or packets of soup so that we can in turn donate to some of the local charities or foodbanks. Thank you very much again!
Photograph Competition 2024
Just a brief reminder that our Photograph Competition is currently running and there are two more months to go before the deadline for entries. Please send any nice photographs to our webmaster, David Rose. Thank you!
Vestry Meeting 16th July
The Vestry of St Mary’s will meet this coming Tuesday at 7:30pm. Please speak to one of the wardens or a Vestry member if you would like to raise any issues.
Services and events commencing this Sunday and for the coming week
Sunday 14th July No 8am Service
Sunday 14th July 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Kate Gibson
Tuesday 16th July No Morning Prayer
Wednesday 17th July 10am Holy Communion: Revd Kate Gibson
Friday 19th July 6pm Compline: Revd Roger Dyer
Sunday 21st July 8am Holy Communion (1970 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Sunday 21st July 10am Sung Eucharist (1982 Liturgy): Revd Canon Dr Jenny Holden
Next Sunday’s readings: Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalm 23; Ephesians 2: 11-22
Gospel: Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
(Maya Angelou)
For any pastoral matters please contact our Assistant Priest Revd Jason Hobbs. Please see email or paper copy of noticesheet for contact details.