General Chat

Good morning :-)

For our church FB page, I am busy looking for snippets of information which are connected to the various plaques and memorials we have around the place. It's been very interesting to find out via Ancestry and googling, more about the lives of the names which have long been outlived. In the 1860's, it cost £9506 to build our church...............these days, that figure would be over £700,000. A lot of money indeed and it was mostly contributed by one family.


For today:

A New Day


The morning's here, another day,
The sun is shining through,
I left my worries all behind;
Today, I start anew.
An orchestra of tuneful birds
Gives messages of cheer,
The dark of night has vanished
And the morning sun is here.
The dew is wet with diamonds
And the world has come alive,
The little stems I planted,
All limp; will now survive.
The morning's come,
the air is sweet,
The sun is shining through,
Yesterday has ceased to be
Today, I start anew.

by Mildred H Bell


Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all

Interesting words Cynthia. Mildred Bell is a new name but similar style to HSR.

Your church family will surely be more than happy to read all your facebook news.

We have been blessed to have had our granddaughter K staying for a week. She is back home again and it's very quiet here now, we all shared a happy time together.
"Children's children, are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children" Proverbs 17:6

The village streets are busy with children being on school holidays. I remember it was always a happy if tiring time keeping youngsters entertained in the Summer.

A prayer for both our grandchildren K and J and children of neighbours and friends.

Lord, watch over all children, keep them healthy and keep them safe this Summer.
Thank You for the blessings of time spent with children, for laughter and for hugs.
May they grow in grace through family visits, play and picnics, and new friendhips.
Give strength and encouragement to all parents during the long school holidays.
In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Children are a gift of the Lord. Psalm 127: 3

Good morning :-)


I wish there was better weather for those who are on school holidays but not able to get away....... a little bit more sunshine would go a long way :-D


An Irish Prayer

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all

Have been tidying a bookcase today and have quite a few books to take to the village charity shop tomorrow. A piece of paper dropped out of a book that I haven't opened for several years and this is what I had written........

Dream more,
Complain less,
Listen more,
Talk less,
Love more
Argue less,
Hope more
Fear less
Relax more
Worry less
Believe more
Doubt less
Play more
Work less.

No idea where I got these words from but gave me food for thought.

Remembering all in need of prayerful support this night. xx

Good morning :-)


What lovely words to find kandj.....


Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration.

This is where Jesus, Peter, James and John to a mountain to pray. On the mountain, Jesus begins to shine with bright light. Then, Moses and Elijah appear and they speak together. There is a voice from the clouds and Jesus is called ‘Son’. The Transfiguration is considered to be an important moment in Christianity- where human nature meets God with Jesus as the connecting point – the bridge between heaven and earth.



Father in heaven,
whose Son Jesus Christ was wonderfully transfigured
before chosen witnesses upon the holy mountain,
and spoke of the exodus he would accomplish at Jerusalem:
give us strength so to hear his voice and bear our cross
that in the world to come we may see him as he is;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


Continuing to hold many in prayer. Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia..... can you believe I actually forgot this very important event today
I have just had to read up right now and remind myself of the story in Scripture.

Our citizenship is in heaven. We eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
(Philippians 3 v 20-21) New International Version.

Praying now for all who will work throughout this night, especially outdoors. xx

Good morning :-)


Today looks as though, at long last, Summer has arrived.......not sure for how long though :-D


Dear God

I woke up today

I can smell the flowers

I can feel the warmth of the sun

I can see the trees blooming

I can hear the birds singing

I thank you for letting me sense you.

Amen.




Cx :-)

Hello everyone

I drew the curtains this morning and the sunshine and brightness was a real surprise. Very, very welcome indeed I might add.

I began to sing a hymn which I remember from school assembly, a lot of years ago!

SUMMER SUNS ARE GLOWING

Summer suns are glowing
over land and sea,
happy light is flowing
bountiful and free .
Everything rejoices
in the mellow rays,
all earth's thousand voices
swell the psalm of praise.

God's free mercy streameth
over all the world
and his banner gleameth
everywhere unfurled.
Broad and deep and glorious
as the heaven above
shines in might victorious
his eternal love.

Lord, upon our blindness
thy pure radiance pour
for thy loving kindness
make us love thee more.
and when clouds are drifting
dark across our sky
then, the veil uplifting
Father, be thou near.

We will never doubt thee
thou they veil thou light
light is dark without thee
death with thee is bright.
Light of Light! shine o'er us
on our pilgrim way
go thou still before us
to the endless day.

Thinking of families on holiday, hoping they will feel blessed with sunshine today xx

Good morning :-)


Remember that hymn well - never sing it these days though :-(

Thing is, I will probably be humming it all day :-D


A prayer for our church - for all who have an allegiance to a particular church - even if they aren't able to get there now.



Enable this church to do your will
Make it vulnerable that it may speak with calm humility;
Make it outward looking that it may care deeply
Make it a community of peacemakers and bridge builders
In the midst of turbulence let the church make space
for the hearing of your still small voice.

Amen.


Thinking of those we haven't seen for a while...........Cx :-) :-)

Hello All

St Dominic is the Saint for today 8 August. He is patron of Astronomers
Born 1170 Calaruega in Spain and died 1221 Bologna in Italy.

He was a Spanish Priest and founder of the Dominican Order, who worked relentlessly to establish many houses for this Order.

It is recorded that St Dominic died "exhausted with austerities and labours of his career". He had reached the convent of St Nicholas in Bologna, Italy, "weary and sick with fever". He died 6 August 1221. In 1267 his remains were moved to a shrine in Basilica of San Domenico, Bologna.

Much more information if interested on Google site. Always very fascinating I think.

Remembering all Clergy (working and retired) for years of commitment and Ministry.

Good morning :-)


Thank you for that kandj......... :-)


The Collect for today :



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 your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever.
Amen.



Remembering those who have asked for prayer Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia and Kandj for your daily posts. You are not talking to yourselves; there must be several people out here, like me, who don't post regularly but who do read the thread.

Yesterday we bumped into the priest from the country area where we lived till a couple of years ago. The poor man had five parishes to look after. In theory he is now retired but seems to be as busy as ever filling in wherever needed. Do priests ever truly retire?

So, I am thinking today of all those who are giving up their time to work for others

They are certainly not Vera, I start my day by reading
here every time, may not always add but enjoy what
is written here.

Remembering those in need x

Hello All

Nice to see other postings and thank you for your kind words.

Today there is much activity in our road as our neighbour is 80 years young ha ha.
Lots of cars coming and going. Balloons on the drive gates and Happy Birthday banners in the windows. It's good to see his children and grandchildren visiting with pressies and lots of fun and happy banter going on.

We are lucky to live amongst kind and supportive people.. We have grown old together over the years and we all help one another when we can.

"A good neighbour is a priceless treasure" (chinese proverb).

Remembering those who feel lonely or upset in their homes today. xxx

Good morning :-D


I echo Kandj's thoughts on how nice it is to see others contribute on here. Hope you are all keeping well.


Do priests ever retire? Not many of them, no! There are always some who can ride off into the sunset without a backward glance but, generally speaking, most retired priests I have ever known, will be willing to help their younger colleagues out during holidays, sickness and interregnums. Indeed, most denominations rely quite heavily on the retired priests at times.

There are those who will help out to boost their pension - they get a small fee for helping out but, having said that, many serve freely and willingly.

Possibly it stems from the fact that the priesthood is a vocation, a calling, rather than a job of work. Once called to serve God, many will do so willingly, until their dying day.



Lord God, you are my strength.
Hold my hand in my weakness and teach my heart to fly.
With you, there's nothing to fear, nothing to worry about.
Hold me tight in your embrace,
so that I can be stronger than the challenges in my life.
Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

Hello All

I very much agree that Clergy do not retire. We have been pleased many times for previous Rectors who have given their time and service freely to support bereaved families and have come back to support our church family at times of bereavement.

As the time has passed and the years have gone, then it is sometimes embarrassing for the grieving family to make contact with earlier Clergy and ask if they would conduct a funeral service for their loved one. Rarely would this request be refused unless a previous commitment meant they couldn't spare the time to travel back here.

In past years it has been good to see old familiar faces who have taken months of interregnum to come along and share in our services. Personal circumstances over the last two years now mean that I am not a regular attender in our village church. We have a new Rector who is kept busy trying to encourage younger families to attend our village church and become committed enough to share the workload.
I wish her luck in her endeavors.

Heavenly Father
We thank you for calling all Clergy to serve You and all Your people.
Help us to remember that they are in Ministry not just to serve us,
but to help support and encourage all who are in the parish.
Help us to be thankful for all who are called to the Ministry and
to pray for them all, each and every day.
Amen.

Remembering all who work tirelessly to help support local Ministers. xx

Good morning :-)


Most churches rely on retired clergy at times and those clergy need to be 'on the ball' as, over time, new service format are designed. One such service is Holy Baptism and our church will be starting the new format in September.

Personally, whilst it has it's good points, I feel it is 'dumbing things down' somewhat and moving away from the true significance. Obviously it is all done to cater for those who want baptism but have no real experience of church life but do we really have to go so far as to almost 'miss the point'? That was a rhetorical question :-D

Our prayer for today:

Lord Jesus,

be with those whose week never seems to start,
because there is no difference for them in the days.
Every day is the same.

Lord, we pray for those who have no joy in being able to do something new;
for those whose routine is so rigid that anything out of the ordinary
is challenging and possibly frightening.

In their routine may they find you.
In the care provided by others,
may they find your love.
In the work done for them
may they find your healing hands.

For you are our carer,
our healer and our sustainer,
and in your name we pray.
Amen.




Remembering those who live along...........Cx :-)

“And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us“.

(An excerpt from the Anglican Lord’s Prayer.)

"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison." (Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2013).

Vincent Uzomah, a school teacher stabbed by one of his pupils, forgave his young attacker.

Just a couple of examples that must surely help the rest of us to try to forgive others or, at least, to consider the subject deeply.

Lonely is not being alone,
It's the feeling that no one cares. x

Some say there is a 'loneliness epidemic' - the side-effect of social isolation. There is even a term 'lonely funerals' where the deceased is interred without any family or friends present.

Many boast of the huge number of their 'virtual friends' while being a bit uncertain of how many 'real human friends' they have. Sad!

Let’s issue a challenge to those who occasionally doubt the value of real & dependable friendship.