General Chat

François Fillon, the conservative front-runner in the campaign for the French presidency, has prompted indignation across the political spectrum by proclaiming himself a Christian.

Invoking personal faith may be routine for politicians across most of the democratic world, but not in France, where religion was banished from public life after centuries of conflict & 19th century interference by the Catholic church. A decade ago, France erased a line on Europe’s Christian roots from the draft EU constitution, which was killed that year by French voters in a referendum.

Mr Fillon, a practising Catholic, decided to breach the taboo to shore up his already-strong support from churchgoers.

*(The Times 11.01.17).

Good morning :-)

A prayer for this Epiphany season.......


Lord,
Bless our households and families
And make our homes shelters of peace and health.
Inspire each of us to develop
our individual talents
and to contribute wisdom and good works
for the benefit of the whole family.

Make our homes a haven for us all,
and a place of warmth and caring
for all our friends who come to visit us.

Help us to see the brightness
of your Epiphany star,
so that, as we go into the world,
we might clearly see our way to You
and discover You in our work and play.
This we ask to your glory
and in the power of your kingship.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

How nice to see you both this morning. It's surprising how reading something brings back memories and new insights to situations from childhood. Life is certainly a learning curve.

Poor kandj, a good night's sleep and she feel rotten. It's a bit like when you fall asleep in the afternoon or evening and feel like Dracula's mother when you wake up. You have totally shocked your body kandj and hopefully you will have a few more good nights to balance your metabolism.


It’s always lovely to watch the children process down the aisle dressed as shepherds and Kings. The Three Kings are very carefully carrying a gift each………but what was the significance of those gifts and how do we react?

The gifts were symbolic of the importance of Jesus' birth

The gift of gold represented his royal standing – King of Kings
The gift of frankincense represented his divine birth – his divinity
The gift of myrrh represented his mortality – his eventual death and resurrection

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.


Cx :-)

Kandj, I hope you continue to have more restful nights and start to feel better. Thinking of you and your OH.

A lot to think about in Cynthia's posts about resolutions and in Dermot's latest post. Thank you both..

One of my all time favourite poems is T S Eliot's The Journey of the Magi. I was introduced to it by an English teacher when I was about 12. Up until then my idea of the Magi was the primary school nativity play and the Christmas card image of three kings in golden crowns, each with their little present, and it was always a bit story book. But this poem really brought home to me that these were real people, who undertook a difficult journey, driven by something they didn't fully understand, and who were totally changed by their experience.

Thinking of all who are in need of comfort and support tonight

Hello all

Dermot, your article certainly gives us Christians food for thought. Thanks for that.
We are living in troubled times and can only continue to pray for the future.

Cynthia, it is good that parents wish to bring their little ones into church for baptism, but not so good that they rarely come along until their next baby is born. That has been my experience over very many years, perhaps your congregation is different?

A very dark morning here. We have had the first decent night's sleep for months and now I feel worse than ever, how weird is that!

Thank You Lord, for another new day, filled with so many blessings. Amen.

Good morning :-)

A very concerning article indeed Dermot.......thank you for raising the awareness. Its something we need to be alerted to - and I can see that I will be googling for more information.

Yesterday we had a full house.........a happy morning with 2 baptisms. We are booked for 2 baptisms per month up until June and possibly beyond. Its good that families still want to have their little ones baptised. When I am leading the baptism prep class I always ask, after giving some examples, of the reason why they have brought their child to church. The majority respond that they want their child brought up in the Christian faith......................the thing is, will they keep the promises they make? That is the big question............


Still in the season of Epiphany, let’s take a look at a few thoughts (and there are many) about these ‘three’ famous Kings, also known as Magi.

• After Jesus was born, Wise Men came to look for Him, probably from an area which is now in either Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia or the Yemen.

• Although they are often called the 'Three Kings', the Bible does not say how many there were, or that they were kings. One theory is that they might have been Kings of the Yemen, as during this time the Kings of Yemen were Jews.

• Three is only a guess because they brought with them three gifts: but however many there were of them, they probably would have had many more servants with them.

• They were definitely men of learning. Today we'd called them astrologers.

• The magi would have followed the patterns of the stars religiously. They would have also probably been very rich and held high esteem in their own society and by people who weren't from their country or religion.

• There is an Armenian tradition identifying the "Magi of Bethlehem" as Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of India.
Lord, may we be like the Wise Men who were guided to you by a star. Give us the wisdom to seek you, light to guide us to you and courage to search until we find you. Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

One of the world’s most ethnically & religiously diverse regions is being jeopardised by the forces of radical Islam.

Christianity is in danger of being eliminated from its homelands in the Middle East. In Pakistan & in China, stories of persecution abound. In North Korea there is no religious freedom at all.

What is less well known is that the persecution of Christians, and the denial of religious freedom to others, too, is a worldwide phenomenon, by no means confined to the Middle East or the communist world.

In south-east Asia, hitherto pluralistic nations that prided themselves on religious tolerance, such as Indonesia, Malaysia & Buddhist countries such as Burma, are joining the ranks of the persecutors.

(A short extract from a worrying article by Benedict Rogers, published in this week’s 'Tablet' magazine.)

Good morning :-)


Church life is focused on the season of Epiphany at the moment.


The Collect (special prayer) for today:

O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; 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 forever.
Amen.

Today's gospel tells the story of the Wise Men visiting the infant Jesus.


We have two baptisms this morning so I image there could be a certain amount of chaos. :-D


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


A day off sounds good to me Pat, but what's going on? No bells? :-S :-D

I love the story of Simeon and Anna in the temple. Lots of scope for visual imagination. I also like the name Simeon but you do seem a bit overwhelmed with them....... :-)

Whilst Christmas and New Year may be over, there are lots of things to celebrate within the Christian year......

Yesterday was The Feast of the Epiphany………

“In the Western churches, the Epiphany (‘manifestation’) became an occasion to cele-brate one element in the story of Christ’s birth, the visit of the far-travelled magi, under-stood as the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

Matthew’s account speaks simply of ‘wise men from the east’; later tradition ?xed their number at three, made them kings and set their names as – Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

In the Eastern churches, the Epiphany is, rather, the celebration of Christ’s baptism at the hands of John, when the heavens were opened and a voice from heaven declared Jesus to be God’s beloved Son. “


Christmas cribs will still be up in most churches, with the Wise Men taking a major role.


Hope everyone is okay. Love and prayers Cx :-)

Shhhhhh it's very quiet here. Have a bit of a cold and found it difficult to go to sleep last night. Not a bad cold just a nuisance. I awoke late so was late with the dog walk. Sun was out but that's all. It's Epiphany here and a holiday and not 1 person about and I think I missed the early service because - no bells :-D.

All together a rousing chorus of We Three Kings :-D.

I must remember February 3rd, out here it's St Symeon's Day. Simeon is the good man who received baby Jesus when he was presented in the temple at 40 days old.

My paternal line is full of Simeons. e.g. my uncle, grandfather, gt grandfather, gt gt gt uncle, numerous cousins of differing distances and a 19yr old 2nd cousin twice removed who died 1916 in WW1.

The name Simeon first shows up as a brother to my gt gt gt grandmother. I have his baptism in 1803 when my 3 x gt grandmother was 20. I can't find him as an adult in any of the censuses so he very likely died. My 3 x gt grandparents named their youngest son Simeon. My 2 x gt grandparents Joseph and Ann named their 2nd son Simeon. The name starts cropping up in every branch of the paternal line. Easy to find but then I have to sort out which family they belong to. :-S

Have a lovely Epiphany Day and as it's a holiday here I think you all should take the day off. :-D

Good morning :-)


Final New Year Resolution to consider……Make church a priority.


“Some believe that going to church every Sunday is enough. While attending services and being in fellowship with Christians is indeed a great thing, your church participa-tion shouldn't be limited to that. Your church is your spiritual home and its activities help fortify your faith.

Take advantage of any prayer or bible groups……activities like this will help you to know more about your brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember, that being part of your church helps it to grow and, when it grows, it becomes a better home for fellow Christians as well as those who need God in their lives.”


I almost feel that I should be holding up a placard saying "Support your local church". :-D :-D :-D

Good morning :-)

On to day four of our possible New Year Resolutions…..

GIVE AND GIVE MORE….

As the old saying goes, "the more you give, the more you'll receive." This doesn't only apply to the Christmas season. In fact, in Luke 6:38, it says "Give and it will be given to you....for with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

This coming year, let’s consider being more giving and charitable. When we see a homeless man, willingly give him something without any judgment.

When a relative approaches us asking for help, give what we can. We should always have a heart big enough to help others throughout the year because God commanded each and every one of us to love and care for one another.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Poor kandj - you really don't need to catch a nasty bug with all you have to do. Hope you feel better very soon.

I am propping my eyes open with matchsticks this morning as my husband is a fidget and keeps waking me. :-( I am going back to bed shortly to zonk out for another hour hopefully.


The week is galloping away already...

Day three of our New Year Resolutions...

BE MORE COMPASSIONATE
It has been said that, in this world we live in, it's always going to be the survival of the fittest. We may not notice it but we've been brainwashed to think that all that matters is "me, me and me" only.

We do everything we can to buy what we want and live a comfortable life. However, what we fail to see is how self-centered we have become.

God's second commandment is to "Love your neighbour as yourself..." (Mark 12:31). This only means that we should practice the same compassion we have for our family and loved ones with strangers and people who are in need.


Food for thought indeed............... Cx :-)

Hello all

I have never forgotten a member of our congregation telling me that God has a
"telephone number" ??? It is Jeremiah 33 v 3 and in that chapter and verse are
written the words:-

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you GREAT and MIGHTY things you
do not know."

I think hubby has shared his bug with me....... just what I could have done without! xx

Good morning :)


As people return to some sort of normality after the Christmas and New Year break, we look at Day 2 of our New Year Resolutions for Christians....

PRAY MORE AND HARDER!

If we are honest, there may be days when we pray and days when we don’t. There are times when our prayers are, perhaps, done without much thought or we maybe don’t know what to pray about.

Our talks with God should be more meaningful than this as prayer is our only line of communication with God, so we need to take time with our prayers and make the most of that time.

Reading the bible and prayer goes hand-in-hand, we need to constantly ask God for wisdom to help us understand what we are reading. Prayers don’t have to be mega long we just need to open our hearts and minds to God………………..that’s prayer.

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up”.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Thank you for the greetings........ <3

I was pleasantly surprised at how many folk turned up for church yesterday - many more than I anticipated. I also noticed other churches that I pass had folk round and about. The Christian faith is still alive and kicking :-D


Dermot poses the question... "What can I do?"

How about some New Year Resolutions..............for Christians?

As we begin 2017, I have been looking around for ideas – so let’s take a gentle look at some this week.

For today: READ GOD'S WORD MORE

Why? We may remember to pray but reading God’s word has a different effect on us. When we pray, we are talking to God, but when we read the bible we learn more about God and His story.

The bible may not be the easiest book to read, but just a few minutes a day reading a verse or maybe a chapter, will help us to become more familiar with it. For guidance, I would suggest maybe the Bible Reading Fellowship scheme .....

https://www.brf.org.uk/

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path".

If anyone takes up this challenge, it would be interesting to let us know how you get on. :-)


Love to all Cx :-)

Happy New Year xx

Our prayer for the coming year needs to be more than just: “Lord, do something!” It needs to be: “Lord, what can I do?”

Happy New Year

Thank you Cynthia for your welcome daily contributions.

Let's hope that we can look forward to the New Year and be ready to face it's challenges.



...........From the poem by Minnie Haskins.....

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way."


Gwyn

Good morning :-)


Did something happen whilst I was fast asleep? :-D


It is still Sunday and churches will still be holding services thankfully.

The Collect (special prayer for today) :

Almighty God,
in the birth of your Son
you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word,
and shown us the fullness of your love:
help us to walk in his light and dwell in his love
that we may know the fullness of his joy;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.


The Gospel reading tells the story of the Angel of God telling Joseph to go to Egypt away from Herod.


My thanks to those who support this thread and I wish you all a very Happy and Blessed New Year. <3

Cx :-)