General Chat

Remembering all in need of prayer x

Good morning :-)

Thank you for that prayer kandj, I will leave it as the prayer for today.


Continuing to remember those who are in need of prayer. Cx :-)

It did snow again overnight here and yet again early this morning. It does look very pretty. Just glad we won't have to go out anywhere today though.

Heavenly Father
At the start of this new month
When thoughts turn to new starts and new beginnings.
As we look now into the distance, be with us all.
Take our fears and turn them into strengths
Take our doubts in faith and empower us through the Spirit.
Take the icy chill of Winter and remind us of Summer 's warmth
Walk with us all into this New Year of hope and opportunity. Amen.

Sending comfort and reassurance in prayer to all in need today. xx

Good morning.... :-)


It's cold here too kandj but we are not forecast to have snow - at the moment. Roll on Spring indeed!


For today:

Lord,
You have called us to love,
To love you, to love others.

You call to us now,
To gather in your name,

Just as you call to your people
All over this world

And like them we gather
To seek you

To seek your will
To seek your heart.

We are here Lord.

We are called to love God,
To love him with every part of our being,

Every part of our lives.
That same God also calls us to love our neighbour:

Friends, relations, acquaintances, strangers.
Not just love a bit, but love in abundance.

So Lord,
Help us to love and help us to change the world.


Amen.

With love and prayers to our friends and our neighours. Cx :-)

That would have been a really special time in church and for the families too Cynthia.

It is forecast to snow overnight and has been bitterly cold all day today. Roll on Spring.

Thinking of all who are anxious and upset right now. Sending warm thoughts to all.xx

Good morning :-)

It was a lovely service for those who were confirmed yesterday. One of the candidates was also baptised before being confirmed which added an extra boost to the proceedings. As each person is confirmed, their family stands, wherever they are in the building, to support them. It was so encouraging to see members of the congregation stand to support the young woman, who has been attending church for a couple of years, and whose family is scattered around the country. Quite a show of solidarity :-)

For today:


Pray At All Times

When we're in need of guidance
Through times we cannot see
Just where we are heading
Or where we ought to be

When we need more faith
Through times that we doubt,
For those times when we question
What life is all about

When we're in need of comfort
Through times of so much grief,
Those times when our hearts ache
And we have so many needs

When we need a friend
Through times when we're lonely,
Those times when there's no one,
Just God and us only

When we need more power
For those times we're attacked
The struggle with temptation
Is one of Satan's traps

When we have His blessings
Abundant in our lives
When things are going well
And doors open wide

Through all of these times
In life that we go through,
One thing is very certain
In what we all should do

That we should never cease
From a lifetime of prayer,
For praying opens heaven's doors
And causes us to hear

What God wants to say to us
And the things He longs to show
So we can walk in His perfect will
Wherever we shall go.

~ M.S.Lowndes


Remembering those who have asked for prayer..... Cx :-)

Good morning... :-)


Thank you kandj - I had never heard of St. John Bosco I must admit. I found his story and life very interesting. One lives and learns... :-)


Today will be quite a long service I would imagine. There are 22 youngsters and 2 adults being confirmed at church this morning. Probably standing room only, so my OH will give it a miss for this week :-)

The Collect for today:
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

The Collect

Almighty and ever-living God,
clothed in majesty,
whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple,
in substance of our flesh:
grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts,
by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia. I hope everyone is keeping warm and safe in during this cold spell.

Today is the feast day of St John Bosco. He was born in 1815 and died in 1888
If you have a few moments, please Google this special man and learn about his interesting life.

His aim was to help care for young homeless boys and I have the calendar each year from the Salesian Order which is still carrying out the good work that he initiated.

Good morning... :-)



We are a snow free zone at the moment and I do hope it stays that way.


Many people live such busy lives .............


No Time

I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.

All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down . . .
But never found the time"



With love to all. Cx :-)

No more snow here but it is extremely cold, we are blessed to have a warm home.

Remembering all who are worried and have ill health conditions. Thinking especially of those who are in hospital, praying now that all the doctors and nurses will have the compassion needed to help their patients and support all their families tonight.

Good morning :-)


Hope you are staying snug and warm in all that snow kandj...... <3



With the snow in mind.......




O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole
creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go:
Preserve those who are travelling in these wintry conditions;
surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger;
and bring them in safety to their journey's end;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.


Continuing to remember those who have asked for prayer
Cx :-)

Not heard of St Thomas of Aquinas Cynthia...... very interesting. Thank you.

It has been snowing hard here in Yorkshire for most of today and more snow is forecast overnight and tomorrow.

Thinking and praying for the homeless who will spend tonight out in the freezing cold.

Good morning :-)


I know what you mean Emma; sometimes we just miss the obvious because we aren't expecting it. :-)


Yesterday was the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas.....someone most of us have heard of.


'St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church, patron of all universities and of students. He was born toward the end of the year 1226. He was the son of Landulph, Count of Aquino, who, when St. Thomas was five years old, placed him under the care of the Benedictines of Monte Casino.

His teachers were surprised at the progress he made, for he surpassed all his fellow pupils in learning as well as in the practice of virtue.


When he became of age to choose his state of life, St. Thomas renounced the things of this world and resolved to enter the Order of St. Dominic in spite of the opposition of his family. Their efforts were in vain and St. Thomas persevered in his vocation. As a reward for his fidelity, God conferred upon him the gift of perfect chastity, which has merited for him the title of the "Angelic Doctor".


After making his profession at Naples, he studied at Cologne under the celebrated St. Albert the Great. Here he was nicknamed the "dumb ox" because of his silent ways and huge size, but he was really a brilliant student.


At Paris he was honoured with the friendship of the King, St. Louis, with whom he frequently dined. In 1261, Urban IV called him to Rome where he was appointed to teach, but he positively declined to accept any ecclesiastical dignity. St. Thomas not only wrote (his writings filled twenty hefty tomes characterized by brilliance of thought and lucidity of language), but he preached often and with greatest fruit.


Clement IV offered him the archbishopric of Naples which he also refused. He left the great monument of his learning, the "Summa Theologica", unfinished, for on his way to the second Council of Lyons, ordered there by Gregory X, he fell sick and died at the Cistercian monastery of Fossa Nuova in 1274.

St. Thomas was one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time. He was canonized in 1323 and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V. '

A Student's Prayer (by St. Thomas Aquinas)


Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator,
true source of light and fountain of wisdom!
Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect,
dissipate the darkness which covers me,
that of sin and of ignorance.

Grant me a penetrating mind to understand,
a retentive memory, method and ease in learning,
the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself.
Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress,
and bring it to successful completion.
This I ask through Jesus Christ,
true God and true man,
living and reigning with You and the Father,
forever and ever.

Amen.


One very brilliant and extraordinary man. Cx :-)

That made me think Cynthia :-)

Remembering all who need comfort.x

Good morning :-)



Thank you for your words Elizabeth and kandj and I am glad that you managed to have that quiet half hour of contemplation Elizabeth. I can remember when the Week of Christian Unity used to be quite an event round here. Not any more sadly, barely a whisper about it, if that. :-(


For today:

The man whispered, "God, speak to me."
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, "God, speak to me!"
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you."
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.

And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle!"
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.

So, the man cried out in despair.
"Touch me God, and let me know that you are here!"
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.


MORAL: Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way you expect.

- unknown





Food for thought indeed. Love to all....Cx :-)

Dear All

Hello


I attended a service for Christian Unity last week.

It was after work, for half an hour.

There was seven people there but it was a short, quiet reflective service.

It felt more intimate and moved me greatly.


Take gentle care all
With best wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

I LOVE IT...... one of my very favourite hymns. I will be singing it all night long now ha ha
Definitely prefer the traditional tune. I wanted this at our wedding but Mum chose Bread of Heaven and Mum in law chose Praise my Soul the King of Heaven.

Sending warm hugs to all who are upset or worried today. xx

Good morning :-)



Yesterday afternoon I popped into school to see the children who are being confirmed on Sunday. They were going through the service so that they would be familiar with it on the day. The service was produced on the screen and, as the teacher scrolled through, the words of a hymn appeared. There was an immediate chorus of "Don't know that one"................

......it was 'Love divine, all loves excelling'.


Love Divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy hosts above;
Pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation:
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!


Such wonderful words.


Remembering all who need prayer. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Yesterday, we as a parish welcomed our new priest-in-charge. Today, the first woman bishop will be consecrated at York Minster. I thought it would be apt to use one of the prayers which we used yesterday and which covers both situations.



********, you have now been properly licensed in this role. In your work, mission and ministry, and in collaboration with your colleagues care alike for young and old, weak and strong, poor and rich; share their joy and their sadness.


You are to enable the people here to use their own gifts in the service of the Gospel, to help them discover the longing of their own spirit.


You are called to ensure that you also grow in grace, learning from the people, making time for study, for quiet reflection and for prayer for you are called to be available, to be humble and to be human.


Together all of you are called to proclaim the glorious freedom of the children of God, to preach the Gospel of peace and hope, to pray earnestly not only for the people in your care but for the whole community. You are to minister God's healing and reconciliation wherever there is pain or conflict whether within or beyond the Church.


May God bless them both as they begin their new ministries.



Cx :-)

Good morning.... :-)


Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus.


I have been reading that .....

Saint Paul is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the Western world. Just a quick look at the headlines of his life are enough to understand his impact; his works are some of the earliest Christian documents that we have, 13 of the 27 books of the bible are written by him, and he's the hero of another, Acts of the Apostles.

Famously converted on the road to Damascus, he travelled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus and it was Paul who came up with the doctrine that would turn Christianity from a small sect of Judaism into a worldwide faith that was open to all.


So we celebrate a great man............


The Collect for today:

Almighty God,
who caused the light of the gospel to shine
throughout the world through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul:
grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion
may follow him in bearing witness to your truth;
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.


Cx :-)