Teach me my God and King

 A few days ago, as I opened the bedroom curtains, I thought another wet and dreary day. I guess I was feeling a little fed up with lockdown, with all the restriction and the very wet weather. As I sat in silence contemplating the day ahead the first few words of a hymn came into mind:

Teach my God and King, in all things, thee to see.

Throughout the day these words kept coming back to me. Before going to bed I thought about the day and in my mind listed all those things in which God had taught me to see something of Him. So where did I see God that day:

In my Grandson Archie, taking care of God's creation, feeding the ducks

In all creatures great and small

In the healing of others, the skill of the doctors and nurses

In the cat, who decided to sit in the clock, which really did make me smile. 

In the butcher, who at some point in our conversation said "t least we are still breathing and not in hospital". He had a point.

Teach me my God and King, in all things thee to see. As I sat in silence, I realised God had done just that 

The Eucharist on Candlemas presided by Fr Paul

The service can be found here

Retreat or the Ignation prayer of Examen

 Last week, from Monday to Friday, I was "on retreat"; I've put it in inverted commas because I was not able to go to Wales as planned, but I did take half a day from Monday to Friday, to spend in prayer and reflection.  Prior to that, I had made a video which I intended to put onto the blog but never got round to.  I will put it here now, and following that, as promised in the video, I will do a brief explanation of the Ignation prayer of Examen.  

video

                                                                                                                                                               

According to "The way of Ignatius Loyola - contemporary approached to the Spiritual exercises", edited by Philip Sheldrake, there are five points to the prayer of examen.

Point one: To give thanks to God for favours received as one reflects on the events of the day.

Point two: To ask for grace to know one's sins and to rid oneself of them - by reflecting on responses to events

Point three: To demand an account of one's soul from waking up to the point of examination - by considering first thoughts, then words then deeds.

The fourth point: To ask for God's pardon from the days sins, noted from point three.

The fifth point: To resolve to amend by the grace of God.

Give this type of prayer a try and see how you get on.

God bless

Lyn

Not Everything Is Locked Down

 I saw the following reflection on Facebook. It was written by a curates wife and have been given permission to share it with you. 

NOT EVERYTHING IS LOCKED DOWN

The sunrise is not locked down,

Fresh air is not locked down.

Friendship is not locked down.

Family time is not locked down.

Creativity is not locked down.

Prayers are not locked down.

Hobbies are not locked down.

Hopes and dreams are not locked down.

Kindness is not locked down.

Learning is not locked down,

Imagination is not locked down.

Conversation is not locked down,

Sunsets are not locked down.

Hope is mot locked down

Cherish what you have.

Stay at home and make the most of your time.

May you be safe.

May you be happy.

May you be well.

Thank you, Lord, for your daily mercies!
May we always choose to remember what God has done for us!
May we always have an attitude of gratitude and contentment!
May we always have a song of praise on our lips!

Thank you, Lord, for the little things!
Thank you, Lord, for the big things too!
May we always reflect on things in life to be thankful for!
May our lives forever honour & glorify God! Amen.

(Be Thankful for the Little Things Bible Verses & Scripture Quotes; 7 Little Things in Life to be Thankful for. – Joyful Living Blog (jollynotes.com)

https://sapphirethroneministries.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/destroy-that-wall-of-self-protection/

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Sunday Eucharist

 The service can be found here

Sunday Eucharist

 The service can be found here

It was very good.

Yesterday I went for a walk which involved tramping across a golf course which was quite waterlogged in places? I had to navigate some very muddy footpaths and wade through several large puddles to get to where I was going. In case you were wondering why I was tramping across the golf course, there is a public right of way which goes through it. When the inclement weather hasn't stopped the golf, you do have to be careful that a flying golf ball doesn't hit you. 

 I was heading for a place called Bamford Barrista. It's not really a cafe, it's more like a pop-up coffee shop which sells the most delicious homemade cakes. I had a hot chocolate with all the extra goodies like marshmallows and cream and chocolate sprinkled on top, Yum Yum!! I resisted the temptation to indulge in a cake for myself but did treat Archie and his mummy and daddy. 

Today I went for a walk in Ashworth valley. It was very peaceful and quiet with some wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.

As I walked through a field which was a little off the beaten track, I could hear, the birds twittering to each other and the stream meandering through the valley down below. 

Yesterday and today I saw evidence of new life all around me  One proud mama showing off her little ones. 

Daffodils are starting to poke their heads above the ground, tiny buds are starting to appear on the hedgerows and the trees. I spotted this plant which has started to blossom and looked quite delicate, although the picture doesn't do justice to that. Taking its's habitat into consideration I think it must be hardier than it looks. Anyone know what it is.

The walk was quite adventurous as it involved climbing over styles, trying to avoid slipping in the mud, squelching through what a quagmire, crossing a bridge that had netting over some broken planks and the best bit of all wading through the stream. My excuse was I had to clean my wellies.!

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genisis 1:31)

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Suspension of Services

The vicar and the parochial church council of St John the Baptist, Hey, acting jointly, authorise dispensing with the reading of Morning and Evening Prayer, and the celebration of the Holy Communion as required by Canon B 14, on the following occasions: from Sunday 17th January up to Wednesday 17th February 2021.  The reason for the dispensation is that in the light of the Government’s guidance on preventing the spread of Coronavirus, the church cannot be used safely for public worship on those occasions. 

Before worship resumes, the Risk Assessment will be reviewed and the procedure for entry and exit will be strengthened to prevent the possibility of breaking the “no socialising” rule imposed by the government, the Church of England and the Diocese.

Stained Glass

A guide to the stained glass windows in church, with appropriate Scripture readings, is available to view here

Wednesday Eucharist

 The service is available to view here

Sunday Eucharist

 The service for the Baptism of Jesus Christ can be found here

This Too Shall Pass

I have a friend whose greatest fear is the dentist and when sat in the dentist chair she tells herself "It won't last forever, it will pass". 

When the prime minister was announcing yet another lockdown my heart sank even though I knew it was almost inevitable. As I listened to the news this morning, my heart sank even further. It all seemed to be doom and gloom. Brexit is causing chaos with medicines that children need to control their epilepsy. It seems China is being less than helpful in assisting WHO explore the origin of Covid-19, when out walking whatever you don't sit on a park bench or similar because the pandemic may be lurking there and there is the threat of the beast from the east returning causing further disruption to our lives.

I turned the radio off, I didn't want to listen any more. As I thought about what I had heard in the news bulletin, words similar to my friends came to mind "this too shall pass". The future is uncertain, we don't know when the pandemic will be brought under control.

Even though these words are not biblical, there is a real sense of hope in them.

 

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Wednesday Eucharist

 The service is available to view here

Communal Worship

Following the introduction of a national lockdown, the information from the Diocese of Manchester has been updated and you can view it here

This position is in compliance with Government guidance which you can view here

A further update of the position on the provision of Communal Worship will appear here following a  Parochial Church Council meeting on 12th January.

Communal Worship

Despite being under level 4 stay at home rules, Worship is still permitted when the correct precautions are followed.  Services will be held at 9.30am on Sundays and 10am on Wednesdays.  Please contact the Vicarage if you would like to attend a service

The link to the Eucharist Service for Epiphany Sunday is here