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Sunday 5th February. Unusual day today. This morning we awoke to four inches of snow which meant that travel was difficult for everyone. Rather than risk driving the car on our untreated estate roads we walked to our local chapel only to discover that the service had been called off - so it was back home for a warming cup of coffee. We later heard that the service at South Lowestoft went ahead with a reduced congregation led by our own minister who was planned to preach in a village chapel some twenty miles away. He was filling in for our expected preacher who was advised not to travel the twenty miles from his home. On the plus side, in our garden we have enjoyed a bird bonanza this weekend. After many months without having any birds we have been beseiged by feathered friends looking for water and crumbs. On Sunday at one point there were ten blackbirds, bluetits, doves, and a wren plus the inevitable cluster of circling seagulls. This morning, Monday, we have seen four blackbirds, a family of bluetits, a robin, a pigeon and a thrush - amazing. Alas, I fear that it is all cupboard love and that they will all vanish with the snow but we will enjoy their company while it lasts.
Sunday 29th January. Our preacher this morning was the Rev. Clive Sutcliffe who used as the starting point for his sermon St Mark Chapter 1 verses 21 - 28. In this passage Jesus is reported as healing a man who was possessed by an evil spirit or as we might interpret the event - someone who was mentally ill. In this incident Jesus gave the gift of healing and restored the man to wholeness. For the person involved this was obviously a life changing moment but at another level St Mark was making the point that Jesus brings dramatic change into the world wherever His influence is felt. We were reminded that we should never forget how amazing a person Jesus was and is. We should always be looking for and expecting change in our lives and in the life of the world when we allow Him to work in our midst.
Sunday 22nd January. One of our members, Rev Dr Alan Palmer, led our service today with his sermon based on 'Loneliness'. So many people felt lonely, such as those recently widowed, children starting school for the first time or moving to a new school, or people starting a new job, to quote a few examples. But no-one should feel lonely as God was always there for them. He quoted the example of Jacob, who tricked his brother Esau many times and stole his birthright. On hearing this Esau threatened to kill him. His mother told Jacob him to go away and hide but when he did he was very lonely. It was only his faith in God that kept him going and although we at many times in our lives feel on our own, God is always there for us if we need him.
Sunday 15th January. Although I was away from South Lowestoft today I had the opportunity to share in two thought provoking services at High Street Methodist Church in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Morning worship was an informal service of Holy Communion. This meant worship songs rather than hymns and a very simple liturgy of celebration. The theme for the service as found in 1 Samuel Chapter 3 centred on the call of the boy Samuel and the elderly priest Eli. The minister suggested that within all of us there is an aged Eli and a young Samuel. Eli is that older world weary part of us that is often tired and worn down by disappointment, failure and anxiety alongside the bright eyed, hopeful and attentive to God young Samuel. The evening Annual Covenant Service invited us to be open to the call of the voice of God as Samuel was and to be willing to give ourselves in the service of His Kingdom in this New Year of 2012.
Sunday 8th January. Today's Lectionary Theme was the Baptism of Jesus as recorded in St Mark Chapter 1 v 4 - 11. His baptism was the occasion when Jesus moved out of the shadows into the spotlight. Overcoming John the Baptist's reluctance to baptise Him Jesus entered the river Jordan and in so doing emphasised His oneness with God the Father's will and His identification with the humanity that He came to save. These features characterised His whole life and ministry as He sought to fulful His Father's purposes and reach out to women and men in all their varied needs. The preacher highlighted John the Baptist's graciousness in speaking of Jesus as the special one, in his own words "He must increase and I must decrease". What an example to us all as Christian disciples to encourage us by words and deeds to point others to Jesus. We were pleased to use Power Point in our worship especially for our hymns which came from from the electronic version of the new Methodist hymn book entitled "Singing the Faith.
Sunday 1st January. The preacher's word to us today was a challenge to us on this first day of 2012 to look forward in our Christian Discipleship and the life of our Church. Using as his starting point words about faith as found in Hebrews 11 v 6 -10 the Rev Robin Searles emphasised the importance for us of having an openness to the future in the service of God. There are said Robin Undertaking churches, i.e. churches who constantly dwell on the past and are not sufficiently tuned in to being God's people in the present. "You cannot serve God in the past only in the present moment." There are also churches which are focused entirely on maintenance, keeping the fabric in repair and retaining the status quo. Our aim needs to be that of a risk taking church which is confident in the presence and power of God and always seeking a wider vision of the Kingdom of God in our world today. Let us move out into 2012 with the same trust and determination as Noah and Abraham (Hebrews 11) as we seek to be the people of God today.
Christmas Celebrations. On Christmas Eve we enjoyed our Christingle Service at which the gospel accounts of the events at Bethlehem were read. The Posada - knitted nativity characters - were welcomed back to church having travelled to church members homes throughout Advent. The children who were present received their Christingles as reminders of God's gift to the world in Jesus who lived and died to offer forgiveness and new life to all who will accept them. At our Christmas Eve Midnight Communion we were reminded of all those in the Christmas story who said yes to God. Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds and the Wise Men all played their part in welcoming Jesus into the world. In the bread and wine of communion He continues to come to us and invite our yes. Christmas Morning worship was led by Mr Boldini who spoke of some Italian traditions for celebrating the birth of Jesus. It was good to have arrived at Christmas after all the preparations and looking forward. In the midst of all the secular and commercial aspects of Christmas we were glad to be in church and to know that our special services truly emphasised the central message of the season. Immanuel - God with us.
Sunday 18th December. Cold today and icy underfoot. The Sunday before Christmas is always special with it's carol services and general anticipation of the festival. Today we enjoyed two services led by our minister. Our morning worship was a monthly Holy Communion service which was an important reminder never to forget that the Babe in the Manger became the one who died on the cross as our Saviour. Our evening Carol Service began with a church family tea that was generously provided by members of the congregation. The service which took place in candlelight consisted of traditional carols and bible readings together with some lovely carols sung by our church singing group. Philip our organist planned the service and in addition played some delightful musical variations on familiar carol tunes. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to our worship and fellowship today. We are now eagerly looking forward to the Big Events of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Monday 12th December. Fen Park School Carol Service. It was great to have our church full of children from Fen Park school for their annual carol service. Familiar Christmas carols and songs together with the telling of the Christmas story made for a joyous celebration. The service was planned and led by Carol, Thelma and Robin who have regular contact with the school thuough assemblies and after school club. All the children who helped lead the service, readers and actors together with the school choir and recorder group played their parts brilliantly. Proud parents and members of our congregation all had a great time and took a big step closer to Christmas.
Sunday 11th December. Third in Advent. Our worship this morning began with the declaration that the Bible records that the first words spoken by God at creation were " Let there be light". This was fulfilled at creation and through the ministry of the prophets and supremely in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. In Him God's revelation of Jesus as "The light of the world" was seen in all its clarity and glory. This theme progressed through the service as the scripture readings from Isaiah 61 and St John's Gospel Chapter 1 spoke of the new order of the Kingdom of God and of the need for us to be ready to welcome it into our lives. Keith Durrant, our preacher spoke of the mission of John the Baptist in preparing the path for Jesus own ministry. Although John's work in preaching the need for people to be baptised and to change their lives in response to the call of God was both dramatic and effective he proclaimed that Jesus alone was the special one sent by God. Keith reminded us that especially at Christmas time we need to be ready to welcome Jesus Christ into our hearts and our homes. In this Advent time of preparation the question we should be asking ourselves is not what do we want for Christmas but what do we truly need. In the midst of all the cosy and familiar traditions of this glorious season let us be sure that a central place is reserved for our Lord Himself as He comes again in love to our world. Majestic Advent hymns, beautifully read lessons and birthday cake with Ethel all helped to enrich our worship and fellowship and bring us nearer to Christmas itself.
Sunday 4th December. Second in Advent. I was away from South Lowestoft today as I was preaching in one of our small country chapels in the village of Peasenhall. My advent theme was the God who comes to us. He has come, He will come again and He is here. We celebrate Christmas so eagerly because of the miracle whereby Jesus Christ came to earth as a human being. We marvel at the fact that God has come to us as one whom we can know, love and respond to. With the Bible we anticipate that Jesus Christ will return and will expect an account of how we have used our lives and opportunities. We know not the day or the hour or any other details but in His own time He will return. There is a great amount of nostalgia associated with Christmas and we have to be very careful that our celebrations are not just a looking back to Christmases past. We also have to guard against the desire just to look to the future and Christ's return. Let us rejoice that God is a living God who is with us now, at work in His world today. He is even now at Christmas 2011 leading us, inspiring us and blessing us in His service. Hallelujah. One further thought for the week. On Monday evening I saw a programme on TV which highlighted the plight of many of our fellow citizens who are homeless and or living in appalling conditions. At the same time a million houses stand empty because local councils do not have the finance to renovate some of them. Also on Monday it was announced that our government was making a further £40 million pounds available for the 2012 Olympic Games ceremonies. As a nation, as a world, have we got the right priorities?
Sunday 27th November Be prepared. Watch and pray. Be ready. These were some of the themes that were explored in our worship this morning on Advent Sunday led by Thelma Waller. With the help of visual aids on the screen and in sketch form we were reminded what an exciting and yet challenging season advent is. We spend much of our time in waiting for one event or another. We wait for a bus, a train, the birth of a child - some future happening that commands our attention. The Christian story contains a large element of waiting and looking forward that is focused for us in advent on the prophets, John the Baptist and Mary. We were urged that just as we make every effort to be ready with our presents, cards and menus so we ought to take great care that we are prepared for Christmas celebrations in our hearts and minds. Beyond Christmas 2011 we should also look forward to the promised return of Jesus Christ. Whilst not aiming to provide the precise timing and details of the second coming of our Lord the New Testament is unwavering in its belief in the certainty of that glorious event. It was very appropriate on this Advent Sunday to be reminded of what should be our true priorities for Christmas and also of our Christian hope for the future.
Sunday 20th November. We were challenged in our worship this morning with the reminder that being a Christian consists not only of knowing the Bible, understanding theology and attending worship it is also very much about living a truly Christian life. The familiar parable of the Sheep and the Goats from St Matthew Chapter 25 v 31 - 46 always pulls us up short with the question " Do we live to that high standard of discipleship?" The parable urges us to extend friendship and compassion to everyone we meet whatever their circumstance. Strangers, prisoners and those who are ill are used as examples by Jesus but with the wider implication that every human contact we make presents us with the opportunity to care. It may be an uncomfortable even disturbing thought but the parable asserts that Jesus Christ comes to us in every human being we have dealings with even if they are awkward and demanding. If we are able to speak a generous word of greeting and encouragement it is as though we are befriending our Lord Himself. Equally, if we refuse to offer a generous word or engage in a thoughtful action it is as if we are personally neglecting Him. Our minister Robert led our worship which culminated in the celebration of Holy Communion and which empasises the generosity of God towards each one of us. We left our service with the words of Jesus Himself echoing in our minds: "Whatever you do for the one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". A powerful thought to take forward into a new week of Christian service. Over coffee there was an extremely warm and friendly buzz of conversation and I hope that the three visitors who joined us today will have felt welcome and very much at home in our fellowship. NB Check out Christmas Unwrapped through our links page.
Sunday 13th November. Remembrance Sunday. Worship today was led by Rev Alan Palmer who is a member of our congregation. The opening worship songs were chosen to emphasise the majesty and sovereign power of God which means that even in the chaos of our world and sometimes of our own lives He is in control. With this in mind we prayed for all who have been affected by past and present warfare. We thought of lives sacrificially given, lives changed for ever by injury or bereavement and we prayed for peace and justice throughout the world. Two minutes of thoughtful and respectful silence followed by our annual promise "We will remember them" provided a poignant act of remembrance. Amazing grace was the overall theme of our worship and Alan's sermon focused on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant as recorded in St Matthew Chapter 18 verse 21 - 35. The parable tells of a servant who was forgiven an enormous debt by his master but who was unwilling to extend similar generosity to another servant who was indebted to him. Jesus inferred that the wrath of the master when he learned of his servant's mean and unforgiving spirit will be as nothing compared to God's anger towards those who are unwilling to forgive others. When we feel resentment and show an unforgiving spirit we not only damage relationships but we also cause actual harm to our own inner being. As Christians we daily rejoice in the light and power of God's grace and forgiveness towards us and Jesus challenges us to live in that same spirit of understanding and forgiveness towards others. Footnote. This evening I watched a TV programme called Military Wives Choir in which Gareth Malone formed a choir with some of the wives and partners of soldiers serving in Afghanistan. It was a moving and inspiring portrayal of what it means to be left at home when loved ones are risking their lives in distant conflicts. On Remembrance Sunday the programme was for me a timely reminder that the stress and pain of war also lies very heavily on those who watch and wait.
Sunday 6th November. Away from church this morning so I heard another preacher leading worship. His theme was All Saints and was developed from St Paul's letter to the Corinthians where he described the company of believers there as saints. A distinction was made between the conventional view of stained glass historical saints and the ordinary Christians who have been called and set apart by God for His service. While most of us would hesitate to regard ourselves as saints, according to St Paul's use of the word everyone who seeks to faithfully follow and serve Jesus Christ is a saint. This means that we are all part of the Communion of Saints, a thought that both inspires and challenges us. It is an amazing concept that we are linked to Christians in every time and place and that as we serve Jesus Christ we are one with them. With this in mind we always need to see our local and sometimes petty concerns against the background of eternity and the vastness of the purposes of God.
Sunday 30th October. Early in our worship this morning we were challenged to find shapes within a series of optical illusions. We quickly realised that some of us are more adept than others in looking below the surface and discovering hidden images. The aim of the exercise was to illustrate that we must always be ready to look beyond illusions in pursuit of the truth in every situation. Our preacher linked this thought to St Matthew's gospel Chapter 23 in which Jesus berates the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees for their failures. He censures them because they presented an outward illusion of piety and religious observance when in fact what they were really concerned with was their status and power within their community of faith. The obvious and very important question that was raised for each one of us was; Do we just give an illusion of Christian discipleship or are we in every aspect of our lives true followers of Jesus Christ? Our Singing Group enhanced worship with a beautiful call to worship and an introduction to a new tune to the Lord's Prayer. Our congregation warmly appreciated an inspiring and thought provoking service thanks to our preacher Mrs Mary Read. In the evening our church hosted a Circuit Service which used the theme from the Methodist Conference sermon by the President Rev Leo Osborne. In addressing the Conference the President expressed his concern for the quality of pastoral care within the life of the Methodist Church. He emphasised the need for every church to be welcoming not only in word but in action. Both ministers and pastoral visitors must prioritise visiting and personal contacts if the church is to be true to its calling and encourage others into faith. As this morning this was a timely message which we all need to listen to if we are to play our part in building up the family of the church. All in all we have enjoyed a very good day in our worship at South Lowestoft.
Sunday 23rd October. God so loved the cosmos that He gave His only Son. This unfamiliar translation from the Greek of St John 3 verse 16 set the scene for our worship this morning at the start of One World Week. The use of the text in this way sought to widen our vision of our place within God's fantastic creation. We were reminded of the dramatic changes which are taking place on the earth and it's climate. Melting ice caps and glaciers, exceptional floods and droughts together with extreme weather conditions are all clear warning signs to us. The precious resources of oil, coal and gas which have been millions of years in the making are being depleted at an alarming rate. Christians who regard the earth as God's amazing gift should be prepared to take a lead in using it wisely as good stewards. Small gestures matter. Do we need that extra plastic bag at the supermarket and is that short car journey really essential ? The service also challenged us to think of the implications of being part of God's worldwide family of humanity. Surely, as Christians we cannot live comfortably with the knowledge that so many of our fellow human beings live in poverty and deprivation whilst we have all that we need in terms of shelter, food, health care and education. To sum up, One World Week powerfully ephasised that there is only one earth with it's finite resources and that it is incumbent on us to share those resources with all humankind. Thank you Rev Don Moxon for leading us in an inspiring and challenging time of worship with it's crucially important message. NB. Our church is sending £150 from our church benevolent fund in response to an appeal from our Methodist World Church Department for the relief of flood victims in Pakistan.
Sunday 16th October. On a beautiful Autumn Sunday morning the theme for our worship was Autumn and its relationship with the journey of of our lives. The service was very ably led by our Church stewards and members who with well chosen hymns, prayers and dramatised readings gave us much to think about. Moses and Zacchaeus were used as illustrations of people who were willing to forsake their comfort zones in answer to God's call. Moses experienced in the burning bush and God's words to him a challenge to lead his people from slavery to freedom. Zacchaeus with all his wealth and status responded to the invitation of Jesus and so became a changed person. The question posed to us was, are we, even if some of us are in the Autumn period of our lives ready to hear God's call to new avenues of service?
Sunday 9th October. Away from home visiting my cousins in the town of our birth, Redditch in Worcestershire - it is always good to hear the familiar accents of home. Sorry to miss worship at South Lowestoft with our good friend Ian Prettyman preaching but glad to attend my cousin Sue's local Anglican church where she is Sacristan and very involved with church life. I felt very proud seeing her engaged in the leading of worship knowing how much Christian service she carries out every day of the week, walking the walk as well as talking the talk. The communion service was led by a retired priest who had a lovely relaxed style of preaching and who encouraged us to "take God seriously". This theme was developed from the parable of the wedding feast where the invited guests came up with all manner of excuses for their non-attendance at the celebrations. Are we as serious as we should be about God's invitation to us to live for Jesus Christ or do we too often make excuse ? The act of holy communion according to another tradition was very refreshing and reminded us of the universality of faith and the privilege of belonging to Christ and His church whatever label we wear. Back home next week.
Sunday 2nd October - Harvest Festival. Our own minister Robert led our worship today. The church was beautifully decorated with produce and flowers, our singing group contributed a lovely hymn and we saw a video of the work of the Methodist Relief & Development Fund in Uganda. Robert took as his sermon theme the parable of the tenants and the vineyard from St Matthew Chapter 21. He emphasised the goodness and generosity of God in sending His messengers the prophets and even His own son Jesus Christ. In spite of human lack of response He keeps offering Himself to us. How vividly God's generosity is demonstrated in the abundance that is Harvest and in the individuals that He sends to lead and inspire us. People such as Bishop Tutu and Martin Luther King will always be bringers of God's message to us. The short MRDF video from Uganda illustrated for us that our gifts can work miracles in the lives of ordinary people far away. On Monday evening we shared in a delightful Harvest Supper and enjoyed entertainment by our own members. Financially the weekend was a great success. In addition to our weekly church collection, £460 was raised to purchase a water tank for the nurses training centre kitchen at Maua Hospital in Kenya and £343 contributed to the MRDF. All in all we shared a wonderful Harvest Festival weekend with joyous celebration and generosity towards helping others. A perfect combination.