Tick for Tax Justice

 

This morning's reading from Mark 10 tells us Jesus' conversation with the rich young man who wanted to follow him.  In the course of the conversation Jesus runs through the 10 commandments with the man, but appears to add an extra one - "Do not defraud".  The rich defrauding the poor was something very prevalent in Jesus' time (as in ours too) and was clearly of concern to Jesus - and so is still so today.

Did you know that US $ 160 bn (£ 100 bn) every year is denied in tax revenue to developing countries due to tax avoidance by multinational corporations ?  Christian Aid's Trace the Tax campaign seeks to challenge the financial secrecy that is preventing poor countries from collecting the taxes they are due.

The current campaign seeks two specific measures:  

• Firstly companies to report on the profits they make and taxes they pay in every country in which they operate

•  Secondly, tax havens to automatically share information  \bout the money flowing through them with all other countries

This week's TFG focused on this issue, using information that you can find online at the Christian Aid website

here and here

If you would like to sign Christian Aid's online petition urging the Prime Minister to support the two measures mentioned above, click here  (Add your Tick for Tax Justice).

If you were not at TFG or have friends or neighbours who are interested in supporting Chrisrtian Aid's campaign, the tax bus is visiting the area over the w/e of September 15 and 16 (see below) with information and an opprtunity to give our support to the campaign.

Peter King

Saturday 15 September

7.30pm-9pm: St Richard's Church, Priory Road, Eastbourne, BN23 7AX
Cheese and wine will be served

Sunday 16 September

9am-11.30am: St Barnabas Church, Sea Road, Bexhill-on-sea, TN40 1JG
Breakfast will be served

Team St Peter’s – Way to Go!

This week we did an Olympics themed TFG with Jesus as our focus.  We ourselves formed the teams in the colours of the Olympic Rings and then mixed ourselves up – to the theme from ‘Chariots of Fire’ played by our worship band.  The day’s message was that we are all one under Christ, and Jesus loves us all equally. The children made big stars with messages on them (instead of gold medals!) as their trophies. During the service, we used small apparatus and the little children did hopping, skipping and jumping races.  It was very exciting and great fun.

Oh yes – and in the middle of all this, we had a thanksgiving service for the gift of little Charlie.  We sang songs: Be bold, be strong, Colours of Day (of course), One more step, Such Love, He’s got the whole world. We also followed ‘Jesus’ around the hall and out to the foyer to the song of “I have decided to follow Jesus”. Many thanks to everyone who helped in any way; you all helped to make it a great morning and many thanks to you all for being there.

BTW: There won’t be All Age Praise on 2 September – instead there’s a Parish BBQ at St. Michael’s with fireworks, from 6pm. J

Deacon Olivia

The Feeding of the 5000

We all need balance in our physical diet if we are to be healthy and well, and so it is similarly with our spiritual diet. Rather than having to obtain the diet from a selection of foodstuffs our spiritual diet can be obtained from one source- God’s word. From it we gain strength and vitality of spirit, and His word promotes healing and wholeness bringing about transformation.

Transformation is the ‘buzz’ word of the moment. We had transformation vividly demonstrated visually in the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, and particularly the last 50 years have seen enormous changes in our lives.

Jesus is someone who can satisfy people’s deepest spiritual needs, but when He shared the bread and the fish He won people’s adulation, they wanted Him as their king – but that was not what Jesus came for He came to sate their spiritual hunger so he withdrew to the mountain top, for His mission was to provide the transforming spiritual food.

So much needs transforming in our world today.

Jesus went to the mountain rather than be an earthly king. We do well to remember that God’s ways are not always ours, and to maintain a healthy spiritual diet we need to keep Christ at the centre of our lives.

Rev Frances