Monday, 10 August 2009
August Holidays
Owing to the Summer holidays, the TFG blog may not be updated regularly until September. However, feel free to conmment on any of the existing posts or indeed anything else that you would like to. Normal service will resume next month ...
Monday, 3 August 2009
ALL AGE PRAISE 26 JULY 2009
“IS IT FAIR – LET’S SHARE!”
We’re into the season of fun and games with All Age Praise every week until September! So what did we do? Well of course we looked at Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 and enjoyed a variety of songs; My God is so BIG; Make me a channel of your peace; Be bold, be strong; Father I place into your hands; and Colours of Day. We looked at Exodus 22 and talked about not ill-treating a stranger. During “Is it Fair” the children set up a Teddy Bears’ picnic and shared biscuits (pink for Emily’s sake!) equally. In “Let’s Share” following the “5000” reading (John 6), we drew up Menus with unusual components from around the world whilst the more sedentary among us wrote the prayers. We looked at sharing the world’s resources and were thankful for all that we have – since we realised that we have so much compared with much of the rest of the world. So we all considered how we might “do our bit” and ask for a fresh in-filling of God’s Spirit to enable us to do it.
After all Jesus said “As you did it for one of … these, you did it for me”. (Matt.25)
A lot of thought provoking took place – I hope your thoughts are moved too.
Peace and Joy!
Deacon Olivia
We’re into the season of fun and games with All Age Praise every week until September! So what did we do? Well of course we looked at Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 and enjoyed a variety of songs; My God is so BIG; Make me a channel of your peace; Be bold, be strong; Father I place into your hands; and Colours of Day. We looked at Exodus 22 and talked about not ill-treating a stranger. During “Is it Fair” the children set up a Teddy Bears’ picnic and shared biscuits (pink for Emily’s sake!) equally. In “Let’s Share” following the “5000” reading (John 6), we drew up Menus with unusual components from around the world whilst the more sedentary among us wrote the prayers. We looked at sharing the world’s resources and were thankful for all that we have – since we realised that we have so much compared with much of the rest of the world. So we all considered how we might “do our bit” and ask for a fresh in-filling of God’s Spirit to enable us to do it.
After all Jesus said “As you did it for one of … these, you did it for me”. (Matt.25)
A lot of thought provoking took place – I hope your thoughts are moved too.
Peace and Joy!
Deacon Olivia
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Sunday 12th July Mark 6:14-29
The beheading of John the Baptist
There are many different aspects to this story and each one will speak to a
different group of people. Maybe, it is the way Herod was interested in what
John was preaching even though he was being criticized. Maybe it is the fact
that Herodias got her way by using her daughter. We commented in TFG that we all have our own agendas so God will speak to us each in a different way.
I was struck while thinking about how we apply the story to our own lives. We can see from the story that John the Baptist was not afraid to speak out. We are sometimes slow to speak out about the wrongs in our world. He was
pointing the way to Jesus who must also be our Saviour and Lord. He was
higlighting the need for repentance. We too must put aside all the wrongs of
our past and make a fresh start with Jesus. Also, at the end he was killed
and we too must be prepared for persecution and maybe even death for what we believe.
Let us know you views and how God has spoken to you through this story.
Peter Ewen
There are many different aspects to this story and each one will speak to a
different group of people. Maybe, it is the way Herod was interested in what
John was preaching even though he was being criticized. Maybe it is the fact
that Herodias got her way by using her daughter. We commented in TFG that we all have our own agendas so God will speak to us each in a different way.
I was struck while thinking about how we apply the story to our own lives. We can see from the story that John the Baptist was not afraid to speak out. We are sometimes slow to speak out about the wrongs in our world. He was
pointing the way to Jesus who must also be our Saviour and Lord. He was
higlighting the need for repentance. We too must put aside all the wrongs of
our past and make a fresh start with Jesus. Also, at the end he was killed
and we too must be prepared for persecution and maybe even death for what we believe.
Let us know you views and how God has spoken to you through this story.
Peter Ewen
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Sunday July 5 - Appearances are Misleading
In our All Age Praise on 5 July we looked at: “Appearances are misleading – Judging!”
We had great fun with a brief passage from 1 Samuel, and why Eliab was rejected. For this section, the very young children each chose a cuddly toy of their choice and then said why they liked it. So we learned that it wasn’t necessarily the most beautiful or smart that was selected, but for many reasons.
We then listened to Jesus’ words “Don’t judge others, so that God will not judge you” from Matthew 5.
Following this the older ones explored optical illusions, how they appeared from different angles and the visual deceptions they produced; how mind and sight put things in place that aren’t there and add effects to alter perception. This, as I told, the adults is what happens when we try to judge people; we don’t know why they are how they are, we can never walk in their shoes, so we can’t form an objective opinion. We have to leave that to God. No-one is good enough to judge others. Only the faultless has a right to look for faults in others; and that one is, and can only ever be, our Lord Jesus.
So we came to the conclusion that Appearances are misleading – in judging others we’ll come unstuck. We must learn to think the best of all people and can only hope they’ll do the same for us. We had various songs such as Give me oil in my lamp, Whether you’re one and When I needed a neighbour and enjoyed some children’s interactive prayers by Pauline. It all worked really well.
We left with green and yellow paper heart-shaped promises to re-commit ourselves to God and to each other, but not before we had enjoyed a lovely piece of Hazel’s birthday cake!
Peace and Joy!
Deacon Olivia
Monday, 29 June 2009
Sunday June 28 - St Peter's Day
Welcome to anyone who has discovered the blog as a result of the article in July's parish magazine. Today's service brought together our two congregations in celebration of the patronal festival. You are invited to continue the conversation started then - which aspects of the story of Peter are most important to you personally ? Why ?
We look forward to reading your thoughts ...
We look forward to reading your thoughts ...
Monday, 15 June 2009
Sunday June 14 - What is the Kingdom of God ?
Mark 4: 26 - 34
David Knight led our reflections this morning and opened by asking us the unexpected question what a uncorn and a red snooker ball had in common. The answer - one point - led us into a discussion of Jesus' parables here. Unlike an allegory (where every detail of the a story means something, a parable has just one point, and that helps us in our approach to this morning's reading: What is the one point that Jesus is seeking to put across in these stories ?
When we use the word "kingdom" here we are not talking about an area of land but a state of affairs - the rule, or reign, of God. The rule of God may seem invisible at times, but like the tiny mustard seed it is here and and (hopefully) growing - indeed growing sometimes in unexpected places !
Where do you see the rule, or reign of God taking shape in our world or your life today ?
David Knight led our reflections this morning and opened by asking us the unexpected question what a uncorn and a red snooker ball had in common. The answer - one point - led us into a discussion of Jesus' parables here. Unlike an allegory (where every detail of the a story means something, a parable has just one point, and that helps us in our approach to this morning's reading: What is the one point that Jesus is seeking to put across in these stories ?
When we use the word "kingdom" here we are not talking about an area of land but a state of affairs - the rule, or reign, of God. The rule of God may seem invisible at times, but like the tiny mustard seed it is here and and (hopefully) growing - indeed growing sometimes in unexpected places !
Where do you see the rule, or reign of God taking shape in our world or your life today ?
Monday, 8 June 2009
June 7 - Trinity Sunday
How do you combine All Age Praise worship with the subject of Trinity?
Not easily – but what fun!
50 of us gathered this morning at Time for God. We looked at Trinity being the love of God and how the three persons within the Godhead are all bound up with other, equal in divinity and being.
Jim did two short readings: Matthew 3:16-17 and Romans 8:14-15 at various points of the service. Interspersed throughout, were a good mixture of songs both old and new: Who put the colours in the rainbow; All things bright and beautiful; Have you heard the Raindrops (to Rupert the Bear music); Spirit of Holiness (Blow the wind southerly) and we closed with Shine Jesus Shine.
Together, we all explored Jesus’ love for us, through his sacrifice and baptism, talking about how baptism brings us into the family of God, thus making us all his children. As a renewal of our own baptismal vows, we washed our hands, pouring water over each other’s fingers and then attaching coloured strips of paper (with the ubiquitous Blu-tack!) onto the freestanding 5 foot Easter Cross as a visual rededication of our lives.
We looked at God’s creation and how we are called to cherish and not destroy it; we planted Sunflower seeds in pots as a recommitment of ourselves to take an active part in looking after God’s world. Pauline took balloons and blew them up to show that we too can be filled with the wind of the Spirit and she had us all writing individual prayers, again which we stuck onto the Cross. These have now been removed and will be put onto the altar at the next Eucharist.
We went away with the conviction that we too can shed Christ’s light and love in the world and we share his love and his light by reaching out to others – not the least in practical ways!
Well, there you go!
Deacon Olivia
Not easily – but what fun!
50 of us gathered this morning at Time for God. We looked at Trinity being the love of God and how the three persons within the Godhead are all bound up with other, equal in divinity and being.
Jim did two short readings: Matthew 3:16-17 and Romans 8:14-15 at various points of the service. Interspersed throughout, were a good mixture of songs both old and new: Who put the colours in the rainbow; All things bright and beautiful; Have you heard the Raindrops (to Rupert the Bear music); Spirit of Holiness (Blow the wind southerly) and we closed with Shine Jesus Shine.
Together, we all explored Jesus’ love for us, through his sacrifice and baptism, talking about how baptism brings us into the family of God, thus making us all his children. As a renewal of our own baptismal vows, we washed our hands, pouring water over each other’s fingers and then attaching coloured strips of paper (with the ubiquitous Blu-tack!) onto the freestanding 5 foot Easter Cross as a visual rededication of our lives.
We looked at God’s creation and how we are called to cherish and not destroy it; we planted Sunflower seeds in pots as a recommitment of ourselves to take an active part in looking after God’s world. Pauline took balloons and blew them up to show that we too can be filled with the wind of the Spirit and she had us all writing individual prayers, again which we stuck onto the Cross. These have now been removed and will be put onto the altar at the next Eucharist.
We went away with the conviction that we too can shed Christ’s light and love in the world and we share his love and his light by reaching out to others – not the least in practical ways!
Well, there you go!
Deacon Olivia
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