Services this Sunday for The Alde Sandlings Benefice
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Aldeburgh
Friston Knodishall |
8.00am 10.30am 11.00am 9.45am 9.00am |
Holy Communion Holy Communion Holy Communion Morning Prayer Holy Communion |
Collect
God, who as at this time
taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Genesis 11.1-9
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So, the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore, it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Second Reading
Acts 2.1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Gospel Reading
John 14.8-17
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
Sermon preached by The Revd James Marston at
Aldeburgh 29th May 2022
John 17:20-26
May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This week, the seventh Sunday of Easter marks the end of Eastertide and prepares us for Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit that we recall next week.
This Sunday also co-incides with what I am now referring to APCM-tide. Today is the final annual parish church meeting of four of them across the benefice and I invite all of you to stay for it, if you so wish, taking the somewhat uncharitable view that if I have to be here then so should you.
Indeed, as I relaxed on my day off this week after a light luncheon of fresh bread served with Cypriot halloumi on a bed of crispy salad with balsamic glaze, I was thinking about APCM’s and The Queen popped into my mind.
Her Majesty said at her Ruby Jubilee, now 30 years ago, that 1992 was a not a year she will look back on with undiluted pleasure. It is true that APCM-tide might not enthuse diluted pleasure amongst clergy, but they do provide a moment in which to take stock and reflect on the past year.
For me the last year has been one of learning and discovery, for you one of waiting and anticipation for a new incumbent, whose arrival is now just around the corner.
This is indeed an exciting time for our benefice and one which marks the start of a new chapter of the history of these four churches.
I know Reverend Sarah is an unknown quantity for many of you, but I and one or two others know her, and I know how excited she is to be coming here in just a few weeks’ time as she takes this big step in her ministry journey.
How will you welcome Reverend Sarah?
Aside from the pomp and ceremony of the licensing service at the end of June, I can tell you that reminding her of your name when you speak to her for at least the first year will help.
How will our community help her adjust to our little foibles and idiosyncrasies?
I have said many time that if I had a pound for every time I’ve heard “that’s the way we’ve always done things” I’d be able to afford a house on Crag Path. Yet often, with a little exploration, the way we’ve always done things
is not often the hard wired immovable tradition we might think it is.
How willing will you be to change and be evolution needed to keep our church moving forward in the love of Christ?
I hope you’ll back Reverend Sarah in her calling and role all the way.
And a final question to consider, what can you do to ease her path and show her your love?
I can tell you that the patience and gratitude you so often exercise and express to me and to others goes a long way.
I’ll leave those thoughts with you and remind you that Aldeburgh church has been for many years been a place of training for curates, so I have no doubt you know what you’re doing when it comes to welcoming and supporting a new incumbent.
Today’s gospel reading is also a reminder.
A reminder that Jesus, through his life, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension saves us by bringing us into relationship with God. Jesus becomes one of us in order to point us to God and in order that we have may have a relationship with God through him.
John’s understanding of Christ, his Christological insight, is perhaps, at its most clear in the passage where Jesus prays:
“I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
This prayer for all believers reminds us too that Christ is here among us and that we make up the body of Christ at all times, not just on a Sunday morning at half past ten.
By being the body of Christ, by worshipping, by feeding our souls with prayer and the Eucharist we nourish our faith in order to reflect it back to those around us, so, as Jesus put’s it “the world may believe.”.
So as Jesus prays for us believers to reflect his glory and live in him, the challenge this week and for all our lives is simply this.
To live the message of Easter, to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, to put Him first in all we do.
To go from Sunday worship in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen
Post Communion
Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter
by sending us your Holy Spirit
and opening to every race and nation
the way of life eternal:
open our lips by your Spirit,
that every tongue may tell of your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Notices
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Dates for your Diaries Festival Service at Aldeburgh June 12th Our New Priest in Charge Revd Sarah du Boulay |
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Youth Club has Returned The Youth Club is back! 7pm to 9pm on Monday evenings during term time for 10–14-year-olds. We really need some more volunteers to help on these evenings. There is a rota in the west porch that you can add your name to, if you can help, or you can contact Fran Smith at admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk |
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✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ There are many online services you can view from the Church of England and our cathedral. Here are some links below. Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/ Church of England Facebook page Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/ St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook. |
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Weekly Benefice Newsletter If you would like something added to the weekly newsletter that is relevant to the Benefice, please do let Claire know and we will do our best to include it the following week. All requests by 4pm on Thursday please |
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Food Banks at the East of England Co-op Foodbanks provide a valuable service to those in need in our communities. The Aldeburgh Co-op and Solar in Leiston are doing a grand job in collecting food donations, which are collected regularly and distributed. So please look out for the various collection baskets. |
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Friston Open Gardens Sunday 19th June 11.30am to 5.30pm |
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Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays The Pilgrims worship together every Wednesday. Saturday 18th June Good News Faith Cafe @ The Outside Inn, Parrot Pub 9.30 – 10.30 A time for conversation, a hot drink, and a croissant. A time to share and offer our thoughts and stories. Acts of kindness within the Outside Inn and out into the outside world. |
Next Week
Sunday 12th June
Trinity Sunday
