Sunday 14th August Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday 7th August Eighth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday 31st July Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Please click on the link to see this weeks newsletter
Sunday 24th July Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Services this Sunday for The Alde Sandlings Benefice
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Aldeburgh
Aldringham Friston Knodishall |
10.30am 6.00pm 11.00am 9.00am 9.00am |
Holy Communion Evening Prayer Morning Service Morning Prayer Morning Prayer |
Message from Revd Sarah du Boulay
Dear Friends,
Goodness, isn’t it hot? Hot, hot, hot. As I type, UK temperature records are being broken, and it seems the world has gone crazy over this heatwave. I am sitting at my desk with all curtains drawn, fans on and a cold towel on standby. The dogs are stretched out on the cold floor.
Aside from the worrying global warming aspect of this heatwave, and the obvious threat to health, it seems to me that as we have seen so often in the past, there is nothing like a bit of adversity to bring us all together. Whether it’s facing a global pandemic, or moaning about the weather. So do take care of yourselves this week. And do take care of your neighbours as well. Stay cool!
This week I am at Friston in the morning, before leading Evening Prayer at Aldeburgh in the evening, and am looking forward to seeing you there.
With continued prayers,
Sarah
Collect
Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love toward you
that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Genesis 18.20-32
Then the Lord said, ‘How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.’ So the men turned from there, and went towards Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham came near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the Lord said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’ Abraham answered, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ Again he spoke to him, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’
Second Reading
Colossians 2.6-15
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Gospel Reading
Luke 11.1-13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’ And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
Sermon preached by The Revd Sheila Murray at
Aldeburgh 17th July 2022
Luke 10:38-end Martha & Mary – Being/Doing?
Imagine if you will, a lovely summer’s day, you have got some friends round for a meal. They are out in the garden sipping a glass of Pimms, and having a great time chatting, laughing, and relaxing. And where are you? You are stuck in the kitchen, stirring a sauce over a hot stove, trying to do various different jobs so that everyone in a short while will have a lovely 3 course meal. You pride yourself on being a good host/hostess, wanting people to have a good time, but you are being left out of the fun. You have no idea what they have been talking about, you can’t drink as much as them or else the vegetables will be burnt, and you say to yourself “Why? Why did I try to show off cooking a complicated 3 course meal? I could just as easily gone to M&S or the Cook Shop and bought a few ready made dishes and pretended I had done the cooking. But no, I tried to emulate Masterchef contestants and now I’m really hacked off. Why couldn’t I be content with a salad, or a BBQ! then I could have spent some time out there with them too.” If only …….
Is this scenario familiar to you? Does it have similarities to the story we have heard from Luke’s gospel?
And in our story, we hear about Martha, trying to be a good hostess but becoming resentful of her sister who should in Martha’s mind really be helping her behind the scenes – but is actually sitting at Jesus’ feet. Did Mary ever consider that actually Martha might have preferred to be there, but as the older sister, she is yet again losing out. And so dear Martha turns to their friend Jesus and asks for his help – get Mary to come and help me, then you can have your meal sooner and we can all be together round the table.
A lot of people think of Mary as the righteous one, and Martha is the sister in the wrong. Hospitality isn’t wrong, it is important- but what is more important is the attitude that you have in fulfilling your service. If it is done with resentment, if it is done for self-glorification and for your ego, then perhaps you need to think again about what you are doing and why you are doing it.
We all have different ways to serve God. He has given us different gifts to use for his glory. But we need to keep in check the reason why we are doing things – are we so busy doing things because if they go well, we will get lots of praise and thanks – our ego will be boosted? Or is it because we want to serve our loving God.
What Jesus is saying in this story is that there is a time to be busy but there is also a time to be still, to focus on God, to sit as Jesus’ feet and to listen to what he might be trying to tell us. It’s not that Mary’s character was the right one and Martha’s character or personality was wrong. He was pointing out that at that particular time, in that particular place, Mary was happy just to be and Martha needed to learn to come and just “be” too. Her focus on life had perhaps become out of kilter.
It is also very easy to be so busy doing things for God that we forget to spend time with him. I remember being on a conference where someone said we are human beings not human doings, we are human beings not human doings. and we need to get the balance in our lives right between the doing and the being. And to do that We need to have time and space to focus on God.
So, Jesus has called Martha to take time out and to join Mary and the others, to come and sit and Jesus’ feet.
In church today we can be too busy to know or to recognise when we are being called to sit at Jesus’ feet. Are we sometimes too busy “doing” church rather than to “be” church? Perhaps a question we should be asking ourselves and corporately is “what does it mean to be church” before we rush to do church. If that were an exam question it would then say “discuss”.
Jesus, led a very busy life. He was travelling around, talking to the crowds in towns and villages, performing miracles, speaking in the synagogues, teaching his disciples and other followers who travelled with him and so on. But he also set aside time to be quiet, to be still, to be with God. Everyday we should be setting aside a time to be quiet with God – it doesn’t have to be long, but it shouldn’t feel like a duty or a chore we have to do though; we should want to do it. It’s not an optional extra though, it’s a necessity, allowing us to be refreshed, rejuvenated, and reconnected with our Creator and Saviour. Reconnected so that we can hear what he is wanting to say to us.
Now I expect most of you are thinking about this as individuals. But what about us as a corporate body? When do we spend time quietly as a corporate body listening to God. I want you to picture the scene. We are in a fairly large building with a stage at one end, and people sat on seats waiting. There was a character who stood at the far right hand side of the stage on his own. At the centre of the stage was a group of important looking people including someone in a dog collar. We were told They were about to hold a service. At the start of the service some music was played while a group of people who were on the Left side of the stage chatted, then the vicar announced the opening hymn immediately after that the congregation sat for prayers. Then as soon as that ended, the children’s worker gave a brilliant entertaining children’s talk, and they disappeared off for their groups. Then there was another hymn followed immediately by a Bible Reading. Then a worship song sung four times followed by gospel reading. The vicar then preached a brilliant sermon lasting 22 minutes – it had some good stories in it, and even a funny joke or two. Straight after this the congregation started singing a lovely worship song a few times which led into prayers that had been well crafted which everyone said afterwards were very meaningful. Then there was a final hymn with a collection, then the blessing and now the best bit – time for coffee together. While all this was going on, the person on the far right side of the stage was standing there. Each time there was a moment’s quiet he started to step forward and was about to say something when someone else got up and spoke. This service had lasted 75 minutes, everyone said that it had been a great service, everything went so well, everything flowed seamlessly together, and they all left the stage with a lovely smile on their faces, except for that one person on the right. He had been trying to speak to them all, trying to tell them something they needed to hear, but he wasn’t given the opportunity – there was no space for him to say anything. And he left not with a smile on his face, but resigned, sad, feeling unwanted, unheard. Why had the people come – to have a good time, to feel good, to have a good sing, to spend time together? But the one person they had come to meet had been left out, wasn’t welcomed by them, wasn’t given the opportunity to say anything or to be part of the meeting.
A Huge exaggeration of a church service – I don’t think so. And I wonder if this story is true for many churches. And although the pattern of
worship given might not be the same as ours, I wonder if sometimes this story is true here for us in Aldeburgh? Think about it? Do we allow our guest of honour, our God, space and time to speak to us? What could he be trying to say to us if given the opportunity?
Are we both as a corporate body and as individuals more like Martha than Mary? Have we got the balance of being and doing right? Are we as the body of Christ spending time just quietly sitting at his feet listening, allowing him the time and space to connect with us?
We shall have a few minutes of stillness for you to ask God what he might be wanting to say to you either as an individual or as part of the corporate body of Christ. but first some words which I have adapted from a hymn:
Here we are Lord, we have come to do your will
Here we are Lord, in your presence we are still.
Speak to us Lord
Thank you, Lord, for this time of quiet. Amen
Post Communion
God of our pilgrimage,
you have led us to the living water:
refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Return of the Ever Popular
Friston Classics on the Green – 14th July 2022
After a break of two years owing to Covid-19 restrictions, the classic cars returned in force and so did the visitors.
We think the picture captures not just the scale, but also the spirit of the occasion. Certainly, the pigeon seemed impressed!
This was a major logistical exercise for our community, and we are grateful to some 40 volunteers, some from far afield who all helped with the village green parking and collecting: public parking in Grove Road (courtesy of Margaret and William Reeve) and the army of ladies serving teas in the village hall. It was a great success and thank you to everyone, not least to all those who came and supported.
Next Week
Sunday 31st July
Seventh Sunday after Trinity
NOTICES
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✟ Morning Prayer across the Benefice with Revd Sarah ✟ Revd Sarah will be bringing the benefice together in prayer each morning from 9 -9.30am. People are very welcome to join Sarah, no regular commitment required, just pop along when you wish. Monday – Friston Tuesday – Knodishall Wednesday – Aldringham Thursday – Aldeburgh |
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Dates for your Diary 31st July10.30am – Benefice Holy Communion at 7th August 3pm – Pet Service at Aldringham Churchyard 14th August 6pm – Carnival Songs of Praise next to Moot Hall |
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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/channel St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook. |
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A welcome return for this very popular ensemble with a summer programme of light classics and popular music. |
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Lunchtime Classical Concert Series Return Aldeburgh Parish Church Monday 22nd August at 12 noon Save the Children are collaborating with Nadia Lasserson to continue the series of hour-long concerts in 2022. Nicholas Marshall (Baritone) Nadia Lasserson (Piano) To include Romantic works by Schubert and Tosti Looking forward to welcoming you all. Admission is free- with a retiring collection for Save the Children |
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Youth Club – We need your help! |
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Weekly Benefice Newsletter |
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Food Banks at the East of England Co-op |
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✞ Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays on Zoom ✞ Pilgrims @ The Meare Thorpeness
Come just for breakfast and a catch-up with folk, come for just the ramble or come and enjoy both. (You don’t need to book in advance, you can decide on the morning.) To help with timing, if coming only to ramble then we generally head from The Parrot around 10.30am. Please do invite friends along. |
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Alde Sandlings Benefice Friday Markets in August This August we will have two Friday markets on the BBQ, Vegetables, Plants, Fruit and Flowers, Cakes and Savouries, Jams etc, Craft Stalls, General Bric a Brac. Tombola and Games. Toys, prizes for the tombola, jewellery, scarves, small items of furniture, curtains, kitchenware, and good quality bric a brac needed. Cakes and produce too (please bring on the day) |
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Bring and share lunch – 31st July at Aldeburgh As you all know we are having a Benefice service on the 31st July, 10.30am at Aldeburgh to say farewell to Revd Sheila Hart as she retires from active ministry. This will be followed by and bring and share lunch in the church hall straight afterwards. You will find a notice on each of your noticeboards in church asking if you would like to contribute with a dish etc, i.e. meat/fish, salads of all variations, savoury (quiches etc) and desserts. If you could please add your name and exactly what dish you are bringing that would be most appreciated, or of course email admin@aldeburghparishchurch.org.uk |
Sunday 17th July Fifth Sunday after Trinity
Message from Revd Sarah du Boulay
Dear Friends,
As I continue to settle into the vicarage, I am constantly realising that I haven’t yet found certain items from the move. Things which are clearly not everyday, necessary items, but ones which nevertheless are important at a particular time and for a particular job. I wondered whether there is a deep theological application for this, and if there are some aspects of our faith which we need as daily disciplines to feed and nourish us, and others which are more of an occasional act of worship?
Then I decided I was overthinking things and went back to searching for my milk jug.
This week I am at Aldringham, and next at Knodishall in the morning, before leading Evening Prayer at Aldeburgh in the evening. Do let me know what aspects of worship you find most helpful – I’d be very interested.
With continued prayers,
Sarah
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Genesis 18.1-10a
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.’ Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.
Second Reading
Colossians 1.15-28
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Gospel Reading
Luke 10.38-end
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
Sermon preached by The Revd Johanna Mabey at
Aldringham 3rd July 2022
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
When you travel, what sort of packer are you?
I’m a methodical, neat sort of packer – and I start the packing process at least a week before any trip – and I must confess, I find it very hard to travel light.
I lay everything out, and check outfits and shoes co-ordinate and that all items are interchangeable – I have something for every weather eventuality – you never know when it might rain or turn chilly – I pack and un-pack and then re-pack – I decant my favourite shampoo and toiletries into little travel bottles, I make sure I have every possible ointment, sunscreen and medicine that might be required, the whole process takes ages – and when I used to have to do the same for my three children when they were little, I often got to a point when I seriously questioned whether all the effort and stress was actually worth it – far easier to stay home and go nowhere!
But of course, it always was worth it – and we had some very happy family holidays together.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus wants the seventy to pack nothing…
no money, no bag, no spare sandals – nothing – just what they happen to be wearing.
Jesus says they are to be dependent on the kindness of strangers.
Hmmm – I’d be in trouble – at the very least I’d probably stuff some underwear and toiletries into my pockets and hope He wouldn’t notice!
These followers are sent out as lambs among wolves; they will find out just who their friends are. Their friends are the ones who will welcome them, whether they are known to each other or not.
The disciples are to enter a home and declare peace to those who inhabit it. And even though in ancient Palestine hospitality is highly valued, not everyone will welcome those who bring peace.
There are some homes and some communities in which peace is spurned because it may mean giving up power over others or it may be perceived as weakness.
If the residents are unwilling to hear the words of peace, then the disciples will move on to some other place where peace is welcomed.
Jesus tells the seventy to receive whatever hospitality is offered.
That’s odd – when you think about it.
Because we expect to be told to share hospitality, not to receive it.
How happy are we when someone thanks us for a nice meal or is grateful to have a place to stay?
When the worshiping community extends hospitality to the visitor, the stranger, the person on the margins, the immigrant, the outcast… that community finds itself warmed and renewed by the act of giving.
And yet, receiving is also a gift to oneself and to the giver.
So, there’s a deeper meaning here to Jesus’ words. There’s a vulnerability, and an open-ness to the giving and receiving of hospitality – and that can be uncomfortable.
There’s also quite a contrast between Jesus’ instructions on how to receive hospitality, and his instructions on what to do if you aren’t welcomed.
When receiving hospitality, he seems to be saying accept whatever you’re offered, don’t complain; don’t look for somewhere better to stay.
But if you aren’t welcomed, well, then, make a show of it.
Peace and protest. Jesus instructs his followers to bless the houses they enter, to offer them peace – but if you’re not welcomed, make a show of your protest.
I wonder whether this is a helpful reminder to us as well, especially in our politically and culturally fraught times.
Jesus instructs his disciples to make open and public demonstrations of their rejection, to shake the dust from their sandals as the other gospels describe it.
There may be a time and place for peace but there also seems to be time and place for protest.
But remember, such protest could be directed at us, if we refuse to welcome those who knock on our doors.
Whether there is hospitality or not, Jesus instructs the disciples to proclaim, “The kingdom of God has come near!”
It’s good news… the nearness of God’s reign, signs of which can be seen in the offering and receiving of peace, shalom, and the offering and receiving of hospitality.
But God’s reign is not only blessing, it’s also judgment – and for those who refuse to receive and give peace, those who refuse to give and receive hospitality, the nearness of God’s kingdom may mean an upending of their world.
Ultimately all these instructions seem a very long way from 21st century Britain.
Just as we would never go on a trip without extra clothes, shoes, no money, or other supplies, we are also quite unlikely to knock on a stranger’s door to ask for hospitality or to offer them peace.
And when there’s a knock on our door, and we open it to discover a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness missionary, we are unlikely to welcome them in!
Still, these instructions challenge us – to reflect on how we follow Jesus and how Jesus is calling us to follow him, to reflect on the welcome we offer and the welcome we receive, to remember that the Kingdom of God is near, a reality that is both promise and judgment, and finally, to remember that among the gifts we receive as followers of Jesus, especially when we obey his teaching, is the great gift of joy.
May God’s joy fill our hearts and open us to the possibilities of welcoming and being welcomed… and to offering and receiving peace.
Amen.
Post Communion
Grant, O Lord, we beseech you,
that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered
by your governance, that your Church may joyfully serve you in all
godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next Week
Sunday 24th July
Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Somewhere over the rainbow
This week’s photo is from Eloise Mabey. This photo is almost a double rainbow taken after a recent storm across the sea at Aldeburgh. What amazing colours. Thank you, Eloise.
Do share your photos with us of our local area of beauty.
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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.com/ |
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Youth Club – We need your help! |
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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 |
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Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays on Zoom Pilgrims @ The Meare Thorpeness |
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Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Days in August |
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Bring and share lunch – 31st July at Aldeburgh |
Sunday 10th July Fourth Sunday after Trinity/Sea Sunday
Services this Sunday for The Alde Sandlings Benefice
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Aldeburgh Aldringham Friston Knodishall |
10.30am 11.00am 9.00am 9.00am |
Sea Sunday Service Morning Service Holy Communion Morning Prayer |
Message from Revd Sarah du Boulay
Dear Friends,
I hope you have all had a good week.
My welcome to the benefice continues, and I would like to thank everybody for all your kindnesses and support during my first week on ministry here in Alde Sandlings.
I’m sure you understand that there is a lot for me to understand and diarise, so I need to ask for your continued patience. If you contact me, I WILL respond, but it might not be within the first 24 hours – please bear with me!
I’m looking forward to worshipping with Friston this Sunday, and Aldringham the next, so I hope to meet some new faces at both.
With continued prayers,
Sarah
Collect
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Deuteronomy 30.9-14
The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
Second Reading
Colossians 1.1-14
I Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Gospel Reading
Luke 10.25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
Sermon preached by The Revd Sarah du Boulay at
Aldeburgh 3rd July 2022
On Thursday, Bishop Martin told you that I am persistent. He also told you that I am here to love you, and to serve you. That shows a generous and worryingly insightful awareness of my character from our Diocesan Bishop. I wanted to take this opportunity to offer you an insight into some of my theology of ministry as well.
I believe with all my heart that our faith is simple. God loves us. And we are called to accept and absorb that love. We are then called to reflect that love back out into the world. That’s it. God invites us into his loving embrace; we accept; and then we invite others in alongside us.
There is a poem which I have loved for a long time, which, when I was priested, became very important to me. I keep a copy on the inside cover of my liturgical books, and pray over it before every service that I lead – I did so today. It is a well known poem, which many of you will know, and I wanted to share it with you. It is called Love (III) by George Herbert:
LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.
‘A guest,’ I answer’d, ‘worthy to be here:’
Love said, ‘You shall be he.’
‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on Thee.’
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
‘Who made the eyes but I?’
‘Truth, Lord; but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.’
‘And know you not,’ says Love, ‘Who bore the blame?’
‘My dear, then I will serve.’
‘You must sit down,’ says Love, ‘and taste my meat.’
So I did sit and eat.
Of course, the character of Love is in fact God – God is love and love is God. That is simple. God always has his arms opened wide to us, bidding us welcome, inviting us in. All we have to do is accept that invitation. Knowing we are unworthy. Knowing that it is God himself who has paid the price for our sin. Knowing that we are entirely reliant on God’s mercy and forgiveness and love.
Love bade me welcome. All I had to do was to say ‘yes’.
It strikes me that this resonates strongly with the stories of both St Peter and St Paul. St Paul – a great sinner – persecutor of early Christians – heard God’s call, and said ‘yes’. He absorbed God’s love and he reflected it back out. St Peter too – literally heard the call of Jesus, and said ‘yes’. He followed Christ, absorbing his love, and reflecting it back out into the world. Both these men exercised their ministry courageously, wisely, and faithfully. Both men did not always get it right. Both men relied entirely on God’s invitation and forgiveness of their sins. Both men faced great opposition. Both men prayed fervently. Both men were rescued, both physically and spiritually by God. Both men literally gave their lives for their Lord and Saviour.
Love bade them welcome. Their souls drew back. And yet, all they had to do was to say ‘yes’.
Yesterday I was fortunate to be at the Priesting service at the cathedral. We were celebrating the ministry of 13 men and women who had all accepted God’s invitation and said ‘yes’ to it. Funnily, the Gospel reading was the same as today, and the preacher reflected that in saying ‘yes’ to God, Peter became the rock on which the church was built. He may have been the rock, but I want to remind us all that we are all individual stones in the structure. We are all called, at different times and in different ways, to love God and to love our neighbours.
This is true for all followers of Christ – past, present and future. It is our calling right here and right now, throughout the whole of this benefice. We may not hear. We may not understand. We may hear and understand, and still draw back, through fear or self doubt:
LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me…
God constantly has his arms opened wide to us. He is always inviting us. He persistently loves us. God wants us to be loved, and to love in return. It really is that simple.
So our challenge, I think, as a benefice, is to work out how we respond to this call. Keeping our eyes firmly on God. Loving God and loving our neighbours. How are we going to say ‘yes’? How are you going to say ‘yes’?
Post Communion
Eternal God,
comfort of the afflicted and healer of the broken,
you have fed us at the table of life and hope:
teach us the ways of gentleness and peace,
that all the world may acknowledge
the kingdom of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
This week’s photo is supplied by Mary Sidwell
Mary has kindly shared her peaceful moment from last week with an early morning paddle between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness, with just the sound of a shore lark singing overhead. We can almost hear it!!
NOTICES
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✟ Church of England and Diocese Online Worship ✟ Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/ Church of England Facebook page Church of England YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/ St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/ |
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Youth Club – We need your help! |
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Weekly Benefice Newsletter |
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Food Banks at the East of England Co-op |
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Friston Classics on the Green |
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✞ Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays on Zoom ✞ Pilgrims @ The Meare Thorpeness Pilgrims Together |
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Alde Sandlings Benefice Fun Days in August |
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Bring and share lunch – 31st July at Aldeburgh |
Next Week
Sunday 17th July
Fifth Sunday after Trinity
Benefice Newsletter for Sunday 3rd July – Third Sunday after Trinity
We are delighted to welcome our new priest in charge of the Alde Sandlings Benefice, the Revd Sarah du Boulay
The licensing and installation service took place on Thursday 30th June, led by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and the Archdeacon of Suffolk. The church was filled with people to witness this special service. Then refreshments and THE CAKE were served in the church hall.
Many congratulations Sarah, and a huge welcome from us all.
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Message from Revd Sarah du Boulay
Dear Friends,
I write this as your newly licensed Priest-in-Charge, and what a time we have already had! I want to thank everybody involved in Thursday’s service from the bottom of my heart. It was simply super, and you did yourselves, me, and most importantly God, proud. If this is any indication of the things we can achieve together, we’re in for an awfully big adventure.
I also want to thank James for holding the fort since Mark left. I know he has worked extremely hard for you all, and has already been an invaluable support to me, as has our entire team.
In the next few weeks and months, I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible; to nurturing those relationships persistently and lovingly; and beginning to understand how we are to carry out God’s mission here in Alde Sandlings.
This Sunday I will be at Aldeburgh church to celebrate the patronal festival, and next week at Friston. Do come and say ‘hello’ if you have the chance.
Finally, my regular rest day will be Friday, together with the last Saturday of every month. If you need me, you now have my email and my telephone number.
With continued prayers,
Sarah
Collect
Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our
hearts whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious
liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Isaiah 66.10-14
Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her that you may nurse
and be satisfied from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom. For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord
is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.
Second Reading
Galatians 6. 7-16
My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Gospel Reading
Luke 10.1-11, 16-20
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’ The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
Readings for Patronal Festival of St Peter & St Paul
First Reading
Zechariah 4.1-6a, 10b-end
The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep. He said to me, ‘What do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ 4I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ He said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. ‘These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.’ Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which pour out the oil through the two golden pipes?’ He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.’
Second Reading
Acts 12.1-11
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’
Gospel Reading
Matthew 16.13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’
Sermon preached by The Revd James Marston at
Aldeburgh 26th June 2022
Luke 9.51-end
We are, as I said at the beginning of the service, in ordinary time. It is a phrase, it seems to me, which is almost never apposite and leaves the Church of England sounding rather dull – not an accusation it particularly needs.
To even hint that proclaiming the gospel is ordinary seems to devalue the extraordinary message of our faith – to say that God exists and loves us and promises us eternal life in a world such as ours doesn’t seem ordinary to me at all.
This week, for the first week in several months, I seem to have had a little less to do. No funeral or wedding, no big service to get ready for, no major drama and no PCC meeting. I have had time to cook some cheese scones and even polish my little blue car.
I have also had time to think a few days to stand back and pause away from the maelstrom. And even if I don’t always practice what I preach taking a moment or two for thinking and reflecting is something we all need to make sure we do.
This is because taking a moment away from the coal face of life grants us the clarity and insight we sometimes need.
It strikes me that ordinary time, if it means anything, ought to give us the opportunity to reassess, critique and refresh. To take stock is no bad thing.
And I wonder if today’s gospel reading couldn’t have come at a better time. As we prepare for a new priest it strikes me that alongside the excitement of having someone to lead us, is perhaps a tiny bit of apprehension. What is she going to do? What might change?
Those questions will answer themselves in time and it is often the case that 99 percent of the things we worry about never happen. Or at least never happen in the way we think they might. Indeed, as Mahatma Ghandi once said: “There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.”
And as a quick aside Mr Gandhi also said: “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” A useful reminder for any clergyman, I’m sure.
Not worrying is easier said than done of course, and worry is something, I’m afraid, that often influences far too much what we do and what we say.
For Jesus to say ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. ‘was, in those days something rather shocking. The obligation to bury one’s father was regarded as a holy and binding duty of a son, to say it was secondary to the call of Jesus to follow Him and proclaim the kingdom of God was a significant challenge to those early disciples.
Indeed, it begs the question, of course, to all of us – how ready are we to drop everything and follow Him?
This passage from Luke reminds us that to journey with Jesus means not looking back and not worrying about things which hold us back – whatever they may be.
My challenge to you this week is to try to take few moments to think about what holds you back in your faith? What are you worrying about that you not need worry about? What stops you following his call on your life?
The Christian journey is informed by the past, but the focus is on the future. Are we ready to follow him wherever he leads us? Is our church community ready to look forward?
These are questions for us all to consider perhaps especially at a time like this.
And Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Amen
Post Communion
O God, whose beauty is beyond our imagining
and whose power we cannot comprehend:
show us your glory as far as we can grasp it,
and shield us from knowing more than we can bear
until we may look upon you without fear;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Next Week
Sunday 10th July
Fourth Sunday after Trinity/Sea Sunday
This week’s photo is supplied by Robert Farquharson
Wow! A view of The Alde & Ore Estuary, that many of us will never see from the sky. So, thank you so much for sharing this with us Robert.
If you manage to capture a moment of beauty in our local area,
do share your photos with us.
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A Message from Reverend Sheila Hart It is now nearly 10 months since I was diagnosed with breast cancer and, although I have recovered well from the operation and radiotherapy, I have done some hard thinking and praying about my future ministry. I have had conversations with the clergy, the Archdeacon and with Reverend Sarah and I have decided that the time has come for me to retire from active ministry and seek Permission to Officiate in my home benefice of Saxmundham with Kelsale cum Carlton. I have loved every minute of my time serving in Whinlands and subsequently Alde Sandlings Benefice and I have considered it a huge privilege to serve you all for 14 years. I have made many friends in all the congregations and will miss you all but, as they say, ‘all good things have to come to an end’ and I believe now is the time for me to leave you all officially. My final service will be the Benefice Service at Aldeburgh on July 31st which will be conducted by Reverend Sarah and be followed by a Bring and Share lunch in the church hall so that I have time to speak to you all after the service. This does not mean that you will never see me again as I have already told Sarah that I am willing to be available to take the odd service in the benefice when I am available. With my very best wishes and love for the future of the benefice and I look forward to seeing as many of you as can be with us on July 31st at Aldeburgh. Sheila |
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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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Youth Club – We need your help! |
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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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Sunday 3rd July 3pm The Marenzio Singers at St Mary’s Friston All proceeds going to the charitable projects of the Festival of Suffolk and the work of St Mary’s Church |
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Friston Classics on the Green |
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Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays on Zoom Pilgrims @ The Meare Thorpeness Sunday 3rd July Pilgrims @ The Meare: Outside F2F Worship Gathering 10 am (Bring your own chair!) Celtic style worship of the Iona Community, Sundays in July and August, on the grass next to the Boating Lake just beyond The Meare Cafe. Saturday 16th July Community 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 taken out into the outside world. |
Our New Priest in Charge, the Revd Sarah du Boulay
We are delighted to welcome our new priest in charge of the Alde Sandlings Benefice, the Revd Sarah du Boulay
The licensing and installation service took place on Thursday 30th June, led by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and the Archdeacon of Suffolk. The church was filled with people to witness this special service. Then refreshments and THE CAKE were served in the church hall.
Many congratulations Sarah.
Benefice Newsletter for Sunday 26th June – Second Sunday after Trinity
Message from Revd James Marston
Excitement is mounting across the benefice as our new priest prepares to be among us in just a few days.
Rev’d Sarah arrives with much goodwill and a warm welcome from all our churches. Rev’d Sarah has moved into the vicarage in Aldeburgh and arrives in post at her licensing service on June 30. I expect she will be busy getting to know us all over the coming weeks and months. I know Rev’d Sarah is hugely excited to be coming here as she takes this big step in her ministry journey.
With every blessing,
James
Collect
Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that
most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
1 Kings 19.15-16, 19-end
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was ploughing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ Then Elijah said to him, ‘Go back again; for what have I done to you?’ He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
Second Reading
Galatians 5.1, 13-25
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Gospel Reading
Luke 9.51-end
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Sermon preached by The Very Revd Christopher Lewis at
Aldringham19th June 2022
Luke 8.26-39 – First Sunday after Trinity
The Gospel is a strange story: Jesus; the crowd; the man with his demons; the herd of swine. In these parts we ought to be familiar with herds of swine as they seem to be all over the fields, each pig-family with a plastic house. This morning, we are fortunate that the account is told by Luke, because of the fascinating way in which he paints pictures of Jesus and his message.
What was going on? Jesus and a crowd; in strange circumstances, he heals a man with serious mental illness. As in the world of today, there is disease and death, the unclean and the demonic …and here is Jesus confronted by it. What does he do? He talks to the man and heals him. The miracles of Jesus were all ‘miracles of the kingdom’, or in other words, evidence of God’s sovereignty breaking into a confused and difficult world and putting it right. The manner of change in this case is the calming of a deranged mind: a man with a morbid preoccupation with graves, abnormal strength, insensitivity to pain and a refusal to wear clothes. The cure was accompanied by a violent and obstreperous convulsion which caused a nearby herd of pigs to stampede in panic
Not surprising that the onlookers were frightened. They shared the common belief that there was an affinity between unclean demons and unclean beasts, so that was how the occasion was experienced and reported. The fact that there were pigs at all, shows that they were in Gentile not in Jewish territory; this was a message for the world.
It is hard at first to see quite what we learn from this Gospel reading, as the world in which we live seems different, at least in the way that crowds behave. Or is it? In the last few years, we have certainly become used to the fact that the world is full of disease and confusion and there have been crowds turning out all the time. Fighting disease has led to some successes, but also has led to chaos of a kind which it would have been hard to foresee.
As we know, plagues and diseases of very strange kinds have been features of every age. What the crowd experienced then and what we have experienced in Covid, is nothing new. Homer’s Iliad, drawing on ancient oral tradition and written down in the 8th century before Christ, gives an account of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon during a war against the Trojans. A daughter of a priest was captured in battle.
The god Apollo sends a plague as punishment and the daughter is returned. That was mythology, but much has been very real: Black Death, Cholera, so-called Spanish ‘flu.
The idea that madness or indeed plagues are a punishment from God or the gods, goes right through history and is still the pattern for some, although gradually medical science has developed and has shown that the causes are more predictable and treatable than was once believed. That contrast between the interpretations of medical science and those of religion has led to all kinds of disputes right up until modern times. Some religious people have poured scorn on the sciences, for the religious have sometimes claimed that it is God alone who understands and acts, whereas science is secondary. There are contemporary Christians who have said that if you have enough faith in God, then you do not need a vaccination. Then there have been Muslim Imams who have said that the deaths of people with Covid are to be treated as deserved by those who are not believers, and then on the other hand that Covid provides an immediate route to paradise for those who are true converts to Islam.
Add to these confused reactions the fact of the sinister matter of blame. At times in history, there has been blame of religious groups as if they are responsible for what is happening. During the Black Death pandemic, Jews were said to be poisoning drinking water, and in revenge many Jews were killed for being behind the plague.
So the matter of disease is full of complexity. In particular the question to be asked is: how do we face what seem to be vast and unfathomable threats thrown up by the very world which we have been given to live in? Is this part of some obstacle course which we are challenged (by God) to navigate; is it part of the inevitable growing pains of God’s creation; is it an accident which we should have foreseen and coped with; is it a test of our ability to behave as one world rather than as separate rival nations? That last question about separate and rival nations is especially painful, as rich countries are much more able to cope with pandemics than the poor. That has been true of Covid and while Covid goes on, vast numbers die and have died every year from malaria and ebola, with rich nations only fairly recently making major efforts to tackle those very African plagues.
What should our response be? The answer is to respond to Jesus in a modern context with our knowledge as it is today. We can look to his teaching to the people of his day and to his mission to face up to suffering and then to heal, whatever the circumstances. In taking these steps we have a new challenge and joy which is to see that our faith can walk hand-in-hand with a longing for (and the support of) scientific advance. Thank
God for vaccines. Thank God also for Bill Gates: for his money of course, but more for his warnings and guidance which were largely ignored in 2017, but will now be heeded more seriously. One role of our faith is to listen to prophets and make sure that the truth is heard. Governments have sadly close horizons with their wish for votes, but those with faith in God can have a much longer view of the future of the world.
It is not easy. Why is the world as it is? Why does it not seem to get better – to be more healthy, more just, fairer? Global warming should be easily sorted because it is plainly all our fault. But these plagues and diseases are less obvious in their origins. What of earthquakes, tsunamis and ebola?
The only answer is to reflect on the life of Jesus and follow him. There is no doubt that if we responded to God more completely and followed in Jesus’ path of bringing love and help to those who suffer, then our futures would be more hopeful. There was the man towards the end of the account, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. He asked to be with Jesus but Jesus said that he was to return to where he had come from and was to tell those at home how much had been done for him by God. Jesus showed the way and that way was first to look to God and then lovingly to oppose suffering. He says the same to us.
Amen
Post Communion
Loving Father,
we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son:
sustain us with your Spirit,
that we may serve you here on earth
until our joy is complete in heaven,
and we share in the eternal banquet
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next Week
Sunday 3rd July
Third Sunday after Trinity
Solstice Sunset at Aldeburgh
Thank you to Eloise Mabey for this stunning shot.
If you manage to capture a moment of beauty in our local area,
do share your photos with us.
NOTICES
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Licensing and Installation of Reverend Sarah du Boulay The Churchwardens wish to invite everyone to the licensing by The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and the Installation by The Archdeacon of Suffolk of the Reverend Sarah du Boulay as There will be refreshments in the Church Hall after the service |
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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/channel/ St Edmundsbury Cathedral Facebook Page https://www. |
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Youth Club – We need your help! |
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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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Sunday 3rd July 3pm The Marenzio Singers at St Mary’s Friston |
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Friston Classics on the Green |
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✞ Pilgrims Together on Wednesdays on Zoom ✞ Pilgrims @ The Meare Thorpeness Sunday 3rd July Pilgrims @ The Meare: Outside F2F Worship Gathering 10 am (Bring your own chair!) Celtic style worship of the Iona Community, Sundays in July and August, on the grass next to the Boating Lake just beyond The Meare Cafe. |