July E-Magazine 2024
Please click below for a printable copy of the magazine:
Services throughout the Parish
Sunday 7th July 6th Sunday after Trinity—Green Ezekiel 2.1-5 2 Corinthians 12.2-10 Mark 6.1-13
St Mary 8.15am Communion 10.30am All Age Service 6.30pm 630 Praise
St Nix 10.30am Communion
St James 10.30am Communion
St Peter 6.30pm Evening Worship (Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 14th July 7th Sunday after Trinity—Green Amos 7.7-15 Ephesians 1.3-14 Mark 6.14-29
St Mary 8.15am Communion 10.30am Communion 6.30pm 630 Praise
St Nix 10.30am Morning Worship
St James 10.30am Morning Worship
St Peter 6.30pm Communion (Book of Common Prayer)
|
Sunday 21st July 8th Sunday after Trinity—Green Jeremiah 23.1-6 Ephesians 2.11-22 Mark 6.30-34,53-56
St Mary 8.15am Communion 10.30am Morning Worship 6.30pm 630 Praise
St Nix 10.30am Communion
St James 10.30am Communion
St Peter 6.30pm Evening Worship (Book of Common Prayer)
Sunday 28th July 9th Sunday after Trinity—Red Acts 11.27-12.2 2 Corinthians 4.7-15 Matthew 20.20-28
St Mary 6.30pm 630 Praise
St James 10.30am Parish Communion with a visit from Bishop Viv
(No other services in the parish except 630 Praise)
|
Reflection
So, how does someone who grew up in south Wales, and spent most of his life in non-conformist churches, end up in a Parish Church? I have to say that the journey has been somewhat surprising.
But here I am, firmly part of parish life and about to embark on the next stage of training to become a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM). I firmly believe that my trek to the Anglican Church and to the role of LLM has been in response to a clear call from God. It has nothing to do with non-conformity, but rather a renewed love for something that had been in my life since my school days, with psalms and liturgy in morning assembly.
This connection with all things liturgical was rekindled during lockdown, when I started listening to Morning Prayer on Facebook. The rhythm and routine that I developed helped me to navigate the ups and down of lockdown life and rooted me firmly in a way of living that dates back hundreds of years, yet is ever new.
Of course, navigating my way through this new-found way of living is not without its challenges. I consider myself to be very much a “rookie Anglican”, full of questions. Being a bit of a geek, this is the way I usually make sense of my world! The latest expression to baffle me has been the term “Ordinary Time”. Now, there is a real risk that we hear “Ordinary Time” as “boring time.” But that’s not the case. I’ve been doing some digging around, and the phrase refers to the half of the year that stretches from spring, after Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, to late autumn and the start of Advent, which I now know is the start of the new church year (another geek thing!).
Therefore, Ordinary Time presents us with an opportunity to get some headspace to allow us to reflect on the glorious truths that we learn throughout the rest of the year at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. But that reflection has a distinct purpose: to enable us to live out our calling as God’s children in the world; to make Jesus visible in our homes, our families, and our community. And it is also a time for us to learn and grow in our faith – hence the use of the colour green (yet another geek factoid). |
So, I hope that you can see that there is nothing ordinary about “Ordinary Time”. In fact, it might be more apt to refer to it as “Extraordinary Time”. A time when our regular, one foot in front of the other lives, become extraordinary as we walk in community with God and each other wherever we find ourselves.
Paul Belcher |
Change of Service Times at St Nix and St James from 6th October
As everyone knows Ian is retiring at the end of September. One of the many issues this raises is how to staff Sunday services from October onwards. Some of you may remember the last interregnum when churchwardens were scrambling around to find cover for Sunday mornings because there were not enough staff in the team to cover.
There will be a period of some months when we will not have a rector in post so we need to prepare and make the transition a positive time during which we as a parish prepare for a new future. Back in April I spoke to St Nix DCC asking if they would consider moving their service to 930 am. This will enable St Nix to hold an All-Age service at a better time for families. In May I spoke with St James DCC and they agreed to move their service to 11am. Finally at the PCC’s June meeting it was agreed to move the service times.
These changes to service times give the option of one ministry team member covering services at both St Nix and St James on the same Sunday. This enables us to fully staff the parish each week and have people in place to cover for holidays and sickness. This plan will give greater stability while we find a new rector. We will bring in this new service pattern from the first Sunday in October.
From 6thOctober St Nix service will move to 9.30am and St James to 11am. |
Please join Bishop Viv at our Parish Communion on Sunday 28th July (10.30am) at St James’ The Great, Westerleigh. Please note there will be no other services across the Yate Parish on this day except 630 Praise |
Feedback from The Bible Project / Class of Biblical students Spring 2024
As disciples of Jesus and as a group of mature students in our local area, we have been on a journey. Participants shared very positive comments:
‘For me, this fellowship has been a blessing. I was able to get a bird’s-eye view of the whole scripture from genesis to revelation. During the discussions, I was encouraged by other people’s faith’.
‘Excellent!’
‘I would have liked to do the course all over again as there was so much to take in first time around.’
‘The lunchtime soup and crusty bread were helpful’
‘Good to see a genuine weekly commitment to studying God’s Word. An enthusiastic and friendly atmosphere of wanting to know’
‘The project was enjoyable, interesting and enlightening. It put some biblical aspects in a better context of the time it was written. It is always good to discuss with other people to get different aspects and points of view where understanding may differ.’
‘Good.’
‘Quite fast moving!’
‘I learnt a lot.’
‘Really enjoying the bible course. The study materials are excellent and the way the whole bible is covered has given me a greater understanding of the bible as a whole. Watching the videos together each week and reflecting together afterwards has drawn out different views and enabled us to both share and get to know others better. There is a lot of depth in this course but presented in a way that makes it accessible both to those new to studying and to those mature in the faith
Jean and David have worked hard to bring this to us and I appreciate the opportunity to participate.’ |
So, what was this discipleship course all about?
Over eight interactive sessions, the course combines video teaching, group discussion, personal reflection and daily readings. It promises to increase your confidence, equip you to read the Bible better and help you to see its relevance to daily life, providing a birds-eye view of the world’s bestselling book
James Howard-Smith, Newsletter Editor for the Bible Society, summarises:
‘In The Bible Course, author Andrew Ollerton explores the overarching story of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, you can watch him plot the books on a physical timeline, highlighting key points, stories and characters along the way. More than 139,000 people have done The Bible Course since its launch in 2018. Through surveying participants, we’ve identified growth in understanding, navigation and interpretation of the Bible as a direct result of people’s experiences on the course.’ Jean Yates |
Mothers’ Union Project Prayers July 2024
‘We pray for families around the world’ The purpose of this article is to inform the reader of the work and projects of Mothers’ Union in the Bristol Diocese. This month there is a focus on families in difficulty and here are some of the projects that specifically look for ways of helping.
Children in hospital results in anxiety, distress and financial hardship, especially when far from home. MU Bristol’s ‘Friends for Parents’ project sets out to support families of children in hospital, offering emotional support, tea and coffee in parents’ rooms and emergency toiletry packs. On Christmas day, hand-knitted stockings with treats were given to parents at the Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Having a family member in prison is stressful, alienating and scary, particularly when visiting a prison for the first time. Wives, mums, dads, siblings, friends and grandparents may show their ongoing love for an offender by visiting. Our prison project offers a friendly welcome and a cup of tea to visitors, many of whom come from far away.
Families with disabled children are often not able to access safe play spaces. We provide funding for family transport to access the stimulating ‘Gympanzees’ sensory play activities held in school holidays.
School holiday outings for families on a tight budget are an increasing problem, as costs rise in every area. Our ‘Away From It All’ (AFIA) project arranges and pays for coaches to take groups of families to Weston-Super-Mare for the day from many areas around Bristol and Swindon, including Yate!
Find out more on our website: www.mubristol.co.uk
A Prayer for Families Jesus, we thank you that you grew up in a family here on earth, and |
experienced the joys and challenges that family life can bring. We pray for your blessing on all struggling to cope with the complexities of family relationships.
Loving Father, we pray for parents who are finding it difficult to provide for their children in any way. Please grant them the means to support and nurture their family and to give them the security they need. Lord Jesus be with them always and assure them that they are never alone.
Lord, bless the work of the Mothers’ Union here and around the world. Amen
Mothers’ Union Prayer Diary July 2024 |
Ride+Stride 2024
Saturday 14th September deserves to be highlighted in your diary: churches throughout Gloucestershire, Bristol and beyond will be opening their doors to welcome visitors on the annual Ride+Stride fundraising pilgrimage. You can choose your own route to walk, cycle or drive and visit places of worship of many denominations, or you can join a parish group for a walk of 2 to 8 miles (transport options available). In either case, please collect a sponsorship form from your church, and a Pilgrim Log to record the places you visit, and ask your friends, colleagues and family to sponsor you. All money collected will be passed on to Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust to help fund repair and enhancement projects in the region’s churches. Part of the money raised by each church will be returned for local use.
St James in Westerleigh will be holding its final village breakfast of the year on the same date, with all monies raised going to GHCT.
Walk details will be published in August with posters in each of our churches. |
Readings for Morning and Evening Prayer The Table below and opposite have the readings for Morning and evening prayer. The Facebook prayers will read the Old Testament in the morning but you can chose either reading for morning or evening. Prayerbooks are available from the Parish Office. |
| Readings | Psalm | ||
July 1 | 1 Samuel 1 1-20 | Luke 19 28-40 | 98 | 105 |
July 2 | 1 Samuel 1 21- 2 11 | Luke 19 41 -end | 106 | 107 |
July 3 | 2 Samuel 15 17 -21 | John 11 1-16 | 92 | 139 |
July 4 | 1 Samuel 2 27 -end | Luke 20 9-19 | 115 | 116 |
July 5 | 1 Samuel 3 1 – 4 1 | Luke 20 20-26 | 139 | 130 |
July 6 | 1 Samuel 4 1 -end | Luke 20 27 -40 | 121 | 118 |
July 7 | Deuteronomy 24 10 -end | Acts 28 1-16 | 57 | 64 |
July 8 | 1 Samuel 5 | Luke 20 41 – 21 4 | 126 | 127 |
July 9 | 1 Samuel 6 1-16 | Luke 21 5-19 | 132 | 135 |
July 10 | 1 Samuel 7 | Luke 21 20-28 | 44 | 47 |
July 11 | 1 Samuel 8 | Luke 21 29 -end | 100 | 147 |
July 12 | 1 Samuel 9 1-14 | Luke 22 1-13 | 119 57-80 | 59 |
July 13 | 1 Samuel 9 15 -10 1 | Luke 22 14-23 | 57 | 62 |
July 14 | Amos 7 7-15 | Mark 6 14-29 | 51 | 38 |
July 15 | 1 Samuel 10 1-16 | Luke 22 24-30 | 1 | 4 |
July 16 | 1 Samuel 10 17-end | Luke 22 31-38 | 5 | 9 |
July 17 | 1 Samuel 11 | Luke 22 39-46 | 71 | 11 |
July 18 | 1 Samuel 12 | Luke 22 47-62 | 15 | 18 |
July 19 | 1 Samuel 13 5-18 | Luke 22 63 -end | 19 | 22 |
July 20 | 1 Samuel 19 1-18 | Luke 23 1-12 | 23 | 24 |
July 21 | Deuteronomy 30 1-10 | 1 Peter 3 8 -18 | 67 | 73 |
July 22 | 1 Samuel 16 14 -end | Luke 8 1-3 | 30 | 63 |
July 23 | 1 Samuel 15 1-23 | Luke 23 26-43 | 36 | 33 |
July 24 | 1 Samuel 16 | Luke 23 44 -56 | 34 | 80 |
July 25 | 2 Kings 9 46-56 | Luke 9 46-56 | 7 | 94 |
July 26 | 1 Samuel 17 31-54 | Luke 24 13-35 | 31 | 35 |
July 27 | 1 Samuel 17 55 -18 16 | Luke 24 36 -end | 42 | 46 |
July 28 | Song of Songs 2 | 1 Peter 4 7-14 | 88 | 102 |
July 29 | 1 Samuel 19 1-18 | Acts 1 1-14 | 44 | 47 |
July 30 | 1 Samuel 20 1-17 | Acts 1 15 -end | 50 | 48 |
July 31 | 1 Samuel 20 18 -end | Acts 2 1-21 | 60 | 59 |
Find out more
about The
Connection and Those Vicar Blokes on our website at yateparish,org
under the heading
Explore our Faith
A Weekly Group at St Nix Friday Re:fresh runs from 09:30 - 10:30 on a Friday during term-time held at St Nix.
A warm and welcoming group for adults and children (babies to school age) to spend time together chatting, playing, singing and pondering a spiritual thought of the day.
|
Morning prayer in Yate Parish
Do you find prayer a little difficult? Would you like some inspiration? Go to the Yate Parish Facebook page to join in Morning Prayer led by our ministry team. You can watch live at 7.30am Monday to Saturday, or watch at any time later in the day. Many people have found it a great start to their day.
Weekly at St Mary’s
Thursday Communion at 10.00am
Compline @8pm
Before the lockdown happened, we had recorded the saying of Compline. We ask that each evening at 8pm we light a candle in our window and pray together for our nation using the words of the Compline service - it takes just over 5 minutes.
Visit the parish website and click on the recordings to listen; you will find the words of the service there too.
Commentaires